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Man crosses the English Channel on a hoverboard

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What do Marty McFly, The Silver Surfer, and French inventor Franky Zapata have in common, aside from being heroes?

French inventor Franky Zapata succeeded this weekend in crossing the English Channel on a jet-powered β€˜Flyboard’ created in his garage.

After failing to complete the 22-mile β€˜flight’ from Sangatte to St Margaret’s Bay last month – crashing into the ocean after losing his balance – the brave Frenchman went back to the drawing board (for his board, tehe) and successfully soared over the channel on Sunday, arriving at the cliffs of Dover to rapturous applause after just 22 minutes.

Escorted by three helicopters, Zapata darted over the crossing reaching speeds of up to 177km/hr (110mph). For reference he’d have absolutely toasted a Renault Clio (the French flagship hatchback) in a straight sprint.

The whacky professor (said with the upmost respect) lost two fingers during the Flyboard’s maiden outing in his garage in Marseille, but refused to give up work on his magnum opus. Today, his efforts have been rewarded with a €1.3m development grant courtesy of the French military and he’s free to explore his other whacky ideas.

I know what you’re thinking after that last point but relax. The Flyboard has no military application because of the hours required to master its flight and the loud noise it makes.

The ArmΓ©e de terre won’t have Green Goblin imitations gliding around throwing pumpkin bombs in times of conflict. There aren’t any villains in this story, just one hero.

Editor in Chief London, UK

I’m Jamie (He/Him), the Editor in Chief at Thred. Keeping up with gaming and revolutionary technology is my forte, but when away from my keyboard, you’ll probably find me wrapped around a large Tango ice blast at the latest mediocre horror flick. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback viaΒ email.

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