Rocketman is a (very) damp squib
Daredevil tries to cross Channel – but falls in sea
He was all set to soar into the history books on a jet powered hoverboard.
yesterday, however, french inventor franky Zapata’s cross-Channel invasion ended as a damp squib – after he lost his balance and toppled into the sea.
The 40-year-old planned to cross from Sangatte near Calais to St Margaret’s Bay in Kent in just 20 minutes, hovering 60ft above the water at 87mph.
The only thing keeping him aloft was a homemade 1,500 horsepower contraption resembling a flying tea tray and controlled using a joy stick-style throttle.
At just after 8am, he set off with nine gallons of kerosene in his backpack, enough for about ten minutes of flight. He almost pulled off a perfect landing on a refuelling platform half way across. But as the waves crashed, he lost his balance and fell from the 6ft platform.
‘I pushed my body to the limit and I was about to fly faster than I expected, but the biggest challenge was the landing,’ he said. ‘The [refuelling] boat was too small, the platform was moving.’ Mr Zapata made his attempt on the 110th anniversary of the first powered crossChannel flight by aviator Louis Bleriot.
Conditions were perfect for the 23-mile crossing, with temperatures of 35C (95f) and calm seas. A large crowd cheered him on his way and he was followed by a documentary helicopter. But pictures of his tumble into the water were being kept under wraps by his team last night.
The businessman had received a 1.3million euro grant from the french army to develop the flyboard Air, which is powered by five small jet engines, can fly at 118mph and can reach up to 10,000ft.