Flyboard inventor poised for 'crazy' Channel crossing
The French hoverboard star Franky Zapata will attempt to cross the Channel on Thursday using the invention that wowed world leaders and Champs-Élysées crowds on Bastille Day.
The former jetski champion will attempt to make the 20-minute crossing on his turbo-powered hoverboard – the Flyboard Air – to mark the 110th anniversary of French aviator Louis Blériot’s first cross-Channel airplane flight.
Zapata, 40, nicknamed “Flyman” by French media, is expected to take off at the beach at Sangatte near Calais and land at an unspecified site near Dover.
He will refuel halfway across, landing on a vessel in the middle of the Channel to change the 37kg backpack that contains fuel for the Flyboard.
Hours before the attempt, Zapata appeared cautious about his chances of success. Asked if he was ready, he replied: “As ready as we can be”.
“We’ve had to double the range of the machine. It’s a little complicated … but we think we can do it,” he told RMC radio on Wednesday. Zapata said he wanted to “follow in the footsteps of the great aviation pioneers”.
“I’ve always been fan of Blériot and I was looking for a new challenge. If we can cross the Channel on the 110 anniversary … it’s a crazy challenge.”
Zapata added: “It’s a busy ferry lane. I will land on a boat in the middle of the Channel, change my (fuel) bag and take off again immediately.”
French maritime authorities had initially refused to approve the flight, saying it was too dangerous to attempt over one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, but stopped short of a ban. On Wednesday, they had a change of heart.
Coastal officials said they had approved the flight after Zapata had given them numerous guarantees.
“He detailed his safety plan and his measures for refuelling at sea … this has allowed the maritime prefect to take a decision to lift the refusal to approve the crossing,” a spokesperson for the maritime prefecture said.
Zapata impressed France with a demonstration of his Flyboard at this year’s Bastille Day parade in front of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and German chancellor, Angela Merkel, along with other world leaders.
“It’s the realisation of a dream,” the inventor told Le Parisien this week, adding that he was “very stressed”. He said the Bastille Day demonstration was easy by comparison.
“I used 3% of the machine’s capabilities and I’ll need 99% for the Channel. It won’t be easy at all and I reckon I’ve a 30% chance of succeeding,” he said.
Zapata, from Marseille, made his first Flyboard flight three years ago. “I lost two fingers torn off in the turbines and the machine crashed into the wall of my workshop. After that, I had to really negotiate with my wife for her to let me get on it again,” he said in an interview.
“But when I saw the machine fly I said this is what I have to do with my life. I have to see it through to the end”.
On Wednesday, as he tested the Flyboard, Zapata said he expected to make the 22-mile (36km) crossing at an average speed of 87mph (140km/h) and at an altitude of between 15 and 20 metres (50-65ft) above sea level.
The French government’s defence and procurement agency awarded Zapata a €1.3m (£1.2m) grant to develop the hoverboard last December after the inventor was approached by foreign investors.
The Flyboard Air is powered by five mini turbo engines, can run autonomously for about 10 minutes and reach speeds of up to 118mph.
Florence Parly, the French armed forces minister, has said the machine could be tested for different kinds of uses, for example as a flying logistical platform or an assault platform.