Unusual but true: 94-year-old daredevil becomes Britain's oldest female skydiver

chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2019-08-09 13:57
Share
Share - WeChat

'Flying Man' crosses the English Channel

French inventor Franky Zapata takes off on a Flyboard for a second attempt to cross the English channel, Aug 4, 2019. [Photo/Agencies]

French inventor Franky Zapata has made the first successful crossing of the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard, on his second attempt Sunday morning, landing in St Margaret's Bay in Dover, England from Sangatte, near Calais in France.

The trip took a total of 22 minutes -- with one refueling stop in the middle on a boat.

The 40-year-old failed in his first attempt to cross the English Channel on July 25 after he crashed into a refueling boat and fell into the water.

Franky Zapata (right) prepares to cross the English Channel from Sangatte, France, to Saint Margaret's Bay, the UK, on a jet-powered flyboard he designed Aug 4, 2019. [Photo/IC]

Sunday's successful crossing used a larger boat to make the landing easier.

The hoverboard can reach speeds of up 118 mph (190 km/h) and has five turbines that are powered by kerosene stored in his backpack.

|<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 Next   >>|
Photo

Related Stories

Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US