Franky Zapata successfully crosses English Channel in fly-board

Franky Zapata (40), French inventor and creator of Flyboard and Flyboard Air has succesfully completed his attempt to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered fly-board.

Zapata, who started his flying from Sangatte, near Calais, at 06:17 GMT on Sunday had landed in St Margaret’s Bay in Dover.

A kerosene-filled backpack has been used in the fly-board journey. Zapata crossed a distance of 22-mile (35.4-km) in 22 minutes.

Zapata was a former jet-ski champion. A previous attempt had been made by him on 25th of July this year, which was not successful. Several complications were faced by him regarding the refueling of the flying system.

Filled with emotions, he told the media, “We made a machine three years ago… and now we’ve crossed the Channel, it’s crazy. Whether this is a historic event or not, I’m not the one to decide that, time will tell”.

“The last five, six kilometres were pure pleasure, to see the [British] coast approaching like this”, he said to the French media while talking with his family, after the flying.

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