• French inventor Franky Zapata takes off on a hoverboard for a second attempt to cross the English Channel. Reuters
    French inventor Franky Zapata takes off on a hoverboard for a second attempt to cross the English Channel. Reuters
  • Zapata lands in Dover. AFP
    Zapata lands in Dover. AFP
  • The inventor en route. Reuters
    The inventor en route. Reuters
  • Zapata prepares to touch down. EPA
    Zapata prepares to touch down. EPA
  • Crowds gather to see the take off. AFP
    Crowds gather to see the take off. AFP
  • Zapata poses for photographs. AP
    Zapata poses for photographs. AP
  • Zapata in the skies above Calais. AFP
    Zapata in the skies above Calais. AFP
  • Helicopters keep an eye on the inventor. AFP
    Helicopters keep an eye on the inventor. AFP

French daredevil Franky Zapata completes English Channel trip on flyboard


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Daredevil Franky Zapata has successfully completed a 35-kilometre journey across the English Channel on a hoverboard - in just 22 minutes.

Reaching speeds of up to 177kph on the contraption that has made him a household name in his native France, he set off from Sangatte in France's Pas de Calais region and landed in St Margaret's Bay, beyond the white cliffs of Dover, in southeast England.

Zapata stopped only once, on the British side of the Channel, to refuel his invention from a boat in the choppy waters.

The first time he gave it a try, he ended up in the sea after a failed attempt to juice up his hoverboard.

Three helicopters and a boat escorted the flying inventor across the English Channel.

France’s military have expressed an interest in recreating their own version of the flyboard, having paid a 1.3 million grant to Mr Zapata’s company Z-AIR.

The inventor flew over a military parade as part of France’s Bastille Day celebrations in Paris last month, an annual holiday celebrating the French Revolution.