English Channel Crossed On Jet-Powered Hoverboard
- By Reuters
French inventor Franky Zapata became the first man to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard, which he designed himself. It took Zapata just over 20 minutes and a refueling stop on a boat to cover the 35 kilometers across the Strait of Dover. Zapata took off from Sangatte, just outside Calais in France, early in the morning on August 4, powered by five small jet engines and carrying kerosene in a backpack. Flanked by three helicopters, he landed safely in St. Margaret's Bay, close to Dover on Britain's southern coast.