French hoverboard pioneer starts second Channel crossing attempt

A French inventor on Sunday began his second attempt to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard he designed, after he was knocked off balance on his first try in July and fell into the water. Standing on a little platform powered by five small jet engines and carrying kerosene in a backpack, Franky Zapata took off from Sangatte, France at 0617 GMT and hopes to reach to Dover in about 20 minutes.

He will need to stop about halfway through to fuel. During his last attempt on July 25 he struggled to land on the refuelling platform mounted on a boat and ended up in the sea, unharmed. Zapata, who wowed crowds during France's Bastille Day celebrations on July 14 by soaring over a military parade in Paris on the device, rejigged refuelling arrangements this time, with a bigger boat and platform.

Also Read: Moving Walls Digitises Indian OOH Sector - Equips Billboard Owners With Audience Data-Powered Planning and Inventory Management Tools

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)