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Is it a bird? Is it an airplane? No, that's Franky Zapata, the French 40-year-old French puzzle inventor, whose plan to cross the English Channel with his own invention known as Flyboard has plunged. Disappointed, but not intimidated, the Marseillais says he'll try soon.
At a press conference held Thursday afternoon, a smiling smile, Zapata, badured reporters that even though he had not completed the pbadage of his channel as planned, he was nevertheless very proud of his exploit, which had never been attempted before.
"It's the longest distance I've ever traveled, so for me it's not completely a failure."
He admitted his disappointment and conceded that next time he will have to organize a bigger boat on which to land.
The goal of Zapata was to travel 35 km in 20 minutes, to fly 70 meters above water at a maximum speed of 140 km / h and to arrive near Dover in England.
But halfway through the exploit, the well-prepared plan remained without a way out.
Dressed in a dark suit and helmet, fitted with a backpack containing 47 kilos of kerosene, Franky took off on his flyboard from an elevated platform at 9:05 am local time .
After 17.5 km, a small platform was waiting in the English waters to refuel it.
However, as he approached the floating platform, he pinched the edge due to the uneven swell and fell into the water.
There was a brief moment of panic, but soon his team took him out of the water and he was declared unscathed.
The French authorities were reluctant to give Zapata the green light for the project from the outset due to the density of navigation in this area.
The authorities had apparently refused to allow him to refuel his jet hoverboard, and the platform, located just in English waters, was therefore used.
Honor for the community
At the end of the press conference during which Zapata answered questions in French and English about his business, the mayor of Sangatte, Guy Allemand, gave the inventor a special prize.
He told him that it was an honor that such an exciting venture took place in his city and that he was welcome at all times.
"Victory is a collective effort," he continued, thanking Zapata's team for a salvo of applause.
Zapata, a former jet ski champion, tends to avoid clear labels from sportsman, businessman or even inventor and prefers to consider himself a "problem solver".
"I am particularly good at being a survivor."
Iron Man Fan
"I have a good star, I work hard, I never give up and I always get out of the situation," he told the French press website 20 Minutes. "
The first time he tried the flyboard, he lost two fingers.
At one point, the French authorities had forbidden him to use it. But he continued despite the dangers and challenges.
Zapata attributed much of his inspiration to his love of comic book superheroes and the fact that he had created his own jet-ski brand. When business slowed down, he began experimenting with jet ski technology.
"One day, I realized that with jet-ski propulsion, I could get up over the water. Inspired by my love of super heroes and comics, I tried to recreate something that looks like Iron Man … I was a fan at the time. So I created the flyboard on the water … and once I had done it, all I had to do was unplug the hose! "
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