Franky Zapata fails to cross the Channel with a

The 46-year-old inventor. Similarly, a former jet ski champion, is nicknamed the flying man after crossing the Channel six years ago aboard a “flyboard”, a feat that he only succeeded in his second attempt.

“We never learn as much as a failure. In addition, ” said Friday evening in front of the press at Sangatte Blériot-Plage (Pas-de-Calais) Mr. Meanwhile, Zapata, who experienced a damage before reaching England. Nevertheless, “I have known more failures in my life than successes”.

After a lateral heat engine has broken down. Meanwhile, “I saw the batteries that went down, it had to be stationed and cut the engines,” said Zapata when he returned by boat, returning to the quay barefoot, smiling despite his failure.

The halving was amortized by a parachute. Moreover, and the pilot was immediately drafted by a boat, but it was necessary to recover franky zapata fails cross channel the machine fallen into the water, with the help of rescuers of the National Sample Sample at sea (SNSM).

“We plunged underwater, we had no combi, we had a cold not possible. Moreover, Unscreening our arms. In addition, it was a beautiful hassle,” said Zapata, bringing the arms of the dismantled helicopter, under the applause of a few tens of curious people.

“You have to retrain, that’s for sure,” he said, evoking a period of a few weeks. “You have to beat the iron as long as it is hot,” he added. Before September? “That’s compulsory I think,” he smiled.

Silence quasi-total

Before the start. Franky Zapata had recognized “a little stress”, stressing that it was “the end of five years of intensive research and development”.

He took off at 3:08 p.m. a few meters from Blériot-Plage. named after the aviator Louis Blériot who had become 116 years ago on franky zapata fails cross channel the same beach, the very first aviator to cross the Channel.

Airscooter. a kind of small helicopter a place with a hybrid engine that can reach the speed of 100 km/h, quickly gained speed. Franky Zapata had embarked about twenty liters of fuel for his attempt, enough to try the round trip.

A few minutes later. it was only a tiny point on the horizon, in the middle of the sailboats, ferries and ships of the French Navy which crisscross this very frequented sea of the sea.

His team gathered behind control screens, which reigned an almost total silence at the time of the bittering. A large audience had settled on both sides of the take -off zone to follow the crossing attempt. some people waiting for several hours.

Zapata did not start that a few weeks ago flying aboard the 115 kg machine. “developed for the recreational” in his franky zapata fails cross channel words. Once in the air, it is “only promenade,” he said.

Implementation in Las Vegas

Its ambition is. by early 2026, to set up in Las Vegas, in Nevada (United States), a leisure flight center, open to the general public. According to American regulations, the machine can be used without a pilot license as a “ultralight vehicle”, specifies the company.

This flight center project is “not at all” called into question. delayed by the failure of Friday, because “the machine did exactly what it had to do,” he said, stressing that this center will allow flights to firm land, not above the water as Friday.

“The objective is to make friends, family, team fly first. And then everyone who wants to fly,” according to Franky Zapata.

On August 4. 2019, he reached the English coast in around twenty minutes aboard his “flyboard”, a flying board with five mini-turboréactors which allowed franky zapata fails cross channel him to evolve up to 190 km/h.