Daredevil inventor Franky Zapata will cross English Channel on his ‘flyboard’, loaded with fuel on his back
- Planned stunt will go ahead despite authorities warning of potential dangers to shipping
- Franky Zapata will need to refuel at least once during the crossing
A French inventor aims to soar across the English Channel this week on a jet-powered “flyboard”, despite authorities warning the stunt is a danger to shipping.
Former jet-skiing champion Franky Zapata has pledged to go ahead on Thursday on his device, which can reach speeds up to 190km/h (118mph).
But authorities are divided over the daredevil venture, which will mark 110 years to the day since Frenchmen Louis Bleriot made the first plane flight across the Channel.
While the civil aviation authority (DGAC) has approved the crossing from a beach near Calais to Dover in southern England – a distance of around 50km – local maritime authorities have urged against it on safety grounds.
“We wrote to him to express our disapproval of the project,” the local maritime authority in northern France said last week.