French inventor Frankie Zapata, 40, crossed the French-British Channel on Sunday after his first attempt failed nine days ago when he failed to land on a refueling platform and fell into the sea.
His second attempt on Sunday succeeded in crossing the line and stopped at a small break on a boat to fuel the plane before landing in St. Margaret's Bay near Dover just over 20 minutes after taking off from Sangat on the French coast on his engine-powered invention. It is called the Fly Board Air.
French television showed footage of Frankie Zapata, who calls himself the Flying Man, waving to an audience following an attempt to cross before landing safely in St. Margaret's Bay near Dover on the southern coast of Britain.
Frankie Zapata: My dream and no one from the team will forget this day (Reuters) |
"I've achieved my dreams, it's very moving, I thank the whole team and none of them will forget this moment that will be engraved in our hearts forever," Frankie Zapata told a news conference with tears in his eyes.
Zapata drew attention around the world in July, when he rode across the Place de la Concorde in central Paris during a Bastille Day show by French President Emmanuel Macaron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.