French hoverboard inventor flies over the English Channel

ST. MARGARET’S BAY, England — Is it a bird? Propelled by a power pack full of kerosene, Zapata set off from Sangatte in France’s Pas de Calais region and landed in St. Margaret’s Bay, beyond the white cliffs of Dover, in southeast England. “I tried to enjoy it and not think about the pain.” Witness Mark Kerr, a 60-year-old hospital librarian from Dover, said it was quite an unusual sight. Zapata told reporters this time he was “scared to touch down” at the refueling station on the sea but knew “whatever happened,” his team “wouldn’t let me fall into the water.” He said he and his team worked around the clock to pull off the feat. French maritime authorities said the refueling operation was dangerous, even though Zapata nixed his initial plan to refuel his power pack from a flying platform.