New challenge for Franky Zapata, who tries a crossing of the Channel aboard her Airscooter

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The last settings took place in the morning of Friday, July 25. The invention of the one we call “the flying man” resembles a large insect from the future. Franky Zapata wants to mark the history of aviation. On board this little technology gem, the scooter air, a two -seater flying taxi, it will try to fly to England. “”I have been passionate about aviation since I was very young. Unfortunately, I could not be helicopter pilot, because I am a daltonian. But I was rocked by all the stories of aviation pioneers. Today, on our humble scale, we are not trying to walk in their footsteps, we try to leave small ants in the gigantic traces that these pioneers have left “he confides.

He did not choose Sangatte (Pas-de-Calais) by chance. It is from here that the aviation pioneer, Louis Blériot, produced the first crossing of the Channel, on July 25, 1909.

For six years, Franky Zapata, a former world jet-ski champion, has made French people dizzy. At the parade of July 14, 2019, helmeted and harnessed, he took up vertically on the Champs-Élysées. With its Flyboard, a turbo board propelled, the Marseillais also crossed the Channel in about twenty minutes. This Friday morning in Sangatte, the scooter air, 115 kg, two hours of autonomy and hybrid propulsion, was ready for the new challenge. “”Everyone is all the way, everyone tries to do their best so that everything is going well“Rejoiced the inventor.

Franky Zapata is already targeting the American market: from 2026, his scooter air will offer tourist flights to Las Vegas.