Inventor flies across the English Channel on his hoverboard

Fame is a fickle thing. After winning accolades as the toast of Bastille Day a flying Frenchman hit on some hard times before redeeming himself on Sunday.

You might remember Franky Zapata, the French inventor who cobbled together a supercharged hoverboard that had him flying above the crowd at the Bastille Day parade.

He used the buoyancy of that stellar moment to up his game and have a go at crossing the English Channel in July on nothing but his rocket-powered footwear and the air beneath him.

But the air beneath him turned into the water that swallowed him when he missed a refueling platform and plunked into the sea.

But Franky toweled off, psyched-up and lit out again.

He spent 15 to 16 hours a day rebuilding his “flyboard air” machine and on Sunday he had another go at the channel crossing.

He made it!

But that lighter than air stuff takes some grit. When he landed he said he was tired and his thighs were burning.

His ambition is intact, though. He says his next challenge will be the flying car he’s working on.