Franky Zapata today set a new a new Guinness World Record title for the Farthest hoverboard flight during a spectacular attempt off the coast of Sausset-les-Pins in the south of France.







The French jet ski champion managed a new benchmark distance of 2,252 meters (7,388 feet), far surpassing the previous record of 275.9 meters (905 feet, 2 inches), set last year by Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru

Rising 50 metres above the surface for the attempt and trailed by a fleet of boats and jet skis, Franky, 37, piloted a futuristic aircraft called the Flyboard® Air developed by his company Zapata Racing.

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The aircraft can reach a claimed maximum height of 10,000 feet, with a maximum speed of 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour).

On hand to officiate this morning’s record attempt was Guinness World Records adjudicator Sofia Greenacre (pictured below), who confirmed that the hoverboard complied with the rules of the record and had reached an historic distance.





Speaking at a press conference following the successful attempt, a delighted Franky told reporters: ”This has really been a life's work”.

In the run up to the attempt, a short video of a test flight of the Flyboard® Air went viral, amassing over 3 million view on YouTube, with many viewers leaving comments doubting if the hoverboard was actually real.

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Zapata Racing has previously developed a wide range of water-propelled devices including the original Flyboard - a vehicle which connects to a personal watercraft turbine with a long hose.

The Flyboard® Air uses an "Independent Propulsion Unit" to fly hose-free and can stay airborne for up to ten minutes.





Franky had previously set held the record for Most backflips with a water jet pack in one minute during an attempt for the CBBC TV show ’Officially Amazing' at L'Estaque in Marseille, France back in 2014.

His record of 26 was beaten last August by Liu He of China in Beijing, who managed 27 flips.