Frenchie escapes France...

[Truckman]

Apparently hoping to join those who escape the humiliation of being labeled "French," one Frenchie invented his own way of escaping the shameful confines of the white-flagged nation to the relative freedom of England...

He said on arrival it was not yet clear what the hoverboard might be used for, adding that it was a complex craft that the average person was unlikely to be able to navigate.

Whether he will be allowed to stay in England has yet to be determined......Ben

[Dave Grubb]

Good thing he went now---who knows what fate might await after Brexit

[Truckman]

Good thing he went now---who knows what fate might await after Brexit

Perhaps if he loses that characteristic odor of cheap wine and bad cheese, they'll let him stay......Ben

[Dave Grubb]

Perhaps if he loses that characteristic odor of cheap wine and bad cheese, they'll let him stay......Ben

I have to argue that the really cheap wine is not drunk in France---they load it on ships and send it to Quebec, where no matter how bad it might be the Quebecois will line up in droves to get their ration---convinced it is the finest wine in the world because it comes from the la patrie-mère

[Truckman]

France - Quebec...Samo samo......Ben

[wacojoe]

I would like to know a lot more about his device and especially what can power it the 26 miles across the Chanel. I think I saw a headline last week where on a previous attempt he ended up in the water. I complement the fellow on both his ingenuity and his gonads.

[Dave Grubb]

France - Quebec...Samo samo......Ben

Ah oui

[Phillbo]

I would like to know a lot more about his device and especially what can power it the 26 miles across the Chanel. I think I saw a headline last week where on a previous attempt he ended up in the water. I complement the fellow on both his ingenuity and his gonads.

I agree.. I don't care what country he comes from (or the wine and cheese he consumes). This is cool stuff.

Not much (any ) info in the video.. I'll have to dig.

[Dave Grubb]

I would like to know a lot more about his device and especially what can power it the 26 miles across the Chanel. I think I saw a headline last week where on a previous attempt he ended up in the water. I complement the fellow on both his ingenuity and his gonads.

This will not hurt!

You are correct about the previous failure---he ran out of fuel while trying to land mid-way across to refuel---and the fuel is kerosene.

[Truckman]

I would like to know a lot more about his device and especially what can power it the 26 miles across the Chanel. I think I saw a headline last week where on a previous attempt he ended up in the water. I complement the fellow on both his ingenuity and his gonads.

Not to lessen his achievement (which was spectacular), but it was actually two 13 mile hops with a refueling stop midway...The fact he could land, refuel and immediately take off again on a floating platform in the choppy Channel adds to his success in my view, even if he is French......Ben

[wacojoe]

Ahh, so he cannot yet carry enough fuel to get across. That makes it a bit less spectacular from an engineering point.

[wacojoe]

The NYTs article Dave referenced gave some info on the device —

...His device, a gas turbine-powered contraption fueled by five small jets, can theoretically fly up to 110 miles per hour at an altitude of 50 feet to 65 feet for about 10 minutes.

Mr. Zapata, who is originally from the southern French port city of Marseille, presented a water-propelled version of his device in 2012. A later version was fitted with small jet engines, but the French aviation authorities were initially wary of letting him fly it, even issuing a brief ban. (On Sunday, France’s civil aviation authority congratulated Mr. Zappa on Twitter).

But the French Army’s interest in Mr. Zapata’s device shifted his fortunes.

Last year, the French Defense Ministry pledged nearly $1.5 million to his company, Zapata Industries, to develop the device, which was featured at a military-sponsored convention. The French civil aviation authority also gave him a license to test the hoverboard at a private airfield in southern France...

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/04/w...uk-france.html

[Truckman]

Ahh, so he cannot yet carry enough fuel to get across. That makes it a bit less spectacular from an engineering point.

Not in my opinion...Two takeoffs and two landings, transitioning each time from solid ground to afloat enhances the achievement in my view...Consider also that he had to adjust his perception from an altitude to a waterborne platform, then ascend again in the unpredictable air currents of the English Channel...His invention also operates on relatively cheap and easily obtainable kerosene...I think Frenchie did an applaudable job of engineering in addition to his own skills in piloting the craft......Ben

[wacojoe]

Agree his ingenuity was applaudable, but if he had found a way to store and apply enough energy density all in one package to fly maybe 400-500 lbs. 20 miles, then that would be spectacular — 10 miles, not so much. The old rocket pack was only good for a few hundred yards, as I remember.