Frenchman flies more than a mile on a hoverboard

May 2, 2016 at 1:10 a.m. | Updated May 2, 2016 at 1:12 a.m.

by Associated Press

In this Oct. 5, 2015 file photo, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver B.J. Daniels rides through a hallway at CenturyLink Field on an electric self-balancing scooter commonly called a "hoverboard," as he arrives for an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Seattle. Since December 2015, several universities have banned or limited hoverboards on their campuses, saying the two-wheeled, motorized scooters are unsafe. Beyond the risk of falls and collisions, colleges are citing warnings from federal authorities that some of the self-balancing gadgets have caught on fire.
In this Oct. 5, 2015 file photo, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver B.J. Daniels rides through a hallway at CenturyLink Field on an electric self-balancing scooter commonly called a "hoverboard," as he arrives for an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Seattle. Since December 2015, several universities have banned or limited hoverboards on their campuses, saying the two-wheeled, motorized scooters are unsafe. Beyond the risk of falls and collisions, colleges are citing warnings from federal authorities that some of the self-balancing gadgets have caught on fire.

PARIS-A Frenchman has flown more than 2 kilometers (moe than a mile) on a hoverboard in an apparent new world record.

The Guinness World Records reported on its website that 37-year-old Franky Zapata travelled 2,252 meters (7,388 feet) off the French Atlantic coastal town of Sausset-les-Pins on Saturday at a height of 50 meters (165 feet) above the surface of the water.

It said a Guinness World Records official was on hand for the flight and determined that it beat the previous record of 275.9 meters (905 feet) by Canadian Catlin Alexandru Duru last year.

Zapata achieved the new flight on a craft developed by his company Zapata Racing. He also held an earlier Guinness record for doing 26 backflips with a water jet pack in a single minute.

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