Aircraft

New world record set for farthest hoverboard flight

Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru setting the world record on his self-built hoverboard prototype
Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru setting the world record on his self-built hoverboard prototype

A future in which we're all flying around on hoverboards may not have materialized just yet, but it does appear to be getting closer. After Hendo's magnetic hoverboard was announced last year, a new world record for the farthest hoverboard flight has now been set. And there wasn't a magnet in sight.

Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru traveled a distance of 275.9 m (905.2 ft) on a propeller-based hoverboard he created himself. The machine was reportedly designed and built over the course of 12 months.

"I wanted to showcase that a stable flight can be achieved on a hoverboard and a human could stand and control with their feet," Duru is quoted as saying to Guinness World Records, which has recognized the feat.

The record was set at Lake Ouareau in Quebec, Canada, on Aug. 25, 2014 (but has only just been announced by Guinness). To secure the Guinness World Record crown, Duru had to travel a distance of over 50 m (164 ft), which he ultimately achieved more than five times over. During the flight Duru reached heights of up to 5 m (16.4 ft), before eventually landing in the water.

The video below shows Catalin Alexandru Duru's world record flight.

Source: Guinness World Records

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8 comments
Kim Patrick
Doc, you just don't walk into any store and ask to buy plutonium!
Dan Lewis
It was nice...until he ruined the craft by landing in the water. Maybe the next generation will have more sense.
Nelson Hyde Chick
And how is this any different than the Hiller's 1958 VZ-1 Pawnee?
VHillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiller_VZ-1_Pawnee
Nostromo47
He flew over and landed in water for good reason. He was going for a record where the object was to go as far as he could. When the LiPo's run out (or if some malfunction occurred) it's time to land, folks. Better to come down into water than on terra firma, ouch. The craft seem to be able to fly well above ground effect. With the capability to fly much higher, the pilot would definitely need a parachute for safety and/or a means to complete the flights much the same manner as wingsuit flyers.
Shahin Mokhtar
This is super awesome! I hope they will make it sideways like longboarding and sell it in the near future with a smaller design and long distance flights. I am born 50 years to soon.....
@Nelson Chick, well, it's smaller, can probably fly further, and he does not have a cage around him.
dsiple
Those water landings are hell on the electrics! But very cool, nonetheless.
SteveKruckheimmer
Somewhat ingenious. But mostly silly. If only that same ingenuity could be used to fix our more immediate problems.
DLaw
I'm no engineer but if I were flying that... I'd feel a lot more comfortable with a tiller of sorts with control handles to grab onto. As usual, as with most electric vehicles that require a lot of power, it comes down to the power source.