In a historic flight, French inventor Franky Zapata on Sunday succeeded in crossing the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard he designed, zooming over the Strait of Dover in just over 20 minutes.

The first attempt failed last week but this time he took ptecaution changed the mid point refueling platform. Zapata took off from Sangatte, just outside Calais in France at about 0617 GMT, on a little platform powered by five small jet engines and carrying kerosene in a backpack.

"For the last five to six kilometers I just really enjoyed it," Zapata told reporters on arrival. "Whether this is a historic event or not, I'm not the one to decide that, time will tell."

"We made a machine three years ago…and now we've crossed the Channel, it's crazy," he said, before breaking into tears.

Dozens of people came to cheer on Zapata at take-off and a few residents and tourists gathered to watch the Frenchman land.