Propeller based hoverboard flies three football field lengths while other still trying for maglev hoverboards

Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru’s propeller-based hoverboard managed to travel a total distance of 275.9 m (905 ft 2 in) to achieve a new Guinness World Records title for Farthest flight by a hoverboard.

In the incredible footage below Catalin reaches a height of 5 meters on his prototype hoverboard covering a distance of over twice that of two full sized football pitches before gently landing in the exquisite waters of Lake Ouareau in Quebec, Canada.

He claims that the machine, which he built and designed over the course of 12 months, can be used anywhere and can reach ‘scary heights’ which he would like to potentially explore in the near future.

Several others working on magnetic hoverboards

Arx Pax’s system is potentially much less expensive than existing maglev systems, which rely on complex electromagnetic systems in both vehicle and tracks and can cost tens of millions of dollars per mile.

Arx Pax’s magnetic engine is entirely contained within the object being levitated, and the only required infrastructure is a conductive surface, such as the copper-lined halfpipe used to demo the hoverboard. This means systems of any scale could be laid quickly and cheaply. Even more impressive, the surface can be multi-use—for instance, a roadway consisting of a layer of asphalt over copper could accommodate both maglev and conventional vehicles.

The Arx Pax engine can also generate thrust and directional control magnetically, so it doesn’t need a track for guidance. One of Arx Pax’s prototypes is a scaled-down hover vehicle called the Manta Ray, which zigs and zags as neatly as a remote control car. According to Henderson, this points towards “a new type of vehicle, a hybrid vehicle that can drive conventionally, or can hover . . . [with] all the freedom of a car and all the efficiency of a train.”

But this futuristic dream of roads full of flying cars faces some obstacles. Arx Pax’s hover engine is power-hungry, needing 40 watts of energy to levitate one kilogram. In October, he says a new version will debut that’s smaller, lighter, and more powerful.

The M3 maglev system that Magnemotion piloted was able to levitate over 10,000 pounds with a hundred watts.

SOURCES – Youtube, Fortune, Guiness Book of World Records, National Geographic