Man sets hoverboard flight world record on a device he made himself

WATCH: Man sets hoverboard flight world record on a device he made himself

The future is now.

 

A Canadian inventor has set a new benchmark for awesome, and a Guinness World Record in the process, by hovering a distance of almost 300 metres across a Canadian lake on a home-made hoverboard.
The irony here is that the hoverboards in Back to The Future II that started our obsession with the technology famously didn't work over water because the rider couldn't generate any momentum (unless you’ve got POWER, right?). This new prototype, on the other hand, can work over any terrain, as creator Catalin Alexandru Duru told the Guinness World Records team.
"The prototype can be used anywhere but is usually tested over water because of how dangerously high it can fly,” Duru explains in the video of the record-breaking attempt below.
The video was only released on Friday, although the record was set on 24 August 2014 over Quebec's Lake Oureau. Unfortunately, details on exactly how the hoverboard actually works are scarce, other than the fact that it's a propeller-based system - from the footage it looks as though it's a quadcopter-type set-up.
This is a different approach to other attempts, which have used the power of magnets repelling each other, or water power to levitate off the ground. There's no word on when (or if) this prototype might be commercialised, but we're sure it's something Duru will be looking into, given the hype surrounding hoverboards.
The flight lasted a distance of 275.9 metres (905.2 feet) at a height of almost five metres. Given that Duru only had to reach 50 metres to make the record, he smashed it. Cnet confirmed the authenticity of the record and the video over email with the team over at Guinness World Records.
Watch the footage of the record attempt below. We have to admit, it makes us pretty excited for the future.