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AssetID: 41529451

Headline: Hoverboard Creator Is Working To Produce A Consumer Version

Caption: A hoverboard creator, who held the World Record for longest flight, is working to produce a consumer version. Omni Hoverboards founder and CEO, Alexandru Duru’s simple craft features a frame with eight electric rotors and is controlled by a hand throttle fashioned from spring-loaded pliers. "I mean, it's pretty much all you need for the control," Mr Duru told DroneDJ's in a recent interview. "It's the thrust level." Impressive video demonstrations show a stable flight above water and even in a crowd-packed football stadium. "It's your body that does the balance. Our brains can learn so many things, and it learns this as another skill. It's not even that difficult,” he told DroneDJ. Mr Duru achieved his world hoverboard flight distance of 275.9m (905.2 ft) in 2015, although that was beaten a year later by Franky Zapata's jet-powered Flyboard Air, which flew 2,252.4m (7,389.8 ft). The Omni Hoverboard would have to be deemed air-safe by U.S. authorities before a production version, but Mr Duru is optimistic. "It will turn into a product that's usable for real," Mr Duru explains. "I really think that here we have something that's not too crazy."

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