By HENRY EMPEÑO | July 10, 2021

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Filipino drone and flying car enthusiast Earnest “Kyxz” Mendiola set a new world record in hoverboard flight here on Saturday, beating the previous farthest hoverboard flight by more than 600 meters.

With a hoverboard that used a portable radio frequency controller similar to flying a drone, Mendiola attained an unofficial distance of 2,890 meters while flying at the Boardwalk beachfront area here.

The flight was documented by several media organizations and sponsors. Videos of the attempt will be sent to the Guinness World Record for the record to be official, said Jem Camba, head of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s tourism department.

Previously, the Guinness World Record for farthest flight by hoverboard was 2,252.4 meters (7,389 feet 9 inches), which was set on April 30, 2016 by French inventor Franky Zapata in Sausset-les-Pins, France.

Zapata used a jet-powered Flyboard Air hoverboard, a turbine-powered flight surfboard with stabilizers.

Mendiola’s hoverboard, on the other hand, took off from his multi-copter concept—an octagonal metal frame with rotors in each corner.

A former member of a hip-hop band, Mendiola was said to be deeply fascinated with flying cars and hoverboards from the “Back to the Future” film despite lacking any engineering background.

With his life savings, he developed the concept flying car “Koncepto Millenya”, a single-passenger vehicle powered by unmanned drone or “multi-copter” technology that can fly as high as 20 feet above ground at speeds up to 40 mph.

Mendiola’s attempt at hoverboard world record on Saturday was sponsored by Star 8 Green Technology Corp., a Philippine-based affiliate of Australia’s Star 8 Group of green technology companies. ~