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Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.
A lifelong "Back to the Future" fan has fulfilled a dream — by inventing the world's first flying hoverboard, British news agency South West News Service reports.
Sam Rogers, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, said he's always been a fan of the movies, but was able to achieve his dream of becoming a real-life Mary McFly after working on a prototype $430,000 (£340,000) jet suit.
A Back to the Future fan has recreated an iconic cinematic moment alongside a DeLorean time machine -- after designing the world's first flying overboard. (Credit: SWNS)
'IRON MAN' SETS NEW JET SUIT SPEED WORLD RECORD
"I never thought I would even sit in a DeLorean, let alone capture something this cinematic -- bringing a hoverboard probably as close as it has ever been to actually hovering," Rogers, 24, said of recreating the iconic cinematic movement from "Back to the Future Part II."
Rogers, who is a design lead and test pilot for British aeronautical innovation companies Gravity Industries and AdditiveX, said he's been a fan of the movies since he was little, which helped fuel his passion to make his dreams become a reality.
"For my tenth birthday I was given a DeLorean time machine, the design of this car was just the coolest thing in the world and more so the way the second movie illustrated flight," Rogers added. "In the film, the vehicles didn't need speed to take off, they hovered. There's something about hovering that is just so magical to witness."
Sam Rogers, 24, lived out a childhood dream and became a real-life Marty McFly when he took to the skies with the help of a 3D-printed jetsuit. Breathtaking footage shows the sci-fi fan flying through the air along an airport runway at sunset while wearing the $432,000 jetpack. (Credit: SWNS)
Rogers explained that the chance to become Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox in the trilogy, and fly on the hoverboard was "a dream come true."
After downloading a hypothetical design of the hoverboard and working out how it could become reality, he used his expertise in working with former Royal Marine Richard Browning, who created a jetsuit of his own in 2017.
"I work on the design of the suit which is mainly 3D printed in metal and polymer," Rogers explained, noting the suit has 1,000 brake horsepower and is capable of reaching speeds of 50 mph. Not quite 88 mph, but impressive, nonetheless.
In addition, the suit has turbines filled with kerosene and controls that are on the inside of the grip handles.
Complete with an authentic Marty McFly jacket, cap and sneakers, Sam can be seen soaring alongside one of the most iconic movie cars of all time. It is believed to be the closest anyone has ever come to flying a real-life hoverboard made famous by the 1989 classic Back to the Future Part II. (Credit: SWNS)
After creating the suit, Rogers had to figure out how to attach a board to his feet with velcro, while also learning to fly the suit.
"At first it was pretty wobbly, having both feet bolted to one platform while you fly feels pretty weird," Rogers continued. "You use your legs a lot while landing. But after a few tries I got stable enough and now we had a flying hoverboard -- all we needed now was the car."
After finding and talking to an owner of a DeLorean at an air show last year, Rogers said the stage was set to recreate the memorable movie moment.
"The owner Tom had built a fully modified time machine DeLorean and even more ludicrous, he was willing to let me fly alongside it," he explained. "We were all set -- we had the car, the hoverboard and the gravity jet suit to make it fly."
Rogers said the "Back to the Future" films had always played a part in his childhood and inspired his fascination with flight, aerospace and design. He said being able to fly a hoverboard for real was "a dream come true." (Credit: SWNS)
After the initial run, which Rogers admitted involved "a bit of crash landing," he was able to make magic the weekend of May 23, just as Marty McFly and Doc Emmett Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd, did more than 30 years ago.
"It's just one honest shot, there's no trickery involved, showing the time machine and hoverboard gliding down the runway together," Rogers said. "This time we were using velcro on the bottom of the boots, which meant I could tear away from the board if I ever needed to."
Kept company by his Marty McFly-like hat and jacket, a copy of the Grays Sports Almanac and the toy Delorean he received as a child, Rogers was in all his glory during the incredible run.
"The shots still came out great and I was delighted with the results," he said. "As a lifelong 'Back to the Future' fan, it really was a dream come true."
Now that's heavy, doc.
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