Canadian Inventor Perfecting the Hoverboard

Remember when Michael J Fox, playing Marty McFly, borrowed a hoverboard in 1989’s Back to the Future II? Well looks like that future is now! We are just getting used to accommodating the bike lane, next up, hoverboards.

This year, Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru, broke the world record for the longest hoverboard flight, testing his invention over a lake in Quebec. He flew up to five metres above the lake and his trip, lasting 1 ½ minutes, spanned a distance of 275 metres, approximately the length of two and a half football fields.

His 1½ minute flight earlier this year went viral on YouTube where it was viewed by more than 6.5 million people. Attracting attention worldwide, which brings with it much needed investors, Duru has started his own company, Omni Hoverboards Inc.

Now, back at the shop, Duru is working to improve his invention. Really, still in the beta stages, his hoverboard is equipped with snowboard bindings and a set of pliers for acceleration, but his work is making history daily. A Guinness World Records spokesperson, said: ‘This is a truly mesmerizing and incredible feat in the world of engineering and transportation.’

Duru’s family immigrated from Romania and settled in Montreal where he grew up watching his father, an electrical engineer, work. Now Alexandru, a software engineer, puts his knowledge of his fathers work to good use, as he designs a new and improved hoverboard invention. This highly secretive next generation hoverboard prototype is well on its way and is intended to eventually be sold all across Canada.

“The goal would be to get this thing in the hands of others,”says Duru.

An article published in the Globe and Mail recently noted ‘because these devices don’t qualify as motor vehicles under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, they’re not allowed on roads, says the Ministry of Transportation in an email statement. But, it’s up to municipalities to decide if they’re allowed on sidewalks, the MTO says.’

How your insurance company will view your new vehicle is another question altogether. Thinking of investing in one for yourself? Give McDougall a call today, we would love to hear about it. 1-800-361-0941.