What changed
Song Xingyu, a 26-year-old inventor from Enshi, Hubei, completed a test flight of a homemade electric hoverboard over the Yangtze River, mountain peaks and city streets during October’s National Day holiday. The AI-monitored device was designed to carry four adults, after about two months of development.
Why it matters
This is less a ready-made flying car than a striking demonstration of how far one determined builder can push improvised aviation. Song began experimenting after leaving school at 14, borrowed money to build a laboratory in an abandoned shed, and later faced 2.4 million yuan, about $360,000, in debt after being scammed.
Insta360 reportedly provided 1.8 million yuan to support his work. That backing matters because Song’s project moved beyond a hobbyist’s model aircraft into a sustained effort involving electric propulsion, balance training and repeated flight tests.
The path there was dangerous. Strong winds destroyed an earlier launch site. A jet-powered device caught fire. During a helicopter jump from 5,000 metres, his main parachute failed and the backup opened only 600 metres above the ground. Song had recorded a last will beforehand, while warning others not to follow his example.
The hoverboard’s four-person capacity is the headline-grabbing detail, but it is not yet proof of a usable transport machine. Its payload, flight performance, safety approvals and commercial prospects remain unverified. For now, the clearest achievement is that Song turned a science-fiction image into a working test flight, with the risks of experimentation plainly visible alongside the spectacle.
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