Chinese school dropout builds Green Goblin-style flying board and rides it across Asia's longest river
A 26-year-old Chinese man who quit school at 14 has flown a homemade electric board inspired by the Green Goblin's glider in "Spider-Man" across the Yangtze River in his home province of Hubei.
A Chinese school dropout named Song Xingyu, also known online as Shenqi Ayu, built a flying board and flew across the Yangtze River, Asia's longest river, during China's National Day holiday in October. The video of his flight gained nearly 4 million likes on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, and caught the attention of major media outlets.
Despite some viewers questioning whether the footage was AI-generated, Song confirmed that it was made entirely by hand, using mechanics, flight control, and AI skills he taught himself.
The flying board, which can hover and fly in a straight line, uses 10 brushless motor units that produce more than 30 kilograms of thrust each, together more than the weight of four adults. Song first attempted the flight using five turbojet engines, but the engines caught fire during the first test, leading him to switch to electric power.
He initially struggled with controlling the board, resulting in injuries from a stall, but later rigged two phones into an AI flight-monitoring system that provides spoken prompts to guide him during flight.
Born in a village in Badong, Song left school at 14 to work at his father's timber mill. After failing in business twice, he borrowed money and spent five months turning his father's old woodworking shed into a science lab. Despite facing skepticism and safety concerns from his family, Song has remained committed to his dream of flying.
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