Flyboard Air is a type of

jetpack A jet pack, rocket belt, or rocket pack is a device worn on the back which uses jets of gas or liquid to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and became widespread in the 1960s. ...

hoverboard A hoverboard (or hover board) is a levitating board used for personal transportation, first described in science-fiction, and made famous by the appearance of a skateboard-like hoverboard in the film ''Back to the Future Part II''. Many attempts ...

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

s. It was invented by French water-craft rider

Franky Zapata Franky Zapata (; born 27 September 1978) is a French personal watercraft pilot who is the inventor of the Flyboard and Flyboard Air, and founder of Zapata Racing. Since 2012, Zapata's efforts have been focused on the development and manufacture o ...

, founder of Zapata racing. It achieved a Guinness World Record for farthest flight by hoverboard in April 2016 of . Zapata Racing claims that it allows flight up to an altitude of and has a top speed of . It also has 10 minutes' endurance. The load capacity is . The "jet-powered hoverboard" is powered by five turbines and is fueled by kerosene. Zapata participated in the 2019 Bastille Day military parade riding his invention. His attempt to cross the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

on 25 July 2019 failed as he fell into the sea at the refuelling platform. A second crossing attempt on 4 August 2019 succeeded. Escorted by French Army helicopters and using a backpack fuel reservoir, he accomplished the journey – – with one refueling stop at the midpoint. Zapata reached a speed of during the 20-minute flight. The trip started at

Sangatte Sangatte (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel. The name is of Flemish origin, meaning hole or gap in the sand. Engineering Sangatte is the location for the Channel Tunnel's Fr ...

in the

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

department in France and concluded at

St Margaret's at Cliffe St. Margaret's at Cliffe is a three-part village situated just off the coast road between Deal and Dover in Kent, England. The centre of the village is about ¾ mile (1km) from the sea, with the residential area of Nelson Park further inland, and ...

in Kent, United Kingdom where he landed safely. Zapata's company, Z-AIR, had received a €1.3 million grant from the

French military The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...

. However, he has said that the flyboard was not yet ready for military use due to the noise it creates and the challenge of learning how to fly the device. In a France Inter radio interview, France's Minister of the Armed Forces

Florence Parly Florence Parly (born 8 May 1963) is a French politician who served as Minister of the Armed Forces under President Emmanuel Macron from 2017 to 2022. A former member of the Socialist Party (PS), she previously served as Secretary of State for t ...

said the flyboard might eventually be suitable, "for example as a flying logistical platform or, indeed, as an assault platform". In 2017, Zapata had provided the U.S. Army with demonstrations of the Flyboard Air "jet-powered hoverboard" or "jet-powered personal aerial vehicle", referred to as the EZ-Fly; news reports suggested the price per unit might be $250,000. A July 2019 report provided no indication of any serious interest by the American military as of that time for this new technology. On 4 August 2019, Zapata told BFM TV that he was working on building a flying car, that he hoped to introduce before year-end. He said that he had flown a prototype chassis powered by four gas turbines but the final model would employ ten turbines in order to cruise at , and achieve a range of about .https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/franky-zapata-announce-250-mph-flying-car-with-70-mile-range/, Flyboard Air inventor plans to unveil 250-mph flying sports car by 2020

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Video of Flyboard Air in operation
Jet pack French inventions Emerging technologies

See also

References

External links