A Flyboard is a brand of hydroflighting device which supplies propulsion to drive the Flyboard into the air to perform a sport known as hydroflying. [1]
A Flyboard rider stands on a board connected by a long hose to a watercraft. Water is forced under pressure to a pair of boots with jet nozzles underneath which provide thrust for the rider to fly up to 22 m (72 ft) in the air or to dive headlong through the water down as far as one is willing to go. [2] [ failed verification ]
The Flyboard was invented in Autumn 2012 by a French water-craft rider, Franky Zapata. [2] [3] The design allows the device to climb out of the water and be stable in the air. This was achieved by the underfoot propulsion and hand stabilization. [3] The French Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI) granted Zapata a patent for his invention. [3] The Flyboard was the subject of a lawsuit from competitor Jetlev which was dropped without prejudice in March 2013. [4] The device was presented to the public for the first time at the jet ski World Championship 2012 in China. [3] Since its introduction in 2012 the Flyboard has sold around 2500 units.
In the 2015 season of America's Got Talent , a flyboard enthusiast named Damone Rippy performed Flyboarding as his act on the show.
In 2014 the first dual flight of a pilot with both a Jetlev Jetpack and Flyboard occurred in Sydney Australia at the Jetpack adventures facility by pilot Brad Hudson. [5]
In 2016, Franky Zapata sold Zapata Racing (ZR) to U.S. defense contractor Implant Sciences. [6]
Zapata has also invented an independently jet-powered Flyboard (Flyboard Air), powered by five turbines and fueled by kerosene. [7] He piloted the "jet-powered hoverboard" over crowds at the 2019 Bastille Day military celebrations in Paris. [8] On 4 August 2019, Zapata was able to successfully fly over the English Channel after a failed attempt on 25 July.
During this flight, using a backpack fuel reservoir, he accomplished the 35-kilometre (22 mi) journey in about 20 minutes, including a fueling stop. Zapata reached a speed of 180 km/h (110 mph) and maintained an altitude of approximately 15 meters (49 feet). [9] [10]
Zapata's company, Z-AIR, had received a €1.3m grant from the French military in December 2018. [11] However, he has said that the flyboard was not yet suitable for military use due to the noise it creates and the challenge of learning how to fly the device. [12] In a France Inter radio interview, France's Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly said the flyboard might eventually be suitable, "for example as a flying logistical platform or, indeed, as an assault platform". [13]
In 2017, Zapata had provided the U.S. Army with demonstrations of the Flyboard Air (jet-powered hoverboard) referred to as the EZ-Fly in some news reports, which suggested the price per unit might be $250,000. [14] A July 2019 report provided no indication of any serious interest by the American military as of that time for this new technology. [6]
The Flyboard is a bolt-on device that is attached to a personal water craft (PWC). It is designed so that the PWC follows behind the rider’s trail, allowing the rider multiple degrees of freedom, even allowing the rider to go underwater if they desire. The pilot on the Flyboard is secured in by bindings similar to a wakeboard and the rider is propelled from water jets below the device. The Flyboard is buoyant for safety, which also allows the rider to rest in the water between rides. [15] The use of a personal flotation device and helmet is required by rental locations for safety purposes to protect against serious head trauma in the event of the rider impacting the PWC or stationary structures, and to protect the ears from damage and discomfort from impacts with the water. [16] [17]
Device power is controlled by a throttle on the PWC. The equipment may be used in two modes: The primary one requires two people, one to control the PWC throttle which regulates the power and height of the rider. The secondary mode relies on an accessory called an Electronic Management Kit (EMK) which allows the rider to control the PWC throttle. [18]
For the first time, a Flyboard stunt was done in a Bollywood film by Hrithik Roshan in the film Bang Bang! . [19]
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the aircraft.
The history of aviation extends for more than 2000 years, from the earliest forms of aviation such as kites and attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight by powered, heavier-than-air jets.
A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat.
A hoverboard is a fictional 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 have been made to invent a functioning hoverboard.
A jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack or flight pack is a device worn as a backpack which uses jets to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and the first working experimental devices were demonstrated in the 1960s.
Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring or PPG, is a form of ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a back-pack motor which provides enough thrust to take off using a paraglider. It can be launched in still air, and on level ground, by the pilot alone—no assistance is required.
A radio-controlled aircraft is a small flying machine that is radio controlled by an operator on the ground using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter continuously communicates with a receiver within the craft that sends signals to servomechanisms (servos) which move the control surfaces based on the position of joysticks on the transmitter. The control surfaces, in turn, directly affect the orientation of the plane.
The Bell Rocket Belt is a low-power rocket propulsion device that allows an individual to safely travel or leap over small distances. It is a type of rocket pack.
Yves Rossy is a Swiss military-trained pilot and an aviation enthusiast. He is known as the inventor of a series of experimental individual jet packs, the latest using carbon-fiber wings for flight. Often referred to as "Jetman", Rossy has sometimes tested and presented new versions of his jetpacks in high-profile events staged around the world.
A hoverbike is a vehicle that can hover, resembling a flying motorbike, having at least two propulsive portions—one in front of and one behind the driver. It is often used as a staple vehicle in science fiction and near future settings, but since the early 2010s some attempts have been made at developing a functional, practical hoverbike.
Benjamin Judson Merrell, also known as Ben Merrell,, is a hydroflighter. He placed third at the 2013 Flyboard World Cup Championship in Doha, Qatar. Since then, he is well-known and respected as a competitor and innovator.
Lindsay McQueen is a hydroflight athlete. He has been involved with the company FlyBoard since it was set up by a French watercraft rider, Franky Zapata, in 2011.
Hydroflight sports are a category of sport in which water jet propulsion is used to create sustained flight where lift and movement are controlled by a person riding on a propulsion device. Competitions for this sport started around 2012. There are many training centres throughout the world where beginners go to learn and practice skills so they can fly these devices by themselves.
In hydroflight sports, a jetboard is a device that uses water propulsion as its means of flying above the surface of any body of water. In jetboarding, the athlete is standing in wakeboard-style boots/bindings which are attached to a board or independent base plates with jets extending downward from under the feet. The aim in jetboarding is to perform tricks such as dolphin dives, spins and backflips, and combinations of two or more tricks.
Flyboard Air is a type of jetpack/hoverboard powered by gas turbines. It was invented by French water-craft rider Franky Zapata, founder of Zapata racing.
The JetLev is a water-propelled jet pack powered through a floater derived from jetski technology attached through an umbilical to the backpack which contains two nozzles and two control arms, in a configuration like traditional rocket belts and gas turbine jet belts. The JetLev also functions underwater, allowing users to dive into the water and jet back out. The jetpack can allow users to fly up to 10 m above the water. It was created by Chinese Canadian, Raymond Li. JetLev became the first practical amateur-usable jet pack, and first with practical usable duration. The JetLev technology jetpack became the first commercially released jetpack in 2009. It was initially offered for sale for US$100,000, however with much cheaper competitors coming on the market afterwards, inspired by the original JetLev, such as the Flyboard, prices rapidly dropped, with cheaper models.
Franky Zapata 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 of personal flyers for land and aquatic applications.
Veronica May Volkersz was a British aviator and beauty queen. She flew for the RAF's Air Transport Auxiliary in the Second World War and was the first British woman to fly an operational jet fighter when she ferried a Meteor from the Gloster factory to RAF Moreton Valence on 15 September 1945.
Flying Frenchman is a nickname.
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