You’ve probably seen Franky Zapata’s water-powered Flyboards available to ride at fancy resorts. But his newest creation takes riders far above the surface of the water. Forget those two-wheeled death traps and the utterly disappointing Hendo. This is the closest thing we now have to a working hoverboard.
There are few details currently available for Zapata’s new hoverboard, but based on the video it appears to be powered by a turbine engine fed by a backpack full of fuel. It’s claimed to have a flight time of about 10 minutes, a top speed of around 150km per hour, and a maximum altitude of 3048m.
However, it’s clear that Zapata isn’t 100 per cent confident in this first prototype, given he restricts his test flight to minimal altitudes and only flies it over a lake so he has a soft place to land should it suddenly stop working. So as hoverboards go it’s probably still dangerous, trading sudden fires for broken limbs.
[Zapata Racing via Gizmag]