Mankind is unrivalled when it comes to devising means of transportation. Where other living creatures rely on their legs, wings or tails to travel from A to B, humans prefer to use their heads first. This has already led to great inventions like f.i. the boat, the car and the plane to name a few, but for some people this is not enough. Franky Zapata is such a person and his latest invention is the Flyboard.

 

The Flyboard is a sort of remote controlled modified jetski. Instead of sitting on it, the jetski pilot either flies a few meters above it or glides through the water in front of it. Water is pumped up by the jetski to create a water jet that is used to propel the pilot up in the air or under water. Two other water jets, one attached to each hand, help stabilizing the pilot and allow changing direction.

 

The Flyboard clearly takes its inspiration from the Jetlev flyer, a water jet pack commercialized by Jetlev Sports since 2009 and available for a mere €100,000. Instead of a jetski, this system uses a special sort of speed boat to pump the water. The Flyboard kit is 25x cheaper, but does not include the jetski.