Franky Zapata, a real-life Green Goblin, made headlines a few years ago with the release of his Flyboard Air. Now, a newly updated version might finally bring this invention to market.
If you’re like me, The Jetsons told you that you would own a flying car by now. You also might be familiar with Spiderman villain Green Goblin and his infamous glider.
While we barely have autonomous cars, we kind of have hoverbikes. In fact, Uber just revealed designs of their “UberAir” Skyports. But nothing has really gotten us close to flying cars or true hoverboards.
At least, not that are actively available right now. But the Flyboard Air comes decently close to embodying Green Goblin’s glider.
Read More: Uber Elevate Reveals Designs of Future UberAir Skyports
A Volatile History for the French Innovator
The video above shows Zapata piloting his new prototype that has triple redundancy. They call it the “safest, easiest, most maneuverable and cost-efficient personal aviation system.”
Well, it certainly looks very exciting and futuristic.
Zapata says that hydro flight inspired him to pursue hover technology. He had a long interview with The Verge in 2016 detailing his initial vision and testing.
Initial footage released met with comments of “this is a hoax” and “they just edited out the hose of a water jet”. But the bad news didn’t stop at naysayers in random comment sections on the internet.
France banned Zapata from flying his Flyboard Air in 2017 for “failure to comply with the minimum rules for overflight and operation of an aircraft without the necessary qualifications.”
The video shows how loud the Flyboard Air can be, so Zapata’s invention and subsequent ban prompted new conversations among French lawmakers.
A Successful new Venture
But now, the new Flyboard Air seems more stable than ever. Zapata debuted the Zapata E-Zfly, as well, which resembles a Segway.
The new Flyboard Air features turbine engines and hand-held flight controls. It also consolidates thrust for better speed and maneuverability. The engine redundancy mitigates the impact of losing an engine, as well.
Their website even details various applications including military and industrial. However, when you try to locate a place to rent a Flyboard, the website returns a 404 error.
My dreams of flying — in a car, on a glider, or otherwise — remain out of reach.
Nevertheless, hopefully the ambition of Zapata and his team can help that dream come to fruition at some point in the future.
How much do you think the Flyboard Air will cost when it’s finally released?
The post Tap Into Your Inner Green Goblin With the Flyboard Air appeared first on Edgy Labs.
