When Icarus flew too close to the sun using wings of feathers and wax, they melted and he fell to into the sea and probably got a nasty goose egg on his head.
Year later, when riders got on “hoverboards” made of plastic and batteries, they encountered similar results.
But earlier this month, when Franky Zapata got on a Flyboard Air made of jet tech and metal, he soared.
Check it out:
A creation four years in the making, Zapata Racing’s Flyboard Air — which appears to be running on a jet turbine engine the company refers to as an “independent propulsion unit” — can run for 10 minutes, reach a maximum altitude of 10,000 feet and hit a top speed of 93 MPH.
The Flyboard Air is still in the prototype phase, which might be the reason Zapata stuck to low speeds (35 MPH max) and mostly piloted the board over water during his four-minute flight.
The French company — who previously introduced us to their water-propelled flyboards when they launched out in L.A. — say the Flyboard Air won’t be on the market in 2016, but they’ve given their word that a “Mission One” release is on the horizon.
Fingers crossed they keep their word.
Main image via Youtube
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