{"id":13512,"date":"2023-08-23T14:33:46","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T14:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1399210"},"modified":"2023-08-23T14:33:46","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T14:33:46","slug":"flyboard-inventor-franky-zapata-has-built-an-egg-shaped-airscooter-that-anyone-can-pilot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=13512","title":{"rendered":"Flyboard inventor Franky Zapata has built an egg-shaped \u2018airscooter\u2019 that anyone can pilot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Franky Zapata, the French inventor-slash-daredevil who flew across the <\/span>English Channel on a hoverboard<\/span><\/a>, has launched an \u2018airscooter\u2019 to go alongside his jet-powered flyboard and flying deckchair.    <\/span><\/p>\n

Zapata, Franky\u2019s company, unveiled the egg-shaped hybrid-electric <\/span>vertical take-off and landing<\/span><\/a> (VTOL) prototype at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, France.<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cpersonal flying machine\u201d is supposedly compliant with the Federal Aviation Authority Regulations and can be flown without a pilot\u2019s license in the US as an \u201cultralight aircraft\u201d. <\/span>Thanks to the fly-by-wire flight controller and plenty of safety sensors,<\/span> piloting the airscooter <\/span>should be as easy as flying a drone<\/a>. Its market release is yet to be determined.<\/span><\/p>\n

Equipped with 12 propellers, the aircraft carries eight electric motors and four petrol-powered motors for a maximum speed of 100 km\/h at an altitude of 3000-4000 metres. <\/span>Zapata has partnered with ONERA, the French Aerospace Lab, and the French Defence Agency to develop its own turbine engines.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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The choice of a petrol-hybrid definitely makes the airscooter less sustainable than the assortment of pure-electric VTOLs currently under development throughout the world. But that probably doesn\u2019t matter that much to Franky, a self-professed lover of jet skis, jet-powered cars, and jet-powered hoverboards \u2014 basically anything powered by kerosene.<\/span><\/p>\n

A former French jet ski champion, Franky<\/span> first rose to fame in 2011<\/span><\/a> when he stuck some water pipes, ankle, and wrist straps to the back of a jet ski and invented the Flyboard \u2014 and a whole new sport in the process. In 2016, he took the concept to new heights (literally) by using jet engines instead of water pipes to create the <\/span>Flyboard Air<\/span><\/a>, a type of hoverboard powered by gas turbines. <\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/i><\/a>Franky Zapata invented the FlyboardAir in 2016. Credit: Zapata<\/figcaption>