Jason McNeil Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 My friend Felix @felixtm.com was out with his KS18 yesterday when he ran into the Flyboard Air crew preparing a demonstration. Franky Zapata (the genius/daredevil Flyboard inventor) asked to give it a try, within a minute he had the thing mastered. Frank's reputation is yuge, he pretty much single-handed developed the jet-ski flying business; now has taken the world by storm with his Flyboard Air. When it first appeared on YT, it was so revolutionary & unbelievable that many believed it was a CGI hoax. Can you imagine the Wheel he'll come up with now that he's bitten with the Wheeling bug?! https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/15/11439798/franky-zapata-racing-jet-powered-flying-hoverboard-interview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Amazing! So are you going to diversify into EWheels and Flyboards? Are they commercially available? Cost? edit: I read further. I see they are working on a commercially available version that will be more user friendly. There was no estimated price I could find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason McNeil Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 3 minutes ago, Rehab1 said: you going to diversify into EWheels and Flyboards? Are they commercially available? Cost? In that Verge article, Frank talks about how he has 4x 250HP jets to provide lift, that's 750,000W of power! Then there's the regulations "challenges": Frank was originally going to be demoing the board on South Beach, but the FAA didn't give him approval in time, couldn't get the insurance. Although it's impossible to predict the future with complete certainty, at least from an energy consumption standpoint, it's hard to see how a Flyboard Air, which consumes 1000x more energy per/km than a Wheel, will displace ground based Electric vehicles for some time to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 30 minutes ago, Jason McNeil said: My friend Felix @felixtm.com was out with his KS18 yesterday when he ran into the Flyboard Air crew preparing a demonstration. Franky Zapata (the genius/daredevil Flyboard inventor) asked to give it a try, within a minute he had the thing mastered. Natural born balance! Did Felix record any video of Mr. Zapata riding his KS16? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason McNeil Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 7 minutes ago, Rehab1 said: Natural born balance! Did Felix record any video of Mr. Zapata riding his KS16? Just some stills for now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RooEUC Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 "within a minute he had the thing mastered" Mastered? Was he actually able to learn to mount, dismount, ride and turn competently within his first 60 seconds of ever being on an EUC, or is this just extreme exaggeration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RooEUC Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 9 hours ago, Jason McNeil said: Just some stills for now... The ellipses meaning that video will be coming eventually? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingfelder Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 11 hours ago, Jason McNeil said: In that Verge article, Frank talks about how he has 4x 250HP jets to provide lift, that's 750,000W of power! Then there's the regulations "challenges": Frank was originally going to be demoing the board on South Beach, but the FAA didn't give him approval in time, couldn't get the insurance. Although it's impossible to predict the future with complete certainty, at least from an energy consumption standpoint, it's hard to see how a Flyboard Air, which consumes 1000x more energy per/km than a Wheel, will displace ground based Electric vehicles for some time to come. It will for Richard Branson, I assume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingfelder Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 "Hi Mom, guess what? I got a B on my social studies test!" "That's nice, dear. Your brother flew through the air this morning on a jet-powered hoverboard he built himself." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Westland Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 11 hours ago, Jason McNeil said: In that Verge article, Frank talks about how he has 4x 250HP jets to provide lift, that's 750,000W of power! Then there's the regulations "challenges": Frank was originally going to be demoing the board on South Beach, but the FAA didn't give him approval in time, couldn't get the insurance. Although it's impossible to predict the future with complete certainty, at least from an energy consumption standpoint, it's hard to see how a Flyboard Air, which consumes 1000x more energy per/km than a Wheel, will displace ground based Electric vehicles for some time to come. 750KW ... emphasizes how difficult it is to counter gravity! Surely 750KW would appease even the most demanding of Gotway owners. But you'd have to gut a Tesla S just to get the battery pack ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RooEUC Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 8 hours ago, Chris Westland said: 750KW ... emphasizes how difficult it is to counter gravity! Surely 750KW would appease even the most demanding of Gotway owners. But you'd have to gut a Tesla S just to get the battery pack ... Yeah, when it comes to energy consumption forward is a lot easier than up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johrhoj Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 Although the flyboard is a nice piece of engineering, and, although mastering the flying is an awesome feat, and, although the feeling of flying must be really really great, i hate to say it, its not practical at all, nor is it economic transportation, like the modest EUC totally is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingfelder Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 Does it have a cup holder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 14 hours ago, Chris Westland said: 750KW ... emphasizes how difficult it is to counter gravity! The issue is trying to counter gravity by blowing air downwards. Lifting 100kg with 10km/h takes in itself 2.7kW, or in other words, lifting 100kg by 10m takes 2.7Wh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddylaz Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 This was on Twitter today....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingfelder Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 Ridiculously cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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