VFR-on-top
Well-Known Member
I don't know if the thing is for real or just video tricks. And if it is, IMO, there is no practical application for it since it would be a Part 103 vehicle and can't be flown anywhere near people and crowds. Then there are the noise and exhaust factors that make the thing impractical. And a stall, of any kind, is an instant killer.
However, there are some otherwise intelligent aviators who insist that those problems can be solved. I say any kind of aircraft without means to bring the pilot to a safe landing in the event of engine failure (ie: autorotation or gliding) is doomed from a practical standpoint.
What say you? Would you build one just for the heck of it?
This is the perfect hoverboard if you want to be the Green Goblin | The Verge
"A new video from Zapata Racing — the company that makes those the water- and jet ski-powered Flyboards we got to ride last summer — shows founder Franky Zapata zooming back and forth over a small lake strapped to some sort of aircraft engine, Green Goblin-style. Yes, Zapata has apparently created a hoverboard with enough power to work on water.
What's surprising is that Zapata was apparently able cut out all the Flyboard's extras — the watercraft, the long hoses, the water as a means of propulsion — and build a sort of small, personal aircraft. And since Zapata's company has already dubbed one of its water-powered products a hoverboard, he's calling this new machine the "Flyboard Air."
Zapata knows his flying machines, but the video is suspect
If anyone would know how to fly something like this, it would likely be Zapata. But the video is pretty unbelievable — there appears to be drone footage mixed in with the shots of Zapata flying over the water, and we don't get a clear look of him taking off or landing. Zapata Racing also makes some outrageous claims about the Flyboard Air's capabilities, saying that the "Independent Propulsion Unit" can fly autonomously for 10 minutes with a ceiling of 10,000 feet, and it has a top speed of 93 miles per hour (150 kilometers per hour). There are no details on how Zapata is controlling the craft, exactly what's powering it, or what would happen if the engine were to fail. A representative for Zapata Racing tells The Verge that no further details are being released, but claimed the video is real, that Zapata performed the flight with no safety tethers, and that he would have just fallen into the water had something gone wrong. (Which — at that speed and height — ouch.)"
However, there are some otherwise intelligent aviators who insist that those problems can be solved. I say any kind of aircraft without means to bring the pilot to a safe landing in the event of engine failure (ie: autorotation or gliding) is doomed from a practical standpoint.
What say you? Would you build one just for the heck of it?
This is the perfect hoverboard if you want to be the Green Goblin | The Verge
"A new video from Zapata Racing — the company that makes those the water- and jet ski-powered Flyboards we got to ride last summer — shows founder Franky Zapata zooming back and forth over a small lake strapped to some sort of aircraft engine, Green Goblin-style. Yes, Zapata has apparently created a hoverboard with enough power to work on water.
What's surprising is that Zapata was apparently able cut out all the Flyboard's extras — the watercraft, the long hoses, the water as a means of propulsion — and build a sort of small, personal aircraft. And since Zapata's company has already dubbed one of its water-powered products a hoverboard, he's calling this new machine the "Flyboard Air."
Zapata knows his flying machines, but the video is suspect
If anyone would know how to fly something like this, it would likely be Zapata. But the video is pretty unbelievable — there appears to be drone footage mixed in with the shots of Zapata flying over the water, and we don't get a clear look of him taking off or landing. Zapata Racing also makes some outrageous claims about the Flyboard Air's capabilities, saying that the "Independent Propulsion Unit" can fly autonomously for 10 minutes with a ceiling of 10,000 feet, and it has a top speed of 93 miles per hour (150 kilometers per hour). There are no details on how Zapata is controlling the craft, exactly what's powering it, or what would happen if the engine were to fail. A representative for Zapata Racing tells The Verge that no further details are being released, but claimed the video is real, that Zapata performed the flight with no safety tethers, and that he would have just fallen into the water had something gone wrong. (Which — at that speed and height — ouch.)"
