Esport

Flyboard

A Flyboard is a type of water jetpack attached to a personal water craft (PWC) which supplies propulsion to drive the Flyboard through air and water to perform a sport known as flyboarding. A Flyboard rider stands on a board connected by a long hose to a watercraft. Water is forced under pressure to a pair of boots with jet nozzles underneath which provide thrust for the rider to fly up to 15 m (49 ft) in the air or to dive headlong through the water down to 2.5 m (8 ft).

The Flyboard was invented in Fall 2012 by a French watercraft rider, Franky Zapata. He built many prototypes before perfecting the design which allows the device to climb out of the water and be stable in the air. This was achieved by the underfoot propulsion and hand stabilization. The French Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI) granted Zapata a patent for his invention. The Flyboard was the subject of a lawsuit from competitor Jetlev which was dropped without prejudice in March 2013. The device was presented to the public for the first time at the jet ski World Championship 2012 in China. Since its introduction in 2012 the Flyboard has sold around 2500 units.

A boy doing flyboard

World Championship Flyboard