Forget drones, we need FlyBoards!

[ff22]

French Inventor Wows Bastille Day Crowd With Flyboard Display

French inventor Franky Zapata demonstrated his flyboard before President Emmanuel Macron and other European dignitaries as part of Bastille Day celebrations in Paris on Sunday, July 14.Zapata, carrying a rifle, soared above the annual military display on his Flyboard Air, a device he...

news.yahoo.com

 

[deleted member 877]

Yeah, I saw that - very impressive. I would be interested to know its flight duration. It would also be interesting to know how many drone operators would be keen to make the big leap from remote control flight to actually flying an aircraft as an actual pilot.

TBH I have never been all that thrilled with the "flying" aspect of operating my drone - much more interested in taking photos and video footage which is totally awesome and keeps me coming back for more. I believe this is because I have experience flying gliders and hang gliders and will always remember that "knee trembler" moment when I took to the air for my first solo hang glider flight at Byron Bay. UAV or even FPV simply cannot be compared with that kind of experience buzz.

 

[STUFF2C]

I'm just guessing that you would have to be pretty fit for that board. I like the 8 motor sit down version myself

 

[RayOZ]

Ermm.. nah. I think I prefer to keep my feet on the ground. Any malfunction, I'd be losing a different kind of arm and a leg.

 

[Kneebeard]

Yeah, I saw that - very impressive. I would be interested to know its flight duration.

According to a quote further down in the article: "According to Zapata the Flyboard can reach 10,000 feet and has a maximum flight time of 10 minutes and maximum speed of 90 mph. If one or two engines fail it will automatically descend and land automatically. "

 

[AMann]

Honestly, with your experience with drones, how many here would fly something like that without a recovery chute?

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

Honestly, with your experience with drones, how many here would fly something like that without a recovery chute?

I'll stick to flying traditional fixed-wing aircraft. At the very least when the engine goes out, you're now a glider and can turn altitude/airspeed into distance to make a safe landing; even a helicopter is safer with auto-rotation as an option.

 

[AMann]

I'll stick to flying traditional fixed-wing aircraft. At the very least when the engine goes out, you're now a glider and can turn altitude/airspeed into distance to make a safe landing; even a helicopter is safer with auto-rotation as an option.

Well as they say in hang gliding class, only fly as high as you are willing to fall.