Yes, the Jet-Powered Hoverboard Is Real, and Yes, the Creator Has Crashed It

Sean O’Kane:

One of the most talked about things this week was a strange video of a man who appeared to have a real life jet-powered hoverboard. The video was published by Zapata Racing, which has made water-powered versions of these flying machines for a few years now. The difference is that those are always tethered to some kind of personal watercraft. This new “Flyboard Air,” as CEO Franky Zapata calls it, is something totally different.

The video went viral on Monday, and it polarized the internet. People thought it was either the coolest thing ever invented, or that it was a massive hoax. Even optimistic parties, like myself, were skeptical. Maybe we all still feel a little burned by Tony Hawk and FunnyorDie, or maybe we were just being careful — after all, the video was suspiciously edited, there were very few details, and it just looked a little fake.

Over the week, more videos of the flight(s) surfaced, and it appeared to be the real deal. This morning, though, Franky Zapata himself called me up to talk a little bit more about the Flyboard Air, how it works, and what he wants to do with it.

The interview itself has a lot of technical details which was interesting. I laughed when he said that they ‘only made one because they didn’t expect any media attention’ — every single kid will want one of these. Myself included.