Video: French Jet Ski Champ Franky Zapata Shatters World Hoverboard Flight Record

By R. Siva Kumar - 03 May '16 09:42AM

The farthest hoverboard flight recently broke a Guinness record off the coast of Sausset-les-Pins in southern France on Saturday morning.

Franky Zapata, the French jet ski champion who invented the Flyboard Air, rode for more than 7,388 feet, smashing last year's record of 905 feet and two inches by Canadian inventor Catalin Duru.

Zapata Racing, his firm, has created a number of water-propelled devices. Its unique Flyboard Air now uses an "Independent Propulsion Unit" so that it can fly without using a long hose like its alternative aircraft. Due to its unique design, it flies hose-free for 10 minutes and can touch a maximum height of 10,000 feet at a speed of 150 miles per hour.

"This has really been a life's work," Zapata said. "It's an amazing sensation, it's really peaceful. I open my arms because it helps me control my movements, but when you open your hands and you feel the wind go through your hand and you have nothing under your feet - it's hard to describe, really. You have to experience this moment in your life."

The technology could be harnessed by military and security forces in order to fight challenges posed by emergency response situations. It could also fight terrorism in regions that have dense populations.

"If people are able to fly like this, they can be some kind of superhuman," he said. "And they can help save people in this completely mad world."

Zapata does hope to touch the skies someday.

"My goal is to ride the clouds," he said. "Do like snowboarding in the powder, but I want to do it in a cloud. That's my dream, and I will do my best to realize that."

Much before he broke the record of the world's farthest hoverboard flight, a camera shot of the Flyboard air managed to reach more than 3.7 million views on YouTube.

Another Guinness record Zapata holds is for completing 26 backflips with a water jet pack in one minute.