Zapata Racing delighted our imaginations and made fantasy a reality when they unveiled their jet-powered hover board, the Flyboard Air. This “personal flight system” can be altered for a variety of military and civilian uses and the United States government has made its interest very clear. A major defense technology company named Implant Sciences, that currently specializes in developing technology for the Department of Homeland Security, is in the process of acquiring the hover board-creating company.
Company founder, Franky Zapata, states that he is “very excited” about the contact the company has had with the United States Army and Implant Sciences. The company currently boasts the the world’s farthest hover board flight record. This amazing personal flight system is unlike the clunky and awkward water powered jet packs popular in tourist traps and pricey extreme sport water parks. It gives individuals complete freedom of movement and the ability to quickly reach high altitude hard-to-reach locations that are inaccessible by larger aircraft. See the Flyboard air in action below:
Bob Liscouski, the president of Implant Sciences, told DefenseNews that the technology isn’t just sci-fi fantasy, he claims it has real-world application. He stated in an interview:
“a real, scalable solution that could really provide what people candidly had only seen in movies and looked at from a science-fiction perspective,” Liscouski said. “It’s a real technology.”
The hover board can reach up to 60 mph and Zapata believes it can realistically fly up to 10,000 feet if the pilot is provided with appropriate clothing and an oxygen supply. He also stated that it only takes approximately 20 hours of training to teach a pilot to be proficient with the Flyboard.
Zapata has stated that the acquisition is currently in the “due diligence phase but will likely be completed “very soon.” Once acquired the military plans on developing flying medical stretchers, jet bikes, rescue stations, and payload delivery drones. Until the acquisition is complete Zapata plans on focusing on consumer-centric applications and projects.
[revad2]
