French inventor whose flying board wowed the world [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Saskya Vandoorne and Melissa Bell, CNN • Updated 17th July 2019

- video at link -

(CNN) — Franky Zapata has been driven by a single dream since he was little: being able to fly. Not in an airplane, he says, since the windows function like a screen, but like a bird.

As the French inventor and entrepreneur was born colorblind, that ruled out learning to fly helicopters. So after several years spent racing jet skis, he invented hydrojets which allowed him to at least hover above the water.

Then improvements in technology allowed him to go further, cutting the hydrojet from its tether and taking to the air.

"When you fly with your body," says Zapata, "even your hands affect the direction you want to go in. You feel the turbulence and the air through your fingers. It's like becoming a bird. But it's also very hard. I have to fight against the wind with my legs so there's pain too. It's not as peaceful as it looks."

More:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/franky-zapata-flyboard/index.html