Haven't signed into your Scholastic account before?
Teachers, not yet a subscriber?
Subscribers receive access to the website and print magazine.
You are being redirecting to Scholastic's authentication page...
Announcements & Tutorials
Renew Now, Pay Later
Sharing Google Activities
2 min.
Setting Up Student View
Exploring Your Issue
Using Text to Speech
Join Our Facebook Group!
1 min.
Subscriber Only Resources
Access this article and hundreds more like it with a subscription to Science World magazine.
Article Options
Presentation View
Jet-Powered Stunt
GLYN KIRK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (ST MARGARET’S BAY); YVES HERMAN/REUTERS (FLYBOARD)
HOW HIGH? Franky Zapata stayed about 20 meters (65 feet) above the sea when he flew across the English Channel.
Last August, French inventor Franky Zapata took a one-of-a-kind flight. He zoomed across the English Channel (see map) on a jet-powered creation he calls the Flyboard Air.
Zapata’s Flyboard Air is outfitted with five turbine engines. The spinning blades generate a force called thrust that propels a rider through the air. Zapata controls where he flies by shifting his body forward, back, or to the side to tilt the board’s engines. He has to make these movements extremely carefully. “When steering with your body, even your hands affect the direction you go,” he explains.
It took Zapata 22 minutes to fly across the water from northern France to southern England. He reached a top speed of 177 kilometers (110 miles) per hour. The inventor says he’s already planning his next airborne contraption: a flying car.
The Flyboard’s five turbine engines lift it skyward. A pilot moves his or her body to steer the board.
YVES HERMAN/REUTERS
BACKPACK holds fuel to power the engines.
BUILT-IN BOOTS strap the rider to the board; they have a quick release in case of emergency.
HANDHELD THROTTLE lets a pilot control the amount of thrust generated.
ONBOARD COMPUTER automatically adjusts the board to stabilize the flight.
TURBINE ENGINES have spinning blades that push out jets of hot gases to create thrust.
LANDING LEGS balance the board on the ground when it takes off and lands.
JIM MCMAHON/MAPMAN ®
RELATED CONTENT