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Written by Joe Holding
Hoverboards have been in the news a lot lately, despite the fact that the variety enjoying the recent commercial sales boom don"t actually hover above the ground.However, the one belonging to French jet ski champion Franky Zapata definitely does and with quite some style too.Developed by Zapata Racing, the Flyboard Air represents a departure from previous models in that it isn"t propelled by water collected by a hose trailing behind. Instead, the device uses an "Independent Propulsion Unit" capable of staying airborne for up to ten minutes.The company also claims that it can reach a maximum altitude of 10,000ft, and that it has a top speed of 93mph.Instead of focussing on these impressive figures though, Franky Zapata"s first task was to set the world record for the furthest distance travelled on a hoverboard. The previous benchmark was set in 2015 by Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru, who managed a grand total of 275.9m.Launching his attempt off the coast of French Riviera town Sausset-les-Pins, Zapata smashed the record with a flight of 2,252m which even included some showboating along the way.On collecting his Guinness World Record certificate, the 37-year-old said: "This has really been a life"s work."Chapeau!
Date written: 3 May 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 3272
Hoverboards have been in the news a lot lately, despite the fact that the variety enjoying the recent commercial sales boom don"t actually hover above the ground.However, the one belonging to French jet ski champion Franky Zapata definitely does and with quite some style too.Developed by Zapata Racing, the Flyboard Air represents a departure from previous models in that it isn"t propelled by water collected by a hose trailing behind. Instead, the device uses an "Independent Propulsion Unit" capable of staying airborne for up to ten minutes.The company also claims that it can reach a maximum altitude of 10,000ft, and that it has a top speed of 93mph.Instead of focussing on these impressive figures though, Franky Zapata"s first task was to set the world record for the furthest distance travelled on a hoverboard. The previous benchmark was set in 2015 by Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru, who managed a grand total of 275.9m.Launching his attempt off the coast of French Riviera town Sausset-les-Pins, Zapata smashed the record with a flight of 2,252m which even included some showboating along the way.On collecting his Guinness World Record certificate, the 37-year-old said: "This has really been a life"s work."Chapeau!
Date written: 3 May 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 3272
