Stop, collaborate and listen – we’re one step closer to fulfilling the vision of countless sci-fi movie directors with the release of the Flyboard from Zapata Racing.

That person zooming around up top would be Franky Zapata, the founder and visionary. He’s calling his latest gadget the Flyboard Air, with this below from the Verge:

…there appears to be drone footage mixed in with the shots of Zapata flying over the water, and we don’t get a clear look of him taking off or landing. Zapata Racing also makes some outrageous claims about the Flyboard Air’s capabilities, saying that the “Independent Propulsion Unit” can fly autonomously for 10 minutes with a ceiling of 10,000 feet, and it has a top speed of 93 miles per hour (150 kilometers per hour). There are no details on how Zapata is controlling the craft, exactly what’s powering it, or what would happen if the engine were to fail. A representative for Zapata Racing tells The Verge that no further details are being released, but claimed the video is real, that Zapata performed the flight with no safety tethers, and that he would have just fallen into the water had something gone wrong.

So are we looking at the future? Guess it depends how trustworthy you think Mr. Zapata is, with his company also releasing this video below:

One thing we can count on is that, when perfected, these toys won’t come cheap. Best make friends with the rich tech geek in the apartment next door…

[source:theverge]