Franky Zapata is a French pilot, inventor, and founder of Z-AIR Company. From design to production and development, Franky has invented his own stand-up jet skis and his ZAPATA RACING brand "Made in France" stand-up VNMs.

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Frank Zapata was born on September 27, 1978 in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhone), France.

At the age of sixteen, he started using a jet ski. Won the RUN F1 World Championship several times. He received an education in the specialty "mechanic".

After years of experimentation, Zapata invented the flyboard. After patenting the invention, Flyboard was first introduced during the World Cup in China. In 1998, together with his father, he founded Zapata Racing with the creation of a high level VNM competition team.

Quickly noticed by the major VNM brands, Zapata Racing became BRP's factory team in 1999, representing the brand's influence around the world.

Since 2012, Frank has been focused on the development and production of personal flyboards for ground and surface flights. In 2014, he invented the Hoverboard, which is a mixture of a surfboard and a skateboard. Subsequently discontinued.

In April 2016, Frank Zapata introduced the Flyboard Air, a flying surfboard equipped with four microturbines and stabilizers. In the same year, he sold Zapata Racing to the defense contractor Implant Sciences from the USA. In 2017, he presented a demonstration of a hoverboard with a jet engine to the US Army.

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Franky is married and has a son, Matt.

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Name

Role

Christelle Zapata

Wife

Claude Zapata

Father

Matt Zapata

Son

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Company

CEO

Location

Products/Services

Zapata Racing

France

Flyboard, hoverboard, jetpack, flyride, aquadrone, flyboard air, jetracer, ez-fly

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Title

Author

Link

Type

Date

https://www.zapata.com/en/rd/

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Title

Date

Link

Flyboard® Air demonstration during Challengers 16 in Barcelona

July 11, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXnXBfh7yNg

Infobox

Website

https://www.instagram.com/frankyzapata/

Creator of

Flyboard

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/frankyzapata/

Owner of

YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/zapykrys

Birthdate

September 27, 1978

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/frankyzapataoff

Founder of

Location

Marseille

Birthplace

Marseille

Twitter

https://twitter.com/zapatacompany

Website

https://www.zapata.com/en/

Timeline (+7 events) (+4409 characters)

2019

On 4 August 2019, Zapata crossed the English Channel in 22 minutes, with a refuelling stop at midpoint, on a Flyboard Air. His 35-kilometre (22 mi) journey was completed with an escort from several French helicopters and warships, and aided by a backpack fuel reservoir. The JetPack is powered by water pumped from a PWC (under remote control) via a tube connected to two nozzles on the flyer. The system allows the user to fly in a seated, secured position and is less dependent on the rider’s balance and dexterity to fly. The JetPack is so stable that, once in the air, a user can even let go of the controls and stay flying in a hovering position. On July 14, 2019, Franky Zapata participated in the Bastille Day military parade riding his invention, the so-called “jet-powered hoverboard”; that model was powered by five turbines and fueled by kerosene. Three weeks later he succeeded in crossing the English Channel with his device. The previous attempt on 25 July had been unsuccessful, but during the second try on 4 August 2019, escorted by French Army helicopters and using a backpack fuel reservoir, he accomplished the 35-kilometre (22 mi) journey in about 20 minutes, including a fueling stop at the midpoint. Zapata reached a speed of 180 km/h (110 mph) and maintained an altitude of approximately 15 m (49 ft). On 5 August 2019, Zapata said that he was working on a flying car and had flown a prototype chassis powered by four gas turbines. “I need to finish building my flying car, I need to introduce it before the end of the year”, he told BFM TV after his English Channel crossing.

2018

Zapata’s company, Z-AIR, had received a €1.3m grant from the French military in December 2018. However, he has said that the flyboard was not yet suitable for military use due to the noise it creates and the challenge of learning how to fly the device.

2017

In 2017, Zapata had provided the U.S. Army with demonstrations of the Flyboard Air (jet-powered hoverboard) referred to as the EZ-Fly in some news reports, which suggested the price per unit might be $250,000. A July 2019 report provided no indication of any serious interest by the American military as of that time for this new technology.

2016

In 2016, Zapata sold Zapata Racing (ZR) to U.S. defense contractor Implant Sciences. In 2017, he provided the U.S. Army with demonstrations of the Flyboard Air (jet-powered hoverboard). A July 2019 news report provided no indication of any serious interest as of that time for the flyboard technology. In April 2016, Zapata unveiled the Flyboard Air, a flight surfboard powered by four micro-turbines equipped with stabilizers to provide its pilots with approximately 140 km/h (87 mph) approximately ten minutes of flight time. In March 2017, there was a media incident: Zapata flew a Flyboard Air near Marseille Provence Airport and Airbus Helicopters in Marignane, much to the discomfort of the local flight authority. The Flyboard Air can fly autonomously as a plane and is subject to regulations governing the overflight of airspace. Zapata flew unknowingly at this time, which led to the official threat of a flight ban and temporarily threatened the further development. Zapata used the incident to raise consumer and investor awareness. By negotiating with the relevant authorities, including the military, he was allowed to continue development. Further development is planned in the areas of leisure, entertainment, military, medicine and industry.

2014

Hoverboard by ZR, invented in 2014, is a mix between a surfboard and a skateboard. It is operated by a remote-controlled PWC which powers a water pump. The hoverboard has been discontinued.

1998

He completed an apprenticeship as a mechanic. After gaining experience in jet skiing through competitions, he and his father Claude, founded Zapata Racing in 1998 as a high-performance PWC competition team. He shaped shells, steering, arm and saddle-VNM and tuned machines for jet ski races. He has won in PWC competition several European championships and two world champion titles. His Zapata Racing Team develops PWC related products.

1978

Franky Zapata (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃ki zapata] ; born 27 September 1978) is a French personal watercraft pilot who is the inventor of the Flyboard and Flyboard Air, founder of Zapata Racing. Since 2012, Zapata’s efforts have been focused on the development and manufacture of personal flyers for land and aquatic applications.

Franky Zapata was created by

Elmar Kasumov

"Created via: Web app"

February 1, 2022 4:49 pm