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This Real Hoverboard Can Go up to 10,000 Feet, Unlike Those Exploding Ones — Parallax Forums

This Real Hoverboard Can Go up to 10,000 Feet, Unlike Those Exploding Ones

Ron CzapalaRon Czapala Posts: 2,418
in General Discussion
https://www.yahoo.com/news/real-hoverboard-10-000-feet-163000320.html
The Flyboard Air is a hoverboard that puts all those other exploding vehicles to shame, since it actually hovers up to 10,000 feet in the air, according to a YouTube video of its prototype's first test run uploaded Saturday. Jet skier Franky Zapata of Zapata Racing is the man behind the somewhat terrifying mode of transportation.
In the video, Zapata launches himself high over a body of water — and survives with a smooth landing.

Comments

  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    Impressive.. a bit more Green Goblin than Silver Surfer I think.

    I just wish they could do those demo videos without that annoying background music. No trust in the demo itself?

  • Ron CzapalaRon Czapala Posts: 2,418
    edited 2016-04-12 14:05
    Tor wrote: »
    Impressive.. a bit more Green Goblin than Silver Surfer I think.

    I just wish they could do those demo videos without that annoying background music. No trust in the demo itself?

    I'm sure it is loud - they were wearing ear protectors. The original video sound track was probably just engine noise...

  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    As always: Sounds like as good a way to commit suicide as any.
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    Four turbines in a quad-copter like config?
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2016-04-12 18:38
    Do you have a link to a video of "Those Exploding Ones" ?

    Sounds like much more fun to watch :)

    By the way, the vid that is the topic of this thread is fake.
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2016-04-12 21:58
    Why do you think it's fake? 4 jet turbines with 60lb thrust each would be just enough to lift someone carrying a backpack full of fuel. I'm not saying it isn't fake, I'm just curious why you think it is. I think it's feasible, though I do have suspicions - they never show it close up, but maybe that's to protect IP.
  • tonyp12tonyp12 Posts: 1,951
    second video, looks less fake
    https://www.facebook.com/181423698582027/videos/1063955080328880/
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    JasonDorie wrote: »
    Why do you think it's fake? 4 jet turbines with 60lb thrust each would be just enough to lift someone carrying a backpack full of fuel. I'm not saying it isn't fake, I'm just curious why you think it is. I think it's feasible, though I do have suspicions - they never show it close up, but maybe that's to protect IP.

    I'm with Heater, 'Physics says no'
    There is a supposed closeup on landing, where he comes in remarkably close to 2 colleagues.

    As a reality check, look a the Martin JetPack (intake area, power, air volumes) and there was a EU video recently of a guy with a stand-on 'hex copter on steroids' system, but his swept air area was far larger, pushing toward 2m x 2m
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    When the engine was audible it sounded like a peroxide rocket. They do not usually have burn times more than a minute.
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    I'm pretty sure that was a small jet turbine. They sound similar.
  • Hal AlbachHal Albach Posts: 747
    Would any of you go up 10,000 feet on something like that?
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    It's a lot different full screen in 1080 on a non-mobile device.

    I didn't notice the smaller thrusters on the sides. The top of the board doesn't look much like an inlet. So it would need a single turbine with 250+ lbs of thrust. They're out there, they could have made their own. http://jetbeetle.com/JB_body_products.htm

    Stability can't be much. Harder than a tight-rope. If it's real. I want to believe it's real, and almost impossible to control. That might have been the best and last flights for it. They call it a prototype that doesn't mean it will ever be sold. Maybe there is a larger easier to fly version coming out, we've seen a few of those already.
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  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2016-04-13 02:09
    Actually, that's an inlet in the center of the front of the board. Might be two of those - one in front and one in back, under a mesh to prevent debris from getting into the engines. Edit - on second thought, it looks like there's another one right beside it, so there could be 2, 3, maybe 4.
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    Yeah, that is an inlet. I think you're right, originally I had thought 4 for stability. Turbines are slow to react to throttle changes, how can that be stable? Then I started to think one fixed turbine with a thrust vectoring nozzle. It all still seems impossible to fly. These people are the kings of thrust vectoring nozzles and airborne hoverboards. This guy has been riding these things for years. Only once did he fly higher than he would when tethered to a PWC.

    If you look at the pics over water you can see multiple jets.
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  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    edited 2016-04-14 01:46
    the image showing the foot looks as though it has been Photoshopped over a compressed image. BUT it could be that the camera was compressing the image and ran out of time for the frame and was doing lossy compression... leaving some defects at different scales. This usually means manipulation, but you'd have to know more about the hand held camera he was using


    The image on the right above shows no evidence that I can find to even suggest that it was either compressed or manipulated. Looks like they have room for four of the main motors... and I see something that is either a little turbine or a ducted fan of some sort. That would explain the tiny jets of heated air that seem to be coming out in the wrong place behind the two main motors in front. If you look at the jets coming off the bottom the density matches his attitude... a moment of instability or direction change.
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  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    Could be an advert for a very nice image editing package... or the real thing. If it is image editing... they have a real prize. It looks really good.
  • rod1963rod1963 Posts: 752
    I think it's fake and if it isn't I doubt it's flight time is more than a minute.

    What bothers me is that there is no close up of the hoverboard. They are hiding something. Not to mention the montage of snippets which creates a aura of fakery.

  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    I was not totally convinced by the disturbance of the water by the thrust I would expect.

    Can such a thing be stable like that?

    Can such a thing get the weight of a human up to 10,000 feet? And down again?

    I could be wrong, I'm not about to waste any time checking the vid further. If it's genuine I expect to be hearing about the fatal accident reports soon enough :)



  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    Heater. wrote: »
    Can such a thing get the weight of a human up to 10,000 feet? And down again?

    It's getting up that's the hard part. Getting down is guaranteed by gravity.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    Well, I wasn't expecting the thing to reach the Earth's escape velocity. Just thought the pilot might like to come down in a controlled fashion without a parachute :)
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    Someone else's take on it:
    http://hackaday.com/2016/04/14/hoverboards-are-here-if-youre-crazy-enough-to-try/
  • FireNWaterFireNWater Posts: 93
    edited 2016-04-14 15:28
    .
    Is that bump on his back a parachute or a jet fuel tank? For a 3.5 minute flight, powering 4 turbines, I would think it has to be jet fuel. So, without a parachute he would be very stupid to test the 10,000 foot limit or even leave the confines of the lake. In fact, I'd have a kill switch in the other hand as a backup to that throttle in case it should stick.
    .
    Even if it was a parachute, he would need to stay above 300 feet or so at all times or risk hitting the ground with an uninflated chute.
    .
    Very cool machine to get a GoPro and Redbull endorsement.
    .
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    I would suspect the backpack to be fuel. The doesn't seem to be any room on the platform for storage for that duration.
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    The backpack is the fuel tank.

    Preflight, weight and balance consist of calling home and telling everyone how much you love them.

  • RickBRickB Posts: 395
    World record.

    news.google.com/news/url?sr=1&ct2=us%2F7_0_s_3_101_a&sa=t&usg=AFQjCNG9SHV128ibW82IkRie--9DEViHug&cid=52779097620766&url=http%3A%2F%2Fguinnessworldrecords.com%2Fnews%2F2016%2F4%2Fconfirmed-franky-zapata-sets-new-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-in-france-427011&ei=8WUmV_jPAuSywQGIjZnwBg&dcid=CATEGORY_CITED&rt=HOMEPAGE&vm=STANDARD&bvm=section&did=-7775609712479763905&sid=en_us-snc&ssid=snc&st=1&at=dt0
  • tonyp12tonyp12 Posts: 1,951
    http://www.h2romagazine.com/zapata-racing/flyboard-air
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