It's Not A Bird Or A Plane, It's A Real Life Hoverboard And You Can Ride One Today

<div><p>Ever since we saw Marty McFly's hoverboard in <em>Back to the Future Part II</em>, we wanted to have a real hoverboard. In recent years, many companies have tried to develop the futuristic flying machine without true success. Until now. </p><p>Franky Zapata, a 37-year-old French jet ski champion and inventor, has developed a <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/french-jet-ski-champion-and-entrepreneur-franky-zapata-flies-over-atlantic-ocean-on-new-hoverboard" target="_blank">Guinness World Record-breaking hoverboard</a> that can reach speeds of up to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4385822/Hoverboard-soars-ocean-breathtaking-footage.html">93mph and heights of up to 10,000 feet</a>. To give you some perspective, that's seven times higher than the Empire State Building! </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_1050px.jpg 1050w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_1150px.jpg 1150w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_1250px.jpg 1250w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_1350px.jpg 1350w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_1450px.jpg 1450w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_1550px.jpg 1550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/zapata-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-flyboard-air-15_GH_content_1630px.jpg 1630w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>H2RO</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>The innovative Flyboard Air is an "independent propulsion unit," according to Zapata Racing, and can fly without a hose attached for <a href="http://www.livescience.com/54622-jet-powered-hoverboard-sets-world-record.html">up to 10 minutes</a>. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/f4bfc524ab647da83dd4d597aab2033d.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/f4bfc524ab647da83dd4d597aab2033d_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/f4bfc524ab647da83dd4d597aab2033d_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/f4bfc524ab647da83dd4d597aab2033d_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Yahoo</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p><a href="http://www.livescience.com/54622-jet-powered-hoverboard-sets-world-record.html">Live Science explains</a> how the Flyboard works: "The board has four 250-horsepower turbo engines, fueled by Jet A1 kerosene carried in a tank strapped to its rider's back. There are also two engines for stabilization on each side of the board."</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_1050px.jpg 1050w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_1150px.jpg 1150w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_1250px.jpg 1250w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_1350px.jpg 1350w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_1450px.jpg 1450w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_1550px.jpg 1550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/maxresdefault--24-_GH_content_1630px.jpg 1630w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>YouTube</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>In 2016, Zapata broke world records by flying 7,400 feet in distance at an altitude of 160 feet - the <a href="http://www.livescience.com/58610-hoverboard-flight-over-atlantic-ocean.html" target="_blank">longest hoverboard flight</a> in history. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/13287581.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/13287581_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/13287581_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/13287581_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/13287581_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Montreal Gazette</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>"This has really been a life's work," Zapata told The Telegraph. "Who has never dreamt of leaping out of the water and soaring through the air, free of all constraints? This is the dream that is at the origin of the products we create." </p><p>Check out the amazing footage of Franky Zapata test-riding the new hoverboard:</p><amp-iframe sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin" layout="responsive" frameborder="0" height="9" width="16" src="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/1442837.html?referer=shared"></amp-iframe><p>Although the Flyboard Air isn't available to buy in the US yet, you can still try it out! Zapata Racing has sold some of its original boards to<a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/french-jet-ski-champion-and-entrepreneur-franky-zapata-flies-over-atlantic-ocean-on-new-hoverboard" target="_blank"> </a>rental companies across the country. I know what I'll be doing this summer...</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p><strong>Would you try one of these hoverboards? Let us know in the comments and SHARE!</strong></p><p></p></div>