Flyboard

[3] The French Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI) granted Zapata a patent for his invention.

[11] 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.

[13] 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.

The pilot on the Flyboard is secured in by bindings similar to a wakeboard and the rider is propelled from water jets below the device.

The equipment may be used in two modes: The primary one requires two people, one to control the PWC throttle which regulates the power and height of the rider.

The secondary mode relies on an accessory called an Electronic Management Kit (EMK) which allows the rider to control the PWC throttle.