On 4 August 2019, Zapata crossed the English Channel in 22 minutes, with a refuelling stop at midpoint, on a Flyboard Air.

[2] 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 personal watercraft (under remote control) via a tube connected to two nozzles on the flyer.

[12][13] 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.

Zapata flew unknowingly at this time, which led to the official threat of a flight ban and temporarily threatened the further development.

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.

The trip started at Sangatte in the Pas de Calais region of France and concluded at St Margaret's at Cliffe in Kent, UK where he landed safely.

[2] 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.

[9] 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.