Since 2011, Franky Zapata has invented a slew of unique aquatic-based toys, the most famous of which is the flyboard, a machine that allows users—secured in a standing position—to propel themselves dozens of feet above the surface of the water. The French inventor, who previously earned seven European championships and two world championships as a professional personal watercraft racer during the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, declared that his unique watersports vehicles and apparatuses were created to satisfy people’s dreams of “leaping out of the water and soaring through the air.”
One of Zapata’s latest vehicles, the FlyRide, is a personal watercraft, similar to a jet ski, which allows users to experience its French creator’s unique version of hydroflight while being tethered to an actual jet ski that trails behind it. Programmed with four ability modes and proclaimed to be the market’s first hydroflyer with intelligent flight control and stabilization, the FlyRide churns out as much as 400 horsepower and can fly—quite literally—as fast as 22 mph. Best of all, it offers users the thrill of a barrel roll with the push of a button.