Franky Zapata is a French inventor and pilot best known for extreme feats on a high-speed flyboard. He’s announced a striking hybrid electric aircraft (an eVTOL) intended to be used alongside his jet-powered flying lounge chair.
Franky Zapata and his previous developments
Zapata’s list of innovations is extraordinary. The former French jet-ski champion is known for inventing the flyboard by attaching hoses and straps to the back of a jet ski. This let people rise out of the water and perform tricks that helped create a new sport—flyboarding.
By 2016, compact, powerful jet turbines had emerged. Zapata quickly mounted several on a small platform with attached boots, filled the backpack’s fuel tank with kerosene, and took off—unanchored. That’s how the jet-powered flyboard was born, surpassing the capabilities of a jet ski.
Franky Zapata has firmly established himself among a new wave of pioneers in personal jet-engine flight. He’s put on spectacular demonstrations around the world, gaining fame for racing a Lamborghini across the Utah desert at more than 160 km/h and for being the first person to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered flyboard.
He founded Zapata, the company behind several follow-ups: the EZfly, which adds a pair of handles so inexperienced pilots can fly, and the FlyRide, a two-seater that resembles a pedal boat.
Recently he unveiled the JetRacer—a flying lounge chair powered by 10 small jet turbines, capable of hitting 250 km/h and climbing to 3,000 m with a person on board, or carrying up to 200 kg under remote control.
What does Zapata’s Airscooter prototype look like?
Most of the devices above have flown, and some even reached production. Now Zapata is branching into a different form of personal flight based on a “buy and fly” approach.
Zapata introduced the Airscooter prototype at the Viva Technology show in Paris in June. It has an egg-shaped cabin on legs that fits a single pilot. Above the cabin are eight carbon struts—four longer diagonal supports that carry what look like two electric propellers under a meter in diameter.
Two rear diagonal struts are linked by an angled spoiler wing to provide lift when the multicopter-style hybrid tilts forward at speed. Zapata says the Airscooter will cruise at about 80 km/h with a top speed near 100 km/h.
On the shorter north, south, east and west struts there are nearly twice as many propellers. Zapata promises more than two hours of endurance thanks to the hybrid power system.
How Zapata’s hybrid eVTOL would work
Most hybrid eVTOLs use a single central generator—typically a small gas turbine—that acts as a range extender and charges the batteries during flight. But, as NewAtlas pointed out, Zapata’s design appears different. It looks like the four large supports house four separate engines mounted at the ends of the columns, fed through lines that run along the tops of the struts.
A protrusion on the side of the power unit closely resembles the exhaust of a small JetCat-style helicopter turbine. Zapata is working with a French aerospace lab and a defense agency to develop turbine engines—this may be one of them.
It appears the turbine turns a lower gear set connected to an upper gear set that spins the propeller. An electric motor may also be integrated into the assembly.
If so, the four large propellers would likely produce most of the bulk thrust and therefore rotate relatively slowly, possibly helped by electric power while the turbine runs.
The eight smaller, fully electric rotors can respond much faster. Zapata likely plans to use them for in-flight balance and stabilization, reacting to pilot inputs and control-unit commands to damp wind-induced oscillations.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Airscooter
Advantages include longer service life and the lack of a large, heavy battery. With multiple propellers, the aircraft could likely land safely even if one or two turbines fail.
On the downside, those small turbines would be very loud, so flying this hybrid likely won’t be as quiet or pleasant as on a fully electric VTOL.
Another drawback is maintenance. JetCat charges at least $300 for every 25 hours of service on small helicopter turbines. In the Airscooter, the turbines would be larger and more powerful. There’s also a higher risk of mechanical failure compared with electric motors, though Zapata and other pilots routinely rely on small turbines.
At 115 kg, the Airscooter would be classified as an ultralight, so it wouldn’t require a pilot’s license in the U.S. With its wired flight controller and multiple safety sensors, it should be as easy to operate as a drone.
Zapata hasn’t announced when the Airscooter will be available, whether the prototype is flight-capable, or how much it might cost. Those details will likely become clearer over time.
