The Egg That Flies: An Airscooter For Us All!
Let me paint you a picture: it’s morning, you wake up, peek out of the window, and instead of a morning jog, decide it’s a perfect day to... fly? Sounds nuttier than a squirrel's secret stash, right? Hold on, turbo. Thanks to Franky Zapata, the sky isn't just the limit, it's your playground.
Who's Franky, you ask? Not your average Joe – or Jacques, if we're being culturally accurate. You might remember him as the daredevil who thought, "The English Channel? Pssh, I’ll just hoverboard across it!" And so, he did. This time, Franky decided the air was missing something egg-straordinary (see what I did there?): an Airscooter.
Sitting somewhere between "Why didn’t I think of that?" and "Who in the world thinks of that?", the genius at Zapata's company unveiled their egg-shaped miracle at the Viva Technology conference in Paris. But it’s not just a fancy egg-timer. This is a real, fly-in-the-sky, look-Ma-I-can-hover kind of machine.
Now here's the kicker: According to the chit-chat, you don’t need to be a decorated pilot with aviators and a need for speed. Apparently, this "personal flying machine" falls under the 'ultralight aircraft' category, which means you don’t need a pilot’s license in the good ol’ US of A. With its fly-by-wire flight controller and a truckload of safety sensors, you’d fly it as effortlessly as munching on your breakfast tacos. Allegedly, it’s just like flying a drone. Maybe easier. Perhaps Franky should start offering morning eggs-traordinary flights, scrambled or sunny side up, your choice.
Keeping this flying marvel in the air are 12 propellers. It’s like Franky thought, "Why settle with eight or ten, when you can have twelve?" It boasts eight electric motors and an additional four petrol-powered ones, punching through the sky at 62 mph (100 km/h). While some might wag their fingers at the petrol-hybrid choice in our eVTOL-era, you must understand that this is Franky – the dude's in love with anything that goes ‘vroom’ or ‘whoosh’.
Revisiting the man, the myth, the legend: Franky wasn’t always flying around in airborne deck chairs or rocketing across channels. Oh no. He started off modestly as a French jet ski champion. One day, amidst the jet ski thrills, an idea hit him harder than my grandma's secret meatloaf recipe. He thought about strapping water pipes and ankle straps to the back of a jet ski. Boom! The Flyboard was born.
And Franky’s ambition didn’t end there. In 2016, he had another light bulb moment, swapping water pipes for jet engines, thus gifting the world the Flyboard Air. If that wasn’t enough, he invented the JetRacer, which (and I kid you not) is a flying deckchair.
Now, if you’re itching to know the price tag of this Airscooter, join the club. No word yet from our favorite French inventor. But hey, you know what they say - good things come to those who wait. At least that’s what my Amazon delivery guy says every time he’s late couple of days.
Yours truly,
Captain Electro
