The “Jet Racer” is the latest invention of Marseille adventurer Franky Zapata. This vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL) could, he says, reach a speed of 250 km/h, with a range of around forty kilometres. In a video broadcast Thursday, Franky Zapata the pilot in flight above the pond of Berre (Bouches-du-Rhône), harnessed in a light chassis surrounded by ten small reactors, and performs some acrobatics.
The flying craft, fueled by kerosene, focuses on “the agility”. It is indeed “easy to handle”, assures Franky Zapata. The “Jet Racer” can be “remotely controlled”, and is intended for rescue forces, army or extreme recreation enthusiasts, but no question of using it for daily trips.
The former jet-ski world champion distinguished himself on August 4, 2019 by flying over the Channel on his “Flyboard”, a flying board that this 43-year-old self-taught had invented himself. He then announced the presentation of a “flying car” for the end of 2019. In the spring of 2022, a first demonstration on the aerodrome of Salon-de-Provence had been canceled at the last minute, for lack of authorization from the prefecture and civil aviation, according to the inventor.
Her company is currently building two more “Jet Racers” that she wants give amateurs a try, during a campaign in the United States. Zapata is also preparing for the end of 2022 a hybrid single-seat flying machine, which “consumes less fuel than a rolling car”.