If you plan on visiting Hawaii, then flyboarding is a must. Flying cars, the ability to teleport, and a world where everyone looks like Tom Hardy – this is what we imagine for the future. Yet, some sci fi inspired delights you don’t have to wait for, and one of these is the ability to fly.
Flyboarding is the future and the water sport to end all sports. It combines the awesomeness of parasailing and thrill of jet skiing into one. In short, it’s a water jetpack beneath your feet that gives you the power to fly above the ocean.
Imagine feeling the freedom of flight and fall, as you alternate between swooping down into the cool blue waters and then zooming up to the sky. Flyboarding is the only water sport to blend the worlds of swimming and flying into one.
Being a rider of a flyboard is the ultimate thrill. When you use a jet ski you get speed and when you use a jetpack you get height. When you combine those two awesome forces out on the water- you get an afternoon of pure adrenaline and flying!
Considered a top rated tour in Hawaii, the fabulous flyboard was created by French jet ski and sports lover Franky Zapata – along with his truly cool name he also had a passion for water sports (and probably flying too). After designing some of the fastest jet skis in the world, he turned his imagination to something a little loftier.
Find out more about Franky Zapata here.
While the flyboard may look like something from the future, it is one of the more straightforward water sports. The rider is strapped onto a board in a similar way to a wakeboard. The board is connected to a small jet ski via a long pipe. The pipe pumps water using the power of the jet ski throttle to create a surge in the flyboard that propels the rider upwards.
Flyboarding is a once in a lifetime experience that will make you feel like a dolphin or a superhero, or a hybrid of both. The jet ski driver will be the one to control the pressure and once you manage to get the hang of flying, you will be able to swoop and dip like a swallow.
Opting to be a rider of a flyboard in Hawaii is a great decision for those who are always seeking new ways to have fun, whether you are an avid sports fan or someone who prefers to be reading in a hammock.
Everyone goes surfing, kayaking, wakeboarding, and jet skiing, but flyboarding is a whole different sports buzz. For a start, it doesn’t even feel like sports – it feels like fun!
When you flyboard you have the sensation of flying and free falling into the water, two of the most exhilarating feelings imaginable for any rider. Alongside the simple fact that you will have a blast cloud surfing and flying, it’s also a great way to cool off in the abundant Hawaiian sunshine.
Another reason to choose to flyboard in Hawaii is the fact that you don’t need an impeccable array of skills. If you have basic balance and aren’t afraid of falling into water then you can master the art of being a jetpack jet ski flyer in one single session.
Flyboarding is even super healthy for you.
Everyone has to start somewhere. One of the hardest things you may find about being a rider of a flyboard is managing to keep your balance at the beginning.
A good tip to help you maintain balance when flying is to avoid looking down, as this can often result in crashing into the water. Fix your eyes on a single fixture and try to stay focused until you get to grips with the feeling of flying.
You can also be sure to make contact with the water at some point, just like any of the water sports, but this is all part of the fun. When you feel yourself falling you can lift your arms in a diving position to break the impact. Falling on your flyboard is safe and every rider will have a helmet, but for those who don’t like the thought of delving headfirst into the deep – this can be a good tip.
Like all the other adrenaline fueled sports you should also expect a full safety briefing before you are even allowed to strap yourself onto the board.
After your safety briefing you will be handed a helmet and life jacket. All riders have to start from the water, try and keep your body straight to achieve balance on take-off.
You should expect to fall at the first hurdle – several times, especially if you are tense but don’t worry – you will be flying in no time.
Those with exceptional balance may be able to levitate from the tapestry of blue with grace. Most, will tumble and fall. Yet, once you feel comfortably balanced and are clear of the water you can start to steer your flyboard and practice tricks and flight techniques.
The height you can reach flying on your flyboard will depend on who is riding the jet ski as they will be responsible for making that choice either by increasing or decreasing the throttle.
One of the first tricks as a rider will be to dive into the water and then turn and shoot back up into the air. After you have mastered that move, you can even try the dolphin. Diving in and out of the water like a pod of perfectly poised dolphins is definitely one of the high points of this awesome water sport. Then of course you have backflips and dives.
Above all you can expect two things when partaking in flyboarding sports – to have fun and to get wet.
You can flyboard any time of day as long as the weather and waves are in your favor. Riders don’t even need to know how to swim as you will have a life jacket and will be fixed to the board. A spirited sense of adventure and being happy to get wet also helps!
The feeling of jet ski controlled flying, ducking and diving is truly a feeling like no other. It’s wild and exciting, and it really makes you feel grateful to be part of a future where this kind of fun is possible. As the flyboard is a relatively new water sport it’s also cool to think that you may be the first of your friends to experience it as a rider.
Flyboarding offers you the opportunity to defy gravity and swim like a fish in the same activity. Scotty is an amazing coach who takes you through this experience in steps that both support and challenge. This was my second time ever, and I doubled my height off the water and lengthened my flying time by a lot. I loved this experience so much that I just booked another session before I leave Oahu. Thank you Scotty and Michael. You’re awesome! BTW I am a 59 year old female. If I can do this what’s your excuse?
On my trip to hawaii, I was hoping I’d come across a place to try flyboarding and lucky I did at x-treme parasail. It is a newer version of the water jet packs that have been around for awhile that attach to the feet instead of on your back. I took the 30 minute course and sure enough I was up in the air for good periods of time in short order. The key was good instruction and patience by the instructor (I apologize if I’m wrong but I believe his name was Scott and he was excellent). After a thorough safety talk, we hit the water and after struggling at first to get the right balance, it came around. There I was flying like Iron Man in the scene where he’s testing out his leg jets in the first movie. Super cool, super fun. Great experience.
My 16 year old son wanted to do something exciting on our family trip to Honolulu, and I found Flyboarding on a couple of websites with locations near Waikiki. We ended up choosing the 60 min Flyboard option . The instructor was great, my son was one-on-one with him and within 5 mins he was standing on the water and within 20 mins he was flying 15-20 feet above the water waving and giving me the THUMBS UP!
