This article was first published in the September 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online

Franky Zapata can make you fly. A former world jet-ski champion, Zapata was frustrated by being tethered to the waves. So he invented the Flyboard -- a jetpack/ hoverboard hybrid that lets its wearer soar up to 15 metres in the air using high-powered water jets. "My inspiration came from Iron Man," says Marseille-based Zapata, 36. "I was a jet-ski pilot for many years, but I always dreamed to fly as a superhero -- and thanks to my experience in hydro-propulsion I made it possible."

Zapata hand-built a Flyboard prototype in 2011 from carbon fibre and welded aluminium tubes.
 You strap yourself to the Flyboard, which is connected to a 260bhp jet-ski engine that forces water through the tubes at high pressure.

Zapata's initial demonstration racked up more than seven million views on YouTube. Since then, Flyboarding has built a global following, with an annual world championship hosted in Dubai. Last summer, Zapata debuted its follow-up, the Hoverboard: a snowboard-like design which can hit up to 25kph whilst soaring and flipping up to 5m above the water.

This autumn, Zapata Racing will unveil two new creations: a redesigned Flyboard (pictured) and a back-mounted Jetpack. But the future, Zapata says, is on land. "We're working on machines from science fiction," he says. One such project is the Airboard: a redesigned Flyboard using high-pressure air jets. "We're well advanced on it," he says, and has tested a working prototype. For now, however, Zapata is focused on letting people experience flight on water. "It's a fantastic feeling," he says. "It makes people dream."

This article was originally published by WIRED UK