The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Get PolitiFact in your inbox. * Weekly Email Newsletter * Daily Email Newsletter Your Email Address Sign Up ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on July 20, 2018 in a Facebook post: Facebook video purports to show man flying a hoverboard at over 103 miles per hour. ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-true/4ac7c61540eff5211f6a04d98a6bc93a.jpg.\\") ![\\"mostly- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Fake news * Transportation * Facebook Fact-checks * Facebook posts ![\\"Jon](\\" By Jon Greenberg March 7, 2019 # Yep, there\'s a guy who flies around on a jet-powered hoverboard Put this in the category of amazing but true. A video of a man flying over canyons and desert with some sort of jet-powered hoverboard strapped to his feet has whipped up disbelief on the internet. Many people suspect an artful hoax, but in truth, it’s the real deal.![](\\" Franky Zapata flies past a rock face in a video posted on Facebook. (Screenshot) The video posted on Facebook shows Franky Zapata, French jet ski champion and creator of the Flyboard Air, zipping around on small turbine jet engines, pirouetting over scrub brush, and chasing down a passing freight train. The Zapata Racing website offers a variety of models, including the Flyboard Air Exp, with six small engines, and the Flyboard Air UI, designed for the American ultralight market. Under the FAQs, Zapata’s company said his device can reach a speed of 140 km per hour, or about 87 miles per hour and a flight can last from six to 10 minutes. Zapata has taken it up to 150 meters (nearly 500 feet) and believes he could go higher. Despite the claim that this is \"very easy to learn,\" there’s some disappointing news for would-be buyers: The site says that right now, \"only Franky Zapata can pilot the Flyboard Air.\" The Guinness Book of World Records awarded Zapata the record for the world’s farthest hoverboard flight in 2016. Zapata flew for well over a mile (7,388 feet to be exact) along the coast of Sausset-les-Pins in the south of France. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" logo-black-01/b6cedac93f6e57c68ecc025e5ec29d57.jpg\\") ![](\\" logo-black-01/438dbf066033f99de07598cbcc77ddcb.jpg\\") Threads posts stated on August 10, 2024 in a Threads post Video shows former President Donald Trump freezing up. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • August 14, 2024 \"Rising 50 metres above the surface for the attempt and trailed by a fleet of boats and jet skis, Franky, 37, piloted a futuristic aircraft called the Flyboard® Air developed by his company Zapata Racing,\" the record-tracking publication said. The company also has video of Zapata waving to the crowd far below at the 2018 Grand Prix in France. ![](\\" ujglhoL2lYc6LMEkJcQpRWrLlK-ekQotSyhsDs2xmweTn-U1KxPRWh- qmpMBoMvx8zUETwhGH8BLNs0BGCvKaZSx7knq5s\\"/) Franky Zapata demonstrates his Flyboard Air at the 2018 Grand Prix. (Screenshot) The one off-beat note in the Facebook post is the headline. It said Zapata was going over 103 miles per hour, which is faster than the company says is possible. Which hardly seems to matter as he whizzes past. Our ruling A video on Facebook showed a man flying while standing on a small device, ostensibly at over 103 miles per hour. He did, though not quite as fast as the headline claimed. We rate this Mostly True. Share the Facts 2019-03-07 19:51:03 UTC PolitiFact ![\\"PolitiFact\\"](\\" 5 1 7 ![\\"PolitiFact](\\" mostlytrue.jpg\\") PolitiFact Rating: Mostly True Facebook video purports to show man flying a hoverboard at over 103 miles per hour. Facebook posts Facebook ![](\\" On Facebook Friday, July 20, 2018 2018-07-20 Read More info #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Devin Super Tramp, Facebook post, July 20, 2018 Zapata Racing, Website, accessed March 7, 2019 Guinness World Records, Confirmed: Franky Zapata sets new Farthest hoverboard flight record in France, April 30, 2016 H2ro Magazine, Flyboard World Cup 2017, May 20, 2017 Snopes, Did This Man Fly Through the Air with a Jet-Powered Hoverboard Strapped to His Feet?, July 25, 2018 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Jon Greenberg ![](\\" ![](\\" Hillary Clinton stated on September 6, 2022 in a tweet.: “I had zero emails that were classified.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • September 13, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Scott stated on August 10, 2022 in an interview on Fox News: “The Congressional Budget Office says 90% of the revenue generated from the new IRS agents will come from people making less than $200,000 … and the revenue generated will be $300-plus billion.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • August 17, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bob Good stated on August 10, 2022 in a tweet.: “Democrats are voting to add an army of 87,000 IRS agents who will target middle class taxpayers and conduct at least 1 million more audits each year. ” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Warren Fiske • August 17, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tucker Carlson stated on November 8, 2022 in election night coverage on Fox News: “Electronic voting machines didn\'t allow people to vote” in Maricopa County, Arizona. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • November 9, 2022 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on November 8, 2022 in a tweet: “There is no chain of custody” for ballots placed in Box No. 3 at Maricopa, Arizona, polling sites. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • November 8, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Ryan stated on November 1, 2022 in a town hall event: “J.D. 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Facebook video purports to show man flying a hoverboard at over 103 miles per hour