Second article I've seen pop up from Google now on tap.. And I still don't see what's up with the skepticism.
With all the hype about the Model 3 and rival affordable EVs coming in by the end of the year I was thinking hey? Why doesn't Tesla have a personal wearable power pack for things like personal levitation? (even though what I was thinking was Hendo style levitation but without a board. How much more refined/small can they make their engines? Maybe something that can fit in a backpack?)
And then I'm like there is a line from the hoverboard deck to the riders back.. But that's a fuel line and it is fairly clear thats not an electric fan or motor like the Hendo, Omni or Arca board because the air shooting of out the bottom is substantial and hot.
Shouldn't change much then if this probably self balancing directed thrust jetboard works as well as demonstrated for a reasonably proportioned person to catch a quick ride.
I was figuring, prior to seeing Zapata's flight, that something like a Tesla powerwall, sized to be portable on a rider's back or maybe a bit bigger would help get these hoverboards off the ground. Though it might make it hard to balance and fly. Perhaps not. And if push comes to shove, someone might come up with a model with 2 to 4 of the thrusters on the Zapata hoverboard, combined with self balancing tech from the LIT C1.. And call it a hybrid.
And while I'm excited that there are so many pure electric personal flying vehicles being developed it is really cool to see a conventional model using an engine. So long as the fuel is clean burning and cheap. Something like liquid natural gas. Operating as a hybrid engine for a simple engine like that could be tricky but would save on fuel. But if you can't combine an electric motor with a compact jet engine like those used in model airplanes then for safety and redundancy you could have several motors, one main lift engine and a few electric ones for directing thrust and keeping the whole thing stable. Should you run out of fuel and if you don't want high powered lasers or microwaves shooting at you, a battery pack and electric engines would be a great plan b, plan c is a parachute or wing suit.
As more refined models appear someone might eventual do a fuel/electric hybrid hoverboard. If that is the engine provides more thrust than pure electric motors can.