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CNN's French inventor makes 'beautiful' flight across Channel on hoverboard reports that:

"French inventor Franky Zapata has successfully crossed the Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard for the first time, after a failed attempt last month.

Later in the article it says:

The inventor said that he tried to "take pleasure in not thinking about the pain," even though "his thighs were burning."

What is it exactly about flying a Flyboard across the English channel that made Zapata's thighs burn? 20 minutes of standing shouldn't be that stressing, what is it exactly about flying this board that requires so much muscle activity that it would be painful?

Franky Zapata has successfully crossed the Channel

uhoh
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4 Answers4

48

He's using the angle of his legs to control the attitude of the platform (and as a result, the direction he's flying in). So he can't take a relaxed pose, he's standing with his knees slightly bent the whole time.

Hobbes
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    I see, thanks! Hmm... I don't yet understand why it's necessary to have knees bent though. Most two-wheeled electric vehicles (e.g. Segway) let you move/drive forward and backward just by leaning a big, you don't need to bend your legs. I wonder what he's doing exactly that requires bent legs. Possibly because there is no road in this case, so no encoder... – uhoh Aug 04 '19 at 13:32
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    @uhoh -- maybe because it lacks a vertical pole to hold on to, like the Segway has? – quiet flyer Aug 04 '19 at 13:56
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    @quietflyer Since it's the inventor doing the flying, if it needed a vertical pole I'm sure he would have added it. I think it's more related to there being no contact with a fixed surface like the ground. Although... the pole wouldn't look cool, and Zapata does want to look cool, so maybe the burning thighs are the price one pays to fly without a handle. – uhoh Aug 04 '19 at 13:58
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    @uhoh In an interview he mentioned that he's traveling at 160-170 km/h so simply resisting the wind takes a lot of effort. – Sanchises Aug 04 '19 at 14:08
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    @Sanchises I'll have to think about that. Presumably he's leaning into it a bit, so gravity will be helping, but I have no idea how much. – uhoh Aug 04 '19 at 14:13
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    Even riding a Segway for an hour makes your legs start to ache, and that's much slower and more stable than this. – Dan Hulme Aug 05 '19 at 12:23
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    @uhoh - if it was set up to be balanced with knees straight, he'd only be able to tilt it backwards. I think it's designed for agility over comfort, which wasn't a problem when he only carries 10 minutes of fuel. – Robin Bennett Aug 06 '19 at 08:38
  • "he's standing with his knees slightly bent the whole time" It's like downhill rollerblading... try doing that for more than a few minutes lol – Jalapeno Aug 06 '19 at 08:47
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    Have you tried an electric hoverboard - the segway without the control column? You steer it by off-balancing your feet. That is you lean forward. You have to then hold that position. If you stand up straight, you stop. I knew immediately what he meant. – Oscar Bravo Aug 06 '19 at 10:00
41

This is what he said after the 1st attempt

"When you fly with your body, even your hands affect the direction you want to go in. You feel the turbulence and the air through your fingers," Zapata told CNN. "It's like becoming a bird. But it's also very hard. I have to fight against the wind with my legs so there's pain too. It's not as peaceful as it looks."

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/franky-zapata-flyboard-channel-gbr-intl/index.html

I imagine it's like a long ski run, where you're compressed down with every bump & turn. Do a mile long run at high speeds and you really feel it in the thighs.

CrossRoads
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There is another bit of information worth mentioning in the CNN link in CrossRoads' answer

The flyboard looks like a chunky skateboard and is powered by five small engines. It is fueled by kerosene, which Zapata carried 104 pounds [47 kg] of in his backpack.

I believe that carrying a 50 kg backpack and balancing on a jet powered air skateboard combined delivers some serious strain on the pilot's legs.

Volker Siegel
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Pavel
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There is no ground; he is responsible for balance during the whole high-speed flight. Imagine putting a large ball on a freight car of a speeding train and standing on top of it.

Dan Hulme
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    Image the train bumping up and down, and accelerating/decelerating continuously. You'd have to counteract a lot of forces to keep stable on top of the ball. This is more or less the effect that wind turbulence has on the 'pilot'. – florisla Aug 05 '19 at 12:31
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    Oh, and the train and ball are going 100+mph – Bill K Aug 05 '19 at 22:05
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    Aaaaand you have a fifty kilo bag on your back. Really, as much as I admire the machine, the real feat in this case is the guy who engineered the whole thing did all this hardcore athletics himself. For a minute there I felt like we all were back at the 1910's and it fest just awesome! – Pavel Aug 07 '19 at 07:50