HEBER SPRINGS - Ozark Flyboard flew into the state Memorial Day weekend, touting a new water sport that is like having “jet packs for your feet.”
This red-and-black contraption looks as if it was plucked from the silver screen.
A Flyboard closely resembles a wakeboard, in the sense that your feet are strapped into boots on the top of a board, but that is where the similarities diminish. Instead of being pulled by a rope, there is a 40-foot fire hose between you and an instructor-powered personal watercraft, and you don’t cruise across the surface of the water, you “surf the sky.”
More than 750 pounds of pressurized water shoots from the steering nozzle at the rear of the personal watercraft to the base of a Flyboard.
The water is then forced out of two pipes on the underside of the board, which propels the “pilot” out of the water and into the air, mimicking human-powered flight - similar to a fictional hoverboard. The throttle on the personal watercraft controls how high the rider or pilot goes; the pilot chooses the direction he wants to fly, and the 360-degree-mounted hose allows for untangled, often acrobatic, maneuvering.
UNCERTAIN FATE
Open to the public for less than six weeks at Dam Site Marina on Greers Ferry Lake, Ozark Flyboard soared into the spotlight garnering attention from media outlets across the state. But as quickly as the futuristic sport propelled itself to center stage, it dipped out of view.
On July 11, Ozark Flyboard owner Josh Foster took down his website and thanked followers on the business Facebook page for their short, yet exciting run. In a post on the page Foster wrote, “Unfortunately the turnout for paying customers has been too low to continue operating.”
A few readers’ comments regarding the closure reflected disappointment, and excitement at the possibility of buying Flyboard gear for personal use.
But just when it seemed that Flyboarding in Arkansas was gone forever, rumors began to circulate regarding the reopening of Ozark Flyboard at Fairfield Bay, which is also on Greers Ferry Lake. Foster told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he had been working with Fairfield Bay Mayor Paul Wellenberger on a new operating location.
Wellenberger confirmed July 16 that he was interested, but said he had not yet obtained permits at Fairfield Bay from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, nor had he made firm plans with Foster to move the operation.
“We have several hundred timeshares and visitors who are always looking for activities,” Wellenberger says. “I think it would be a good market for [Foster] to keep his business going.”
By car, Fairfield Bay Marina is about 40 miles from Dam Site Marina.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
The Flyboard is the handiwork of French watercraft champion Franky Zapata, whose business is based near Marseille, France. In 2011, he debuted his creation at the Aquabike World Championship in China, and less than a year later he was manufacturing the Flyboard for sale across the globe.
Zapata says that he “always had the dream of flying one day and the [Flyboard] was to combine all of my passions.”
Since the Flyboard’s introduction, Zapata has sold more than 2,500 units worldwide, Zapata Racing spokesman Claire Brzokewicz said.Within months the Flyboard had made its way to the United States. Foster was the first to showcase it in Arkansas, at Fairfield Bay during the annual “Surf the Bay” event. THE EXPERIENCE
Outside of the “no wake” zone at Dam Site Marina, Emily Barganier, 19, of Heber Springs demonstrated how to maneuver the board in the water. At first, the young, red-haired woman clutched the sides of her life jacket as she bobbed on the water’s surface.
With a whoosh she was lifted high into the air where she hovered for several minutes before dipping back down into the water. Thenwith the flick of the throttle she was airborne again, hovering 8 feet above the lake.
Barganier could have risen higher than 8 feet, but every time Clay Nowak, flight specialist for Ozark Flyboard, gripped the throttle, she waved her hands in a downward motion, signaling that she wanted to be lower. The only time the white-knuckled woman released the grip on her life jacket was to gesture to be lower or to quickly wipe away wet strands of hair that were stuck to her face.
She later said that she doesn’t like to fly too high “because it can get kind of scary.”
Before Foster announced he had closed Ozark Flyboard, I showed up for my scheduled appointment and attempted to pay the required fee - $99 for 30 minutes. (I did not disclose that I am a member of the press.) But Nowak did not have a way to run my debit card, and officials at the marina said they were not responsible for taking payments for flights. Nowak said that because I had to go into town to use an ATM, he would grant me a discount price of $75 for my inconvenience.
There appear to be many risks associated with the extreme sport - so many that I was required to sign an 11-by-17-inch waiver that detailed my assumption of risk, a release of liability to Ozark Flyboard and a covenant not to sue, among other stipulations.
After Foster shut down the business, the Democrat-Gazette obtained a copy of his sublease contract with the Corps of Engineers and the marina. It states, in part, that “all renters must watch the approved safety video and complete the review session with the instructor prior to operation” and “renters must be provided and wear all appropriate safety gear, including, but not limited to, a sized helmet and Coast Guard approved life jacket.”
During my trip to Ozark Flyboard I was neither offered review of a safety video nor a helmet and I came with my own life jacket.
Unaware that I was supposed to have a helmet on my head, I embraced my chance to experience Flyboarding. It was nothing like the other water sports I’ve done. I was a little nervous, but the excitement of flying superseded anything else that I felt.
After Nowak strapped me into the board, I dove into the water. The board was heavy on land, but in the water it was weightless. “Lay on your stomach with your feet stretched out behind you,” Nowak said as he prepared me for the initial flight. He warned that, for a moment, I would be pulled underwater.
Still, it was a bit of a shock to be forced under the water. But within seconds I was back up and cruising along the surface like a porpoise.
“When you’re ready, stand up,” he said. I pulled my feet under my body, stiffened my knees and I was airborne.
I was only a few feet over the water at first and I wanted to be higher, but Nowak knew something that I didn’t,how to do a controlled fall. “When you feel like you’re going to fall, just dive,” he said.
Falling into the water is like an art. You don’t want to belly flop or knock the breath out of yourself, so gracefully diving is the best solution. Though it’s not all graceful.
With 60 pounds strapped to your feet, diving is easier said than done. I smacked the water face-first and fell flat on my back before I understood how to control my falls. I even did a backward dive by accident.
About 15 minutes into my 30-minute session I felt the need to wave a white flag and give up. But I didn’t. I pushed myself past exhaustion and ended up successfully flying 12 feet above the water. I even figured out a better way to fall: Lean way back with knees bent and slide into the water knees first.
At the end of my flight I was worn out, so I decided to dive one last time. I was too tired to keep my legs straight - the top half of my body went into the water smoothly and the bottom half smacked it. Needless to say, I had some pretty intense bruising across my upper thighs.
But it was worth it. The flight felt like a dream, the kind where you jump in slow motion across long distances and float back down.
Flyboards can be bought online. The U.S.Army Corps of Engineers says Flyboard users must follow U.S. Coast Guard rules.
ActiveStyle, Pages 23 on 08/12/2013