I was in Cuba about a month ago. There were a couple of guys on the beach who rigged one of these things up. Theyd take you up for 30 bucks. Such a sketchy looking setup. The stupidest thing was how many people were going on it. It seriously looked like it was about to fall apart.

There being no cover over the propeller seems fairly dangerous :\

That is cool on so many damn levels.

An overnight campout on a deserted atoll somewhere comes to mind...

This looks like an evolution of the Brazilian priest's floating chair tied to party balloons. It is like a renaissance of the Wright brothers' period, awesome.

Tower, this is Ghost rider requesting a flyby.

I am too stupid to own something like this. The good news is that I realize it beforehand.

I am just dumb enuff to try it.

Thank god there wearing helmets or this might be dangerous!

Safety first guys!

This rocks with a driving back beat.

Sportyboard it's a flying inflatable boat. I think there are many inherent dangers. Among them is the fact that this is an ultralight. No license required.

Mount dual machine guns on these things and they'll be the perfect vehicle for the storm troopers guarding my volcano-island fortress.

Give it a deployable parachute and I'm there.
[www.brsparachutes.com]

Waits for the asshole who says "I saw these things yeeaars ago on TV". Wait... shit :(

@Brock:
I'm no expert, but put an additional skateboard mountain on that volcano island fortress and I think we've got a movie deal.

$$$

Think about it.

@ianmanning:

I saw it too.

I also saw Cubans try to set up a speedboat with a parachute dragging line...

One of the first guys to try it landed in one of the hotel's pool.

Afterwards, I didn't see it again.

A FEW HUNDERED DOLLARS!?! A Rotax two-stroke will set you a back a few K alone.

@N@tedog: You say tomato, i say retooled lawnmower engine.

...And here's a look at what you'll see on next weeks "How to Tease Sharks"!

hey i've got a good idea

wait...no i dont...

I've got a Zodiac. Any Giz readers wanna donate their hang glider and lawnmower for a weekend of uncertainty?

How can everyone continue to say this is dangerous? They are already sitting in the life raft!

*smacks head in bewilderment*

Some comedy just writes itself...

Congrats on the post. This is insane and great fun. It's what Giz was made to cover. ^5

This looks badass until the kick of acceleration pushes you back into the BIG SPINNY DEATH sitting RIGHT BEHIND YOU.

I thought Iran had the flying boat market cornered?
[www.foxnews.com]

With all that surface area and that wingspan, I imagine it's great fun in a crosswind

I agree with jrgouil on this.
Wish I could have been there when the idea occcured to see the expression on their face when the idea struck.

Why not just add a zodiac to the bottom of an Ultralight? Seems like a far easier approach

I hope these guys aren't looking for God like that priest from Brazil...

@BasicBlack: "Among them is the fact that this is an ultralight. No license required."

You left out the "Woo-Hoo!!!"

What's so dangerous? Assuming the pilot has some training, this is basically an ultralight/microlight with a boat hull instead of a shell. If it's put together with enough strength, the only difference between the two will be the lift generated by the hull. Perhaps it would be enough to kill stability, but float plane's generate lift in their pontoons and they aren't generally seen as being inherently dangerous, so I really don't see why this is. Hang-glider type aerofoils are used in ultralights all over the world to great success.

@zenpoet: "How can everyone continue to say this is dangerous? They are already sitting in the life raft!"

And why would you need a parachute if you've already got a hang glider?

@GadgetPlay: And the "Dude! Let's go flying! Grab the beers!" :-\

The parafoil was actually developed for the Gemini program in the 1960s. The original setup looked just as weird. The capsule was originally to have been fitted with retractable landing skids and a parafoil instead of a parachute.

The idea was abandoned, due to problems and delays, in favor of a splashdown under a conventional round chute. But the parafoil survived to be used by civilians and for other applications.

Ninfinger Productions: Gemini Photos (prototype shots)

New Page 0 (model of lander module)

So I think this boat is rather tame...

@Reilaos~: Yeah, they need to put a cage over that thing... spinny death...

"Dingy + Hang Glider + Giant Engine = Hilarious Obituary"

Headline of the Day!

i sued to watch one of these over sarasota bay every saturday on my way to work (circa 1992), a funny thing to see, it reminds me of the inflatable life raft from indJ temple o doom

ahem, *used* to watch...

altho you're prob sued to my bad typing skilsl anyway

Those 'Giant' engines aren't giant at all - they put out less horsepower than my motorcycle (av is about 75-90 for an ultralight engine);

Thats a pretty standard Ultralight rig. Its not even as dangerous as you might think. There was an ultralight craze/fad in my country, and there were some accidents, everyone thato wned one switched to "trikes" an oversized hang glider with an under canopy with room for two people, one behind the other, this is the same but with a boat. In fact they are easy to fly and very hard to stall. Pretty ignorant headline i would say, sorry, thats just my opinion.

A certain shel silverstein poem comes to mind...

'Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too,
Went for a ride in a flying shoe...
'

I would seriously buy one right now for $10k... maybe the price will come down... then I really am screwed becasue I really will buy one immediately! This is just sweet

WHOA!

I have met Doi before! He is a great guy. My gradfather bought one of these - one of the first in America. Doi came out and gave him personal flying lessons.

I have flown in this thing - it is FANTASTIC! Nothing like it!

We've been flying in these things for years! They are a great way to get up for aerial photography because they can cruise so slowly.

Eh, I'm acrophobic, so I'd be more interested in setting the wing to make it like an ekranoplane sort of deal and terrorizing sailboats with it (and put a guard on the prop).
Gimme a couple tries, then I'll get arrogant enough to by that parachute device then get up in the air and decide to resort to dive bombing.

@Mr.Wilson: Oops, I mean "Buy". Apparently I'm daydreaming of maniacally cackling over the lake over here too much.

looks like the peter pan ride at disneyland.

"come on everybody, here we goooo!!"

I knew this looked too familiar:
[gizmodo.com]