SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR FLYBIKE.
$9,000 water toy made in city
Sean Frisky is a guy who takes his fun seriously.
While watching a YouTube video of a Frenchdesigned, jet-powered wakeboard, called a FlyBoard, Frisky felt he could do better. While the FlyBoard is powered by a Sea-Doo-type personal watercraft, or PWC, the operator has to strap himself to the device, reducing the user’s options if the power fails or he loses control.
Frisky, founder, president and CEO of Ground Effects Environmental Services, an award-winning Regina-based company that designs and manufactures remediation equipment for contaminated soil, was looking for an inherently safer, more stable platform for the device.
“I wanted something that appeared to be safer and easier … because I’m getting older,’’ Frisky said with a laugh. “I really wanted (a FlyBoard), but they weren’t commercially available yet. So that’s when we started exploring (the idea of) building our own version.”
An inventor at heart, Frisky set out to design his own craft, acting as its chief designer, builder and test pilot. “We went through a few design changes. It started off as a chair you sat in with pontoons” — basically a flying fly-fishing boat, Frisky said.
When that proved too unwieldy, the bike frame idea was tried with greater success. “By mid-June, we had all the parts and piping ordered, but I really didn’t have a design yet. I wanted something built for July 1 because we go out to the lake in July,’’ he said, referring to his family cottage at Echo Lake in the Qu’Appelle Valley east of Regina.
Frisky designed the first prototype using a chalk outline on the floor of his shop as a template. “The first one was built … with industrial, heavy-duty pipe. It ended up being 70-some pounds.’’
The first prototype also proved difficult to manoeuvre, resulting in some “wipeouts’’ by the test pilot — Frisky.
After a few more weeks of “lakeside R&D,” Frisky went back to work in August and started designing the FlyBike using 3D computeraided design and “computational fluid dynamics,” computer software to improve the flow of the water and maximize the thrust coming from the PWC.
By this time, Frisky had settled on the basic design of the FlyBike — a lightweight aluminum bike frame with two adjustable propulsion tubes on the handlebars and a main propulsion tube under the seat, borrowed from a dirt bike. A modified wakeboard provides additional stability when skimming along the surface.
The FlyBike, which weighs a svelte 16 kilograms, is connected to a 15-metrelong firehose, which attaches to the main pump housing on the PWC.
By the third week in October, the second prototype was ready for testing and performed admirably. The third and final prototype was built to be “more ergonomically correct’’ and easier to assemble.
Less than six months later, FlyBikes are rolling off the assembly line at Cyclone Metal Products, a Regina welding and metal fabrication shop contracted to weld the aluminum tubing and frame together. “We’ve built a batch of six,” Frisky said.
In order to generate some buzz around the product, Frisky launched a website a few weeks ago, along with the usual social media. “We have Facebook and Twitter going. We have seven confirmed sales and dealers interested right now. We’re starting to see (interest) from the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, the U.S.”
So what sort of experience can people expect from the FlyBike? “It takes 10 minutes to set up,” Frisky said. “It’s the opposite of most water sports, where the boat pulls the skier. (With the FlyBike) you pull the boat. You can have communication (with the PWC operator) via a two-way wireless radio system. You control all the jets. There’s about 60 (pounds per square inch) of water pressure and somewhere in the order of 1,500 to 2,000 gallons of water (being pushed through the FlyBike’s three propulsion tubes).’’
Frisky said the force of the water is sufficient to lift the FlyBike and its 250-pound operator around seven metres above the water surface. “It’s very agile, very easy to manoeuvre,” Frisky said. “It’s very intuitive. It’s like riding a bike. You move a bit and it turns.”
Even though you’re tethered to a PWC, the feeling is like flying quickly (40 kilometres per hour or so) above the surface of the water. But it’s perfectly safe, Frisky said.
“Having the bike and wakeboard underneath, you can surface ski and stay low. It’s not really an extreme sport. Anybody can get on this thing — young to old. But you can also go high, about 25 feet (in the air).”
Of course, being tethered to the PWC provides another level of safety. “You’ve got a spotter on the Sea-Doo, who’s operating the throttle and the on-off (switch). So he’s able to watch for boats and obstructions, so you can focus on riding.’’
Frisky said the FlyBike needs a minimum depth of one metre to operate safely. Riders, who must be 18 or older, are required to wear protective gear, including CSA-approved marine helmet, goggles and personal flotation device. One hour of training, provided by the dealer, is recommended.
Since the FlyBike doesn’t have its own power supply, it’s considered by the Ministry of Transport as a PWC accessory.
“It’s pretty much the same as a tube,” Frisky said. “You can disengage easily from the device. You’re not strapped in in any way.”
Frisky said several patents are pending on the FlyBike design and his lawyers say the product is sufficiently unique as to avoid any patent infringement cases. While there are similar products on the market, like the FlyBoard, the FlyBike should stand — or fly — on its own merits.
As for the potential market for the $9,000 FlyBike, the sky is the limit.
“It’s a global market,” Frisky said, adding it will especially appeal to people who already own a Sea-Doo or similar PWC. “They don’t get a lot of hours typically. With this, we used our (SeaDoo) a ton.
“It’s a fun thing to do. You get people together and everybody wants to try it.”