Sevylor Manta Ray (Image courtesy Sevylor)By Andrew Liszewski

My original post on the Wego Kite Tube resulted in quite a debate in the comments section about the overall safety of the towable ride. One reader even posted a couple of videos of riders falling off the Kite Tube that have ensured I will never climb aboard one.

Well another flight-capable towable is now available called the Manta Ray and with its 11-foot ‘wingspan’ it can begin to hover at only 23 mph travelling against the wind. The actual height the towable can achieve during ‘flight’ is only really limited by how much tow cable you have available. At lower speeds when the Manta Ray is just skimming across the water it can seat two persons but the company strongly discourages attempting to hover with more than one person on board.

The Sevylor Manta Ray is currently available from various outdoor or watersport-type stores for about $500. A video of the Manta Ray in action is available here.

[Sevylor Manta Ray] VIA [Gizmag]

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12 COMMENTS

  3. the manta ray looks alot more controllable then the wego…id rather fly something with wings then hover on an unstable frissbee. youll be seeing this on our show savioshow.com

  4. Neither the Wego nor the Manta Ray have any aerodynamic controls. You might get a *little* control from weight shift on the Manta Ray, but not enough to keep you from a serious impact.

    I’ve flown just about every kind of flying machine there is, I would NOT climb on one of these. If you want to fly 25 mph at 25′ over the water, get a powered parachute, they’re a blast.

  7. check me out flying on the manta ray having a blast on it just one problem we keep getting holes in the lower tubes at the seems this saturday got one in the big one youtube.com jeff on manta ray

  8. this tube does hav a lot of control due to weight shift or even moving your hands to one side or the other. crashing can be painful but before you go extreme, learn the tube. it is a blast and a thrill.

  9. Everyone thinks this tube will be safer than the kite tube. I have a kite tube and I LOVE it. The thing is with all these horrible crashes is that the people that are getting on are not taking the necesary cautious measures. This is the 2nd summer I’ve rode it and i haven’t crashed yet. I can go 20 feet in the air for a good 1,000 yards with a straight shot on a calm day. The Manta Ray does look fun but I saw a video of a guy nose dive face first after leaning to far forward. Ouch.

    The cold hard fact is no tube is safe that flies, its not gonna be. You just gotta have the guts to get out there and try it with someone who is a safe driver.

  10. This tube is a lot of fun. I got gimmied into trying it out first, and i was very nervous. But it’s really a lot of fun, most fun i’ve ever had on any type of tube. I would encourage single riding though, crashing hurts otherwise.

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