When I got to work on Monday, and my boss asked if I could go to Lake Wawasee to try out “flyboarding,” it was an offer I simply could not refuse. I’d heard about these things just a month or two earlier, and I thought it looked like so much fun. I just had to try it.

For those who don’t know, flyboards are a relatively new contraption that uses the propulsion from a personal water craft to allow a person to fly above a body of water. The rider straps into the board, hits the throttle on the PWC and floats out of the water.

I arrived at the lake on Tuesday and met with Cory Johnson of Up in the Air Watersports. He gave me a quick rundown of how the device works, how I control it and a few other tips. Then we headed out to the middle of the lake to take my first flight.

It took a few attempts to stay in the air for any significant amount of time. My second time out of the water, I fell flat on my back from eight feet in the air. That hurt a bit.

But after maybe a half hour I was able to get out of the water, hover around, and even execute a few simple moves. It was exhilarating. Sure, it’s a bit unnerving to look down and see the lake way below you, but that feeling was far outweighed by the rush of flying.

I was out on the lake for about an hour. By the time I was finished, my thighs and calves were pretty sore, and I had a few licks from falling to the lake surface, but I have every intention of flyboarding again.

Any readers interested in trying flyboarding out for themselves should visit www.uitawatersports.com.