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We all know hydrofoils have great advantage in lightwind, I'm curious about a few things:

1- How big is too big in terms of kitesize for hydrofoil? is there an advantage to a 19m Kite in light wind over a 13m; since the 13m can probably give the same or close to the initial pull as the 19m as it can loop tighter ( i think?)

2- What qualities of a hydrofoil help with lightwind riding? one recent post (thanks Peter!) recommended floaty light weight board + straps, but how about the foil ? high aspect vs. low aspect? rear fin? or is it mostly dependent on how efficiently the foil is shaped / stiffness

3- similar to #2; my home made wood core' carbon coated hydrofoil isn't built very efficiently, but works fine and can go fast enough for me (So far). Am I losing lots of low end due to its inefficiency's?

Thanks

Everyone's definition of light wind is different.
My light wind limits are:
Kite wind(knots)
19 5
17 6
14 7
11 8
8 9

I have tried the Speed3 21M with hydrofoil, but find the Ozone 17M better for low wind with hydrofoil.
Some people with more skills will do better with the Speed3.
90% of my sessions are below 8 knots.
My most used kite is 17m, at times it would not generate enough to stay up wind.
The most important for light wind is the planing speed. Most low Aspect ratio wings are designed to plane at a lower speed. So is better suited for light wind.
Wooden Hydrofoil also help early planing.

Hawaiis wrote:Everyone's definition of light wind is different.
My light wind limits are:
Kite wind(knots)
19 5
17 6
14 7
11 8
8 9

90% of my sessions are below 8 knots.
My most used kite is 17m, at times it would not generate enough to stay up wind.

I do not own a LW ( 8kn and below) specific foilboard yet
Thinking about it.. i already kite a lot as it is in LW..how many more days would i be adding
I do ride a landboard occasionally on our hard packed sand at low tide when wind is E 4kn to 8kn
I ride landboard with my Core Riot LW XR3 19m2
When the wind picks up over 8kn it is time to get off the landboard and ride my Nugget 2013

So for me i would apply the same principle with a foilboard
I would only ride it with my 19 in sub 10 and get off of it as soon as the wind gets to be over 9kn
I am not interested in riding by rigging small kites for 10 kn and above using a foilboard

From what i have seen from those riding at our beach the advantage is in super low 5-6-7-8 kn
With 9kn at our beach that has nice shorebreak waves everyone has fun killing it on their surfboards
We are 5 at our beach with 19's
We enjoy smacking waves in shallow knee deep water close to shore
(i am not at all used to having to go chest deep to waterstart either )

EZ,
A north nugget 2013 makes an excellent foil board, Max uses one! Tuttle box +1 bolt, fly time!
Think about this,
Wind 8 knots a nice foil under your already great board and a new toy that I am sure will please!
The feeling of slicing thru the water is a must for you!
Down side, HAVE to get to at least chest deep water to start and try to stay there to not bottom out your t bar and wings, well worth it!
Life is short, GO 4 IT!
R H

I own a Zeeko Makaira 2014 foil with the freeride and the race front wings. Both wings are high aspect, the only main difference is the profile; the freeride wing is much thicker than the race wing and requires very little speed to get you up. It is a very efficient foil. The drag is minimal, hence gets you going quickly and fast. My guess is that any high aspect, thick profile with low drag mast and fuselage would yield similar result.

1- How big is too big in terms of kitesize for hydrofoil? I fly foil (Flysurfer) kites. For me, a Speed 4 15m Lotus does the trick in light wind. I have tried the 18m version of this kite in light wind, but I have not felt any significant gain in low wind. I get overpowered very quickly with this kite when I am on my foil. The 15m is sufficient (at 95kg). When I cannot get the 15m kite flying, there is no point trying the 18m.

2- What qualities of a hydrofoil help with lightwind riding? From my experience and knowledge, a thick profile of the front wing (increases lift) and low drag of the whole thing.

3- Am I losing lots of low end due to its inefficiency's? Probably some, but not lots at lower speed.

Norm

I am new to foiling, not yet gliding on one wheel yet but, had my best attempt today on new 2014 19m ozone edge today almost made it back to starting point with a few hobbles. Wind was 5 to 10 knots. Never felt over powered on Alpine. I think large kite on calm days is a good way to learn because everything is moving in a slower motion.

jplmain wrote:I am new to foiling, not yet gliding on one wheel yet but, had my best attempt today on new 2014 19m ozone edge today almost made it back to starting point with a few hobbles. Wind was 5 to 10 knots. Never felt over powered on Alpine. I think large kite on calm days is a good way to learn because everything is moving in a slower motion.

Hi, I have just spent a month riding a foil (zeeko 2014 , freeride wing)
I am just starting to figure out the whole picture. But I have found that in very light wind a foil that lifts up at low speeds and a kite that generates lots of apparent wind helps. And then... keep moving fast and try to keep tension on your lines all the times.

My buddies filmed this short clip the other day. It's a Velocity 13. I'm around 88kg wet. Wind speed? 5-8 knots. Just check the water.

http://vimeo.com/97812429

I prefer to rig as small a kite as i can. On the underpowered side, sometimes i need to backloop the kite to get up on the board, then downloop the kite to get moving and up on the foil. On the well-powered side, it still takes me two or three kite pumps to get up on the foil with the kite at the edge of the wind window. I ride with LEI's 8/10.5/13 and a flysurfer speed 3 12m serial, which is great in low wind when the lulls aren't too bad, but is a pain to keep up in the air sometimes (it's also 4 years of use)