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team
Hydrofoil
Newbie Information
What Hydrofoil is right for me?
What's the difference in an LE and a V-38? Why should
I spend $4000 plus when I can get one for less than $800?
Well hopefully all of those questions will be answered
below. This is a detailed description of each
Hydrofoil and it's specific characteristics. If you
have any input of changes that you feel should be added to
the descriptions below, please contact
us and let us know. These are listed in
alphabetical order:
This section should be completed soon!
| Quick turning, soft landing, comes with slower &
easier beginner wing for more versatility. It
was used to win the 2003 Flight Worlds Men's Pro
Division Overall. T-bar length - Approximately
28" |
| Right out of the box, ready to go. One piece
cast that is much stronger than the previous
prototypes. It comes with the Flex Seat, the Ankle
Leashes, and extra cushy new seat pad with the gator
back design. Very smooth, and soft landing.
Coming soon, all billet t-bar and wings. |
| Also available the all new FLEX SEAT. Air
Chairs Flex Seat makes any landing softer than ever
before possible, no matter what riders were using.
It's ultra lightweight, so it won't add weight to
your ride, or inhibit your performance. It
gives riders that extra softness they desire as they
go higher in their performance level thanks to the
new Blade System. It includes the fully padded
aerial belt with Velcro closure, and a buckle for
the added assurance it will truly keep you seated.
Having the buckle insures you wont have to keep
re-tightening the belt as this is a no-slip system. |
| The New Front Blade makes this the easiest most
stable foil assembly for any new rider to learn on.
The unique shape gives the rider even more control.
Using a combination of wedges, the beginner and the
advanced wedge together, it gives the proper amount
of lift. For the advanced or pro rider, it is
just as stable with the curved rear blade as the
beginner blade. However it has even better pop
so tricks are easier to achieve, with softer and
more controllable landings. This new front
blade is available for any model Air Chair. |
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The Front Wing
This was the first thing to be made because it
was what I thought the most important to the
whole makeup of a great foil. I sat down and
drew out the outline, then drew out all of the
dimensions that I thought were the best. I
tested it. I made changes, and finally, after
about 4 different versions, I have an awesome
front wing. No winglets, smooth transition from
leading to trailing edge, and an 1.5" dome for a
very cushy landing for such a big wing.
Spanning 19" wide, and 10.5" from front to back,
this is the combo machine. And with the
curvature comes another surprise; a small upturn
in the very front of the wing. This actually
helps with the pop, and gives the foil a bit of
a performance enhancer, allowing it to maneuver
not only up and down as fast as you want, but
also side to side like never before. You can
cut like a slalom skier going for the 6th buoy,
without the nasty glitches that are so common
with many foils on extreme maneuvers.
The Rear Wing
This was the second project to get underway.
12" wide by 5.5" deep, this too is a larger wing
than most, and with that comes the stability
most people are looking for. And with the
Farmer family design, AKA reverse cut, it lifts
at the same time it stabilizes the front wing.
This combination of downward and upward lift is
why this wing can have such a violent pop
without all of the drag common on traditional
rear wings. Also a non-winglet wing, it has
less drag. True, the winglet version is a bit
more stable, but I like the fact that you can
land 3/4 on a spin, or a bit sideways on a roll,
and it spins you back forward gently. Also on
skidders, this foil is the king because the lack
of winglets. You can slalom cut like never
before on this trick. And like it's big brother
the front wing, it has the cleanest crisp edges
all around, allowing the entire foil to clean up
on re-entry. (a winglet version of the rear
wing is still available)
The T-bar
By far the most expensive of the three to
produce, it took me just over a year to work out
all of the logistics, things like design, solid
models, machining, and fine tuning and changing
the program. It was a lot of hard work and $$$,
but in the end, it was all worth it. Made of
7075 T-6 Plate aluminum, this is one of the
strongest bars out there. Not only because of
the material, but also because of the design.
The patented taper from top to bottom, making it
stronger where it needs to be similar to a
pillar on a bridge or a telephone pole, helps
keep it light and strong with perfectly balanced
swing weight. The added keel also keeps it
strong, and with the smooth edges everywhere,
you can see just by looking at it there was a
ton of time put into it to make each foil a
picture of art. Add adjustability on the front
wing to allow different levels of quickness, and
you will see why this T-bar is good for many
types of riding styles.
The Seat Tower
The stock Air Chair seat tower weighs in at
approximately. 10 pounds, without a seat pad,
which may add 3 ounces. Take 1.5 pounds of
aluminum out with a machine, and add a flex
seat, and you have about the same weight without
the hard landings of a rock tower. With the
flex seat comes the gator grip seat pad, and
also the padded Velcro/clamp seat belt that will
not allow any slippage or popping off of the
belt.
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| The Schwing Mach II
from XTREME Foils is a high-tech, low cost
winglet-less front wing made by riders for riders.
It was designed with a great deal of computer
simulation to try to reduce cavitation. This allows
the wing to clean up faster and ride more
stable. Since it is made out of the same material as
the high end t-bars (7075), it is very strong and
can be made from thinner material than the old 6061
wings (wings with winglets). Thinner material
equates to less drag and less weight even though the
wing has a larger surface area than the SkySki/AirChair
wings. It has a "mild" bat cutout to allow quick
changes in direction which equates to bigger air on
tricks. Although this wing is very stable, it is
also very sensitive, and is aimed at the
intermediate and advanced riders. You will
immediately notice the bigger air, and greater "pop"
from this wing. |
| The original Sky Ski. There are still a
lot of them still around and they make a great entry
level ski. It is fully upgradeable to all of
the current foil assemblies. The big advantage
here is you can get a good riding foil for a small
investment and if you like the sport, you can
upgrade later. The Cast Foil is just that.
It is Cast Aluminum that is melted and poured in to
a mold. The advantage to this method is
inexpensive to produce (relatively speaking).
The disadvantage is not as much consistency in
production. Cast Foils also tend to have more
"Drag" through the water and are not as responsive
as the newer designs. |
| The Sky Ski Pro SS is a great riding ski.
The 2 piece Billet foil is a 6061 Aluminum. It
is called a 2 piece because the T-Bar is actually
made in 2 pieces and then welded together.
This process dramatically reduces the cost of
production without compromising quality. This
is a great ski to learn on and/or do inverts on.
It's very stable in the water and seldom needs
tuning to get a great ride. This foil assembly
can also be anodized if you don't want to have to
polish it on a regular basis. |
| The all new Launch "Soft Tail" is the latest in
High Performance Hydrofoiling Technology, offering
the rider a multitude of new features that will make
it easier to get higher into the air, as well as
cushion the landings like never before! The
Launch has a longer foil than any other model Sky
Ski, at an effective strut length of 39", this makes
it the longest production foil on the market today!!
The B39 is adjustable in length from 36" to the full
height of 39". The wings have been re-designed
to provide more "POP" than a standard cut style wing
does, while still providing the stability you'll
need to ride away from those big, complex tricks.
The B39 is available with the Flat wing or Bat wing
configuration. |
| The Limited Edition is an advanced in
hydrofoiling equipment, and is unparalleled by
anything else on the market. It employs new
design as well as new materials to enable its rider
to exceed their previous expectations and enjoy a
ride so good it is only believed once felt. It
is a complete billet foil. The T-bar is machined
from 7075 billet plate, and has a 7 inch longer
strut than the standard 2 PC Billet T-bar. It is also almost
half the width of a standard foil, allowing it to
slice though the water with half the effort.
Both wings are machined from 6061 billet plate, the
front wing is larger than a stock wing creating more
pop from the water when you jump. The rear
wing is a brand new design that employs a special
slider plate that allows its rider to adjust the
quickness/stability of the foil by moving the wing
either closer to, or further from the front wing.
It is available with the Full Bat Wing setup or the BFlat Setup (Semi Bat Front). |
| The Hydroflite is designed as an entry level
ski. The Bi-Wing design is very easy to learn to fly
however, it is not intended for inverts. It is an
excellent ski for someone who is not sure if they
will like the sport and just wants to try it out
without investing a lot of money. This ski is fully
upgradeable to any other Foil assembly and tower
that Sky Ski offers. |
| The "Rock" tower (No shock). The Rock tower is
lighter than the shock tower but does not provide
the extra cushion on the hard landings that the
shock tower offers. However, a lot of riders
(especially younger) prefer the Rock tower instead
of the Shock because of the weight. |
| The seat tower is a "Shock" tower (Has a shock
absorber for cushion). The shock tower is
slightly heavier than the rock tower but does
provide the extra cushion on the hard landings.
However, a lot of riders (especially older) prefer
the shock tower instead of the rock because of the
cushion on the landings. It is much more
forgiving on your lower back. The Shock Tower
comes with a Rissi shock and is only adjustable in
compression. |
| First off, the LE Shock Tower is a new design,
machined from 6061 billet plate it is almost 3 full
pounds lighter than the standard Shock Tower and
less than 1 pound heavier than the Rock tower with
the added benefits of a shock.
It is features adjustability not just of shock
pressure, but also of shock angle. The LE
Shock Tower comes with a Comptech shock which is
full adjustable in compression and rebound. |
| The "Soft Tail" seat tower is also a new design,
this tower is a cross between our Classic "Rock"
tower, and the Shock Tower. There is one seat plate
suspended above another, hinged at the front.
Instead of a shock between the two seat plates there
are compression bushings at the rear corners
allowing almost a full inch of travel for the seat
surface. All the materials used in the hinge, and
the seat plates, as well as the foil itself are 6061
billet aluminum. The weight reduction techniques
used on the Limited Edition Shock Tower have also
been used here, the inside of the seat plates have
been "pocketed" to produce the lightest, strongest
parts possible. This tower is less than 1
pound heavier than the Rock tower, but with the
benefits of shock absorption. |
| To Bat or not to Bat? The Bat Wing gives a
more solid, and more vertical “pop” from the water,
as well as “retracks” (starts flying) faster after
landing. It is also quicker, but less stable.
The Flat front wing gives a more stable ride, softer
landings, more of a “long jump” style of exit from
the water, and is generally easier to ride than the
Bat front. |
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