HYDROFOIL -- Hifybe,High Flying Banana, flies again. Ray Vellinga video

[mrjcarlos91]

I seen this video 5times nd I don't see where's the engine hooked up at

[rvell7829]

Dear stexpeditus. Sorry for the late response, been busy... My book, Hydrofoils: Design, Build, Fly is available at Amazon.com. Search by author, Ray Vellinga, or by title. Get a preview by seeing my video, "Hydrofoil--Save $20!! Don't Buy This Book".

[MrRaptur3]

hes got a dog paddling on the front for steering... woof!!! FTW!

[Thetruthishere11]

doesn't seem that much faster than a regular boat

[MxRyder19]

I wonder what it felt like to have the water IN YOUR face all the time ! ???

fun ???!!!

[Keithpwnage]

why not just get a boat? or a sea-doo?

[aurora2k]

ok the front seriously need some adjustment because it doesnt seems right or sounds right

[Sadetree]

@aurora2k  You are right. Yes hes using a type of mechanical automation. And a proper hydrofoil is actually flown threw the water. Watch (Hydrofoil speed record)

[madaboutmotorcars]

the title is weird

[DeadEyeDave]

Hey Ray, I met you aboard America today. WHat a fantastic trip that was with the full military honors, the jet flyovers, the blue whales and dolphins. Looks like your little toy could use some refining. The first video showed it a bit bow-down, which you have corrected by the second vid. But the forward foil has a serious flapping which is probably robbing some speed and stability. Are you planning on tweaking the design, or are you done tinkering with it?

[rvell7829]

Hi Dave. Small world. Glad you enjoyed the Flying Banana videos. Search for "IHSIHS" for all 12 videos, viewed over 300,000 times.

To answer:, the flapping thing you see is a surface follower. It tells the front foil its flying height,and connects to it by a flexible carbon fiber shaft. The intentional flexing is to reduce shock to the foil, and it creates very little resistance.

Look for my Book, Hydrofoils; "Design, Build, Fly". It will be in print early 2009.

[stexpeditus]

I'm interested in your book, but it doesn't appear available yet on your website. Is it in print yet?

[docrw]

Boring

[bjofuruh]

Very interesting!

Do you have any kind of roll control on the hydrofoils?

Is directional steering by rotating the canard?

Do you keep the engine fixed (no steering)?

[rvell7829]

Yes, there are 11 inch extensions on each of the outboard ends of the main foil. The angle of incidence is controlled by the joy stick. Without these flippers the boat would not have adequate roll control or stability.

The steering is controlled by the turnable strut on the canard foil, and the engine is fixed. Thanks for asking.

Before the year's end, I hope to have in print a book on designing, building and flying hydrofoils.

Ray Vellinga

[arachlyco]

good job

[ciudaddelapaz]

and water, very important, is an incompresible fluid

[ljbix]

Great technology in a little hydrofoil.

[rvell7829]

This video was a lot easier than creating Hifybe. The principles of aerodynamics apply with some important exceptions. Hydrofoils must maintain height within inches. Airplanes can be way off their assigned altitude and still be OK. Hydrofoils have a center of gravity well above their wings. This causes roll problems that aircraft do not share. They both use fluid flow for lift, but water is 800 times denser than air, so smaller wings and speeds. Could write a book.

Ray Vellinga

[QuintusFlavius]

A very interesting idea. It looks it has its center of gravity before the main foils as a canard aircraft, yet I think the c.g. is too forward. Have you considered giving more dihedral angle to de main (rear) foils?, I think the narrow foils span need a steeper angle.

Congratulations.