Popular Science, What's New, June 1974
This is a magazine clipping I found that describes a swimmer mounted hydrofoil
design. I still haven't quite figured out the motion and controls involved here, but the idea
is very similar to mine. One difference is that my hydrofoil supports the rider above the water, thus reducing drag
and increasing speed. The swimmer foil pictured here is a simple design and takes advantage of the body's neutral
bouyancy in water, thus eliminating the need for supporting structures and complex controls. To compensate for the demands
required for body support, my hydrofoil requires a larger front foil capable of generating enough lift to offset the rider's
weight and a minimum forward speed in order to produce this lift. Otherwise the similarities in design are encouraging
and suggest that a human powered hydrofoil on this scale is possible. These similarities also beg the question of
take-off capacity: Will a rider on my hydrofoil start submerged, like the swimmer pictured, and accelerate to an
adequate speed for surfaced foil-born travel? My next step will be to
experiment with take-off speed, sustained power demands, and transition effects that arise when a submerged body
attempts to rise out of the water on a foil of this type.
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