In this sort of racing, an important comment! No batteries or fossil fuel needed, just brilliant design, skilled sailors that are tuned into the environment and extreme awareness of their surrounding competition. Alive and amazing.
yes, iFLY is faster than the A cat in most of the sailing conditions, especially in stronger wind conditions. In wind below 7kts., too light to be constantly foiling, the A cat is faster, as the 18ft length helps in archimedian mode. The light wind performance also depends on rig size. The new iFLY RAZZOR Pro can sail with the the same rig as A cat (on 9m tapered carbon mast) and even bigger sail sizes are used, whereas the iFLY15 One Design is sailing a 7.5m mast. In the entire wind range between 10kts and 25kts iFLY is faster, especially as iFLY is full foiling upwind and able to do foiling gybes. This evaluation is presuming same skill level of both sailors. There are some of the best sailors of the world sailing on A cat. These upper 5% of the A cat fleet are really fast on the (foiling) A cat and hard to beat especially in the 2-3 Beaufort range. However, even excellent A cat sailors struggle to be foiling in strong wind above 18kts and choppy sea state. In those conditions, the superior flight controls of iFLY allow it to be full foiling fast and stable. The grand majority of foiling A cat sailors generally do not manage to fly the A cat fast and stable. All these sailors are faster on iFLY in any foiling conditions. Compared to classic A cat, iFLY is always faster, if there are good foiling conditions = enough wind (10-25kts) to foil good angles. To provide evidence of those statements made is one of the big objectives of iFLY class. We search for opportunities wherever possible, e.g. during mixed fleet regattas. Unfortunately direct comparisions still do not happen often enough. During 2021 Duc d'Albe, Hyères, there were no A cats racing. But a nice comparision e.g. with international F18 fleet of very competitive teams.
I like how modern hull design is literally the opposed of the old design. An upside down shape. That is so cool/ The same goes for airplanes. The best jets have inverse wings swept forwards and not backwards. They are extremely unstable and need highly involved computer controlling, but the performance of those "suicide doors" wings is far superior to the traditional ones. This also is true for the actual suicide style door in cars. You have better and easier access
only in this case, the so called wave piercer bows add stability and make the waterline longer. Also in waves tips, they far less slow down the boat than conventional bow design
we are already very happy with the flight stability achieved. It is true, with a electronic system you can go even further. The question is always what you want. :-)
not many foiling boats our there that can beat an F18 sailed in a regatta by a good team. It is not obvious at all. What it takes to beat an F18 is sustainable speed over a long period, excellent vmg, being fast on all headings, and potentially in a wide range of wind conditions. Many foilers today are either slow, or they are high performing in theory, but not stable foiling (which makes those only fast in the hands of pros). iFLY is very fast while full foiling upwind, reaching and downwind while in the same time flying at a superior flight stabilty.
Gotta love the speed, great foiling action Michael.
loooooove it
What a ride😎👍
yes, it is an amazing experience ! And what a joy to be so fast...
Ah ah! Sacré mistral !! 🤯😊
perfect! I love fast sailing 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
In this sort of racing, an important comment! No batteries or fossil fuel needed, just brilliant design, skilled sailors that are tuned into the environment and extreme awareness of their surrounding competition. Alive and amazing.
you are so right, and it should be underlined more often: no fossil fuel or batteries needed 🌴🚀⭐️
Great footage. Seems to be the most stable of the foiling cats by some margin. Will she keep up with the A cats?
yes, iFLY is faster than the A cat in most of the sailing conditions, especially in stronger wind conditions. In wind below 7kts., too light to be constantly foiling, the A cat is faster, as the 18ft length helps in archimedian mode. The light wind performance also depends on rig size. The new iFLY RAZZOR Pro can sail with the the same rig as A cat (on 9m tapered carbon mast) and even bigger sail sizes are used, whereas the iFLY15 One Design is sailing a 7.5m mast. In the entire wind range between 10kts and 25kts iFLY is faster, especially as iFLY is full foiling upwind and able to do foiling gybes. This evaluation is presuming same skill level of both sailors. There are some of the best sailors of the world sailing on A cat. These upper 5% of the A cat fleet are really fast on the (foiling) A cat and hard to beat especially in the 2-3 Beaufort range. However, even excellent A cat sailors struggle to be foiling in strong wind above 18kts and choppy sea state. In those conditions, the superior flight controls of iFLY allow it to be full foiling fast and stable. The grand majority of foiling A cat sailors generally do not manage to fly the A cat fast and stable. All these sailors are faster on iFLY in any foiling conditions. Compared to classic A cat, iFLY is always faster, if there are good foiling conditions = enough wind (10-25kts) to foil good angles. To provide evidence of those statements made is one of the big objectives of iFLY class. We search for opportunities wherever possible, e.g. during mixed fleet regattas. Unfortunately direct comparisions still do not happen often enough. During 2021 Duc d'Albe, Hyères, there were no A cats racing. But a nice comparision e.g. with international F18 fleet of very competitive teams.
Do you plan to add jib? Would be even faster.
we are convinced una-rig is fastest. Only in light wind we add the auxiliary lightwind headsail CodeF, for foiling in even less wind.
I like how modern hull design is literally the opposed of the old design.
An upside down shape.
That is so cool/
The same goes for airplanes.
The best jets have inverse wings swept forwards and not backwards.
They are extremely unstable and need highly involved computer controlling, but the performance of those "suicide doors" wings is far superior to the traditional ones.
This also is true for the actual suicide style door in cars. You have better and easier access
only in this case, the so called wave piercer bows add stability and make the waterline longer. Also in waves tips, they far less slow down the boat than conventional bow design
Yeah, and you need electronic foil control. Like on Candela 7. Would add stability a lot.
we are already very happy with the flight stability achieved. It is true, with a electronic system you can go even further. The question is always what you want. :-)
👍
2 foot straps would be better, I have 2 on my A Cat and in such situations it is not throwing me off.
was sailing the iFLY for years without any footstraps at all ;-) So stable flight attitude.
are you sailing your A in >25kts. of wind?
Just a suggestion, you don’t have to to it. I only share you my experience.
foiling vs nonfoiling.
David vs. Goliath 😁😁😁
not many foiling boats our there that can beat an F18 sailed in a regatta by a good team. It is not obvious at all. What it takes to beat an F18 is sustainable speed over a long period, excellent vmg, being fast on all headings, and potentially in a wide range of wind conditions. Many foilers today are either slow, or they are high performing in theory, but not stable foiling (which makes those only fast in the hands of pros). iFLY is very fast while full foiling upwind, reaching and downwind while in the same time flying at a superior flight stabilty.
Well yeah, the iFly has less wetted surface area.
most foilers have, but superior flight attitude and hydrodynamics make the difference...