# How Wingfoiling Works How a hand\-held wing turns wind into pull and an underwater hydrofoil turns speed into lift By tomek Topic: Physics & Chemistry [Open the interactive Jig](https://ask.jig.com/j/spIjGTZ9CMUN) ## Guide ### 1. Flying over the water A wingfoiler glides above the sea on a board that seems to hover\. There is no motor and no rope pulling it along\. The wind and the water do all the work, using two very different wings\. When foiling, the board usually flies about 30 to 60 cm above the surface\. Drag anywhere to look around\. ### 2. Three pieces of kit The wing is an inflatable sail held in the hands, not fixed to the board or the rider\. The board carries the rider\. Under it hangs the hydrofoil: a tall mast with small wings at the bottom\. A beginner's wing is about 4 to 5 square metres\. Unlike a kite, it has no lines\. ### 3. The wing turns wind into a pull Wind flows around the curved wing just as air flows around a plane's wing\. Air speeds up over the bulging side and the pressure there drops, so the wing is pulled across the wind\. Held at the right angle, that pull drives the board forward\. Blue lines show the air moving past the wing\. The orange arrow is the pull\. ### 4. Pull in for more power Pulling in with the back hand turns the wing to meet the wind at a steeper angle\. A steeper angle gives a stronger pull, up to a point\. Too steep, and the air can no longer follow the curve: the wing stalls and the pull fades\. Riders call this sheeting in and out\. Watch the air tumble when the wing stalls\. ### 5. A second wing, under water Below the board, the hydrofoil slices through the water\. Its front wing is shaped like a plane's wing: it bends the flowing water downward and is pushed upward in return\. The little stabiliser at the back keeps the nose steady\. Water is about 800 times denser than air, so a wing the size of a skateboard deck can hold up a person\. ### 6. Speed makes lift Lift grows quickly with speed: twice as fast gives four times the lift\. At first the board floats and drags through the water\. Pump the wing to speed up, and once the lift beats the weight of rider and kit, the whole board rises\. Many foils take off at around 11 km/h \(about 6 knots\)\. The green arrow is lift; the yellow arrow is weight\. ### 7. Balance on the foil Up on the foil, only the slim mast and wings touch the water, so drag drops and the board glides\. The rider controls the height by shifting weight\. Lean forward to dip the nose, lean back to climb, but fly too high and the foil breaks the surface\. Steering works the same way: lean the board to one side and it carves a turn\. ### 8. Wind above, water below The wing turns the wind into a forward pull\. The foil turns speed through the water into lift\. Working together, they let a rider fly quietly over the waves, sometimes even faster than the wind itself\. Skilled riders can foil in winds as light as 8 to 10 knots, about 15 to 18 km/h\.