You’ve managed to get your board/foil to lift-off. Well done! Now you need to establish control and mastery over your ride by adapting your speed and steering, as well as your height above the water. Here’s our guide to how to be comfortable and in control when flying with your TAHE wingfoil equipment.  

As we explained in the previous installment (Take-off Phase), it’s important to get into the right position once you’re in flight.

In the optimal position, the board is held as horizontal as possible, which keeps the foil horizontal under the water, giving you optimum glide and constant forward speed. It’s also important to keep your Alizé wing in position above your head.

Make sure your feet are in line along the board’s lengthways axis. Your rear foot should be somewhere close to where your foil’s mast meets the board, with a spread of about 50cm between your rear and front foot.

Keep in mind that in wingfoiling, just as in surfing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing, there’s always a direction that you feel more comfortable sailing depending on whether you are “regular” (leading with the left foot) or “goofy” (leading with the right foot). 

FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE

When you’re in flight, this is also the moment to start trying to tell if your Aquilon foil is in the optimum position in the mast-mount box. Remember:

> If you feel too much pressure on your front leg when you’re sailing, your foil is set much too far forwards. Move it a little way towards the rear.

> If you feel too much pressure on your rear foot, make the opposite adjustment.

The essential thing is to find the right balance or pressure between both legs, whilst maintaining a little extra pressure on your front leg/foot to help you with take-off, pumping, and other phases.

To control the height of your flight, it’s all down to how you then “play” your front and rear foot pressure. That’s why, when you’re tuning the foil, you need to keep a little bit of extra pressure on your front foot, but without putting too much strain on that leg if you’re on a long, straight run!

You need to learn how to press and release with your front foot/leg which will in turn raise and lower the nose of your board and your Aquilon foil, whilst at the same time being careful to keep your Aria board as horizontal and flat as possible in the lengthways plane.  

Regarding the positioning of your Alizé wing, you will see that you can start tilting it, moving it from horizontal above your head to a slightly more vertical position.

This is where the Alizé’s long tubular control handles help enormously, giving you a great and very direct “feel” that will help you to easily control and position the wing correctly. 

To steer your board, it’s just like surfing. You will need to apply pressure either on your toes or your heels to steer the board either down or upwind. How you steer and control your wing will also have an effect. But that’s going to be what our following lesson/chapter will be all about, making your first basic but essential manoeuvres such as jibes and turns!