Flight Mode – How to Nail Your First Lift with the Foil

Photo: Silvio Hesse The feeling of flying over water with a foil is simply magical. That moment when the board suddenly lifts off, everything becomes quieter, and you accelerate – it's indescribable. But honestly, it took me a while before I could ride stably on the foil for the first time.With a few tutorials, tips from others at the spot, and a lot of practice, I finally got there. Here I share the learnings that helped me get into flight mode. The Course The easiest way in stronger winds: fall off a bit (downwind) from a beam reach (90 degrees to the wind) and let the wind pull you, power up the wing until the board has enough speed to take off – like an airplane taking off. As soon as the foil lifts, everything changes:The water resistance is almost zero, you get faster, need less wind – but it also gets wobblier. To avoid uncontrolled acceleration, it helps to depower the wing slightly to release pressure. Steering also changes once you're on the foil. Even slight pressure on one or the other rail (long sides of the board) can cause you to move in one direction or the other. Once you get used to it, it's incredibly fun to play with. You can get some extra stability for the board by heading slightly upwind after the lift. If you steer the board slightly into the wind, the wind can further stabilize the board. However, due to the larger surface area of the board, the wind can also have a destabilizing effect - especially when it's gusty (e.g., often on Brandenburg lakes). But the tip about heading upwind helped me. I usually fell for something else. 😅 Photo: Falko Wagner; Graphic: Silvio Hesse In light winds, due to acceleration, you can quickly reach or even exceed the wind speed. If you then fall off too much, the pressure in the wing suddenly drops – and with it the propulsion. Leveling the board correctly A beginner's mistake of mine: too much pressure on the back foot, tilting the board too much. I thought: the more the nose points up, the faster I'll get out. But I was mostly pushing water away instead of getting the foil moving through the flow. Much better: Keep the board as parallel as possible to the water's surface or slightly angled. If necessary, put a bit more pressure on the front foot or position yourself further forward on the board if, like me, you tend to put more weight on your back foot. This helped me enormously to get the necessary speed for the lift. A few pictures for illustration: Picture 1: Gaining speed Picture 2: Slight lift with a leveled board Picture 3: Rising slightly Picture 4: Leveling again Photos: Silvio Hesse The posture isn't ideal, but standing more upright was too wobbly for me at first. This is actually one of my first flights. However, I think that was mainly a mental thing, because the way I'm standing on the board in the lower photo, it was unfamiliar at first, but actually easier to maintain balance. Photo: Sam Wai Chan Pumping Not only a well-leveled board helps to generate speed, but also a downward motion of the foil. To move down with the foil/board, however, you first have to go up – otherwise you'll just turn your board into a submarine. This kind of seesaw motion of up and down is called pumping and is achieved more or less by alternately applying and releasing pressure on the back and front foot. The pumping motion of the board usually takes place in combination with a pumping motion of the wing. Sometimes, just pumping the wing is enough. In light winds, however, both are usually needed together. When pumping the wing, it is moved in a circular motion, away from and towards you, and down and towards you again. This not only generates propulsion, but also lift, making you temporarily lighter. The upward movement (push) then occurs with slight pressure on the back foot, and the downward movement (pull) with slight pressure on the front foot (sometimes just releasing pressure from the back foot is enough). During the upward movement of the wing, you become somewhat lighter, giving the foil the opportunity to rise. During the downward or parallel movement, you then try to generate speed. The "Flying Carpet" I found a tip for additional momentum from a tutorial by Damien Leroy particularly helpful. During the downward movement, imagine the board is a carpet that you are trying to slide across a smooth floor. To do this, during the downward movement of the wing, you pull yourself forward with a short impulse. For me, this was often the momentum that was still missing to get the foil flying. Photos: Silvio Hesse Black arrow: the next wing movement Blue arrows: front and back foot movement during the next wing movement Orange arrow: is meant to indicate the sliding movement of the "flying carpet" All of this together gets you on the foil faster – and out of breath 😅. If you notice that you can't climb despite pumping in the gust, then take a break from pumping, relax, recover, gather strength for the next gust. And also try not to catch every gust. But for gusts with potential: attack. Additional training for foil fitness and balance during the time I wasn't on the water definitely helped me make faster progress - even if it still took a while. 😅 You are not alone. We were all beginners once. My most important learnings to get on the foil as a beginner: In strong winds, the pull from the wing is often enough – fall off slightly, level the board (don't point the nose too far up), depower the wing slightly after the lift for better control or speed limitation. For more stability in light winds: move the nose of the board slightly into the wind. Pumping the wing generates additional forward motion and lift. Simultaneous pumping of the wing and the board is often crucial in light winds to get on the foil at all. The "carpet move" can provide the missing momentum for the lift. Recommendations Just reading these techniques is usually not enough. I'm not a coach either. I would recommend taking a course. It's possible without one, but you'll probably save time and avoid failures if a professional shows you directly how to do it and what you're doing right or wrong. Additional videos, books, and tips from others are always good, of course. Just ask other people on the water if they have any tips for you if you're stuck on a maneuver. You're not alone. We are all connected by the fascination and enthusiasm for this magical feeling of flying over water, and most people are happy to help others. This blog is based exactly on that. I have received many valuable tips from others on the water and want to pass them on. The website is, so to speak, just an extension of the beach - well, or the parking lot. I also often film myself with a camera mounted on the wing to, for example, see posture errors. In addition, I can mentally return to the water during the footage check. Speaking of posture: At first, I often bent deeper into my knees, hoping for more stability. But with the wing, I didn't bend my knees like surfing, but intuitively tried to create a counterweight to the pull of the wing. In fact, balancing became more difficult because my center of gravity shifted with my butt away from the center of the board. Bending my knees helps me mainly temporarily in the waves. Otherwise, it can also be helpful – but not if it creates unwanted imbalance. Photo: Silvio Hesse My butt is too far on the rail - and so is my backside. 😉 Photo: Silvio Hesse My first moments on the foil were short, but magical. With each session, however, the flights became a little longer. Off the water, training on the balance board and stretching helped me improve my balance - jogging and the stationary bike for better endurance, and resistance bands paired with other exercises for more strength when pumping the wing. There will also be a separate blog category here on foil fitness. Despite the exercises, it took me a while until I could foil in a controlled manner, and I fell a lot – and still do – because I try a lot of things. I do water sports because I love being in the water. So falling doesn't bother me much. I think I even learn better that way. And if you have the right protective gear and make sure not to fall onto the foil or board, it's not a big deal. You can find my experiences and tips for the first steps in wingfoiling here and you can see my first rides if you scroll all the way down on pasta.particles on Instagram.

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