I have some background in aerodynamics and evaluation - optimization of wings and propellers in airplanes and my understanding is that the wind tunnel simulators can be used for analysis of water wings and props by adjusting for the fluid being 700 times as dense as air and adjust the reynolds numbers accordingly. Without a whole lot of work or analysis, I had an opportunity to acquire a ten foot section of extruded helicopter blade that from front to back is about ten inches with a max thickness of one inch. While that does not approach in dimension any of the foils I have seen on current surf and powered foil boards I nevertheless plan to try different length sections on my boat bike that is a bicycle type pedal mechanism hooked to an electric trolling motor lower end on two pontoons. I want to experiment with different lengths of blade and different angle of attack positions. If you dont know: for every foil shape there is a single angle position relative to the movement of the fluid past it that produces the maximum amount of lift with the least amount of drag. This is called the MAX L/D AOA ( angle of attack ) angle. I am not allowed as a new user to upload photos or I would share.
How did this experiment turn out? Did you mange to make the heli blade work as a foil?
Would love to see photos if you have any.