Dude your work is Epic, Love it. Thanks for sharing your files with the world bro. Nice one.
I have been thinking about what would happen if no gearbox was used and a 60-90mm water jet turbine is used like the blade pitch and shape you see on jet skies, …if the power output on thrust would be enough speed to get up on the foils.
With a jet ski type water turbine there would be less drag, less blade wash as it is a much smaller duct. rpm is much higher yet the turbine has more efficiency. Maybe it will take a little longer to get up on the board at foil speed…but I am thinking it should have a much higher top end speed.
Just wanted to share my thoughts with others as I have not seen anyone talk about this.
I would be happy to show anyone my build…I do not have printer…only lathe and milling machines. My Turnigy AquaStar T20 3T 730KV/1280KV Water Cooled Brushless Motor arrived today
Yes that’s @David with his Fliteboard project, an interesting design. We have been in touch since before we both lifted off I am sure we will hear more from the commercial projects on this forum soon. And I don’t mean advertising but sharing info and discussing topics (like safety) where it makes sense that we all work together early on.
@pacificmeister HUGE THANKS for putting this forum together as well as all of your work and videos! This is going to be an incredible resource and an even more incredible community.
I had a question about how you sealed the motor wires through the housing. What did you use? I was planning on using cord grips (also called wire glands) installed through a bulkhead just behind the nose cone. This method allows the wires to be removed but is a little bulky and requires my design to be a little longer than I like.
Cool. Am happy to see all the action here. For sealing I just squirt silicone in from the mast side. Use plenty, just up to where the mast goes. It’s quick and easy to remove too if you have to get the motor out again. Not super elegant but it works
Hi Guys - hello yes that’s me - http://Fliteboard.com. I have a pretty serious team working on this around the clock with lots of innovations in development. I can’t share everything we are doing for obvious reasons, but will share what I can here - particularly on the safety front. I look forward to being part of the discussion!
@pacificmeister: for individuals, there are 2 main types types of stainless steels. The only one that will resist to salt water is the 316 grade or A4. If it is not precised in the description, it is often a 304 grade or A2, suitable for outside use like rain but that will rust after a couple of uses in the sea if not rinsed regularly in fresh water.
Guess what ? A2 is cheaper than A4.
Now, we are warned.
@ragjalon: I’ve called Neugart yesterday.The price is 180€ (without tax) if you buy directly @ Neugart for a PLE 40. Three month ago I bought 2 of them on “Ebay Kleinanzeigen” for 25€ each
Hi there,
Congrats of this fantastic initiative. I have been one of your earlier followers and was working on my own, but this is really an excellent place to get more knowledge and share ideas and concepts.
I will also post my work and continue to follow you and again Thanks for your excellent work and teachings.
Regards,
Rui
Hi David,
my names David too, congrats on Fliteboard it looks beautiful! i love the wood look on the website.
I totally understand you cant give away much info but could I ask two basic questions you might be willing to share ha.
To dampen the pitch sensitivity at speed, simply increase the tail volume. Tail volume is (simplified definition) distance to the tail from the wing x the tail wing area. distance x area = volume.
The easiest tail volume mod for your build is to lengthen the fuse to move the tail wing further back. That should make it much easier to ride at top speed. Note that you may have to tweak the tail incidence slightly as you move the tail wing back.
Great work Pacificmeister! Thanks for your efforts and sharing!!
Howdy - I’m new to the conversation but have been working on my design and parts for over a month. You’ve definitely been quite an inspiration!
I’ve got a medium aspect wing for the LF foil. I’m still a month or so away from being able to do testing on the water, I would be happy to let you try it out and see how it performs. It could also save you the trouble of buying a wing that’s useless. If it’s too small, it’ll give me a head start on acquiring new wings. I believe I’m not too far away, I’m in Redondo.
Hi David we started off with a SSS motor - they work well. We are now using a customised motor. As for battery, we are using a custom battery pack using 18650 cells and a new BMS in development. I don’t know of off the shelf BMS that can handle the current, but I might be wrong. I am happy to talk further about safety aspects but given I am now responsible for a substantial investment in R&D, patent applications and and employees I can’t give much more away sorry!
No I totally understand David, I am looking at a custom motor also. well done on the 18650 pack, I am struggling to build or buy a pack that can put out enough watts for a large motor (5000ish watts)
in regards to safety any watercraft electric wind or engine power should fall under the same strict rules .
lifejacket (not boyancy aid)
Kill switch
and in the case of small one man crafts like electric surfboards a tether or leash is also necessary.
electrics are a whole other story. anti spark and mosfets are a good start .
Hi @Justin, looking forward to efoiling together with your here in LA soon. I tried that wing last week. You definitely need more speed to lift off, had to go full throttle and just got up. That was with duct which takes away performance. Am sure it will work fine once we optimize prop and duct more. But it will be an advanced fast rig
One of the next pieces of work for us as a community to do will be to negotiate / lobby for new regulations that are appropriate for these craft. Every state in every country has different rules concerning registration, licensing, and safety equipment. Most of the rules are created for boats and large, heavy, noisy jetskis. Jetskis are banned in a lot of places in Australia - mainly because they are noisy and dangerous, considering they weigh 500kg and can travel over 100kph. Where an eFoil really has no more impact on the environment or other water users than a foiling kiteboard or sailboard. Infact a foiling kiteboard is faster - as it is lighter, has more power and less drag.
Regarding safety equipment I think a leash is a very bad idea. It could be caught in the propellor and even if not it could cause the board or foil to hit the rider in a big crash. Exactly why I have not worn a leash kitesurfing since I got hit in the head by an elastic powered kiteboard 20 years ago.
I do believe riders should need to keep a safe distance from other water users and not use efoils in surf breaks with other water users. And perhaps carry safety equipment similar to other powered craft if travelling more than say 500m from shore.
It will be an interesting few years to see how things in this space develop. We need to work together on this so we don’t end up banned - like Segways are in Australia unless on private property.
yeah You totally right with the leash, I felt so stupid for not thinking about the fact that there would be a prop involved. although Don Montague has a leash on his “JetFoiler” board as far as I can remember, I would love to hear his take on the subject.
I still hold firm on the lifejacket. getting a smack in the back of the head with a battery filled composite board @ 20kmph would surely cause some damage, no jacket wouldnt be good in that situation in my opinion.
I am sure we will hear more from the commercial projects on this forum soon. And I don’t mean advertising but sharing info and discussing topics (like safety) where it makes sense that we all work together early on.
