96 SPOTLIGHT
Light air fun
RRD WH Flight 85 aluminium windfoil
Buy from: http://www.robertoriccidesigns.com/equipment/wh-flight-alu-hydrofoil-85/
Price: £899 (buy from: https://4boards.co.uk/product/foiling/rrd-wh-flight-alu-hydrofoil-85/
WORDS: WINDSURFING UK PICS: JAMES JAGGER
WE’D BEEN WANTING TO GET OUR GRUBBIES ON RRD’S WH FLIGHT 85
ALU FOIL FOR A WHILE. THANKS TO THE GUYS AT 4BOARDS WE
MANAGED TO DO SO! FIRST UP THE WH 85 IS A TOP SHELF BIT OF KIT
THAT SLOTS TOGETHER NEATLY. SUPER HIGH ASPECT WINGS LOCK
INTO PLACE EFFICIENTLY AS DOES THE 85CM MAST AND WHOPPING
120CM LONG FUSELAGE. YEP, THAT ELONGATED STRUT IS A BIG ‘UN
FOR SURE – THE BIGGEST FOIL FUSE WE’VE USED TO DATE.
The other surprising things are the wings,
which are 80cm (front) and 38cm (rear).
You’d expect them to be larger with such
a long fuselage, maybe. RRD state that
you still get enough power to lift in light
winds though.
Our first session was with a 4.5m
coupled up. That in foiling terms is pretty
windy. The first thing we noticed with
RRD’s WH Flight 85 is how similar it is to
standard windsurfing in terms of getting
going. Normally you don’t bear off quite
as much with foiling but with the WH 85
you do. Having gotten used to this it’s
then up, up and away.
In powered up conditions the RRD foil
needs concentration. You can feel
turbulent water grabbing at that long
fuse. For nervous/newbie foilers we’d
uk
WIND
SURFING
suggest avoiding winds above 15 or so
knots as you’ll need to have developed
more technique before hitting this wind
band.
Bringing it back in line with RRD’s spiel
and our next few sessions occurred in
much lighter winds. We also paired
RRD’s WH 85 foil with a foil specific sail
and found the ride was much more
controlled and plug ‘n’ play. Also shifting
the rig right back in the board’s track
helped bring the boom in line with the
foil’s fuse ensuring a more locked in
ride.
It’s a foil that flies upwind and tracks well
on broad reaches with decent amounts
of vroom relative to the actual wind
speed. Also with less flotsam on the
water the better it performs. We
managed to fly the WH 85 alu foil in
around 10 knots making statement of 7-
8 perfectly plausible.
Conclusion
RRD’s WH Flight 85 alu foil is a
specific hydrofoil that’s best suited
to the lighter wind end of the
spectrum. That noticeable long
fuse, those high aspect wings and
multiple head fittings (tuttle, deep
tuttle or powerbox) show the Italian
brand aren’t afraid to think outside
the box and do things their own
way. If you’re looking to get out in
super light airs on medium size rigs
then RRD’s WH Flight 85 aluminium
foil could be the one for you. A good
price as well!