Ben Cazzolato

Carl Howard

Danya J. Cheng

Keith Robert R. Crouch

Thomas James Hill

Joshua Johannes Holmes

Ashok Athreya Kaniyal

Antoni Alexander Kourakis

Heath Andrew Nankivell

Benjamin Andrew Ford Newbery

Luke Joseph Rogers

Zhi Qiu Xia

Wing Borne HydroFoil (WBHF)

Ben S. Cazzolato, Carl Q. Howard, Danya J. Cheng, Keith Robert R. Crouch, Thomas James Hill, Joshua Johannes Holmes, Ashok Athreya Kaniyal, Antoni Alexander Kourakis, Heath Andrew Nankivell, Benjamin Andrew Ford Newbery, Luke Joseph Rogers and Zhi Qiu Xia

The Wingborne Hydrofoil (WBHF) is a high performance marine craft, conceptualised and developed theoretically by Mr. Stephen Bourn. In 2007 undergraduate students commenced a project with the aim to design and manufacture a fullscale functional prototype of a 'Wing-Borne Hydrofoil'. The basis of this design differs from the majority of high-speed sailing craft in that it utilises a wing rather than a conventional sail. The ability of the wing to adjust to the optimal angle relative to the wind gives the WBHF the capability to tack (and hence sail) both upwind and downwind. Furthermore by tacking the craft downwind the craft is able to sail faster than the wind. Another distinguishing feature of the WBHF is its ability to lift the hull out of the water when the craft achieves sufficient velocity, thus eliminating a significant source of drag, and hence accelerating the craft to considerably high speeds. Other design features that contribute to the high performance and safety of the craft include the ability to self-correct and stabilise when the craft becomes unbalanced, the quick release of the wing, customized hydrofoil design suited exclusively to this application and lightweight design of the craft, attained using non-conventional materials and manufacturing methods. The craft employs several control systems to ensure stability once flight is achieved and also provide pilot control. Given these unique characteristics, it is believed the WBHF has the potential to challenge several sailing records including the bi-directional nautical mile sailing speed record and ultimately the world sailing speed record.

Outcomes of the project to date may be found in the links below or on the external Wing-borne Hydrofoil website.