Axis Foils

[Admin]

I’m holding off on my 860/760 purchase until all this stuff drops. Be good to know the lower and upper wind range of this 980. Admin be good to get feedback on it from you when u ride it in comparison to 860.
Mike

If we get a day in the 50's I am on it.  It has been really cold here but we usually see some nice days in late Nov/Dec.

[Admin]

This is a fast foil and it requires a +1 shim on the rear wing.

2 questions.  Is it +1 as below?  That naming can be pretty confusing.  I assume this means that you are flattening the tail like the - 1 shim below.  Is that right?

Also, do you have any printed shims or are you guys using washers?  I would love to get some printed shims.

Thanks

[all~wet]

The -1 shim: decreases the angle on the stab = less lift / increased speed.

The +1 shim increases the angle on the stab = more lift / increased drag.

I have a -1 shim permanently on my 390. I was skeptical that little shim/a 1 degree change would do anything noticeable, but as in all things foil- it is surprising the difference little tweaks make. On a prone in the surf- makes that tail feel noticeably more slippery/lively.

I have 5 +1 shims sitting in my parts box, but have yet to try one. 

I downloaded the files on the Axis site and had some printed up. I used sculpteo.com

Upload the file, order, select material. For material I used: SLS (Plastic), Nylon PA12 and its held up well. Took a few weeks... was around $35 for 5 shipped. The more parts ordered, the cheaper it gets.

[Dwight (DW)]

Admin,

Axis supplied the shim with the black fuse and 420 tail. Evan said you must use the shim with that combo.

The shim is jacking the back end of the 420

[Admin]

Thanks Dwight.  I would not have guessed that. 

[Hdip]

This is a fast foil and it requires a +1 shim on the rear wing.

Also, do you have any printed shims or are you guys using washers?  I would love to get some printed shims.

Thanks

Losangelesfoilclub just printed a run of these but I think they’re all spoken for. If you need some I can ask our guy with a 3D printer to work on getting you a few.

[Admin]

Hdip, thanks so much.  I have a 980, Short, 420 coming today and I will see if it has a shim with it as well.  If not I will likely take you up on that. 

[Dwight (DW)]

For those that have not had the pleasure of meeting Evan, here is Mr. Axis US

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIAcNCPDC2y/?igshid=o74g8plb7a8w

[Admin]

Oh yeah!  Got in a T-Day sesh on the new 980 with the short black fuselage and the 420 tail.  Dwight and I don't always like the same foils, so I had my concerns, but I can say for sure that we agree on this one.  Axis has done something really remarkable here. 

First off, the conditions were really bad.  I am the least picky person on the planet in terms of wind.  Well, I might whine about them, but I go in full-on junk all the time.  Even so, I would have left this one alone if it hadn't of been for new gear .  Average wind of 11 MPH, lulls to 4, stripey offshore gusts to 17.  Mid session, the wind nulled an I had to sit on the board for 5 minutes waiting for a lift that would even fly my 5.0 Swing.  Complete crap.  It was 47 degrees and the water is 49.  That's fine in my suit.  Lousy conditions but it was great to test the low end side of this kit.

I am calling the 980 the new king of low wind.  It takes off in nothing.  It barely has to be moving.  I say that even though I have no complaints about the low range on the 760 and 860.  I put on the 5.0 Swing which I hadn't used in months.  Forget the gusts (which were really just irritating and were too short lived to make use of).  This thing will easily lift off in 10/11 MPH with a couple of minor wing pumps and without any board pumping (my legs were useless when I started and pumping wasn't going happen).

My kit did come with a rear shim.  It lifts at the rear screw and forces more down angle into the tail.  I took one run and came back to take that out.  For me at 175 lbs. it was way better without it.  This front needs no help taking off (it basically does that on auto pilot) and with the shim it felt too much when riding as well.  With no shim it was super sweet.  I am going to put a washer on the front screw to flatten the tail even more and see how that goes.  I am not quite sure why the down shim is suggested.  Possibly that is for larger riders.

I was running on apparent wind only into most of my jibes and this foil was still giving me all kinds of time.  I find those to be the hardest jibes.  When the air wing is basically lifeless and unsupported through the turn and you have to rely entirely on your hydrofoil to complete the turn only to catch a powerless wing on the other side.  Swell can help a lot with this but there was zero swell yesterday.  The 980 is phenomenal in this department.

My gut is that this will be a super fast foil.  I had only two runs where I could really set her loose, but those made me laugh out loud.  Not  because this was the fastest I have ever gone but because it was the fastest I have ever gone in that light a wind.  This a very impressive foil.

I definitely won't need the bigger one. This is a big foil for me.  It is ultra stable and immediately comfortable to use.  I wish that I could comment on swell riding, downwind, etc. but it wasn't that kind of day. 

Looks like we may get better wind today as an easterly.  If that turns out I am going to give her a go in better wind.

There are some really cool things about this new fuselage and the foil itself.  I am checking with Axis to see if it is cool to post images of that.

So far, so stoked!

[Dwight (DW)]

Glad you liked it Admin.

It’s not that we don’t like the same things, it’s more than I’ve kite foiled, windsurf foil, surf foiled, and now wing foiled, for a lot of years, so I know precisely what I want my foil to do and don’t have the skills to design and make it myself. I expressed what I wanted last Winter, when Evan was here. Don’t know if that had any impact, but the 980 is the foil I wanted back then. It’s even better than I dreamed it could be, so that’s why the Armstrong fire sale happened so decisively.

Now that it’s here, I’ve never been more content with my setup.

The bigger version is awesome too. But too big for the Gorge. The bigger version is wonderful for Florida.

I don’t think beginners should freak out and jump on these wings. They are for experienced wingers in my opinion. There is an all round series coming for the red fuse to get excited about for most users.

The shim is not required on the red fuse. The black fuse saddle is designed at a lower angle of attack than the red, so the shim is suggested, especially with the 420. My foot balance is perfect at all speeds with the shim.

[flkiter]

I found the shim helped to stabilize the foil better at slower speeds in washing machine conditions. Clean conditions, I can see the shim not being needed cause at high speeds, the 980 is really stable with or without the shim.
Once you get that 980 into some big swell, you'll really be having fun. I haven't found a limit on how big or fast a drop that foil can't handle yet. I'm riding it on an ultra short fuselage and 370 rear. I heard the windsurf foilers that get on it, are dropping everything else they've been on.

[Admin]

Axis responded and said it was cool  to post images and specs, so here goes. 

I asked about the shim and they mentioned what Dwight wrote above.  This is a lower angle head and they mentioned that the shim helps with early takeoff.  We all have our own techniques and conditions but for me this thing really doesn't need any help.  It is a very low key takeoff.  There were no whitecaps when I was out and the water was shiny in places.  A group of (really good) windfoilers came out on big kit (7 and 8 meter sails) and they were foiling about 50%.  The two kite foilers that were out both dropped and had to water drift home.  This is that new foiler feeling all over again when you are shocked by how smooth foiling can be.  I had that again yesterday.  It just notches up the silkiness again.  From what I have felt so far I know that a wide range of users are going to dig this style.  Maybe not brand new riders but I think it is going to appeal to a very wide set. 

The new head is also very sculpted.  It nests into the head pocket on the foil which has the opposite contour.  The head is a bit smaller than the red head but still large.  It is significantly thinner which allows very thin foils.  It looks to be right at or just over 1 cm for max foil thickness.  It is essentially the max thickness of the foil head plus enough depth for the conical recess for the screw head.  That's it.  Special hardware is required for the front 2 screws to make this work.  You can see that in the image of hardware (and the shim as well).  Additionally the new short fuselage is a bit longer that the old short.  That may have added to the overall stability that I noticed.  This was also my first day on the 420.

[Dwight (DW)]

Think about all the money I wasted during the last year chasing my vision of precisely what a foil for winging should be.  So many foils did some things right, but nobody got it all right, per my idea of what is right. To be a shaper and be able to make my idea of what’s right, and not be able to get a foil that is right....it was a painful and expensive year.

Now it is my dream season.

[daswusup]

Well this is great news Admin & Dwight! Mine comes today with ultra short. We get a ton of 8-15 garbage here in Reno all winter that I will be slaying on my 980. Thanks for posting comparison pics Admin. Its nuts how thin that head is. I have been riding the 1150 and 1010 lately. I wander if the 980 will replace all of these? I will pair it with the 460 tail on my 5' moonbuddy. I was worried when I saw the 1200 projected that it would need real wind. I am beginning to understand that the projected area of the new HA foils is not so relevant anymore. There is just a lot more going on than size. You guys got me fired up!! Send it! 

[Hdip]

Huge thank you for the pictures. They’ve fixed every annoyance I have with the red fuselage. Looks so good.