Surfboards are not noted for being great at flying, whilst gliders generally make poor surfboards. This idea combines these two failures into one handy device.
The Ringboard is, depending on how you look at it, either a deep ring or a short cylinder. As a cylinder, it's about 2m in diameter and about a metre long. There are a couple of hand- grips and foot-stirrups, so that you can stand in a semi- spread- eagle position inside it.
The walls of the Ringboard are not thin and flat. Instead, they're fairly thick, and have an aerofoil profile. The result is a sort of annular wing, rather as if you'd taken a conventional aircraft wing and rolled it up into a cylinder. The Ringboard is made of rigid foam, with a plastic or composite skin.
As a surfboard, the Ringboard is barely adequate. However, as you pick up speed, you'll begin to notice the board producing lift, mainly from the upper half of the ring. Pitching the ring forward, backward, left or right will tend to vector you down, up, left or right. By careful tilting, you can gracefully achieve enough lift to part company with the water, using your momentum to glide for a considerable distance with your annular ring.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 29 2019 Not quite the same as this... https://www.surfert...ide-to-foil-surfing [hippo, Apr 03 2019] ...or this https://www.theiner...d-to-a-hang-glider/ [hippo, Apr 03 2019] Hmmmm.
Annular airfoils are known to exist.
Surfboards are known to exist.
Reckless idiots prepared to try almost any daft device are known to exist.
So, testing the concept does not seem to pose an insuperable challenge.
Please post a video ...-- 8th of 7, Mar 29 2019 //Annular airfoils are known to exist.
Reckless idiots prepared to try almost any daft device are known to exist.//
If you're trying to invalidate the MaxCo. patent on the grounds of obviousness, you'll have to provide at least a motivation to combine those elements, along with a reasonable expectation of success.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 29 2019 //you can gracefully achieve enough lift// Check with the Legal Dept about that wording, thanks.-- pocmloc, Mar 30 2019 //Check with the Legal Dept about that wording//
Start in the Laws of Aerodynamics section.-- AusCan531, Mar 31 2019 So, a boat with a very large hole in the bottom?-- UnaBubba, Apr 03 2019 Comes with free earplugs to block out the noise of the other surfers sniggering and saying "Heh! - look at his 'annular ring'..."/ "Hey you - show me your 'annular ring'!"/ etc.-- hippo, Apr 03 2019 Next up, the annular ringsuit...-- RayfordSteele, Apr 03 2019 //a boat with a very large hole in the bottom?// More a very large dustbin with no bottom, turned sideways. And other surfers will not be sniggering as you fly effortlessly over their heads.
But siriously, given that kite surfing exists, and surfing exists, and hang-gliders exist, has nobody ever thought to combine a glider with a surfboard for ocean-skimming hops?-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 03 2019 It's not quite the same, but there is a thing called "foil surfing" (see link)-- hippo, Apr 03 2019 // has nobody ever thought to combine a glider with a surfboard for ocean-skimming hops? //
They certainly have. The coroner described it as "Tragic, but hilarious".-- 8th of 7, Apr 03 2019 random, halfbakery