In the early 1960's, the first "waterski" hydrofoil was developed by Walter Woodward, an aeronautical engineer from Upper Newton Falls, Massachusetts. The first person to test and fly Woodward's invention was Frazer Sinclair. This was the beginning of towed hydrofoiling!

Woodward partnered with Lucas Emmanuell, a Harvard Business graduate, and patented the hydrofoil waterskis. They established Cosmo Dynamics that would market their product as the Dynaflite Hydrofoil. The Hydrofoil consisted of two regular waterskis with two struts attached to each ski with a bi-wing design. They would go on to develop other hydrofoil products such as a Dynaboard, a hydrofoil surfboard, and a hydrofoil catamaran.

Highlights of the Dynaflite Hydrofoil include the first public demostration at Cypress Gardens by Buster MacCalla (advertised Dynaflite hydrofoils on the brochure cover) and continued appearances by "Banana" George Blair. He would dress up in a yellow Santa Claus suit and parade around Lake Eloise on the hydrofoil skis wowing the crowd at Cypress Gardens during the Christmas Show.

Once the Skiis were fastened to the hydrofoils it was improtant to check that the resulting apparatus still floated.  In some cases, it was necessary to add foam floatation to the skiis to keep them from sinking after an unwanted dismount.

With a careful boat pilot it would take about a tank of gas for an experienced skier to master the art of getting up on the rig, off the water, and be proficient at maintaining a steady altitude.

The rig was manufactured from the highest quality aluminum components and stainless steel hardware.  The larger wing shown above was intended to make it easier for the novice skier learning to fly at lower speeds.  later, the wing could be removed to run the rig at faster flying speeds.

After 20 years and changing from Cosmo Dynamics to Custom Dynamics the Dynaflite Hydrofoil vanished as a marketable product.

So how did the hydrofoils popularity come back? Mike Murphy's water ski pro shop on the Colorado became the place where the Dynaflite Hydrofoil was put to the test in the late 1970's. As a hot dog enthusiast Murphy began testing the Hydrofoil's capabilities and limitations by skiing them in a slalom course and attempting to jump out of the water. Eventually the foil materials on the Dynaflite Hydrofoil were stressed beyond their design limits and they began to break.

This evolution led to newer designs and utlimately the more recently popular design found in currnet products such as the AirChair and other similar models.