Edit ArticleHow to Ride an Air Chair Two Methods:Setup the Air ChairLearn to RideCommunity Q&A Have you ever been to the lake and seen someone sitting on a ski, flying over the water and wondered what it was? An Air Chair is a relatively new type of water sport device. It is extremely unique, instead of riding on top of the water like with skiing or wakeboarding, you ride over the water. The chair has a hydrofoil attached to a three foot long post which creates the lift to make the chair glide smoothly over the top of the water. Read the Air Chair manual to learn the correct setup and all of the possible options.There are two blades which make up the hydrofoil. The front blade is stationary and creates the majority of the lift. For the second blade, there is more than one option. The Air Chair is shipped with a "beginners" blade which is very stable and makes learning easier. The blade is somewhat triangle-shaped with two fins on the bottom. A secondary rear blade is much more rounded (like a thick boomerang).
This blade makes the chair more maneuverable, but also requires more practice to control well. When the ends of the "boomerang" are pointed toward the rear it is the intermediate setting, and when the blade is flipped around, it creates the advanced configuration.Not only are the blades affecting how the chair rides, but there are wedges which fit between the base and the blades that affect how much lift is created and the general angle-of-attack that the hydrofoil uses. There are different sizes of wedges and the placement of the wedge will finely tune the angle. It is usually best to start with the medium size wedge, and experiment with the placement, and move to the other wedges if you need the chair to handle differently. Tighten all bolts on the base and blades, and insert the post into the bottom of the chair and be sure the bolt is hand-tightened (not too tight) and the pin is placed through the shaft of the chair for extra safety. Hop in the water after you suit up with a life jacket and swim trunks.
Place the Air Chair into the water. Though the Air Chair is heavy, if the post and blades are attached to the chair correctly, nothing will sink. Only the last few inches of the nose of the ski will be above the surface. As you approach the Air Chair be wary of the post and blades which are below the surface that you can't see. Slide your legs in through the seatbelt after you loosen it. Move to the edge of the seat, for most people the Air Chair works best if your back is at the back edge of the seat, so you are sitting most of the way off the front of the seat. Grab the rope and align it in front of the exposed part of the ski. Steer with the rope! The Air Chair uses leverage as it's primary means of control. Move the rope to the right and it will pull you to the left, and vice versa. Control the angle of the Air Chair by compensating with the location of the rope. This will take a lot of practice to perfect. The driver of the boat will have to be patience (as will you) because you will get turned sideways more than once and you will fall, once up, more than once!
With the boat pulling you in a straight line, try to the keep the Air Chair straight. Lean forward and keep the rope high to remain on the water. Steering is the same as when in the water with one addition: Attempt to raise the ski off the water. Straighten your back (so you aren't leaning forward or backward), and keep your arms high (this keeps you on the water). Practice the basics of controlling your height until you are able to go the full length of the post on command. Be aware that going to high will most likely cause you to crash as air being caught under the hydrofoil will remove all lift and will bring you down to the ski in a hurry. The picture at right is an example of what happens after you go too high. Cutting (turning to the extremities of the usable water) is a unique experience among water sports. The Air Chair requires a good deal of balance and control to maneuver over the wake then to keep level as the rope pulls you at more of an angle.
The rope has been keeping you level while behind the boat, but as the rope pulls at nearly a perpendicular angle to your motion, the downward leverage is gone. You must compensate by leaning forward or back to keep level. Jump by leaning back. People who know how to ride a unicycle seem to learn the Air Chair relatively easier. Pulling the Air Chair from an elevated wakeboard tower or pole is better than a lower position , as it will aid in deep water starts as well as the general handling of the Chair. The blade setup takes some trial and error before you find the setup you prefer. The Air Chair is very low impact. Little effort is required once out of the water. The hydrofoil is very efficient and doesn't create much friction. You can also ride above wavy water which reduces the impact of rough water. Even the crashes are relatively smooth. Advanced riders should practice controlling elevation and minute maneuvers with pressure on nose of the ski with your feet.
You can perform quick movements using your legs and feet. Someone in the boat who knows how to use the Air Chair is a good start as they can observe and give specific pointers as to what you are doing wrong. Learning to get up is the most difficult part of learning the Air Chair. Do not be discouraged if it takes 20 or more times to get up for more than a few seconds. Getting into the booties may require some force as the neoprene can be quite tight. For easy transportation, there are Air Chair racks which hold the Air Chair on the side of a tower or wake cage in the assembled condition. An experienced driver who has towed Air Chairs couldn't hurt, as towing an Air Chair is slightly different than towing a skier or a wake boarder. Be sure the driver is an experience driver who is used to picking up downed skiers. This is a water sport, thus there are all the dangers of anything dealing with water, such as drowning. Be sure the skier is an experienced swimmer and is wearing a coast guard approved life jacket designed for the user's weight and size.