Quote:
Originally Posted by jome
From the stills it does indeed look overpowered.
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Yes, indeed it does. Almost the entire blade is bent practically perpendicularly to the axis of motion, hence having practically zero propulsive force at that moment. It only propulses when it flexes back, but on my mind that's not the way a monofin should work. I think that for the optimal propulsive efficiency, the working part of the blade should be (possibly most of the time) in the ideal angle of attack, which is (if I am not wrong) 45° when still, and decreasing with increasing speed. That's why fins for sprint are stiffer (achieving so the lower angle for the maximal propulsive efficiency). If you watch videos of monofin swimmers, the blade practically follows the shape of a rather flat sinusoid. I never saw a fin blade bending so much like in the photo above.
