Got to see my first in-person air-tacks yesterday and today as a couple of US Olympic candidates were on the water with us. Noah Lyons (US-9) basically doesn't miss. It looks like he's trying to breach the board directly into the wind, switches way up there and then sort of sails it down to cruising height. Watching him and his training partner Alex Temko (less spectacular, loses a little more speed) and watching a few others suffer some brutal ejections, I'm full of admiration and have NO desire to even attempt one of these. Planing through a tack, sure, flying through - no way.
God dammit. This is ballet on the water.
Don't see myself even attempting a foil tack on race gear though. A foil jibe alone was enough in terms of "investment" in the skill. IMHO a foiling tack is a pure race move that doesn't have any particular advantage for recreational riding, whereas a foil jibe actually benefits an average rider, especially in the light wind.
Those are nice fast tacks, and are race-competitive, but they are not quite "full flight."
Whoohoo, I hope to be foiling Scenic View next week.