Interesting report on "lightfoils". Whereas aerofoils use air to generate lift, lightfoils use light. Future spacecraft could potentially "sail" round the solar system.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11927793
Interesting, though not exactly a first. ;) The Japanese IKAROS demonstration spacecraft (http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/ikaros/index_e.html) was launched last year. See this thread (http://forum.orpington-astronomy.org.uk/index.php?topic=6129.0), and another mission, a tripple-cubesat called LightSail-1 (http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/solar_sailing/) is scheduled for launch sometime next year. The solar sail idea is at least as old as Jack Vance's 1962 story Sail 25 (http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=349).
The design of the "lightfoil" does suggest that it will more maneuverable than a "sail"
It's a similar concept to "rigid wing sails".
Do photons behave the same or similar to air ? Would there be a "low pressure area" on the leeward side of the foil rather than just a relatively low pressure area ?
Arthur C Clarke wrote a great short story, ('Sunjammer', alt. 'Wind from the Sun' 1964), about a solar sail race. It's only now we have the technology to make the fabrics and tethers big enough and light enough to attempt to do it.