What is wing foiling ?
Wing foiling is a new form of surfing, in which you are driven by a kind of kite (the wing) on a surfboard, where you float about 50 cm above the water instead of over the water. The board will fly through a wing structure called the hydrofoil, which is attached under the board.
From about 10 km/h, the upward force of the wings causes the board to be lifted up and you fly over the water. Due to the low resistance, you can achieve relatively high speeds with little wind.
Unlike wind foiling, you do not have to be able to windsurf for wingfoiling. This makes wing foiling more accessible to a wider audience. Having a good balance, feeling with the wind are important conditions to be able to pick up wing foiling quickly.
Wing foiling a mix of various board sports
In the wake of the wind foiling, the wing foil has arisen. A cool and specatular variant of foiling, with a mix of well-known board sports such as kitesurfing, supping, wave surfing and of course wind foiling. Even more than with wind foiling you have a ‘free feeling’ because you are loose on the shelf. The wing is a lot lighter than your surf sail and also the board on which you stand is a lot smaller. All this gives you a lot of freedom of movement and invites you to ride a nice wave or do other trics.
Why Wing foiling?
Just like when wind foiling, the foil or hydrofoil ensures that you are lifted out of the water at little speed. Because of the low resistance you can fly over the water with very little wind. The basic speed to be able to wingfoil is lower than with wind foiling. This is because;
- The weight of the board and wing is a lot lower than of a windfoilset (board and rigging)
- On average, the surface of the wings of the wingfoil is much bigger than the wings of a windfoil
- Regulating the power is easier and that is why wings have a large range
The wing most closely resembles a small kite, but without the lines. For the wing many techniques and materials have been used from kite surfing. The stiffness or ‘frame’ of the wing consists of tubes, just like in kitesurfing.
Because the wing is inflatable, fold it into a small package; so easy to carry and ideal for storage. Wing foiling has a huge fun factor and is less heavy than, for example, windsurfing.
Wing foiling you really have to learn
For most people it takes a while before they have mastered the wing foiling properly. Based on our experiene on average people need 5 to 6 lessons before they are able to foil in a stable way. We know from experience that there are three challenges;
- You have to find your balance on a relatively small board, without your rig being attached to your board
- You need to hold the wing high above you and position it correctly so that the wing provides sufficient front thrust
- Staying stable in the air
The biggest challenge is to find your balance in the air. A normal board remains stable due to contact with the water. With wing foiling, this contact is no longer there. You literally hang on your wing almost 1 meter above the water. Steering works many times more extreme than with a normal board. A small movement creates a great effect. Read more about this on the page ‘Learning wing foiling‘.