Hand held wings have been around for a long time. They have been mainly used on land (snow, ice). Hand held wings have not been efficient and powerful enough to propel a vessel on water. Traditional windsurfing equipment have done a better job at this.
The fast development of hydrofoils and inflatable wings have managed the the birth of a new watersport Wing Foiling. Robby Naish should arguably get the biggest credit as the godfather of the modern sport. Robby created an inflatable wing using similar materials to kitesurfing kites. With this inflatable wing, he could propel a hydrofoil which had far less drag than a surfboard or windsurfer this meant the wing finally had a place in the water and away from the ice. Robby launched his product as the Wingsurfer in early 2019.
Wings
When you first see a Wing Foiling inflatable wing, you’ll find it looks a bit like a windsurfing sail; however it is shaped and constructed quite differently. Wing Foiling wings are extremely light and built around an inflatable framework that needs to be fully inflated to take shape, however, as the sport is still developing, there are some variations on equipment design and some wings may have a physical boom structure and battens to increase structural stiffness.
The inflatable wing works very similarly to a kite or sail in that it provides a collective barrier for the wind as it blows, which causes the wing to lift or pull in the direction the wind is blowing. This pulls the rider and board forward in the direction of the wind.
Wing Geometry / Aspect Ratio
Wing Leading Edge
Foils
Foil Board Mounting
Foil Mast
Foil Front Wing
Wing Foil Boards
