Jumping the Wingfoilboard

Question: How do you jump with wing?? Ok let me be more specific, I have many questions… Riders who know how to jump : how did you learn or practice? Should I first learn to jump with kitefoil, or is it easier with wing? One foot strap on the front of the board or two straps?

Short Answer(s): Learn to jump on kitefoil first (i did). Tail-first landings are best. Start small. Two footstraps are best for jumping. Make sure any wings are not sharp, blunten them if necessary. Wear wetsuits etc for protection from bumps and scrapes. You can jump/land a wingfoil with one front footstrap, but I prefer two. Small jumps of maybe a foot or two at first. eventually you can land nose-first as well. Start at an upwind angle, but on higher jumps, turn the board a little downwind in the air, and land “slightly” downwind for a smoother landing.

Footstraps: If you learned to wingfoil without footstraps, that is best because now you know your preferred foot positions. In general you will want to add the straps to the exact same positions where your feet go, but later you may want to move the straps backward slightly. Hopefully the board you have already has inserts for adding footstraps. However many wingboards tend to have insert positions copied from wingsurf strap positions. In general wingboard footstraps will be fairly close to the board’s centerlne. getting the strap positions placed correctly laterally is essential for any foilboard.  If necessary, you can have a board-maker/repairer add more footstrap inserts to almost any wingboard.

Footstrap Use: Yes there is an increased risk of ankle injury when using footstraps, but to minimize risk you must set the straps up correctly. Not too loose or too tight. The problems happen if one foot slips out prematurely (midair or when landing), or when the board “jack-knifes” with your feet still in the straps.  Once you start using footstraps on any foilboard (kite-foil or wing-foil) you will quickly become familiar with these situations.

Freewing Wingsurfing Wings.
You can use a single foot-hook or strap on the front.

Foot-hooks: If you have weak ankles or want to ease into it, I recommend using foot hooks first, they are much safer for your ankles. The trade off is that foot-hooks are not as secure as straps, and your feet may slip out more often, but when that happens you can get out of them much more easily.

Dragonfly Wingsurfing Wings
In mid air, I raise my heel-side to catch air under the board, but I must flatten out the board before landing.

Landing Method: it is best to land flat. By “flat” I mean laterally.

  • Do not have the board tipping toward one side or the other.
  • Keep your weight above it and land on top of it.
  • If the foil is angled sideways too much the board will jack-knife (= bad).
  • Land on top of the foil, albeit slightly on the back wing.

This is essential for smaller jumps. On larger jumps with more forward speed, you can angle the upwind rail downward slightly to compensate for the forward force of the landing. For sure, you never want to land with the downwind rail lower than the upwind rail. 

Dragonfly Wingsurfing Wings
In bigger jumps the board will tend to turn downwind by itself, It can cause you to be out of position and crash on landing. To compensate for this, point the board into the wind mid jump, and the natural rotation will turn the board downwind to a good landing angle by the time you land.

Freewing Boom

Introducting the Freewing WingBoom. The Wingboom is an almnium boom with a soft EVA foam grip. Wingbooms are adjustable length to suit various Freewing Sizes. Freewing Wingbooms are specifically designed for Wingsurfing, and they are designed for optimum utilization with Freewing Wings (although they may be used on several other wing brands). All Dragonfly Freewing Wings are built to receive the Boom upgrade. Special boom mounting points and reinforcements are already included as standard on all models and versions of Freewings. Wingbooms are built tough an can handle tough conditions. Continue reading “Freewing Boom”

Dragonfly Freewing Wingsurfing

Dragonfly Freewing™. The Freewing is a handheld wing for wing-surfers and wing-foilers. This latest model wing is a new version for 2020.  The new model has a multitude of refinements from the previous model. These lightweight wings are very versatile for a range of ride styles. Skate.  SUP- or Foil with it. The wing comes complete with handles, back-pack carry bag, and *Bonus Pump.

Continue reading “Dragonfly Freewing Wingsurfing”

What is Wingsurfing?

WingSurfing: Wingsurfing is a wind-powered watersport that uses a handheld symmetrical wing to power a surfboard or foilboard, It has similar traits to windsurfing, and kiting, and is almost a hybrid of both. Wing-skiing has been around for 15-20 years however recent improvements in Wing design, combined with the rise of foilboards, have propelled this new sport into the spotlight. Wingsurfing has really started to get noticed and is quickly attracting followers. Wingsurfing is less extreme than kiteboarding which adds to its general appeal.

A wingsurfer
Continue reading “What is Wingsurfing?”

Short Line Sessions on the Swoop Kite

We are constantly testing our gear in different ways, pushing the limits, experimenting, and generally having fun. Here is a quick video of one of our Kite testing sessions using some short kite lines. In the video, we use 8m and 10 lines.

Testing the Swoop kite on Short Lines

Demo Center – Mui Ne Vietnam

We have just opened a new Dragonfly Kite demo center in Vietnam. Located on the world class Mui Ne Kite Beach. We are in partnership with our friends at the newly created Session Sports Kite School. This center is the exclusive ocean sports center located at the Saigon Mui Ne resort. With one of the longest beach frontages in Mui Ne. Talk to any of their instructors about Dragonfly Kites. They ride them and use them in their school. These guys are hard-core freestylers as well as avid foilers too. Test rides on the New Kites are available by appointment. Test Rides (without a rental or lesson) are usually limited to 30 minute rides, and please take care and ride responsibly, because “if you bust it you buy it”.

Wind conditions in Mui Ne are super consistent during the peak winter season, December to March and get somewhat lighter in the shoulder seasons. Lightwind kiters and foilers have a much longer season. Summer season has a reversal of wind direction. Water here is warm, no wetsuit is required, although wearing some sun protection while kiting is always a good idea.

Kite Lines

Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) 

Uhmwpe fiber 4 line 25m kitesurfing line set end looped
The right choice of kite line is essential if you want to get the maximum performance from your kite.
Our kite Lines are made from hi-grade uhmwpe fiber using the most modern construction techniques. This is combined with a sophisticated extreme pre-stretching process to give you the best performance and lowest stretch. In addition a highly UV-resistant coating helps to reduce friction and prolong life and aids to lower water absorption. The optimized construction of our kite Lines ensures the best strength-to-weight ratio with minimum aerodynamic drag. Each kite line set is color coded for safety and ease of use.

Key Features

  • Color coded line for easy left/right and brake line identification
  • Extra long sewn sleeved end loops for easy line attachment
  • Strand: 8×1
  • Pre-stretched
  • End looped
  • Line Strength: 400kg
  • Line Length(s): available in 20m and 25m
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