Wing foiling (aka winging or wingfoiling) is similar to windsurfing however you are elevated on a hydrofoil and propelled by a light inflatable wing rather than by a sail affixed to a mast.

Most people consider wing foiling to be easier than kiteboarding and windsurfing. 

Wing foiling is also easier than surfing because you could surf for years and still only accumulate a few minutes of actual standup time on a surfboard.

Not really – once up and foiling the hydrofoil has very little drag and since the board is elevated above the water it has virtually no drag other than a bit of wind resistance. The inflatable wings weigh between 4 and 7 pounds and they generate their own lift when held above your head initially. 

What actually takes the most strength while learning is carrying the large cumbersome beginner board with the foil and wing up the beach. Fortunately, we’ll be using a boat so I can bring the gear back up wind! 

The first two days of wing foiling are the hardest because climbing on the board, flipping over and re-positioning the wing, and pumping the wing to get on foil takes substantially more strength than just gliding along foiling once you are up. An experienced foiler may only have to go through these motions several times in a day. 

Some people that wingfoil long distance prefer to use a small harness so the force of the wing is around their waist more like kiteboarding. 

Not at all. Wing foiling is quite different from surfing because you can lean against the wing to balance and because the hydrofoil provides a termendous amount of stability. 

Nope. Wing foiling is very intuitive because you are directly holding the wing so you can feel a stronger pull when you have the wing in a better position to capture the wind. 

Wing Surfing is the ultimate water sport. It’s wing foiling in waves. Hydrofoils magically react with even tiny surf propelling you forward at remarkable speeds. If you see a rider whose wing is being held in one hand behind them or just being held level above them, then they are wing surfing. 

Foiling refers to riding a hydrofoil. 

Wake foiling is getting towed behind a boat where, once up, you can generally ride the wake with barely any use of the tow rope. Prone foiling, refers to surfing with a hydrofoil under your board. Tow-in foiling is where you get towed into waves on a foil board. Pump foiling is where you get a running start on a dock or at a beach and then jump on to a foil board and begin pumping to propel yourself. Downwind and SUP foiling is paddle boarding but with a hydrofoil beneath your board. Kite foiling is kiteboarding with a small foil. E-foiling is where an electric motor with a propeller is built into the mast or hydrofoil. Wind foiling is windsurfing with a hydrofoil beneath the windsurf board. 

Wake foiling is great practice for wing foiling and foiling in general since you can go out behind a boat and focus on learning to ride a foil without the complications of the wing, surfing or pumping. 

The other foiling disciplines (besides e-foiling) should be pursued after learning to wing and wake foil because they require very specific gear, conditions, athletic ability, and experience.

E-foils can be quite expensive and are much heavier than other foil boards because they have a large battery and therefore need a larger foil to support the extra weight. A pro of an electric foil is that you dont need a wing, a wave, or your muscles to propel you but the cons are that most e-foils cant glide because of the drag from the prop and their large size. E-foils with motors mounted high up on the mast are a different story – the motor can be used to get you up and foiling and then turned off once you catch a wave or begin pumping.

If you’ve got over 12 knots of wind coming from any direction and a small body of water you can wing foil. Once up and foiling, the board is elevated above the water so there is almost no drag or friction, which means you can get foiling with a gust but then keep foiling with as little as 7knts of wind. You are then unaffected by chop so you can effortlessly cruise along at a pretty good clip – often well over the wind speed.  While winging, in between waves or gusts of wind you can also pump to keep on cruising!

To kiteboard you actually need specific conditions: the wind has to be blowing “on shore” towards the beach so if the wind dies down you can get back to land. The wind should be stable and not super gusty because each size kite only works well in a specific 5-10knt wind range. Your launch area and the nearby waters should be clear of sharp objects and major obstacles. 

While wing foiling, If it gets gusty and you start to go too fast or feel uncomfortable you can simply drop the wing (which is connected to you by a leash) and it will just flop on the water and you can glide to a stop. While kiting, you can become “overpowered” which can result in you getting dragged by the kite or if you crash the kite it can get tangled and become impossible to relaunch. 

Windsurfing is much harder to learn and requires large heavy gear and you need really strong wind for it to be any fun. 

It’s addictive. You may end up ditching your family whenever there is wind. 

If the gear you are using is not paired well with your ability and the conditions, it can be frustrating and tiresome. 

It can be dangerous. Many measures can be taken to minimize risk, however the foils are sharp and the boards are hard. Avoid breaking waves that pound the shoreline. If you begin to lose your balance and the board starts to tip, just keep on falling and don’t try to lean the other way to recover. This helps you to fall into the water and not onto the board, or worse, the foil. When climbing on to the board, don’t kick, just pull yourself up and on to it. You don’t want to accidentally kick the foil – especially with bare feet.

Beginner wing foil boards are large so they are difficult to travel with.

You should take lessons because a good instructor will match you with the right gear for your abilities and the prevailing conditions. More so than any other sort of water or snow sports lessons – the right gear is absolutely necessary!

A basic wing foil setup consists of an inflatable handheld wing ranging in size from 3 to 8 square meters, a board ranging from 30l to 180l of float and varying greatly in design, a hydrofoil which has a mast ranging from 24-110cms in height, a front wing that varies greatly in design and from 600cm^2 to 2400cm^2 in surface area, a fuselage which is typically 50 to 70cm in length, and stabilizer or tail wing generally between 140cm^2 and 360cm^2. A leash for the wing and board. Optional safety equipment. Optional harness. It aint as simple as surfing, where a beginner uses a longboard and then progresses to a short board… 

At least $1,500 to $2,500 if you are shopping around for deals and used gear – much more for brand new premium gear. The goal of my lessons is to enable you to skip buying the beginner gear which will becomes obsolete after a year or two. This way when you get your own gear, you’ll get two years out of it and then still retain it for light wind days. I can also give you some tips on what to buy and more importantly what not to buy.

Boards vary from as little as $400 to as much as $2,000; hydrofoil kits (mast, front wing, fuselage, stabilizer tail wing, hardware) range from $500 to $2000; inflatable wings generally range from $200 to $1,500; and $100 to $400 for accessories – leashes, pump, harness (optional). 

Hydrofoils are modular within the same brand so as you progress you can get different components however they don’t work with other companies gear. Fortunately, the industry has gravitated towards a uniform mounting track boxes so any modern hydrofoil mast can connect to any board.

With 3 to 5 lessons, I aim to get you wing foiling at a level that would take you 1 to 2 years to progress to on your own. 

By following along in the boat and then bringing you and the gear back up wind, I will save you hours of lugging your wingfoil setup along the beach and paddling it into the wind. You wouldn’t try to learn to ski or snowboard without a chairlift, would you? 

Using BBtalkin radio helmet headsets, I can give you real time tips that will greatly accelerate your learning. There is a lot of subtlety with weight distribution and form so being able to talk with you in real time while learning is key.

I can fast track your progression by teaching you foiling separately from winging. By towing you on large boards with large foils at first and then smaller and smaller gear, you’ll get comfortable with wake foiling both switch and regular stance so that when you get up wing foiling you can focus on handling the wing and going up wind. 

By taking several lessons, you’ll be able to skip buying a large beginner board and foil – which will save you about $1,000-$1,500. You should be able to step into intermediate gear that will last you several years and still be great for light wind days. 

For intermediate to advanced riders, I have a wide range of foils and wings that you can test out and – since I dont sell gear – I can give you unbiased advice regarding what you should buy to continue progressing on your own. 

I primarily have Armstrong gear.