THE PRE-FOILER

You've been on a foil, so you know what to expect. If you've been foiling on a SUP or prone surf board, you basically just need to learn to steer the wing, as the rest (stance & balance) is pretty much the same with or without a wing in your hands. If you've been windsurf- or kite-foiling, you need to get a feel for a centered stance riding a foil without the extra help for stabilization of the windsurf rig or the kite. If the first case counts for you, you're ready to go. If you come from windsurfing or kiting, we have the following tips for you:

1. You come from Windsurfing: Steering the wing will be relatively easy for you, as it's not that much different to catching the wind with a windsurfing sail. Just try to hold the wing in around 45° angle, with the front of the boom above your head. So your main task will be learning the free balance of riding the foil without the stabilization of the "third leg" (the mast). If you know someone with a boat or jetski, try a session being pulled on a calm day (check our Foiling Academy Clips for the right tips). Half an hour behind the boat will help you a lot to get an understanding for the placement of your feet and how to keep the board in flight-mode and to feel the difference over windsurf-foiling. Once you figure it out, you're ready to go with the wing. If you don't have a chance to be pulled behind a boat, then try straight away with the wing, but be aware to not lean back as much compared to windsurfing and to keep your feet and weight really centered over the board.

2. You come from Kiting: Many kiters have more problems to steer the wing compared to windsurfers, as you steer your bar totally different to a boom, which transfers the power of the wind directly into your hands. If you can find an old windsurf board with a daggerboard, try a few runs with that to understand how the wing works and how to catch the wind most efficiently to generate drive. Once you figure out how the wing works, you're ready to wing it on your foil!

THE WING-ADDICT

You're ready to enter the next level! You're in this group if you've had your fair share of wing sessions on your Foil SUP, make it through your first gybes and tacks on your foil and you figured how nice it must be to carry less board around once you're up in the air - and on the beach too ;-). Entering the Wing-Addict group can happen within days, weeks or a few months, depending on your skills and your wing time. Our new Sky Wing is specially designed for this group and beyond. As you don't need to learn Winging anymore you don't need too many tips, but we'd just like to leave a comment on Board size and the importance of Volume.

• Don't underestimate the importance of volume and buoyancy. As a wing-addict you're probably following the different channels for wing foiling and some of the best guys are using surf foil boards with under 50l of Volume. If you want to step up your game and want to ride what the 'pros' ride, you should consider three points: 1. With every liter less volume you need more wind to get going. A board that you just sink needs a lot of power in your wing to actually get up and out of the water. So a bit more Volume will make a huge difference for gusty conditions or lighter winds in general! 2. Boards that you sink need a lot of technique to actually get on them. Most of the guys you see riding surf foil boards are pros or semi-pros in other watersports or foiling-disciplines and are exceptionally skilled. 3. Specialized Wing boards were simply not available up until just recently, so the good guys had the options to stick with a SUP foil board or make the radical step down towards a surf foil board. If they'd had the option of the ideal solution in between - they would have chosen something like the Sky Wing. The extra Volume that keeps you on the surface can make all the difference if you actually have a good day on the foil or if you just sink and never get your board out.