Airborne wingsurfing

by Carl-Magnus Fogelholm, Misa Leiber and Patrick Blom

The latest trend among Wingsurfers in Finland is to get airborne with a Kitewing Wingsail. It was not originally designed for flying, but rather for sailing on ice and snow. Jumping and flying have become hot winter pastimes since the early '90's. Kitewing wingsurfing and ski jumping


The longest jump in those days was held by ski teacher Tero Kyrkkä. But his jump of 84 feet, fell in 1995 to Misa Leiber. Then in 1999, a 21-year-old economics student, Patrick Blom, shook the record with a stunning 518 foot jump coming down the side of a mountain in Lapland. Blom learned to use the ground compression effect similar to a plane trying to land, to glide great distances down a ski slope.

With the new age, WINGsurfing has become a natural sport to reach the young and skillful board sailors and enthusiasts of extreme sports. Jumping or flying with the wing has been the key to this popularity. This aerial trend started in 1998 on the ice of the Baltic Sea ouside the town of Oulu in northern Finland. A young enthusiastic team of board, ski and ice sailors led by Misa Leiber, were pioneers of the new sport and the trend quickly spread to all Finland.

In the last two years, Wingsurfing has gradually changed from a sport for middle-aged men (who seek freedom in the sport) to an extreme winter sport for young people aged 20 to 30. At the same time, Wingsurfing is moving from frozen lakes and sea shore to the mountains and ski slopes. The sport has dramatically changed the attitudes for windsurfers in the winter time. Finnish Wingsurfers can now enjoy long, year-round sailing as winter Wingsurfing can be practiced for about 5 1/2 months, from the middle of November to the end of April.

The operating principle of the Kitewing Wingsurfer is that the same side of the wing is always aimed at the wind. The Wingsurfer can be described as a hybrid, comprising a traditional windsurfing sail and a hang-glider. Compared to a hang-glider, the Kitewing has less than half of the wing area and is far more accessible, safer and user-friendly than kites. But it does need wind. In favorable wind and weather conditions, the Kitewing can attain speeds up to 80 mph. During the winter of '99, the speed record of 84 mph was registered. But still, flying and floating are what make this sport so exciting-the focus of so much attention.

The following are two short pieces by two premier young flyers, each one providing a glimpse of the dynamics of this new sport. Misa Leiber, age 28, is an active Finnish board sailor from Oulu and the first sailor to study the technique of jumping with a Kitewing Wingsurfer. He is a former Finnish Junior Champion in both windsurfing and snowboarding. Twenty-one year old Patrick Blom, is a student of Economics from Helsinki. He has Wingsailed for two years and learned to jump on the frozen lakes of southern Finland.

Carl-Magnus Fogelholm is the managing director of Skywings Ltd. He is one of the co-designers of the Kitewing Wingsurfer and the major force behind the development of the new winter sport.

Airborne Wingsurfing by Misa Leiber

For a long time my windsurfing friends and I have been trying to find a perfect winter hobby (including wind and air time). In the spring of 1996 I discovered a Kitewing. I tried it once, made my first jump after 30 minutes of training and I was sold... In this article I will give you some tips on how to jump with a Kitewing. I had jumping experience only with skis, but the basic technique is pretty much the same as with snowboarding. Before jumping with a Kitewing you should already be an experienced Wingsurfer and preferably have done some jumping with skis or snowboard on a hill. Okay, so how should you start your training?

A little about techniques...
Jumping technique varies whether you jump on flat surface or you use little snow bumps, but you always start practicing your jumps into sidewind. Naturally there's a difference when you go to the mountains, but let's not go into that area in this article.

Jumping on A Flat surface (ice/snow)
1. Takeoff Run: Speed up by steering your course a bit more downwind. When you feel comfortable and balanced, take a wider grip (i.e. move your backhand farther back on the boom). Wider grip equals better balance and control during the jump and landing. Unharness yourself if you use a harness line.

2. Lift-off: Make a tight carving turn towards the wind. Simultaneously push the wing up (sheet in with your back hand and push the wing upwards with your front hand). With this motion you'll open the wing and it will create more lift for take-off. Just before you feel the pressure in the wing (pulling you upwards), jump up (just as you would jump from the spring board) and after becoming airborne, pull your legs to your chest. Curl your arms to make a more tugged position. This tugged body position decreases drag and makes it easier to control your wing in the air. Basically your body movements in the air are the same as when performing a basic jump in windsurfing.

3. Cruising altitude: Make only little corrections and enjoy your airtime!

4. Landing: Open up your tugged position by straightening your arms and legs. Try to aim where you want to land. This way you can see how high you are. When the landing comes, take the impact on the back of your skis. This way you will minimize the impact on your legs.

Ski jump, i.e. snow bump
1. Once again speed up by steering your course first a bit more downwind. Find a comfortable and well balanced position before hitting the snow bump. Take a wider grip (similar to flat surface technique). Unharness yourself, if you use a harness line. Note: When jumping from a snow bump, it can be very dangerous to go really fast. So start with slower speeds and work on your gliding techniques for longer jumps!

2. Make a shallow turn towards the wind just before arriving at the snowbump. (Be careful that the lower antenna on the tip of the wing won't bang the surface when hitting the snow bump). Turning shallowly towards the wind, stabilizes the wing and set it into straight, level flight.

3. Lift-off is a little different now, because you don't need to sheet in as much as you had to on flat surfaces. Actually, jumping from snow bumps is a lot easier, because you need only to jump up (spring up) on the edge of the ski jump. Then pull your legs to your chest and curl your arms to make a more tugged position. Now you don't need to do any drastic sheet in's. Simply hit the lip and get airborne.

4. The gliding technique and the landing are the same as before, so we don't need to go through that again. In general, jumping on flat surface takes more skill and precision (= training). You have to have the right timing of leg and hand coordination when making a turn into the wind and jumping up. When jumping from a snow bump a good rule of thumb is to make a shallow S-turn between arriving at the snow bump and landing. First turn shallowly into the wind. When you're in the air, sidewind will push you more downwind.

There are always problems...
Like everything, it takes time to master jumping or even to learn the basics thoroughly. Everybody must be willing to pay the price (broken antennas, occasionally strained muscles and so on).

Here are some solutions I have found when things go wrong:
A) Lower antenna touches surface when you launch your jump from a snow bump: You have probably sheeted in too much, so "open" the wing a little more by straightening your back hand.

B) Your center of gravity is too much forward when in the air: Push the wing forward on the level (towards where you are going) and straighten your back hand. Your weight and center of gravity will move aft.

C) Your jump is higher than you would prefer: Very carefully curl your back hand-this will increase your wing's angle of attack and slow your airspeed. Be very careful, because sheeting in too much could stall your wing!

How to make a skijump Safest way, is to make a small 2-foot high snow bump. Make sure you are in an open area, so you have safe distance when training. Make a symmetrical snow bump so you can use it with various wind directions. Check the landing area especially well, cause you don't want to find any sharp objects there while landing. . . You may want to pile up some extra snow on a landing spot, so the landing impact is not so painful in the case of unsuccesful landings. Note: Don't even think to make an "Olympic-size" ski jump or shaping it very steeply. This will only result in injuries and bad techniques. With right technique you can jump more than 10 feet high from flat surfaces. . .

Precautions Use the same gear you would otherwise use when wingsurfing, but leave the ice pic home: Necessary equipment would be:

1. protective helmet
2. knee and elbow pads

I prefer mogul/freeride skis less than 5.75 ft. long. Set the bindings a bit tighter than usual so they won't open on landings. In the long run, it´s wise to buy a light, but durable pair, of freeride skis (very extreme carving skis would be good), because they will probably take a lot more beating than your mother's old all-round skis, which you are now using in your training.

Also recalibrate your thinking. A fearless hot dog attitude will only cause accidents and a bad reputation for this sport. With raw muscle power and stupidity you'll probably end up flying high, but the landings are a different story. Jumping is first of all precision and technique. With experience come the power and the big moves. Competitive attitude is something you won't want to mix in your training. Make your own pace and do only what feels good, because in the end that's the only thing that matters.

Misa Leiber is a product manager for a software company in Oulu, Finland. He held the title as the Finnish National Snowboarder Champion for three years in the early 90's and came in second the the Production Windsurfing Worlds.

Airborne wingsurfing
by Patrick Blom

I have been practicing jumping with my Kitewing wingsail on ice for the past two years.

Personally I prefer Wingsurfing with long distance skates whenever the ice is smooth and free of snow. You get better speed with skates and jumping is easy, because you can make sharp carves into the wind and launch into the air.

The carve technique is essential if you want to get airborne with the Kitewing. Speed is also essential. My low weight, about 146 lbs, it seems to contribute to the long hang-time.

With a speed of 30-40 mph with the wind from the side, safe jumps of 150 ft. long and 9 to 15 ft. high are possible using the standard wing. With skis the jumps may not be as long, but you feel more safe when landing on snow than on the hard ice!

Actually my flying experiences (and eventual record) with Kitewing in the mountains of Lapland were not planned at all. For two days we had been waiting for some wind at the Ylläs-fell and on a dull day in April last year, I was beginning to get bored. Then I thought there must be something you can do with a wing on the ski slope even without wind. So I took my Kitewing on the lift and went up to the top, which is at 1,589 ft. above sea level. Sailing down the hill was easy and familiar. In the beginning there was a little wind on my back but as the speed increased, the wing stabilized itself.

Then I started to test some low jumps as the ski slope gave me more speed and the apparent wind gave the wing lift. To my surprise, I felt quite safe and balanced launching into the air with just the apparent wind caused by the decent. As I got more speed, the jumps became longer and more balanced as the speed increased. We measured the longest jump the first day at 161.5 ft. I think the other skiers were figuring we were hang glider pilots or just crazy. Two days later I sailed up the local Keskisenlaki mountain with a steady incline. There was 10-12 mph wind and I used normal carving skis. At this place there were no lifts so I can sail free from other skiers. I started down with my sail and suddenly I was in the air. The flight felt good and when I landed, I leaped again for another take-off which we measured at about 210 ft. After sailing up the hill again, I made several 150-210 ft. flights that afternoon. The next day we thought it was time to really test "wingflying" on a steep slope called "Kururinne". This slope has an angle of about 30 degrees.

We first checked that no one was in my flight path and then I started down the hill. First I took a few carves to get familiar with the wing and then added some acceleration by pulling in the boom. After take-off on this ski slope, I started my longest flight ever with the Kitewing. I concentrated on keeping a firm grip on the wing and to keep good balance. I noticed at once that this flight carried me high and for a long distance. The wing hovered down the ski slope at about 15-18 ft. high above ground.

The feeling of flying was exciting but not frightening. The only thing I felt a little bit worried about was wondering if the wind would steer the wing towards the side and off the groomed trail. The landing was controlled and I felt good to have the earth under my feet again. Then we measured this flight and discovered it to be 518 ft.

After this record flight, I spent some time on this ski slope just testing flight techniques. Most of these flights carried me under good control about 300 feet and more. At this time the spectators did not think we were crazy any more. We had shown people a new form of fly-sailing. A week after this record, Finnish TV broadcasted the flight on two different sports programs. I don't recommend any unexperienced wingsurfer to try flights like this. You have to start with low jumps and make sure that the ski slope is free of other skiers and obstacles. If it doesn't feel balanced and safe, don't exceed your own skills.

Patrick Blom has only been Wingsailing for two years and has already shattered a long standing record for distance flying. He now lives for the winter.

Editor's Note: These instructions are based on personal and non-scientific experiences. We cannot guarantee that they or the sport will prevent damages or injuries to you. Jumping with a Kitewing could be hazardous, so do it at your own risk.