Does the huge wing + small sail combination work in light wind?

Depends on how huge and how much power you apply.
Like Formula, drag vs lift needs awareness.

The large wing helps you to fly at lower speed, so you can get away with a smaller sail. I used Naish 1400 and 1800AH with 5.7 and 6.6 in light wind, makes the session smoother. Did 19.5 knts with the 1400 wing in stronger winds, and 16.5 with the 1800, so they are not really slow.
My sessions with 1400:
martignoni.id.au/summary_fin.php?fin=NaishFoil2020-1400&sort=date

and my sessions with 1800:
martignoni.id.au/summary_fin.php?fin=NaishFoil2020-1800&sort=date

Only issue I found with this setup is that its hard to pump a small sail with no wind, once you get a bit of speed you pump the foil, but before then you need a bit of a gust to get going

I am using a Areotech Freespeed 9.0 (2016 model year) with a AFS Wind95 and F800 higher aspect wing (1120 cm2) on a Goya Bolt 135 Pro for light winds 9-11 mph, so opposite of what you are looking at, I stay hooked in almost the whole time, so rig weight (which is pretty lite) is not an issue. I weight 185 lbs. With minimal downhual (no crease) that sail really catches the wind with a little pumping of the sail. Note, that board will drag the tail especially with two shims in the stab so I step forward to level the board out until I get going.

Yep, you'll get lighter wind or smaller sail with the bigger wing. Im using a manta foil and have the scary 700cm, super fun 1200 and cruisy 1800 foils. The bigger one does have more lift and will stay flying at alot slower speed, as has been mentioned you need to get your pumping both board and rig to get takeoff sometimes but the big foil is super easy to keep going once up. For me its worth the expense to have the bigger wing just to ensure time on water when the chance allows.

Very interesting post.

I just bought a Moses 1100, I used it twice so far ; I am still working out how to use the wing at its full potential.

I used it with a Naish Lift 4.7 both times.


So far here are the observation / questions I have on this large wing / small sail concept :

- What is the optimal "large" small sail for such wing ? And how is it impacted by sail type (i.e standard wave sail vs pumpable sail like the Naish Lift)

- When you sail in 5-10 knots with a small sail, you really do not have much sail power in the lull... (let's say 6 knots or below).The wing does it's job to keep you flying at minimum speed with minimum drag, but still it needs some wind to fly you through the lull and reach the next gust. I am wondering if a cambered and more slippery sail like the Sailworks Flyer would help with that, keeping a more efficient profile in extreme low wind. Or maybe it would just provide a more steady pull, but without much more efficiency ?

- From my observations, this wings is really reactive by small chop / small swell. In one session, the lake chop was not perfectly perpendicular to the wind, and for one direction, it was perfectly aligned with my pumping / take off angle. Wow!!. it reduced the wind needed dramatically ,by maybe 3 knots. (less than 10 knots needed, I would guess 8). Question : If the chop is well aligned with the wind, Is it worth trying to pump and take off with an extreme downwind angle, to maximize the help from the chop ?

-When I look at the Balz Muller videos with this wing in light wind (for which is is wingfoiling) we can see that he pumps the foil a lot once in flight. It seems easy / intuitive with a wing, but it's not so much with a sail. In the lull, should I bother pumping the sail at all, or should I pump the foil only ? and if so, any tips to do it effeciently given the fact that I still have to hold a sail in the process ? Maybe the wings have a light wind advantage because of that ?

- Why is the Moses 1100 the only medium-high aspect large area wing on the market for the moment ? While Slingshot and Moses more or less came out with extremely similar wings for the 1500 cm2 surface range , their concept diverged significantly for the next step. Why is that ? Will both concepts survive, or one will prevail in the next years ?

As everyone alluded to.....use a bigger sail for sub 15 breeze. At least a 6 for heavy dudes.
Why work so hard pumping a 5?

Possibly a phase you're going thru?
I've always rigged smaller than anyone my size, but lately with windfoil, and hopefully with wingfoil, maybe expand my horizons?
Windfoil, 8-13 knot breeze, I can foil with a 5.2 sail....or a 7.0 sail. There are good and bad points with both sizes.
Most of our "8-13" days, there are 2 knot lulls.
Some of the "8-13" days, there are 18 knot gusts.
Advantages favor both....on different days.
And some days favor long reaches.
Other days favor short runs and lots of transitions.
Maybe keep our options open.

I see advantages of big wings, sails and boards in sub 17 breeze.
Pick your poison. Small sails for turning and tricks.
Big gear for windrange and course slalom...with hi aspect medium wings.

I definitely find there are sessions that work with the i99 and 7.5 gator that would not have worked with a 5.7 Blade or 6.5 Gator. But then my pumping, especially foil pumping, is work in progress.

Shorter boards pump the foil easier so actually have better low end for winging once you e got the skills to employ them. That's the advice coming from all the local wingers.

Likewise there isn't much disadvantage to a shorter windfoil board unless you really enjoy tacking. Especially with a large surface area foil.