Just finished my review on the Pilot. Learned quite a bit comparing this board to the Carver and Aviator. Really looking forward to shredding on this in 2025.
www.wouzel.com/post/custom-sunova-pilot-gorge-wingfoil-review
Great review, nice work
i would love the 6,4 was told by a shop not available till September
Select to expand quoteChewa said..
Great review, nice work
i would love the 6,4 was told by a shop not available till September
Thanks! I was happily surprised with how high performance it turned out to be.
That's a long wait for the 6'4"! Try reaching out to Sunova direct. It's usually a 2 month lead time. Some shops only order boards 1-2 times a year which might be why the long wait for your shop.
Curiosity got the best of me. Pulled the trigger on the 6'5"x19"x4.25"x68l Pilot mid last night. Looking forward to seeing if it's a special weapon for the parawing.
Select to expand quoteBWalnut said..
Curiosity got the best of me. Pulled the trigger on the 6'5"x19"x4.25"x68l Pilot mid last night. Looking forward to seeing if it's a special weapon for the parawing.
Those dims are sweet and Ive been curious about that board too. I think that length is going to make it really efficient even with the lower volume. Ive got a 60L, 6' that works great with some power - the board feel of a thinned out board is really a revelation. personally Id probably put a touch more width on it for parawing, but different strokes. Looking forward to hearing about it.
Select to expand quoteVelocicraptor said..BWalnut said..
Curiosity got the best of me. Pulled the trigger on the 6'5"x19"x4.25"x68l Pilot mid last night. Looking forward to seeing if it's a special weapon for the parawing.
Those dims are sweet and Ive been curious about that board too. I think that length is going to make it really efficient even with the lower volume. Ive got a 60L, 6' that works great with some power - the board feel of a thinned out board is really a revelation. personally Id probably put a touch more width on it for parawing, but different strokes. Looking forward to hearing about it.
Honestly, you're a part of the reason I ordered it. I know you like a little less volume then I typically do and I feel like this board might help me "see the light" in the way you do.
Running the BARG Factors:
My custom Carver:
5'11"x20"x4-11/16"x77l = 3.178
This stock Pilot Mid:
6'5"x19"x4.25"x68l = 3.205
So, nearly the same calc with the mid actually rating higher...
I honestly started to feel like my custom Pilot was maybe a touch wider than necessary. This is because of the way the Sunova concavity is on that board. So, this one will be a test for the 19" width. Stoked for the 4.25" thickness too. I'll let you know how it turns out!
Unboxed the Pilot Mid today. Pretty excited to see how it rides!
Naked weight, without a deck pad: 4.4kg (9lbs 12oz). This will be my first ever completely stock Sunova.
First rip on it today was phenomenal. Board insists on being right at the surface as soon as there is any pull in the sail and it lept off the water when I was on my feet. I need many more sessions (that probably wont happen until spring) to get to know this board really well but first impression was all positive.
85kg dry plus 4mm suit on a 68l board.
3m Pocket rocket with east gorge winds averaging 26 knots.
Silk 1050 with ug41 tail on the 75cm skinny UHM mast.
I snapped a quick photo of the deck rocker before slapping the pad on it for those who might be interested in that detail:
I got quite a few questions on this board right away. Normally I like to wait until I have about 500 miles on a piece of gear to do a write up but the season is shutting down here so I have started and published my initial writeup before it's complete. Hopefully this can answer a few questions. I'd say my initial evaluation is all positive.
Feel free to drop any questions on the article or here and I'll do my best to answer them.
Initial thoughts and evaluation on parawinging the 6'5"x19"x68l Sunova Pilot Mid:
www.wouzel.com/post/parawinging-the-sunova-pilot-mid
Interesting that they market it as a prone board, do you think PW and prone share same characteristics.
what is the nose rocker like, as it's only 10.8cm thick. Is cut from a thicker block giving it more nose rocker but still thinned out. I like the idea of Smik Jack with a bit of nose volume to shed water if catch nose, any thoughts on that. im trying to get the PW working for my local conditions but always have really gusty wind. So need a board that can go early and quickly in fickle guts we get. Think 10-25knts on a 4.3mPR. Appreciate the feed back, you've done some great reviews.
Select to expand quotergmacca said..
Interesting that they market it as a prone board, do you think PW and prone share same characteristics.
That's a great question. For takeoff I think PW is more like DW SUP. Poor power source and you really want an efficient board to get into flight. In flight I can see more of a connection to prone. A lot of parawingers are getting ripped out of the water with an overpowered sail so they can have a prone like DW experience. They use car shuttles for the upwind. Select to expand quotergmacca said..
what is the nose rocker like, as it's only 10.8cm thick. Is cut from a thicker block giving it more nose rocker but still thinned out. I like the idea of Smik Jack with a bit of nose volume to shed water if catch nose, any thoughts on that.
Here's a pic for ya:
Pilot Mid on top.
Custom Carver in middle.
Aviator 18 on bottom.
The Pilot and the Aviator have a flatter and thinner deck in relation to the nose rocker. The Carvers nose raises with the rocker which I think maintains volume.
What I like about this Pilot Mid and the Aviator is their ability to accelerate when powered. I think there's some magic to be experienced when you divide length/width and the number is 4 or greater. That acceleration keeps the nose up extremely well and clipping the water at high speeds is no big deal. It's too early for me to have a solid opinion on this but my first feels are that when I am not powered by a sail and slowing down towards grave digging mode that volume and rocker become more valuable. To put that in real world context:
Pilot Mid 68l: Excellent takeoff and lots of in flight benefits for advanced and aggressive maneuvers. It will sink if you touch down at slow speeds and have no power source to relaunch the board.
Aviator 90l: Excellent takeoff and far more forgiving with heavy low speed touchdowns. It stays on the surface.Select to expand quotergmacca said..
So need a board that can go early and quickly in fickle guts we get. Think 10-25knts on a 4.3mPR. Appreciate the feed back, you've done some great reviews.
Yes, I'd say the 6'5"x19" ability to accelerate is ideal for getting going in gusty conditions. I didn't talk much about this in my first notes/review but east winds are gusty and it's matched with east current which neuters the windspeed and swell power here. So, 20-40 knots can feel more like 15-35 knots with weak swell for the takeoff. The fact that I had zero concerns using an 800 foil, 2.4m pocket rocket, and was on a 68l vs my thick wetsuit that was probably pushing me to 95kg was very impressive. I was taking some pretty big risks going into no-mans land in those conditions and I wasn't scared about coming off foil or getting back home.
Thanks, glad I could be of service!
Thanks for the feed back, really informative. sounds like you have found a great board to supplement your quiver. Amazing how boards have evolved over a short period of time. I build my own boards, built a 6'6" x21" over 2 years ago inspired by HA foils. Honestly best board for getting going early and managing rough sea.
I'm now exploring going to 120mm thick. Glad to know you are buzzing over the low volume long and thin shapes. Will you now go for custom Pilot mid fine tuned.
I'd love to DIY a board one day as a right of passage. I don't have the space or climate control for it right now though.
The biggest question I want an answer to on the Pilot Mid is if it will play nice with my Silk 650. My other Pilot is unreal with medium and larger foils but I swim a fair bit with the 650. My hope is that I can confidently parawing the Mid and 650 on big spring days March-June and not feel like I need to ride the Enduro 600/700.
It's a little early for me to firmly say that all my future boards will be Pilot Mid variants. That seems likely based on my first rides, but I need time to confirm. I'll probably sell my Aviator and do some Carver/Pilot Mid comparisons in the spring and then go from there. It will definitely be interesting to see where my board preferences and tweaks head after 25 sessions on this board.
Got a miracle west wind day today to test out the low end and I was beyond thrilled. You can check the graph below and see that the wind was not great. If you know the Hatch you know it's better on the water than on the gauge but still, this tells a good chunk of the story.
I used my largest wing, an ancient OG v1 Cloud IX 3.5m. Still has those giant old soft handles haha! Silk 1050 with ultra glide 41 for tail.
Most of my friends were on wings from 5-5.5m One buddy was miserable on a 4.3 Pocket Rocket and another was successful on a 4.2m Nova? I think.
I paddled out in glassy water and looked around thinking I was probably never getting on foil. I sat there waiting for a "set gust" to blow through. I saw the texture moving across the water and as it reached me pivoted around, and blitzed my first wing water start on the 6'5"x19"x68l Pilot Mid. Straight to foil like it was nothing.
Sessioned for 1:45 and pushed the board really hard. Heavy carving touchdowns, swell rides, lots of rail to rail play. Only came off foil twice to remove weeds. The board was a machine. I loved it. Zero complaints. I'll also say I had the most fun winging I've had in ages today. I think this board is going to be amazing for that too. Just gotta get through the winter!
Select to expand quoteBWalnut said..
My buddy is getting a custom pilot and it looks so good.
Is Poseidon in Santa Monica still the shop to go through for customs?
Select to expand quoteBWalnut said..
My buddy is getting a custom pilot and it looks so good.
Is Poseidon in Santa Monica still the shop to go through for customs?
That's where I get mine and where I send people to first. Things have gotten complicated with the tariff and shipping messes though. You can hit up Christian at Poseidon and ask him what the situation is now and you can also use the messenger on the Sunova page and they can advise on best options based on current global shipping scenarios.
