Centre strut wing inflation

General discussions about wingfoiling: equipment, tips, problems, where to go, where you should have been, pump safety.
Post Reply
User avatar
slake
Website Donor
Website Donor
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:18 am
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 8 times

Centre strut wing inflation

Post by slake »

For wings that don't have a connector between leading edge and centre strut do people pump the LE first always and deflate it second? For the Strike that would appear to be the case https://www.f-one.world/app/uploads/202 ... IGITAL.pdf and V3 it is marked right on the wing https://www.reddit.com/r/wingfoil/comme ... e_leading/ . When I was at Wyatt's place in the winter I swear someone (a very good winger) was keen on the opposite and even offered a reason, I forgot, as to why. Trying to reach out and find out that reason, if I can (and if I remembered correctly). Manufacturer of the wings I've been using doesn't have any documentation as far as I know. Have reached out to them.
User avatar
AJSpencer
Website Donor
Website Donor
Posts: 211
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2019 7:18 am
Has thanked: 66 times
Been thanked: 9 times

Re: Centre strut wing inflation

Post by AJSpencer »

Hi Slake,
I actually contacted one of the most common brands with this question and the response from the engineering side was that it shouldn't matter which is inflated first. This was after I had the LE bladder pop during one winging bail but it was due to a spec issue on the fabric itself.
Personally I feel LE first, strut second and with the strut a fraction of a PSI lower, so it isn't creating a pressure point in the middle of the LE. But it sounds like it doesn't actually matter.
User avatar
smartang
Posts: 152
Joined: Thu May 10, 2012 10:25 am
Been thanked: 12 times

Re: Centre strut wing inflation

Post by smartang »

Strut inflate first, deflate last.
User avatar
more force 4
Sponsor
Sponsor
Posts: 1458
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2003 8:57 am
Location: Victoria, BC
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 7 times
Contact:

Re: Centre strut wing inflation

Post by more force 4 »

I like to inflate the strut first, just because I find it slightly awkward to do it second due to the way the KT valves are situated relative to each other. Might just be my left-handedness. I shake out the LE ends if rolled before any significant pressure to avoid kinking the bladder (had a kite pop that way).
Post Reply