With snowboarding season in full swing I thought I would share some videos about something I discovered on the Oz Report last year, the Woopy Wing. The Woopy Wing is a semi-rigid inflatable hang glider type wing used with ski's or a snowboard to soar for short periods down a slope. It's used in a manner similar to ski gliding. It was invented by French designer Laurent de Kalbermaten and has been around in several different versions for quite a few years. From what I can gleam without being fluent in French, the only commercially available wing is the smaller Woopy Jump version which is seen in the videos below. The inflatable wing has a small carbon fiber spare combined with two battery powered fans to maintain shape until ram air is sufficient. Pitch is controlled directly (like a hang glider) through two handles while bank is controlled via weight shift or wing warping (similar to the Wright Brothers) by asymmetrical inputs through the handles. All the info above is the result of what I could gather from bits of information here and there. If anyone out there has anything to add or corrections please feel free to leave a comment. I am slowly de-coding the Woopy Wing website which is written in French only, Here. The Woopy Wing is a combination of two sports I love, hang gliding and snowboarding. If I ever get my hands on one, I'll be sure to post my progress.
Another option is the Kite Wing, which is available as locally as Denver, but I like the Woopy Wing better.
Another option is the Kite Wing, which is available as locally as Denver, but I like the Woopy Wing better.
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