Technological advances haven’t just led to more comfortable homes and more productive workplaces, they’ve also provided thrillseekers with new and inventive ways to get the adrenalin pumping, with Wakeboarding (now possible without a boat), skydiving and wingsuit flying just some examples of extreme sports enabled by modern technology. Now Aaron Wypyszynski, founder of Alabama-based Wyp Aviation, is looking to combine elements of these three sports in WingBoarding, which would see a rider towed behind a plane atop a winged board – yes, seriously.
Wypyszynski was inspired by growing up watching the Disney animated series TaleSpin, in which a 12-year-old brown bear cub called Kit Cloudkicker “cloud surfed” behind a plane on a crescent-shaped metal device known as an airfoil. In an attempt to turn childhood fantasy into reality, Wypyszynski has designed the WingBoard, the name of which really says it all. It is a winged board that the rider stands atop as it is towed behind a tow plane.
A single tow rope connected to the plane divides about 10 ft (3 m) in front of the rider, with the lower line branching down to the WingBoard itself and the upper line going to the tow bar that the rider holds onto. To reduce the load placed on the rider, the tow bar is then connected to the rider in a similar way to how a kite is connected to a kite surfer. The rider is also connected to the board via foot bindings similar to those found on snowboards, which provide a flexible connection.
Wypyszynski says this tow line configuration splits the forces between the rider and the board, so that at a speed of 100 mph (161 km/h), the rider would be subjected to a force of 80 lb (36 kg). It also reduces the effort needed to balance the board, so that the rider is able to ride it, rather than balance on it. Additionally, with the tow line and rider forming a triangle with three fixed sides, Wypyszynski says the stability of the board is increased by limiting the pitch angle of the board, thereby preventing it slipping into an unstable configuration.
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