Innovative Starboard and Freewing boss. Svein Rasmussen. introduces us to the X-15 Class which will be available at Garda from July 2-4
In 2012 the Airush/Starboard development team created the Freewing, an inflatable wing.
The FreeWing came to fruition after a long discussion between Clinton Filen and Jim Drake who co-invented windsurfing in 1967 and showcased the first hard wing in 1982.
At the time we did not yet have foil options and I felt that a normal windsurfing rig was better with a fin, so we put the Freewing program on ice and did not patent it.
With the introduction of a foil, winging has become a tremendous sport and it’s time for us to offer a cutting edge one design option for racing.
Some say this might be too early, but there are a lot of riders who already now desire a cutting edge one design class to measure their skills.
We are proud to introduce the X-15, a class named in appreciation of Jim Drake who co-designed the original X-15 which has held the world speed record for manned flight from 1967 until today.
The team behind the project are Olympic foil designer Tiesda You, Olympic board designer Remi Vila, Americas Cup designer Martin Fisher, Aeronautical Engineer John Lewis, Clinton Filen and myself.
FreeWing PRO V2 Wing
The Freewing Pro V2 wings are extraordinarily fast, stable and durable wings, built with lightweight, durable Ultra PE – Ho’okipa airframe and Ultra X canopy.
Starboard X-15 Foilboard
The X-15 board has already proven to be a game changer in winging, a design that gets going in light winds and can be taken to the highest of speeds.
Starboard Foils 560 & 820
The Foil has 2 front wings, 560 and 820.
Fifteen X-15 sets will be made available for racing at Lake Garda 2-4 July 2023, in collaboration with Foiling Week.