Ski Tuning with different sized Wings

[thager]

I had an old dinged up wing in my tool bag and decided to experiment. Since the leading edge on the right side had a nasty gash from a PP magnet, I ground the fin back to about 50% of original size to eliminate it and matched the other side to it. I then removed the identical full size wing and attached this smaller modified version. No other fin changes were made. So far I am quite encouraged. I have only run multiple -22@ 34.2 thus far but the attitude of the ski is lower and turning seems much easier and the acceleration faster. Staying centered on the ski seems less work also. I know Scnitz advocates mini wings. Does anyone else incorporate this into their tuning? When do you swap out wings? Why?

[Ed_Johnson]

Thager,

 

In previous threads I discussed experimenting with the Ventral Wings. Others had posted they felt added drag when adding the fwd mounted Mini Ventral with the stock rear wing. To relieve this, I squared the tips and tail of the standard round wing to match the shape of the Ventral. This was very successful and gave me the best performance yet on the 9900 Mid. I currently have this configuration on the new Nano Twist.

[thager]

Makes logical sense to me Ed. How much material did you remove? Was this as much as the VW added? Makes me wonder if we should also know what kind of wing, size used(area), position, upside down, etc. when setting our fins to factory numbers. Exactly what wing did the factory use to come up with their numbers? Knowing that might reduce a lot of tuning experimentation.

[Stewpro]

I now use smaller wing sizes after much experimentation with all sizes. I use the Schnitz mini wing mounted upside down but I run it further back on the fin. He recommends 9 degrees but I run 6-7 due to less viscous water at the home site. I'm not running deep short-line , 2@32 PB but I find with the longer lines and slower speeds ( 34 mph ) it just offers more with less ! Due to the smaller surface area I believe the ability to recover is better due to the fact you don't have to fight major swings of input from a large wing trying to bite. I get all the braking I need from the wing and as Horton has demonstrated better body positioning takes care of slow down up thru 35 off. Once you get there , (never been) , I'm sure you only need a smaller wing due to the fact you are utilizing almost all of the surface area of the ski for braking and turning so you don't need elephant ears to help slow down or to fight for recovery of the ski. Just me thinking out loud !

[Ed_Johnson]

Just guessing, I would say no more than 1/4 inch. I was just looking to match the shape and profile of the standard ventral, not it's size. I mounted it back, upside down, same as factory, at 7 degrees. I plan to try the tripple ventral this week, so when I remove it I will measure it against the standard factory wing and let you know............ED

[jackski]

I made a bunch of wings some years ago to expeiment with. They were various sizes, widths, thickness, angles.

I made many observations, but in general, the wide wings are more stable but have more drag for the same angle, the small wings had less stability but and less drag. Small wings seem to accelerate quicker also. Assuming the same surface area, a longer wing keeps the ski more level as opposed to a wider one that alows you to transfer weight front to back faster. You just have to find something that works for you. I've used a small wing for a long time, but I am on small in stature also. I think Ed's got it right about the ventral, that's my next project.