The Fanatic Sky Air Premium on land:
Fanatic offers the Inflatable model Sky Air Premium in three sizes with volumes of 103/120 and 150 litres. Measured against this, all sizes are fairly compact at 163/173 & 178 centimetres in length. Keyword "compact": Our 120-litre test board is delivered in a matching bag measuring 95 x 75 x 20 centimetres, so the wingboard usually fits in the boot. A pump with adapter, repair kit and foot straps are also included. The Fanatic Sky Air Premium is inflated with a powerful 15-20 psi. The straps are mounted with threaded screws, but due to the design there is only one position available for the straps.
The foil is screwed into a solid carbon plate, which provides a surprisingly rigid connection to the wingboard. At the rear, a glued-on rubber edge ensures that the round edges of the board do not get stuck during the start-up phase.
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On the water:
Compared to fixed wingboards in the 120-litre class, this inflatable is also slightly less stable - in our opinion, this is due to the fact that inflatables can accommodate less volume in the rails than is the case with hardboards. Nevertheless, even wingsurfing novices feel comfortable on the deck of the Fanatic Sky Air Premium, especially as the board initially makes a very stiff impression. The straps are comfortable and easily accessible thanks to the flat deck shape. When starting off, the board gets up to speed well, in choppy conditions the Fanatic converts the pump energy a little less directly into propulsion, but naturally "swallows" some energy - but the bottom line is that the Sky Air gets going better than many a hardboard.
For our test, we equipped the board with various foils, such as the RRD Dynamic Alu 1700, GA Hybrid 2000 or the Naish Jet Foil HA 1800 - for all test foils, we had to choose a position in the front of the box in order to achieve a suitable pressure distribution. Foils that develop little pressure on the front foot, e.g. the Naish Jet Foil HA 1800 mentioned above or the Slingshot Phantasm 926, we would have liked to have mounted them even further forward, or alternatively moved the straps further back to achieve an even pressure distribution. In other words, the position of the foil box is not quite ideal in our eyes and is probably optimised for Fanatic's own foils.
Once in the air, you hardly notice that you are standing on an inflatable. The wingboard looks nice and stiff and the connection to the foil also seems as solid as you would expect from a hardboard. The inflatable concept does have some minor disadvantages when you unintentionally set it down, where you will notice some resistance due to the rounded edges before it returns to the air. Nevertheless, you can have a lot of fun on the concept for freeriding, learning manoeuvres and even for your first jumps, especially as the board is quite light at a measured 7.66 kilos.
Conclusion:
The main argument for an inflatable wingboard like the Fanatic Sky Air Premium is and remains its pack size of less than one metre. If this is important to you, there is no way around an inflatable concept and you will realise that you can have a lot of fun on the water from the first take-off to the first jumps. The board should be suitable for beginners up to 80 kilos or slightly advanced wingfoilers. The Fanatic concept shares the disadvantages of other inflatables compared to hardboards - less agility when pumping up, limited strap options and minor disadvantages when setting down involuntarily.
Pack size; stiff foil box; compact in the air
Box position quite far forward
