The Airinside idea is not new; it was experimented with back in the 90s, but for a long time the durability of the technology was the problem. Together with the Slovenian custom manufacturer Flikka, Airinside now claims to have successfully developed the technology further and is now bringing the light and airy boards into series production. You can find out exactly what it's all about in the Interview with Markus Schöpbach from Airinside.
On land
Instead of a classic construction with a foam core and laminated layers, the Swiss manufacturer's boards are produced in a negative construction. They are hollow on the inside and consist of two double sandwich half-shells that are baked in an autoclave oven at around 150 degrees Celsius and then glued together. Inside, the construction is stabilised with stringers. The shell consists of a double sandwich, PVC and honeycomb honeycomb as well as prepreg carbon. This gives the test board a sensational weight of 3.88 kilos at 84 litres, although a carrying handle has been omitted due to the design. The scope of delivery includes soft straps, which are fixed in built-in rails with track nuts instead of plastic plugs. This means that the position can be infinitely adjusted and no plugs can tear out. The foil box is long; for stability reasons, the board is supplied with larger track nuts for mounting the foil.
The shape of the Airinside Superfly board is relatively straightforward: with a length of 5'2'', our test board is not extremely compact at 84 litres. The rocker line is flat and optimised for early take-off, and the sharp trailing edges in the tail area should also support this. The model is available in five sizes with volumes between 62 and 111 litres, with prices ranging from 2000 to 2200 euros (+VAT) depending on the size.
On the water
Even though the Airinside Superfly Wingboard won't ruin your back on the way to the water, you will still miss a carrying handle on longer journeys. Due to its moderate length, the board is well balanced in the water, the soft straps offer a lot of comfort and can also be adjusted to any stance and foot width with millimetre precision. The fact that the Superfly really flies "super" is partly due to the good shape and partly due to the light weight of the board:
The stiff, direct board converts pumping turns into propulsion without delay, once in the air the board hangs light as a feather on the foot. If you do accidentally drop off, the slightly bevelled edges do a good job and send the board gently back up again. In manoeuvres, the slightly lowered deck offers enough space to change feet. The Superfly is in a league of its own when it comes to jumping - during airs and rotations, you simply feel like you have nothing on your feet.
Airinside Superfly - the conclusion
Of course, due to the limited test period, we cannot make any statements about the longevity of the construction. However, the riding characteristics speak for themselves, because regardless of the featherweight, the shape also appears to be absolutely competitive: The Airinside Superfly 84 therefore gets up to speed excellently, hangs light as a feather on the foot and whirls in rotations in fast motion - the result is a large target group.
Feather-light flight feel, early take-off, good features
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No carrying handle
Airinside Superfly- technical data
- Test model: Airinside Superfly 84
- Length: 5'2'' (157 cm)
- Width: 23'' (59 cm)
- Weight (own measurement, without straps): 3.88 kilos
- Volume: 84 litres
- Available sizes: 4'8''x62 // 4'11''x72 // 5'2''x84 // 5'5''x97 // 5'8''x111 litres
- Scope of delivery: Board, straps, track nuts
- Price: 2100 Euro (+VAT)
- Special features: Colour selectable
