Adapters and accessories - Connectors

General overview:

This new V3 range, designed by our team of engineers and hydrodynamicists led by Patrice Guénolé, offers major improvements both in glide performance and assembly mechanics. We pursued performance down to the finest details while retaining what made the GONG V2 foils the best-selling foils in the world.

Advantages of the V3 foils:

• Enhanced Glide: The redesigned shape reduces water resistance, making it easier to reach and maintain speed for an astonishing glide sensation.
• Increased Lift: The profiles of the V3 front wings provide better lift, offering greater efficiency with less effort and drag, as well as more responsiveness and precision.
• Rigidity and Stability: The new fuselage design, with its ovoid section, enhances the rigidity of the assembly by 30%, thereby improving stability even at high speeds.
• Ease of Assembly: Thanks to a self-locking interlocking system, assembling the wings and stabilizer becomes simple and fast. The fit is precise and secure, without the need for constant retightening.

What sets these foils apart:

• Effortless Glide Capability: Optimized profiles enable continuous glide with minimal energy, even in very light wind or foam.
• Optimized Performance: They offer superior efficiency in terms of lift and glide. The combination of these two parameters at their peak delivers unparalleled performance.
• Adaptability to All Practices: The V3 range is designed to adapt to a wide variety of navigation styles, from freeride to surfing, racing, downwind, surf foiling, pumping and freestyle. Each foil in the range excels in its specific domain while remaining versatile for other programs.

Why choose the GONG V3 range?

• Performance: The improvements made to the V3 foil profiles deliver measurable performance gains ranging from 12% on the Curve to 40% on the Veloce!
• Sensations: Every design detail has been crafted to optimize glide, lift, and maneuverability, offering an unparalleled navigation experience.
• Simplicity: The new assembly system allows for easy and secure adjustments, eliminating the need for retightening during a session. With fewer screws and a hassle-free assembly/disassembly process, you can focus entirely on the joy of gliding for a seamless experience.

Development Overview:

• Listening to and Learning from Riders: GONG worked closely with its team of professional riders and, most importantly, tens of thousands of GONG foil users worldwide. This collaboration helped identify areas for improvement in the V2 range, leading to a V3 that addresses real-world needs on the water.
• Testing and Continuous Improvement: Every V3 prototype was tested under varied conditions and by all types of riders to fine-tune the design of the wings, stabilizers, and fuselages.
• Design, Testing, and Digital Optimization: The V3 foils are the result of thousands of digitally tested iterations by our hydrodynamics experts and engineers. The creation of this center of excellence, made possible by our ongoing development, ensures optimization down to the finest detail.
• Inspiration from Previous Versions: The V3 retains the strengths of the world-champion V2, while introducing significant adjustments such as the transition to an ovoid fuselage, improved profiles, better fittings, and refined curves, among others.
• The World’s Largest Foil Factory: Every GONG foil is produced in our own factory. This exclusive, massive facility allows us to develop cutting-edge technologies ahead of their time.
  

Goals of the V3 Range:

• Deliver ultra-high-performance foils tailored to each discipline.
• Provide absolute tolerance and a stable, dependable feel, even in turbulence.
• Maximize lift to enable the use of smaller, more responsive, and faster surfaces.
• Simplify assembly, enhance rigidity, and reduce drag.
• Push composite rigidity and durability to the limit for superior performance.

Changes compared to V2:

• Transition from a square fuselage to an ovoid section: improved hydrodynamics, 12% drag reduction.
• Constant profile on the front wings for uniform lift.
• Streamlined design for transitions between sections (fillets), making the foil smoother. Achieved a 50% drag reduction on the lower 10 cm of the masts!

Optimization of wing profiles:

• The constant profiles from the center to the tips on the V3 allow for maximum and consistent lift, providing better control on the surface when, for instance, a tip emerges, and offering excellent low-end performance.
• The wing design has been adjusted to reduce surface turbulence, making the foil quieter and significantly more stable.
• The alignment of the planes and profiles has significantly reduced the stabilizers' surface area, consequently reducing drag.
• The new profiles rise without generating pitching at low speeds. V3 foils take off flat, making them much easier to handle, particularly during re-engagements.

Impact on performance:

• Improved stability in turns, increased rigidity for tricks and fast runs.
• Excellent low-end range and highly stable behavior in complex situations: tip-out, high-speed stalls, re-pop, turbulent water, etc.
• Reduced drag enables easier glide and sustained speed over long distances without effort. Requires 200 cm² less on the front wing.

Lightness:

• The weight of the foils has been significantly reduced (e.g., 40g less on the fuselage, 700g less on a Sirus), making transport easier and also improving responsiveness on the water.

Rigidity and durability:

• The new ovoid section of the fuselage improves rigidity by 30% compared to square versions. This ensures greater stability, especially at high speeds or during rapid transitions.
• The rounded design of the connections between flat surfaces reduces stress points, significantly increasing break resistance by 30%.
• Materials such as reinforced aluminum for the fuselage and carbon for the wings offer an excellent weight-to-rigidity ratio.

Glide and lift performance:

• Thanks to a constant profile on the front wings, lift is enhanced, allowing for a 200 cm² reduction in wing size while maintaining the same lift as a larger wing from the V2 version.
• The V3 wings are designed to minimize drag and maximize glide, a major focus of their development.
• V3 wings offer much greater tolerance, making flight easier even at low speeds. They no longer stall abruptly when approaching the surface or when a tip emerges.