If you’ve been wanting to learn how to ride a flying electric surfboard but have been put off by what looks like a steep learning curve, then you’ll want to check out Awake’s new VINGA 3 electric hydrofoil board. The company just launched the eFoil board as a beginner friendly platform for newcomers to the sport.
Hydrofoil electric surfboards, or eFoils, are similar to conventional electric surfboards yet have an additional hydrofoil wing under the water. That allows the surfboard to complety leave the water, often flying 1-2 feet (around half a meter) above the water’s surface.
Not only does it create a unique sensation that feels quite like flying, but it is also much more efficient. Whereas a typical electric surfboard’s battery might last for 45 minutes to an hour, an eFoil with the same battery can often surf for two hours or more.
The Awake VINGA 3 follows on the heels of Awake’s last major launch less than a year ago, the VINGA, which is now renamed as the VINGA S. That sportier eFoil took advantage of the Swedish high performance electric surfboard company’s technology to create a similarly high performance electric hydrofoil board.
The original VINGA saw impressive leaps through the air under the capable feet of talented riders, though wasn’t exactly the easier board to learn to ride.
But that board also proved more appropriate for experienced riders than absolute beginners. So Awake followed it with the RÄVIK 3, a wider and more beginner-friendly board that was still powerful and capable, but was designed to be more stable in order to offer an easier learning curve.
Again, that proved to be exactly my experience when I took to the RÄVIK 3 in minutes, succeeding to stand up and surf it on my first try. But the higher performance RÄVIK S was more difficult for me to master on the first ride.
And that’s exactly the goal of the Awake VINGA 3, which the company touts with the tagline “30 seconds to set up, 5 minutes to fly – you’ll be cruising within the first session.”
Using Awake’s “Click-to-Ride system”, the VINGA 3 features a snap-together locking mechanism to mount the eFoil without screws, cables, or hatches. That also means that the disassembled board is easy to transport to the beach or lake in the trunk of a car or even on a bicycle or moped.
The VINGA 3’s double concave hull is said to offer increased stability and the board’s beginner-friendly safety features include the shielded jet propulsion, soft rails and rounded wings. The battery is also compatible with all of Awake’s other boards, meaning a VINGA 3 owner could upgrade to another board or add to their collection without having to buy another battery.
To see it in action, check out the launch video below.
I spoke about the launch with Awake’s Brand and Sales Coordinator Flo Garbaccio, who also happened to be the guy who taught me to surf Awake’s boards last summer. Flo does double duty as one of Awake’s professional surfers (which makes sense as I’ve seen him jump these boards meters in the air) and so he worked closely with Awake’s R&D team on development of the VINGA 3.
Flo described how the board was designed to be even more accessible while still maintaining the same playful and high-performance style of Awake’s other electric surfboards. He says that the board is even easier to learn than the RÄVIK 3 that I took to in minutes, which is quite promising for someone like me that enjoys electric surfboards but finds the hydrofoil versions to be more difficult to ride.
As Flo explained:
“To compare with the VINGA you tried last summer, this board is bigger with more floatation, and so it is ultra quick to learn on if you are a total beginner in the sport. They both still share the same drive unit (mast and motor), and the same wings and battery. The shape has been designed with a lot of attention to detail regarding the volume distribution and the space to move your body, in order to forgive the classic mistakes you would do when learning how to eFoil. To give an example, I took a 73 year old man for his first time ever on a board and he was flying within just 5-10 minutes!”
The VINGA 3 starts at €12,900 for the lighter SR battery, which is described as being more playful and agile. The larger XR battery has an addition €2,500 pricetag. That battery can offer up to 2 hours of ride time, which Awake says makes it better for coast explorations or rental centers.
For a chance to see what it’s like to learn how to ride an electric surfboard, check out my video below of my first ever test of Awake’s different boards. Jump to around 5:17 for when I started on the Vinga hydrofoil e-board.
Electrek’s Take
Wow, I’m super excited about this launch.
When I test rode the RÄVIK 3, that was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on an electric surfboard. And I’ve tested several of them from various manufacturers.
The VINGA was also fun, but it was frustrating too because despite being able to ride it seated, I would always wipeout within a few seconds of standing up. And I really wanted to master it since it looked like so much fun when experienced riders flew around on it.
But it sounds like the VINGA 3 is the answer for beginners just like me, bringing the quick-learning design of the RÄVIK 3 to the VINGA’s eFoil platform.
I absolutely can not wait until I can test out the new VINGA 3. After all of those face-first wipeouts, I feel like this is going to be my sweet redemption.
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Capable of delivering up to 1,200 kW of power to get electric commercial trucks back on the road in minutes, the new ABB MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System is part of an ecosystem of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) that ABB’s bringing to this year’s ACT Expo.
ABB E-mobility is using the annual clean trucking conference to showcase the expansion of its EVSE portfolio with three all-new charger families: the field-upgradable A200/300 All-in-One chargers, the MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System for heavy-duty vehicles shown (above), and the ChargeDock Dispenser for flexible depot charging.
The company said its new product platform was built by applying a computer system-style domain separation to charger design, fundamentally improving subsystem development and creating a clear path forward for site and system expansion. In other words, ABB is selling a system with both future-proofing and enhanced dependability baked in.
“We have built a system by logically separating a charger into four distinct subsystems … each functioning as an independent subsystem,” explains Michael Halbherr, CEO of ABB E-mobility. “Unlike conventional chargers, where a user interface failure can disable the entire system, our architecture ensures charging continues even if the screen or payment system encounters issues. Moreover, we can improve each subsystem at its own pace without having to change the entire system.”
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The parts of ABB’s new EVSE portfolio that have been made public so far have already been recognized for design excellence, with the A400 winning the iF Gold Award and both the A400 and C50 receiving Red Dot Design Awards.
New ABB chargers seem pretty, good
ABB’s good-looking family; via ABB.
ABB says the systemic separation of its EVSE enhances both reliability and quality, while making deployed chargers easier to diagnose and repair, in less time. Each of the chargers’ subsystems can be tested, diagnosed, and replaced independently, allowing for quick on-site repairs and update cycles tailored to the speed of each systems’ innovation. The result is 99% uptime and a more future-proof product.
“The EV charging landscape is evolving beyond point products for specific use cases,” continued Halbherr. “By implementing this modular approach with the majority of our R&D focused on modular platforms rather than one-off products … it reduces supply chain risks, while accelerating development cycles and enabling deeper collaboration with critical suppliers.”
Key markets ABB is chasing
HVC 360 Charge Dock Dispenser depot deployment; via ABB.
PUBLIC CHARGING – with the award winning A400 being the optimal fit for high power charging from highway corridors to urban locations, the latest additions to the A-Series All-in-One chargers offer a field-upgradable architecture allowing operators to start with the A200 (200kW) with the option to upgrade to 300kW or 400kW as demand grows. This approach offers scalability and protects customer investment, leading to Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) savings over 10 years.
PUBLIC TRANSIT AND FLEET – the new Charge Dock Dispenser – in combination with the already in market available HVC 360 – simplifies depot charging with a versatile solution that supports pantograph-, roof-, and pedestal charging options with up to 360kW of shared power and 150m/490 ft installation flexibility between cabinet and dispensers. The dispenser maintains up to 500A output.
HEAVY TRUCKS – building the matching charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles and fleets represents a critical innovation frontier on our journey to electrify transportation. Following extensive collaboration with industry-leading truck OEMs, the MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System delivers up to 1,200kW of continuous power — 20% more energy transfer than 1MW systems — providing heavy-duty vehicles with purpose-built single-outlet design for the energy they need during mandatory driver breaks. To support other use cases, such as CCS truck charging, a dual CCS and MCS option will also be available.
ABB says that the result of its new approach are chargers that offer 99% plus uptime — a crucial statistic for commercial charging operations and a key factor to ensuring customer satisfaction. The new ABB E-mobility EVSE product family will be on display for the first time at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo (ACT Expo) in Anaheim, California next week, then again at Power2Drive in Munich, Germany, from May 7-9.
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Along with Tennessee Tech, Tennessee-based ultralight aircraft company Whisper Aero has secured a $500,000 grant to help advance the company’s innovative electric jet motor concept off the drawing board and onto the testing phase.
Earlier this month, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) announced plans to award $500,000 to Tennessee Tech and Whisper Aero through the Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO) initiative.
“We look forward to using these award dollars to place students in internships working directly with Whisper Aero leaders,” said Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham. “By learning from an electric propulsion innovator like Whisper Aero, our students will gain invaluable perspective and can take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it right here in Tennessee.”
The grant will see a Whisper Aero glider fitted with a pair of the company’s eQ250 electric-powered jet “propulsors” for UltraQuiet flight. Tennessee Tech faculty and students will carry out copper-bird ground testing to ensure the safe integration of engines, batteries, and controllers, and kickstart Tennessee Tech’s new Crossville Mobility Incubator.
Whisper Aero’s main claim to fame is its innovative UltraQuiet WhisperDrive (above). It’s effectively an electrically spun ducted fan jet engine that uses a large number of stiff composite fan blades inside a lightweight, acoustically treated duct. With so many blades, the Whisper Aero propulsor can push more air than a conventional prop while spinning much more slowly. As such, the “blade passage frequency” moves up to more than 16,000 Hz – outside the range of most human hearing but not, supposedly, high enough to freak out the beagles.
The Whisper Aero ultralight is effectively an Aériane Swift3 glider fitted with a pair of Whisper’s eQ250 propulsors, each capable of up to 80 lbs. of thrust. The Ultralight has a wingspan of over 40 ft with a maximum L/D of 35:1 and can be stressed to a design loading of +6/-4g, making it capable of some pretty impressive acrobatic feats.
The Swift3 glider is designed for a low speed, low power cruising speed of 45–55 knots with “just” 6.5 hp. Power-off glides from a few hundred feet showed a low sink rate, and a climb rate of 1,250 ft/min with full self-launching power (in other words: the Whisper glider doesn’t have to be towed by a launch vehicle, like a conventional ultralight glider).
Quiet cool
Dual WhisperDrive fans deliver ~160 lbf of thrust; via Whisper Aero.
Range under full power is about 109 miles with current battery tech, but it’s expected that range under the latest EPiC 2.0 energy batteries would rise to nearly 170 miles.
Nathan Millecam, CEO of Electric Power System, said, “EPiC 2.0’s leap in energy density and thermal performance has enabled a significant increase in range, a clear validation of our next-gen cell technology. We are impressed by what the Whisper team continues to achieve in advancing electric aviation.”
The press release concludes explaining that flight tests are expected to show that the Whisper Aero glider can be flown, “a few hundred feet away from neighborhoods without any disturbances, while carrying a 220 lbs. payload with full range,” which is all kind of ominous in today’s political climate, but still pretty neat from a purely tech perspective.
With support from TNECD’s Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO) initiative, Tennessee Tech University and Whisper Aero are partnering to advance next-generation propulsion technology in the aerospace industry. This collaboration will enhance aerospace research and workforce development, ensuring Tennessee remains a leader in cutting-edge mobility solutions.
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A Tesla Cybertruck owner believed Elon Musk’s claims that the Cybertruck would be able to “act as a boat” and “cross rivers”, and he got his $100,000 stuck because of it.
Elon Musk has often made claims about how Tesla vehicles could float and briefly serve as a boat in the past.
We have never been taken too seriously because Tesla’s warranty states something different about taking the vehicle into water.
However, the CEO doubled down on the claim specifically for the Cybertruck.
Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes and even seas that aren’t too choppy.
The CEO added that the goal is for a Cybertruck to be able to cross the water between SpaceX’s Starbase and South Padre Island in Texas, which is about 360 meters (1,100 feet).
We have been taking the Cybertruck more seriously with water because we learned that Tesla built a ‘wade mode’ for the truck to be able to go into the water. Tesla says the mode increases the ride height to the max and temporarily “pressurizes the battery pack.”
The problem is that it is activated through the off-roading mode, which is not covered under Tesla’s warranty – so we are taking everything with a grain of salt.
Whenever Tesla’s warranty contradicts what Musk says, it is better to follow to the warranty.
A Tesla Cybertruck owner in Truckee, California, appears not to have received this sage advice since they activated the wade mode and attempted to get into the water.
The Cybertruck owner quickly got stuck. The local California Highway Patrol (CHP) shared some pictures of the aftermath (via Facebook):
CHP Truckee helped with the recovery and commented on the incident:
Cybertruck activated “Wade Mode”… and waded a bit too far… We’re all for testing boundaries… but maybe not the waterline. Remember folks, “Wade Mode” isn’t “Submarine Mode.” If your plans include exploring the great outdoors, make sure to know your limits and the terrain.
There’s no detail on the damage to the Cybertruck, if any.
At the risk of stating the obvious, this is clearly more of a user error than a Cybertruck problem.
I think the verdict is clear: Cybertruck is far from the best electric pickup truck for off-roading.
However, in general, you shouldn’t expect a truck to get out of water on a muddy bank.
I think a lot of Cybertruck owners are new to trucking and off-roading, and they are making the truck look worse than it is at off-roading.
If you want to take your Cybertruck off-road, I recommend to first go with an off-roading guide that can help avoid some simple mistakes like this.
Also, in general, don’t take Elon Musk’s claims at face value when he says that Tesla vehicles can do something that sounds like an exaggeration. It probably is an exaggeration.
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