What advantage/disadvantage (other than durability as you mentioned
above) would felt have vs foam for the wing wheel? *Does it retain
moisture longer than foam? How would you go about gluing the felt in
place? *I am not opposed to putting in felt if that is preferable.

Foam has a higher coeficient of friction than felt. Thus the wing
wheel is less likely to move around or slide off than with felt.

As for gluing, I would suggest gluing a small area first to set the
position, then glue another small area, then another...