Duotone Diversity Magazine No.02 2020

A kite seems like a simple thing, but there’s no other high-performance sports product that has the multi-sport versatility, insane power-to-weight ratio and remarkable complexity of a modern inflatable kite. This complexity means that dozens of factors affect kite performance – weight, weight distribution, arc, span, aspect ratio, sweep, taper, profile depth, profile location, profile depth taper, leading edge diameter, strut count, cloth orientation, cloth selection, projected area, inflation pressure, etc., etc. And each of those factors is infinitely variable. Changing the arc of a kite by 24mm over a project span of over 4000mm – a change of just 0.6% – can yield a kite that performs clearly differently. Complexities and design nuances of this sort ensure that kites will continue to improve for years to come. KITE BASICS NARROW ARC + The more narrow the bending / radius of the kite, the faster it turns and the more handling oriented and reactive it is + Used esp. for freestyle/handle pass oriented kites like the Dice or the Vegas (C-Kites) SWEEP Curvature / angle of the outline. When the kite is pumped and looked at from the side profile it describes the angle of the leading edge. You differentiate between little sweep (small angle) and strong sweep (strong angle). ASPECT RATIO Aspect ratio is defined technically as span squared over area, but it can be understood roughly as the ratio of distance from tip to tip (span) versus the distance from front to back (chord). TAPER The outline of a kite can taper from wide center to narrow tips or from relatively narrow center to relatively wide tips . No particular taper pattern is associated with any particular type of kite. The taper is tweaked to slightly affect the angle at which a particular part of the kite attacks the wind. ANGLE OF ATACK Angle at which the kite meets the wind. You can go from low angle to high angle. LOW ANGLE Tendency to frontstall and crash HIGH ANGLE Tendency to backstall and crash The bad tendencies of the extreme positions of the angle described above are minimized by controlling tow point, cone and leech tension. FLAT ASPECT RATIO = when the kite is spread out PROJECTED ASPECT RATIO = when the kite is flying overhead LITTLE SWEEP STRONG SWEEP NARROW WIDE WIDE ARC + The wider the bending / radius of the kite, the slower it turns and the more indulgent it is + Used especially for cruising / jumping oriented kites like e.g. the Rebel (Freeride Kites) BY KEN WINNER LOW PROJECTED ASPECT RATIO = short span / long chord Freestyle kites HIGH PROJECTED ASPECT RATIO = large span / short chord Racing kites STRONG TAPER MODERATE TAPER LOW ANGLE TOW POINT The distance of the connecting point of the frontline at the bar to the foremost edge of the leading edge. It can be put forward or backward which will have influence on the kite’s depower abilities, bar pressure, backstall / frontstall tendencies, drifting and upwind abilities The goal is to find the ideal Tow Point for each kite model, dependent on the characteristics you’d like to achieve, and is always connected with adjusting Cone, Leech Tension and Aspect Ratio. TOW POINT BACK TOW POINT FORWARD HIGH ANGLE THE ARC Curvature / radius of the leading edge OUTLINE Describes the outline of the kite when it lies flat on the ground. Sweep, Aspect Ratio and Taper are features of the outline of a kite. 7 7 T E C H N O L O G Y T E C H N O L O G Y 76 K I T E D E S I G N