Duotone Diversity Magazine No.02 2020

CONE The angle of attack that is built into the canopy. You differentiate between Low Cone (low angle) and Strong Cone (strong angle) which has influences on the power and depower of a kite. LEECH TENSION Tension of the trailing edge. Increasing the Leech Tension also increases the cone close to the leading edge. Too much Leech Tension might cause the trailing edge to curl or “cup”, on the other hand too little Leech Tension might cause fluttering. LOW CONE STRONG CONE LEADING EDGE DIAMETER The thickness of the kite’s leading edge. Adjusting the Leading Edge Diameter influences acceleration, drift and stability of the kite. A thicker leading edge e.g. improves power and drift and makes the kite extremely stable, solid and predictable. But at the same time it also makes it more draggy. A thinner leading edge causes the kite to be faster but also less stable. ANCHOR POINTS OF BRIDLES The number of Anchor Points of the bridles at the kite can vary – the more Anchor Points, the more load the kite can take (e.g. when jumping overpowered) and the more stable it is. Kites built for use in high wind ranges will have more Anchor Points to achieve more stability. This also allows decreasing the leading edge diameter to reduce drag or less struts to save weight (e.g. Mono). The reduction of Anchor Points on the other hand means more flexibility but less stability. This then can be compensated by more struts. STRUT PROFILE The cross sectional shape or profile curve of the strut. In combination with the canopy profile it also influences the uplift and flight characteristics of the kite. There’s a difference between Floating Struts and Fixed Struts. FIXED STRUT CANOPY PROFILE The cross sectional shape or profile curve of the canopy by which the angle of attack of the kite can be adjusted. This influences the uplift and flight characteristics of the kite. PROFILE NUMBER OF STRUTS Affects weight and stability of the kite. The more struts the more weight but also more stability under high loads. 5 STRUTS + Kites designed for overpowered riders jumping in high winds + Very stable + Weight is not an issue since the kite is designed to be used in highly powered situations 1 STRUT + Kites designed for lightly powered riders (e.g. hydrofoils) + Very light + Weight is very important here because lightly powered kites have harder times hanging in the air during lulls 3 STRUTS + Quite common (middle ground) + Center strut for overall stability + Tip struts for precise handling and to reduce canopy flutter FIXED STRUT + Strut is directly connected to the canopy + The top of a fixed strut follows the shape of the canopy + Insures a high canopy tension for smooth and predictable airflow FLOATING STRUT + Distance between Strut and Canopy is filled with ripstop cloth so the canopy is still controlled by the strut + This gives better resistance to frontstall (esp. important for wave kites) + Z.B. Neo FLOATING STRUT DIAMETER T E C H N O L O G Y 78 79 T E C H N O L O G Y K I T E D E S I G N