Re: What charateristics improve a kite's turn?
| Subject | Re: What charateristics improve a kite's turn? |
| From | abw@peritas.com (Andy Wardley) |
| Date | 4 Apr 1997 14:05:31 +0100 |
| Newsgroups | rec.kites |
Clint Frysinger wrote:
> I am interested in any information about what causes a stunt kite to
> turn. In particular, what design features make one kite turn tighter
> than another? Does the bridle position (both up/down and side to
> side) affect this or does the wing shape? How about standoff
> location? Any info is greatly appreciated.
Although nothing is guaranteed on any kite, the general rules are as follows:
- High bridle = tracks well, flies forwards well, turns slowly
Low bridle = tracks poorly, flies slower, turns fast
(the dynamic bridle effectively combines the best elements of each - see Dynamic Bridle)
- Inboard bridle = difficult to turn, therefore tracks well
Outboard bridle = easy and fast to turn, may oversteer, track badly
- Inboard stand-off = kite is stable (because more air is pushing against
the outer panels)
Outboard stand-off = kite is less stable and more inclined to turn
- Long stand-off = deep sail, stable and solid in the air.
Short stand-off = shallow sail, less stable
- Slack sail = noisy, innefficent, flies slowly and sturdily
Tight sail = quite, smooth and slick but may be sensitive
- Straight leading edge = tracks well, better at precision
Curved leading edge = turns and tricks well.
As you can see, there is a trade-off between the two extremes of any feature. If you want a radical trick kite, you might have a tight sail, curved leading edge, outboard and low set bridle and outboard stand-offs (like the Stranger, for example) but you loose precision. At the other extreme, a straight L/E kite with slacker sail, inboard bridle and stand- offs (say the Nothshore Radical) tracks like it's on rails, has excellent speed tolerance and great precision, but it doesn't trick well.
The colour of the kite is also important. Red light has a shorter wavelength than blue light and thus causes less optical resistance, allowing it to fly faster. This is why kites like the Phantom Elite have a "fade" pattern, putting the lighter, more resistive colours in the center and the darker colours on the outside, thus reducing optical drag at the wingtips.
A
(looks like I'm 3 days too late with that last paragraph, eh?)