Bill,
I have vacillated a bit about my next kite purchase because of design variations among companies. Being a flyer and not a designer and so little quality info on design other than forums where opinion reigns without solid data.
My question is with more companies going to 3 and 4 strut kites. I am a little confused
About the design difference between center strut vs no center strut. Having flown a 5 strut delta hybrid for the last 3 years I flew two 4 strut delta hybrids and found them to be much less stable than my kite with the center strut. The demos with the 4 strut kites were in less than ideal wind, but I was able to fly my 5 strut kite back to back with one of them and got going no problem eventhough the wind was terrible up and down gusty while the 4 strut kite was struggling just stay in the air( not sure if the lack of center strut was the issue or not). Also there were 4 other people on the water with center strut kites that were kiting just fine. Perhaps my experience would have been better with more ideal wind, but other kites were flying very well inspite of the lousy wind.
Have you designed Any 4 strut kites with no center strut and if so what are the pros and cons from your experience with this design platform. The kites where I have had the issue without naming companies have a huge gap in the center between the 2 medial struts.
I have a 6 strut 9m kite with 2 struts just to the right and left of center and it is a great kite with none of these stability issues.
If your willing to comment on this I would really like to here some designer opinion on this topic.
Good winds!