Naish Orbit & Fly Info and new Videos
NKTV S03E08: Ewan Jaspan-Kiting with Crocs
Orbit
Orbit Q&A w/ Product Designer, Lars Moltrup
What inspired the design/concept behind the Orbit?
When the importers/retailers raised the awareness of a demand for a lightwind twintip, we set out to design the Orbit. As people might have seen in our 2013 Mid-season line, a lot of attention was given to the deck design in order to reduce material usage/weight and increase stiffness by shape. The Orbit was the board where we could take this design approach and refine it, as we needed a super light board for light wind conditions.
How did you go about designing a light wind board on one of the windiest places on earth?
Being based on Maui, Hawaii, we do not have much light wind conditions, although it does happen once in a while. Alot of our testing has been done in Oahu, where we can find suitable conditions to fine tune the characteristics and performance of the board. This has been very critical to the design process as well as the final outcome.
What are the advantages of the specific features?
The bottom shaping on the Orbit features an off-centered double concave. The concaves have different sizes, where the largest of which is centered under the feet in order to give early water release and planing stability. The second concave is offset on the toe side, where the concave has a steeper curve (exponential concave) for better grip when riding toe side.
One of the most interesting features on the bottom shaping is the angled center fin. This improves the upwind performance by optimizing the angle of attack of the fin and increasing the projected area of the fin in the water, thus acting as a larger fin than the equivalent, if it was not angled.
A very characteristic feature of the Orbit is the Framework Deck. The U-beams, which radiate to the 4 corners and surround the fins, act as a truss structure. This adds stiffness in critical areas and saves weight. We found that we could actually reduce the core volume by 10% compared to a board without a Framework Deck and we did this without compromising the performance.
How’s the upwind performance? Are there any conditions this board can’t handle?
The board is built for early planing and upwind performance in light wind conditions. We spent a lot of time testing different shaped and sized fins and settled for a medium sized, trapezoid fin that would balance upwind performance, while still maintaining a playful feel. To make the board plane early, you need a large surface area and a low rocker. This means that the board will not work well in large chops, but as a light wind board, it can be ridden in low winds and a minimal amount of chop, which the outline has been designed to handle.
More info about the Orbit HERE
Fly
Q&A with Fly Kite Designer, Damien Girardin
Why did you make the FLY?
The Fly idea came from the idea that riding in light wind should be fun. To me, just because the wind is light, you shouldn’t necessarily have to use a kite designed for racing – that is slow turning, heavy and not fun to ride.
What are the benefits of two struts for a light wind kite?
When the wind is light, you want to maximize the ratio of power to weight of the kite. To do that, you want to have as much power with the lightest kite possible. The two struts offer significant weight savings. Think about the amount of dacron and TPU (which are the heaviest materials in a kite) that are saved. At the same time, having no center strut allows the center of the kite to act like a spinnaker. It can expand slightly to harness more wind. The result is that the Fly has the highest power/weight ratio on the market.
How can the FLY be stable when it only has two struts?
In my opinion, adding struts or other things to a kite to add stability means that your original plan was wrong. If you start with the correct platform, then you barely need any struts on the kite. The Fly is the result of years of kite design where I have finally found a way to get a kite nicely balanced and stable. The Fly is a brand new kite that carries with it a legacy of 13 years of kite design!
Why does the FLY turn so fast despite its size?
The Fly is based on the Park platform that is proven to turn fast. To make it even faster, we’ve worked on the bridles to minimize the amount of tension on the lower front bridle. This lets the wing tip area of the kite twist, which in turn allows for maximum twist of the kite. Having only two struts in the kite also allows the kite to twist easily which makes your kite turn. As you can see, we also have only one mini batten in the center front section of the kite. The more mini battens you add, the less the kite can twist and then the kite feels “locked in the air”. By having only one, we achieve what we need out of the mini batten (keeping the foil’s profile clean at low angle of attack) without sacrificing any of the turning speed.
Why is the FLY not stalling/back flying?
We worked hard on the bridles in order to provide the right amount of depower and grunt while making sure the kite would never stall.
Why is the FLY so easy to relaunch off the water in light wind?
The Fly has increased sweep which allows it to rotate easily when on the water. Also, its light weight is key to relaunching in light wind. You just have less weight to get out of the water compared to a kite of similar size with more struts. It also features our anti-stiction windows that help get rid of the water trapped in the wing tip.
Can I use the FLY for racing in light wind?
Well, even though racing was really not our primary goal with this kite, it turns out that all the key features that make the FLY so good in light wind also help make the Fly competitive in light wind!
Check out the photos of the FLY in action…and then the wind stats for that day!
More info about the Fly HERE