Hi,
I was wondering about the difference between the way the lines on a ram air kite work for steering and depowering compared to a tube kite. There seems to be a lot of information out there in cyberland for tubes but very little for ram airs.
Also, on the forums I've checked out some of the terminology seems rather ambiguous - is there somewhere with an appendix of terms? Like when someone says "move a knot up", do they mean to the bar or to the kite?
Cheers.
Dazed and Confused.
Ram air kites
-
KiteGlider
- Very Frequent Poster
- Posts: 829
- Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2002 1:00 am
- Brand Affiliation: None
- Location: NW Florida
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 0
Also a difference between Arc ram-airs and ram-air para-wing foils.
Archiholics, please correct me if needed...
The PL Arcs use the back lines for steering and carry the rider/load on the frontlines, like a LEI.
The flat ram-air para-wing foils typically use the front lines for steering and load.
Back lines for brakes and mixed steering.
More sophisticated systems, like FS mix and cross bridles to provide a combination of steering inputs to the front and back bridals. My Mastair 16 has a center depower line that takes the load and connects to the A, and B bridals, however, the outer steering lines take a small load, and are mixed to give you brakes and mix in the effect of conventional two line steering.
This can best be analyzed when using four-line handles with a foil. You can stall steer with brakes only, or power turn by pulling the front-lines(less or no brakes).
Try to power turn a LEI with the front lines for a test, the kite may depower a little more but will not steer. The design is very different.
That's my interpretation, please help with corrections,
KG
Archiholics, please correct me if needed...
The PL Arcs use the back lines for steering and carry the rider/load on the frontlines, like a LEI.
The flat ram-air para-wing foils typically use the front lines for steering and load.
Back lines for brakes and mixed steering.
More sophisticated systems, like FS mix and cross bridles to provide a combination of steering inputs to the front and back bridals. My Mastair 16 has a center depower line that takes the load and connects to the A, and B bridals, however, the outer steering lines take a small load, and are mixed to give you brakes and mix in the effect of conventional two line steering.
This can best be analyzed when using four-line handles with a foil. You can stall steer with brakes only, or power turn by pulling the front-lines(less or no brakes).
Try to power turn a LEI with the front lines for a test, the kite may depower a little more but will not steer. The design is very different.
That's my interpretation, please help with corrections,
KG