PrfctChaos wrote: ↑Thu Nov 15, 2018 1:54 am
So, does anyone else find the leading edge of their Genesis deforming / collapsing quite often?
I have a 6m (2019 version) an it flies pretty well, after tuning. However, multiple times a session I notice the front edge deforming / collapsing (power decreases significantly and the kite drifts deeper into the window). It regains its shape after a few seconds but it is very very irritating.
Second question, has anyone bothered to add leading edge battens on their Genesis? I found that 3 mm 3D printing filament slips in very neatly between the stitching on the leading edge. So my genesis now has battens on each cell. Yet to give it a test flight, but it looks much better on the outside now.
Leading edge deformation like that indicates a leak on the kite. It was a feature at one stage on flysurfer kites like pulse2, speed3,speed4, pyscho4. They used specifically placed air intakes to reduce pressure at low AoA. Needless to say deformation would increase with age as kites got more porous. On the Pansh there could be a rip, or maybe the magnetic valve is not right, etc.
Adding the LE stiffners will help with deforming but would make the kite likely worse for hydrofoil from more weight.
PrfctChaos wrote: ↑Thu Nov 15, 2018 4:38 am
I might have been a bit unclear. Yes the kite stays in the sky very reliably, even with gusts.
When I say the leading edge deforms/collapses, the kite does not fall out of the sky, it just stops pulling. When you look up you can see the leading edge (the part infront of the A bridle connection) is flat/collapsed instead of the usual outward shape. It comes right after a few seconds, but by that time you have lost speed and you are in the water. Hoping the leading edge battens will sort it out.
The kite would be more likely to deform the LE when depowered, that is how it was designed on Flysurfers. You would lose power depowering the kite. Foils when slightly deflated will take time to reinflate and get full power. This is a thing when slack lining them, in that they do not instantly repower like tube kites.
PrfctChaos wrote: ↑Fri Nov 16, 2018 12:33 am
Out of the bag, testing 6 m 2019 model in about 20 knots:
-I found it turned fast enough
-Stable with the bar fully out (4-line equal length bar). (Still pulled very strongly, not de-powered at all. All 4 bridles were still visibly taught)
It would stall when pulling in the bar just a little (100 mm for example).
I added about 150 mm pigtails to the rear lines. It helped with the stalling.
Extended Z bridle by about 50 mm and C by 25 mm (by experimentation) to give a bit more de-power range. After this it flew and behaved very well in lightish wind (15 knots)
I found the problem with the front edge deforming only really happens in strong wind (20-25 knots). Haven't tested it with the new leading edge battens yet.
Adding pigtails to lines shouldn't change the inherent stall behavior of the kite and just change the trim. If you are not getting the desired trim range, i.e. "enough" depower, then you need to change something at the bar. Lengthen or shorten lines or change trim range. Trimming a kite is a very basic skill and you should have learnt it before getting on a board.
With the mixer you should have also extended B 12.5mm to keep the ratio correct and increase the depower. With no change to B there is no real change to depower, except for some camber effects. What you did if we normalize to just B and C change is C +25mm and B-12.5mm. This is a bit of a weird change, but if it worked well then so be it. It should make the kite more stally though.