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Vegas 05 12m & Strike II 11m

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Wawando
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Vegas 05 12m & Strike II 11m

Postby Wawando » Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:06 pm

Hi,

First day: 7 knots :-? No wind for several days, so we decided to pump up and inspect our new toys.

Visual:
- Construction: Both top. Little more detail on Flexifoil, but basically the same.
- Valves: Strike are easier to infate & deflate. Vegas 05 are equal to R04 (different from R05 ones which are more rigid and close tight).
- Size flat: V05 12m is really bigger than Strike II 11m. Usually the difference can be ignored. Not here V05 12m is really bigger than Strike II 11m.
- Tips: Vegas wider.
- Struts: Strike II thinner
- LE: Vegas thinner. BTW:Rhino05 12m is much thinner than Vegas05 12m
- Strike II has more camber than Vegas 05. Vegas05 profile looks thinner.
- Protections: both fully protected against wear on tips.
- TE: V05 has thicker material.
- AR: V05 higher than Strike II.

Now a pretty useless, but curious test. 7 knots. No lines.

Two guys, each grabbing a front pig-tail:
Strike II - Stays foot. Sits quiet in the air.
Vegas 05 - Unstable. Goes back & forth & then passes to the front & falls.

One guy, grabbing a both front lines with arms open:
Strike II - Not as easilly, but flies and sometimes stays foot.
Vegas 05 - Doesn't fly. Falls backward. (i tried hard ;-) )

Strike II seems like the best behaved for wave riding stalls... let's see how they work in the "real world"!

Image

Image

So, only useless tests for now. Wind is required... ;-)

BTW: QTek XDA III camera is really bad when compared to Nokia 7610 or 6670

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Postby Foxi » Fri Mar 18, 2005 10:56 pm

Hi Wawando,

this afternoon I launched a mate his 28m Monkey kite. Needs hours to pump, broke me almost when trying to lift it from the ground, BUT:
going upwind and jumping in winds MEASURED 2kts>8kts max.
Below 2 kts kite slowly fell down over the trailing edge. No Stall.
It´s not that I want such a monster now but in winds that light I usually
don´t even unload my gear off my car ..

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Wawando
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Postby Wawando » Sat Mar 19, 2005 12:55 am

Hi,
After thinking about it, V05 not flying migth be due to too much deformation when being hold my the tips together. It has higher AR than StrikeII, it is bigger and profile is thinner.
This test really sucks. Forget about it. It left me thinking, though. Specially the on with one guy on each tip... Is it missing the 5th line? Hum... We require another line holder ;-) Or maybe real wind ;-)

Foxy, we never fly with less than 12 knots here. Less than that it's time to work & family :thumb:

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Postby Dwight » Mon Mar 21, 2005 6:54 pm

You may have exposed a difference in tow point to center of effort relationship. This may indicate a difference in depower. With lines attached the V5 balance is better than R5, perfect in my opinion. You can let lines go slack wave riding and it won't fall.

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Wawando
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Postby Wawando » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:42 am

I have been thinking about that. You are saying that pivot point is different, right? i.e.: Strike II on the tips, V05 higher or more on the front "off the tips".
I had my first ride yesterday. Conditions where shitty.
Wind was weak. It feels very steady. Has very good low-end. Picked up a couple of waves. Super steady. When required, it seems to me more stable recovering from wave riding errors (and i really made quite a few of them as i was riding on the opposite stance from my usual and on a new spot), just backing up on the window until power is regained. Quietly. No stress. Very neat!

Visually, V05 has a different panel layout and TE cut from the others.

Compared to R05, i felt V05 more linear and simpler. Turning speed is the same (surelly not faster). Kiteloops are every sweet. No conclusions about jumping.

I think i found my companion for the next couple of years ;-) Must check the jumping area.

More sessions required.

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Postby Wawando » Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:01 pm

Hi,

More time on the beach (10 knots) Strike II 11m vs Vegas 05 12m.
- Strike II more bar pressure & felt a little more powerfull.
- Stall (made with a very hard pull on the front lines) the same ;-) BUT V05 is more self-balanced and goes back quietly until wind is regained. Strike II has a little more tendency to front-fall.
- Looping speed is the same
- Strike II starts turning quicker but then V05 turns faster (note: Strike II on 25m 4 lines bar, Vegas05 on 27m 5thE Bar)

MORE wind required. Forecasts are failing badly. Shit.

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Postby Mak_Man » Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:23 pm

Wawando, can you tell something about the range of the Vegas 12m already? Is it better than the '04 version? Or haven't you flown that kite?

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Postby Wawando » Thu Apr 07, 2005 11:05 pm

Hi,

First REAL session on my new toy. I FOUND IT! No more kite changes for the next 2 years :D

Wind: 15-22 knots
Waves: 1m sets
Boards: TAD TTx 136x39,5 and then my faithfull 125x38,5 (man, how i love this board)
Kite: Vegas 05 12m with standard 5thE bar.

Surf: 1m fairly well formed surf UAU!
Gusts: Which ones?
Kiteloops: Sweet!
Jumping: Very good. Maybe a little less lift than R05 12m.
Load: Only used 1/2 of the depower when it loaded a little to surf. I will try to shorten a little the back lines.

Tomorrow it will really blow strong, so i expect to try it with my 23m 4 lines bar.

See you!

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Wawando
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Postby Wawando » Sat Apr 09, 2005 12:39 am

Hi,

Another great session: 15 to >25 knots.
Much easier to give that crucial edging to sky-jump when fully loaded than R05.
I think that with R05 i can even hold more wind, but it is more technical than V05.
R05 depowers more (more on-off) and that makes it a little more technical. Who gets used to it will take full advantage!
I will keep this one (Vegas) as i am trying hard to get into waveriding and it is simpler.

Good luck!

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Postby Mak_Man » Sat Apr 09, 2005 2:48 pm

Thanks for your impressions!

Do you feel to go upwind with the Vegas 12m with less than 15 knots?
And what is the most you could handle with the kite for now? 26, 27 knots?


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