Greg,
maybe M2C meant in a positive way below,
- "less prone to fail" - maybe but from experience having struts will somehow limit damage to less area of the canopy. Having no struts may remove that "limit" and since canopy may rip easier one can expect more/wider damage to the kite. Struts are usually least problematic item on kite (at least on most brands)
- having no strut support will increase stress in the canopy and fluttering doesn't make any good thing (well at least at depowering when flutter is say wanted
). What will also happen - rubbing of the kite's canopy sitting on the ground will slowly mat/delaminate the fabrics starting at the TE of the kite. You may observe the results in one or two seasons (some of the brands have that problem), but I understand your on/off power. The fluttering may be more interesting thing in less wind as kite will behave differently, but from what I saw is that you figured out the arc/angles good.
Eventually I did choose to recreate modern 2 strut kite (my 1st 2 struts kites were made in 2003/04) instead of making that no strut because of the mentioned reasons and possible problems with relaunch.
What
ronnie suggests is seen on the pic attached, did that in 2005 kite just to see if there is some truth behind (middle 3)... I'm not sure but I think that GIN comes out with that strut design...
Regarding relaunch I'd really like to see how it goes in deep water and directly downwind from you (so most unwanted situation) with an info on approx winds... like to see if that my tip thing raising the canopy back on do actually work...
I have no doubt that it do reverse relaunch since the kite type is correct, but to see what happens before actual relaunch.
Anyway it's really nice to see that you enjoy every minute with it!
boardriding maui wrote:
In response to your questions: Yes, easier to repair is a good thing. "Less prone to fail" was more on my mind as one of my primary objectives.
Performance targets: Fast, range, drift, overall handling for how I like to ride. To keep it real, I was reminded today that its not immediately for everyone. The trim throw is short to keep depower within reach. For riders not accustomed to riding like this, it can be tough to adjust to.
Relaunch has been excellent. Probably even more so in light wind. Two days ago I watched two very experienced riders drift down the coast unable to relaunch in super light wind. While I wasn't out there beside them at the same time, all related experiences (some on the same day) are that the lighter the kite is, the easier it is to relaunch. When I've given other riders (on other kites) a launch on the beach lately, I'm blown away by the effort to even position the kite on its side. Its a very different experience. I think its a rigidity thing too. I don't expect readers to take my word for this. I will work on shooting some more video to illustrate. I didn't include it in earlier videos because I didn't think viewers would find it interesting. But, maybe some quick, 20 second clips won't put everyone to sleep.
Speaking of videos, in followup to the substantial response to the last kite video, a couple days ago I did re-post that video with some voiceover comments. This isn't too informative, but may touch on some of your performance questions. I've been too busy with the gear side, but should take a break to get the GoPro back out to keep sharing the latest.
As for your question on selling points, I dunno. I'm just doing my best to develop stuff I believe in, and hope it sells itself. Guess I'll see how that goes.
Thanks again for your interest.