matthepp wrote:Hey guys,
My trusty 2010 11.5m Kahoona is starting to perform badly when over-powered in big gusts. I (200 lbs, intermediate kiter) ride in variable mountain wind so I love to hang on to my bigger kite to survive the lulls. Starting this past winter, and getting worse every session, the Kahoona 'freaks out' while depowered surviving the biggest gusts. In the center of the kite, the canopy just behind the LE luffs a LOT, and the LE tries to fold in. I had the kite invert twice, so I try to keep some amount of rear line pressure to prevent excessive luffing and just survive the gust. I make sure inflation is up to spec to avoid the under-inflation cause. I feel like this didn't happen last year in similar wind?? So my question to you experts is: Is this an inherent part of the v2 Kahoona design, is the canopy and/or bridle stretched, or something else I've not considered? Anything you'd recommend to give it a tune-up? I'm an engineer/tinkerer sort...
Thanks. I'm too heavy to make my 9m Waroo work in these winds. (That kite will behave in any wind, no issues!)
Matt
I disagree. I think of stability as the ability of the kite to stay in the air no matter how you mess up. Doesn't overfly, doesn't hindenburg even in lulls or when you mess up a jump. Of course this is all in the defined wind range. This is where the Kahoona excels. User friendly maybe is a better term? Wide wind range is not the Kahoonas strong point, especially earlier models.bnthere wrote:sorry buddy, you didnt know that about this kite before you got it huh. for those that dont know: this is the definition of STABILITY. a term i hear thrown around a lot, with a lot of misuse and ambiguity: this is (part of) what it actually is, and this an example of a kite design that doesnt have a lot of it.
I think we need a new word then for the two different characteristics referred to as stability. If we only use your definition, I'd only be able to say "the kahoona is good because it really does not suck".bnthere wrote:"stability" category, shouldnt be called that. instead, it can just be stated that a kite either does that easily (which sucks) or it doesnt.
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