Postby BWD » Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:55 pm
Really, why are people so eager to deny evolution?
Remember the first bow kites, slow as molasses, mega bar pressure with pullies on the bar, and on the kite, and hanging in space in between?
Who still flies a 2006 crossbow, or would want to?
Not many, since modern C's, modern SLE's, deltas, sigmas, foils, and of course, the newer cabrinha bows, to name a few, all vastly out perform them.
Still, the bow kite, conceived by Bruno and brought to market first by cab, taught us a lot that reshaped the sport.
-better wind range
-better relaunch
-more efficient/higher PA
-high depower without losing grunt or needing a 5th line
Even if in 4 years there are no strutless kites, so far they have:
-really reinforced the importance of light weight in performance on low end and responsiveness.
This is probably the most significant. I just hope it doesn't lead to a materials arms race making kites more fragile and unaffordable.
-given designers a chance to take a fresh look at how they can support kite canopies. Fresh ideas are fuel.
-made it much easier to travel with 3 or 4 kites instead of 1 or 2: a strutless 17 weighs what most 9 or 10m kites weigh. You could practically fit a whole quiver in a carry-on.
I've mentioned several times what I see as the the downside: lack of penetration to window edge and steering response when strongly overpowered and undersheeted. Most of the time it's reasonable to just go to the next smaller kite, but that's not always an option. The BRM c2 with its new bridle and thinner LE may address this, but I still would wonder how it might catch you in a loop, for example.
Does the LF 1 strut address this area while keeping some benefits of strutless inspiration?
Maybe the 1-strut will be the new 3-strut.
Maybe some day there will be a way to zip on a strut to extend range of a strutless kite, or add battens (not that I am eager for battens, unless they really help).
There are more bridle possibilities also...
What about another new design, the flysurfer peak?
What if there was a kite like that, that wouldn't catch water behind its LE?
Will single skin foils and strutless LEI's converge?
What's next?
Who really knows?
Wait and see I guess....