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Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

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Mossy 757
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Re: Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

Postby Mossy 757 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:23 pm

Laughingman wrote:
Thu Jul 19, 2018 3:38 pm
I am a bit concerned with the report that there is less depower.
Please keep in mind that my comparison is against a Sonic2 11m or an Elf Joker 7 15m, both of which are designed with depower in mind for racing.

Compared to a Cabrinha Switchblade or a Naish Pivot, I'd say the Minima has more depower. Just not as much as a top of the line race foil kite. I think this might be due to its profile thickness - with the race kites, you can point upwind really high and send them to the edge of the wind window when you get overpowered. With the Minima, its frontal area is much higher than with a high aspect race kite, so it gets pulled down into the wind window and stays powered up a bit more. In the really light stuff, I'd call that a Plus.

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Re: Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

Postby TomW » Fri Jul 20, 2018 11:54 am

off topic, but about depower: My friend said that he felt the Soul had less de-power, sat deeper in window. That said, he had an hour on it, and has been flying Sonic and Sonic 2 for several years.
So i can imagine there is that variation on kites that sit deeper in window.

presmini
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Re: Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

Postby presmini » Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:39 pm

Hey All,
Wanted to post my impressions of the Minima kites. I may have a different view given this is the first foil kite I've ever ridden, and I'm a relative beginner to foil boarding (kiting for 15 years, but LEI and non-foil boards only until last year). Full disclosure, I've been close friends with Stefano for many many years so I'll try to be as objective as possible with my review but I apologize in advance for any bias that creeps in.

I had a chance to fly both the 11m and 15m sizes at Sherman Island, CA over the past two weeks, with about 6 hours total between the two. Having never flown foil kites before, one of the first things I noticed is that the launch wasn't as hard as I expected. Granted, I had help from some guys who knew what they were doing, but by the end I was able to launch it no problem. A few times I think I brought it up quite early, and even though the kite tips "breathed" a little, it was super stable and quick to fill up. (I've heard on some foil kites if you bring them up before they are inflated they can go unstable). I did notice that the turn speed was significantly slower than an equivalent size LEI, but I assume that's to be expected when compared to LEIs.

On the water, the kite was smooth and stable. I was amazed at how well it handled the gusts, minimizing the "bucking" I would normally feel on LEIs. When I foiled past the kite a few times it handled drifting with me well. A couple times there were situations that would have definitely "Hidenberged" my LEI kites. I did wish that I had a little more depower (I was using a non-racing Ozone bar). With the difficulties I initially had getting up (see below), I was opting for the larger kite when on the cusp of two sized, and this caused me to be overpowered once I was up and moving. I think as I learn to manage the foil kites better this would become less of an issue. Bar feel was really nice, and the kite's consistency allowed me to "set it and forget it" within the first session I flew them.

Getting up was a little challenging in lighter winds (15m in 9kts wind) as the slow turning speed limited the amount of power it would generate on the first stroke. After some tips from the local experts I understood how to manage this and I attribute the issues more to my newbie skills vs the kite itself. I had the opportunity to do quite a few water relaunches both LE down, and TE down. Both were super easy even in the lightest of conditions with a simple tug of the appropriate lines.

What excites me most about this kite is the price point. I've been wanting to try foil kites for quite some time but the cost has always been way too prohibitive for me. For the types of weekend riding I do, I couldn't justify spending over $2K on a single kite, but with the Minima, I can get a whole quiver at a reasonable price. It allows me to get my foot in the door and start exploring what I can do with these types of kite.

I'm not sure if this is helpful for folks that have a much more nuanced understanding of foil kites, but for all the folks trying to get into this side of the sport, and are hesitant to try, I can tell you that these kites are very manageable to learn, and seem to have quite the potential for more as I get more advanced on my foil.

If anyone in the Northern California areas (mainly Sherman Island, 3rd Ave, Coyote Point) wants to give them a try, I'd be more than happy to meet up with you. Just DM me and we can hook up.

Thanks!
Paolo

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Re: Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

Postby Mossy 757 » Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:32 pm

presmini wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:39 pm


What excites me most about this kite is the price point.
This. A quiver of Minima's would cost 57% of the cost of a similarly sized quiver of Souls. The 8.5 and 11 are both cheaper than comparably sized inflatables that won't boost anywhere near as well as the Minima.

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Re: Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

Postby downunder » Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:02 pm

Turning speed on Sonic1 and OR1 is not that slower than Lei in 9 and 11 m size, respectively.

To be fair, both this kites can be looped with significant speed, and are fast moving across the wind window.

The OR1 is deeper in the window tho, Sonic is not. That's like going from Edge to something else, not that great feeling but can live with it.

Would love to try Minima, or any other on that note.

D.

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Re: Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

Postby foilholio » Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:02 am

Mossy 757 wrote: A quiver of Minima's would cost 57% of the cost of a similarly sized quiver of Souls.
A Pansh (Aurora2) is 28.5% the cost of a Minima. So 16.2% of a Soul by your number. That's 6 Pansh with change for 1 Soul. Crazy.

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Re: Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

Postby Horst Sergio » Thu Aug 16, 2018 2:28 am

presmini wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:39 pm
Quote: "
… I'm not sure if this is helpful for folks that have a much more nuanced understanding of foil kites, but for all the folks trying to get into this side of the sport, and are hesitant to try, I can tell you that these kites are very manageable to learn, and seem to have quite the potential for more as I get more advanced on my foil.
..." End of Quote
:thumb:
I also think, it is great to hear for people with low or none foil kite experience, that especially this foil is nothing to worry about during launch and relaunch, while having nice over all performance. So great to hear.

And yes, especially if you calculate the much longer live time of a foil, it has a so much better price to value than any LEI, while being a overall completely developed kite. So as long you don't jump for kite loops, this would be the right kite for so many. Just tell and give it to as many LEI riders you can, so we may have a MINIMA II soon :wink: .

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Re: Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

Postby foilholio » Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:58 pm

Yes longer life of foils I have long thought makes them the cheapest kites available, not factoring in Pansh which are upfront the cheapest kites available.

Is a minima 2 planned? I would think the minimum cell count would work better with a lower, say mid AR kite. I think aiming for the lowest weight possible with a double skin kite could find a market. Sort of a board riding maui version of a foil kite.

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omg
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Re: Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

Postby omg » Fri Aug 17, 2018 7:52 am

hey people who have tested the 11m, what's the lowend estimate for Onda 633 foil, please? I am 80kg, and look for a kite for marginal winds, say 6knots and onwards. Would the 11m fit the bill? I am pretty good at pumping the foil on plane etc.

Thanks! :jump:

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Re: Lecca-Lecca Minima 11m First Flight

Postby Laughingman » Fri Aug 17, 2018 3:52 pm

omg wrote:
Fri Aug 17, 2018 7:52 am
hey people who have tested the 11m, what's the lowend estimate for Onda 633 foil, please? I am 80kg, and look for a kite for marginal winds, say 6knots and onwards. Would the 11m fit the bill? I am pretty good at pumping the foil on plane etc.

Thanks! :jump:
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