Will we see the first foil kite at King of the Air 2019?

[edt]

Carlos Mario is a god.

[WMFG]

if you saw the live stream of the event last year, you'd see that young Oli was a last minute invite (someone was sick/hurt), literally landed in Cape Town in the morning and was riding in the event, and completely pushing the top riders.

I don't care what kite he uses, I hope he's in the event, this kid is a sick rider.

Wasn't that his brother Tom?

If so I'm a dumb ass.

Well I am a dumb ass.

[longwhitecloud]

good on ya if u r a trust funder

i just dont want comps to become so expensive gear focused or it will end up king of the trust funders, carlos mario and marc jacobs are examples of kiteboardings appeal and opportunity to youth and the affordabilty for example of competitive freestyle kiteboarding at the highest level even if you ride inexpensive gear.

a mix of all different walks of life in a good thing.

[joriws]

Thanks Anydlc! I want a soul so bad now. Looks amazing in those loops. Maybe I'll get an 8m.

On Flysurfer's FB page there was a piece of information that Soul 8m was used in european continent woo-record jump.

[jhonson]

good on ya if u r a trust funder

i just dont want comps to become so expensive gear focused or it will end up king of the trust funders, carlos mario and marc jacobs are examples of kiteboardings appeal and opportunity to youth and the affordabilty for example of competitive freestyle kiteboarding at the highest level even if you ride inexpensive gear.

a mix of all different walks of life in a good thing.

Posito Martinez not expensive gear wil be one surprize.

[cor]

Btw, where is PMU these days?

Has anybody heard from "pump me up" on this one? I am starting to get worried Pumpy got hurt and/or is in a coma or something.

Careful what you wish for. PMU is alive and well.....

Ram airs are HOPELESS/inferior in BIG AIR events.

Big air events, possibly moreso than other disciplines, highlight the huge performance gap between inflatables and ram airs. For the characteristics 99.9% of riders want in big air competitions, ie fast turning, boost height, stability, safety, ease of setup, ease of maintenance, and resale, inflatables are MUCH better than ram airs. This is why no ram airs have EVER won a significant Big Air Event.

The reasons for the inferiority of ram airs in Big Air events follow:
TURNING & SLED EFFECT
The tips of inflatables act as rudders, enabling faster, more controlled turns. Also, they provide a "sled effect", leading to better stability and predictability. This "sled effect" is pronounced in C-kites and is noticeably poorer in bow kites and ram airs.

INFERIOR JUMPING
The excessive drag and inertia of ram airs causes them to sit further back in the window compared to inflatables, leading to inferior jump height, excessive bar pressure, and a tendency to pendulum under the ram air kite after boosting. Also, when ram airs move too close to the side of the window, they start collapsing and deforming.

Ignore the lies. Ignore the propaganda. Ram airs are aerodynamically inferior to inflatables. It is proven every day at your local beach and is well documented in world Big Air records and competitions.


Pumpy ………………………

There he is.

*restrained applause*

[flying_dutchman]

Btw, where is PMU these days?

Has anybody heard from "pump me up" on this one? I am starting to get worried Pumpy got hurt and/or is in a coma or something.

Careful what you wish for. PMU is alive and well.....

Ram airs are HOPELESS/inferior in BIG AIR events.

Big air events, possibly moreso than other disciplines, highlight the huge performance gap between inflatables and ram airs. For the characteristics 99.9% of riders want in big air competitions, ie fast turning, boost height, stability, safety, ease of setup, ease of maintenance, and resale, inflatables are MUCH better than ram airs. This is why no ram airs have EVER won a significant Big Air Event.

The reasons for the inferiority of ram airs in Big Air events follow:
TURNING & SLED EFFECT
The tips of inflatables act as rudders, enabling faster, more controlled turns. Also, they provide a "sled effect", leading to better stability and predictability. This "sled effect" is pronounced in C-kites and is noticeably poorer in bow kites and ram airs.

INFERIOR JUMPING
The excessive drag and inertia of ram airs causes them to sit further back in the window compared to inflatables, leading to inferior jump height, excessive bar pressure, and a tendency to pendulum under the ram air kite after boosting. Also, when ram airs move too close to the side of the window, they start collapsing and deforming.

Ignore the lies. Ignore the propaganda. Ram airs are aerodynamically inferior to inflatables. It is proven every day at your local beach and is well documented in world Big Air records and competitions.

What a nonsense all of the above, where did you get this bullshit from
Foil kites are super efficient wings that are designed to fly.
At the Dutch NK big air competion the guys that came on the first and second podium place had foil kites.

The average level of the dutch big air riders is not a low level.

[Matteo V]

There he is.

*restrained applause*

Slow clap?

Sound of one hand clapping?

But a smile nonetheless.

[Pump me up]

What a nonsense all of the above, where did you get this bullshit from
Foil kites are super efficient wings that are designed to fly.
At the Dutch NK big air competion the guys that came on the first and second podium place had foil kites.
The average level of the dutch big air riders is not a low level.

NEWS FLASH
"Janey Smith wins a kite comp flying a one line diamond-shaped kite with streamers and a picture of Mickey Mouse on it. The field consisted of her 3 year old brother flying a Winnie-the-Pooh kite and her mum flying a pair of used Y-front underwear on the end of some fishing line."

Ram lovers proudly boast about wins in obscure, tinpot, 3rd tier comps.... Why? Because they can't cut it in the big comps. Ram Airs (like the Flysurfer Speed) continue to perform inadequately compared to inflatables. The reason.... Ram Airs are aerodynamically inferior compared to inflatables.

The proof will be seen in top level competitions like KOTA. No ram airs will make it into the top 20.

Ram lovers claiming success in OBSCURE events reminds me of the kooks at school who couldn't make the football team, so chose to become experts at ping pong.

ALL significant BIG AIR comps have been won by inflatables. The world record is held by an inflatable and the gap between it and the nearest ram air is HUGE. Ram lovers claiming superiority in insignificant backyard comps REALLY only achieves one thing: It shows the world how pathetic they are in real comps.

Apart from the previously mentioned reasons for ram air inferiority in BIG AIR competitions, ram air kites are handicapped by huge INERTIA. Ram airs contain a huge mass of entrapped air; consequently inertia is HUGE. Large ram airs contain up to 5 kg of air in their cells vs 0.5 kg in inflatables. The huge inertia of ram air kites, sitting at the end of ~25m lines, causes a multitude of problems including poor acceleration, slow turning, difficulty kitelooping, and inferior dynamic power (the power generated with sinusoidal kite movement); all of this leads to INFERIOR jumping ability.

Ignore the lies. Ignore the propaganda. Ram airs are aerodynamically inferior compared to inflatables.

[WindJunkieFL]

Maybe they should put up their own event....KOTRA............king of the ram air

I second this