Zeeko Spitfire Hydrofoil

[max]

An off the cuff comment, I switched back to the zeeko blue/white/carver yesterday (I wanted a super low wind foil) and had no dramas switching. So it seems that once you get used to front foot and/or rear foot foils, it's not overly hard to move between them.

I have been riding the zeeko blue/white/carver for a couple of weeks now. Am just starting to get the feel.

Can you describe the difference between the carver and the spitfire.?

What is the carver's strengths?

[3InletsWindsports]

Just made me wonder what Greg D would think of the Spitfire

I wondered the same thing, so I emailed him. I was hoping maybe he'd be the guinea pig to try switching around a conventional set up to see what happens (Stringy foil). He said he was too busy testing new kite designs, didn't want to change a variable and throw off the tests. But I'm still hopeful that he'll get intrigued to switch it up, and tell us if it works.

I enjoy the videos of Nicolas having fun in the waves and stuff, also the videos of Greg D.
Just need a video of them both in same water with maybe Gunnar.

[bigtone667]

An off the cuff comment, I switched back to the zeeko blue/white/carver yesterday (I wanted a super low wind foil) and had no dramas switching. So it seems that once you get used to front foot and/or rear foot foils, it's not overly hard to move between them.

I have been riding the zeeko blue/white/carver for a couple of weeks now. Am just starting to get the feel.

Can you describe the difference between the carver and the spitfire.?

What is the carver's strengths?

Carver: You only need about 5 knots to get up on the foil (it's a seriously big wing), and it does turn brilliantly well.

I have had no issues getting up on the Spitfire in low wind, I just haven't figured out the lower limit yet.

If you breach the water with the front wing on the Spitfire you will generally recover. If you breach the water with the Carver wing, you will generally crash.

They both turn really well. I am just not experienced enough on the Spitfire yet to claim it as better then the Carver.

[max]

Carver: You only need about 5 knots to get up on the foil (it's a seriously big wing), and it does turn brilliantly well.

I have had no issues getting up on the Spitfire in low wind, I just haven't figured out the lower limit yet.

If you breach the water with the front wing on the Spitfire you will generally recover. If you breach the water with the Carver wing, you will generally crash.

They both turn really well. I am just not experienced enough on the Spitfire yet to claim it as better then the Carver.

Thanks BigTone . . .

I am loving the carver and how playful it can be. Was curious to know if the spitfire will supercede it.

[blue pearl]

So been messing about with the foil placement settings on the Zeeko Spitfire and the Air Race.

Rider Weight 90KG
Strapless
Intermediate Foil Rider
Kite Airush 7 Metre Wave and 10 Metre Union
Wind 14-16 knots

Been testing the settings and found that if the foil is moved to the front of the board it negates the carving advantage the foil has when it is set to the recommend setting 27.5 from tail it allows for tighter more powered and controlled carves for toe side to heel side and vice versa. The only advantage I found with moving it forward was getting earlier on the foil only slightly not really what I was looking for as just ride a little more downwind and this achieves this anyway. So settings I will be using is the recommended stock 27.5. When the foil is moved more forward the board and foil feel less dialed not as stable at higher speeds and little more lively in the turns (less controlled).

Keep testing next few days got some good wind coming in and Qatar is a chilled 20 degrees.

[borist]

So been messing about with the foil placement settings on the Zeeko Spitfire and the Air Race.
So settings I will be using is the recommended stock 27.5. When the foil is moved more forward the board and foil feel less dialed not as stable at higher speeds and little more lively in the turns (less controlled).

Does that correspond to Zeeko sketch as far as front footstrap/foil strut location (37cm)? distance from the tail is only useful for Air Race board obviously. If this foil is a bit more back foot balanced, I wonder if back foot location needs to be more precise as well?

[3InletsWindsports]

Our demo Spitfire has arrived and I will be fitting it to our pocket Air board.
Has anyone tried this combo yet?

[alexrider]

Zeeko's recommendation regarding water ingress in the mast in a French forum. If you don't understand French, Google translate should give you the gist.

Eau dans le mat du foil alu
Message Marie Zeeko le Mar 13 Déc - 9:14

Bonjour,

je vous remercie d'avoir posé la problématique de l'eau dans les mats des foils alu sur ce forum. C'est une question que beaucoup d'utilisateurs se posent et la réponse est très simple.

Mécaniquement il est déconseillé d'essayer d'étanchéifier le mat car il y a tellement de contraintes appliquées sur celui-ci à la navigation qu'au bout d'un certain temps ce que vous pensiez étanche ne l'est plus. A partir de là l'eau s'infiltre et n'arrive plus à ressortir. En vient ensuite des problèmes de poids, de déséquilibre et surtout le plus important des problèmes d'usure chimique avec une corrosion du mat par de l'eau stagnante (que ce soit sur les foils Zeeko qui sont traité ou sur tout autre foil alu).
Zeeko conseille donc de ne pas tenter d'étanchéifier le mat pour ne pas risquer d'avoir de l'eau stagnante. Il n'y a rien de pire, il vaut mieux avoir un petit peut d'eau circulante et qui pourra ressortir... de toutes façons pour garder un foil en bon état il est conseillé de le démonter tous les 15 jours de nav pour le rincer à l'eau douce et appliquer du T-Gel sur les pas de vis.

Fort de ses années d'expérience et de tests, Nicolas a testé différentes techniques pour tester l'étanchéité mais aucune n'était satisfaisante pour l'appliquer sur nos foils. C'est comme l'histoire des foils alu/carbone, Nicolas test le mix alu carbone depuis des années avec différentes techniques d'isolation entre les 2 matériaux mais il n'y a rien à faire, après plus d'un an l'électrolyse abîme considérablement le carbone jusqu'à rendre le foil inutilisable. C'est pour cela que nous le déconseillons et que nous ne le proposons pas.

J'espère avoir pu répondre au mieux à votre question, je suis désolé que ma réponse soit si tardive, nous sommes débordé avec la sortie des nouveaux foils (Le White & Green et le Spitfire) qui sont un vrai succès.

Bon ride

Marie

don't forget to seal your new zeeko alloy mast everyone,....the water in there sucks up performance

[ronnie]

Zeeko's recommendation regarding water ingress in the mast in a French forum. If you don't understand French, Google translate should give you the gist.

Eau dans le mat du foil alu
Message Marie Zeeko le Mar 13 Déc - 9:14

Bonjour,

je vous remercie d'avoir posé la problématique de l'eau dans les mats des foils alu sur ce forum. C'est une question que beaucoup d'utilisateurs se posent et la réponse est très simple.

Mécaniquement il est déconseillé d'essayer d'étanchéifier le mat car il y a tellement de contraintes appliquées sur celui-ci à la navigation qu'au bout d'un certain temps ce que vous pensiez étanche ne l'est plus. A partir de là l'eau s'infiltre et n'arrive plus à ressortir. En vient ensuite des problèmes de poids, de déséquilibre et surtout le plus important des problèmes d'usure chimique avec une corrosion du mat par de l'eau stagnante (que ce soit sur les foils Zeeko qui sont traité ou sur tout autre foil alu).
Zeeko conseille donc de ne pas tenter d'étanchéifier le mat pour ne pas risquer d'avoir de l'eau stagnante. Il n'y a rien de pire, il vaut mieux avoir un petit peut d'eau circulante et qui pourra ressortir... de toutes façons pour garder un foil en bon état il est conseillé de le démonter tous les 15 jours de nav pour le rincer à l'eau douce et appliquer du T-Gel sur les pas de vis.

Fort de ses années d'expérience et de tests, Nicolas a testé différentes techniques pour tester l'étanchéité mais aucune n'était satisfaisante pour l'appliquer sur nos foils. C'est comme l'histoire des foils alu/carbone, Nicolas test le mix alu carbone depuis des années avec différentes techniques d'isolation entre les 2 matériaux mais il n'y a rien à faire, après plus d'un an l'électrolyse abîme considérablement le carbone jusqu'à rendre le foil inutilisable. C'est pour cela que nous le déconseillons et que nous ne le proposons pas.

J'espère avoir pu répondre au mieux à votre question, je suis désolé que ma réponse soit si tardive, nous sommes débordé avec la sortie des nouveaux foils (Le White & Green et le Spitfire) qui sont un vrai succès.

Bon ride

Marie

don't forget to seal your new zeeko alloy mast everyone,....the water in there sucks up performance

Here's the Google translation.

Hello,

Thank you for posing the problem of water in the mats foils alu on this forum. This is a question that many users are asking and the answer is very simple.

Mechanically it is not advisable to try to seal the mat because there are so many constraints applied on it to the navigation that after a certain time what you think waterproof is no longer. From there the water infiltrates and can not get out again. Then comes the problems of weight, imbalance and especially the most important problems of chemical wear with corrosion of the mat by stagnant water (whether on the Zeeko foils that are treated or on any other foil alu) .
Zeeko therefore recommends not to try to seal the mat so as not to risk having stagnant water. There is nothing worse, it is better to have a small can of circulating water and that can stand out ... anyway to keep a foil in good condition it is advisable to disassemble it every 15 days from nav to Rinse with fresh water and apply T-Gel on the threads.

With years of experience and testing, Nicolas has tested various techniques to test the tightness but none was satisfactory to apply it on our foils. It is like the history of foils aluminum / carbon, Nicolas test the alu carbon mix for years with different techniques of insulation between the 2 materials but there is nothing to do, after more than a year the " Electrolysis considerably damages the carbon to render the foil unusable. That is why we do not advocate it and we do not propose it.

I hope to have answered your question, I am sorry that my answer is so late, we are overwhelmed with the release of the new foils (The White & Green and the Spitfire) which are a real success.


BIB
Good to hear that the new foils are selling well - makes it more likely that they can continue R&D on the canard foil faster.

[3InletsWindsports]

Close to first run but not close enough