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My pansh Aurora2

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foilholio
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Re: My pansh Aurora2

Postby foilholio » Fri Dec 02, 2016 1:02 am

Strange use of the words out and in. I would tend to think they mean the opposite, like in the use for pulling out of dive or pushing in to a dive etc. I see washout has a long history of use but washin was only relatively recently created just for this use in aeronautics. Washin means more in the airflow and washout is less in the airflow, still strange.

From my experience kites with less twist produce more lift. Makes sense as part of wing if twisted will stall earlier. And so it is with the new race kites they have less twist. Kites with more twist do turn differently, but I wonder if that makes them better to use or not? Kites with less twist can reverse direction on one side instead of stalling.
gwicke wrote:Across the span, bridle positions are in proportionally the same locations.
I haven't measured the A15 yet but it seems Pansh does it like that. Maybe only Flysurfer is using different positions, have you measured an Ozone?
gwicke wrote:As usual, B bridles are attached slightly closer to A than C, IIRC at ~44%
I think they are usually placed evenly between A and C. 44% seems very far back.

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RagingGrandpa
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Re: My pansh Aurora2

Postby RagingGrandpa » Thu Oct 12, 2017 8:00 pm

gwicke wrote:
Tue Nov 15, 2016 3:06 am
Just got a 12m Aurora 2, also in the ultralight fabric. First impressions:

- Weight: 2.15kg
- The fabric is much stiffer and crispy. Basically the same as good quality silnylon spinnakers. Compared to the standard fabric, the ultralight fabric should stretch and distort a lot less under load. It will also take on less water. I would not be surprised if it was also stronger.
- The vents are covered in a much lighter and more open mesh than the relatively heavy and closed PVC mesh I have on my 8m regular Aurora 2. The new material is close to what Ozone uses. I cut large squares into the PVC on my other Aurora to improve inflation speed and pressure, so this is a nice improvement.
- Slick bridle, thin enough to minimize shrinkage.
- Bridle attachment loops switched from webbing to a more closed / non-woven material. Seems a bit stiffer, which could be good for weight distribution along the seam.
- No magnetic blow-out valves. This reduces weight, avoids the magnetic sand collection, and should make the kite hold air a bit longer, but also increases the risk of blowing a cell when crashing the kite hard.

Overall, to me the ultralight looks all-round higher quality. The fabric should perform better, and I expect it to have a longer useful life than the standard. If I were to get another 8m, I would consider getting that in ultralight fabric as well.
A word of caution on the Ultralight versions... I blew out my 15m's guts pretty badly in a nose-down crash on water. Many completely torn internal cell walls and straps. (No external tears, still held air, flew like a sloppy turd though.) This was during a downloop waterstart in light wind, which is really the only way to get going in <10kt conditions (Sector 54 'freerace' board). I fell towards the kite, slackening the lines and widening the loop, and bam.

Lesson to learn? It's not "don't loop"- the loop is required. "Don't fall"? Everyone falls... "Don't bother going out in 8kt"? But that's the magic of the big efficient foilkites: a delightful sensation of making your own wind. If every day blew 15kt I would have no need for it.

I couldn't help but wonder if the trailing-edge blowout valves on the 'standard' version would have saved it from tearing. But it's a conundrum, wondering if the 'standard' version can still do the apparent wind magic I love. Even if it's just a $475 kite, killing it in one crash is a real bummer. This may be the risk the name-brand race-kite users are accustomed to, but I had taken it for granted until now...

.02

foilholio
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Re: My pansh Aurora2

Postby foilholio » Sun Oct 15, 2017 6:17 am

Strange for a large kite to blow cells. The smaller Flysurfer's even with standard fabric do that quite easily, as do many other small foils. The magnetic blow offs on Pansh do seem to do something. It might be worth adding some. Your kite will definitely be repairable, though the effort could be a lot.


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