High Pressure kite by Bruno Legaignoux

[kitexpert]

IMO tapered tubes should be made in a braiding machine.

For sure this is true but kites need so many different sizes of tubes (with tapers). And braided tubes may too flexible, they don't necessary have precise length and diameter.

[BWD]

Add a shuttle...

[nixmatters]

IMO tapered tubes should be made in a braiding machine.

For sure this is true but kites need so many different sizes of tubes (with tapers). And braided tubes may too flexible, they don't necessary have precise length and diameter.

Thought about dropping a comment to Bruno on this and ask what available technologies he has in mind.
Tapering is no problem with braiding and the braid construction flexibility plays little role at such pressure levels. More interesting is to look at tubular knitting where both tapered and curved shapes are possible.

As for the alternative option that Bruno and you mentioned (special seam/sewing machine), I'm afraid less than 50mm diameter is not realistic and a dacron of 240+ gsm would be needed to withstand such pressure (need to run some numbers to verify this).

I look forward to your thoughts on the latter. PM is also welcome. Cheers.

[brunolgx]

I'll try to reply all the questions in this post :

“All kites seem too darn expensive though, no argument on that.”
Price was the first reason for developing this concept. I think that kitesurfing goes in the wrong way with High aspect ratio ram air kites, not for their relaunchability or complex bridle but for their price. If they become a standard for any kitefoiler, this could kill the sport as happened more or less with windsurfing when they went from mass market to funboarding / high tech equipment.

“How about some more c shape for handling, and simpler bridling? “
“A hybrid with low pressure LE tube, flatter arc, simpler bridle and a TE high pressure tube could be interesting, too... “
“I also wonder if this will work for heavy guys like me. “
Yes, everything is possible, I discuss it in the Design page. We are talking about a new technology more than a new kite. It gives endless possibilities to the kite designers.

“just wondering how it performs and how to pack it. Are the hoses that flexible that they won’t break after a while of packing? “
They are more flexible than the normal dacron struts, I think that they will last much more as there is no weak point (seam)

“Not seeing what interesting concept this kite brings to the table looks like a foil kite with solid battons. Also Looks clunky and stiff . Doubt this will perform better than a modern day foil or lei kite as all kites need to have decent flexiablity. “
Let’s talk about it in one year.

“The video dosent help as its poor quality also . “
“Bruno, can you get a better camera for your videos please?  “
Don’t forget I work alone and for free

“ If this mean the end of foil kite in the water ...god bless u... “
Who knows ? Not me.

“I would already be satisfied if I could pump my kite as hard as my old bicycle  : 60 PSI. “
Will never happen with classic inflatable kites but myself I put up to 60PSI (4 bars) now and will slowly go up to 100 – 120 PSI.

“MO tapered tubes should be made in a braiding machine. “
“And braided tubes may too flexible, they don't necessary have precise length and diameter. “
My english is a little bit limited but from my understanding of “braided”, this is not the right solution. I explain in the Manufacturing page how it should be made : fibers in the length and in the diameter. It is surprisingly flexible anyway.

“ I'm afraid less than 50mm diameter is not realistic and a dacron of 240+ gsm would be needed to withstand such pressure.  “
The tension in the fabric is not correlated to the pressure but to the pressure and diameter. In a small diameter tube, you can put much more pressure than in a large one made of the same fabric.
Why a 50mm tube is not realistic if there are kites without inflatable tubes and they fly ? (single skin kites)

[Peter_Frank]

Really interesting Bruno, I will be looking forward to the progress with this

Peter

[tilmann]

I am just wondering why we had to wait more than 20 years for this next step in the kite evolution

[Toby]

How strong do you have to be for pumping 100 psi ?

[FLandOBX]

How strong do you have to be for pumping 100 psi ?

I routinely pump my bicycle tires to 120 psi, but not with a plastic kite pump. Pumping to 100 psi would be easy with a well made, high pressure pump and a secure attachment to the inflate valve.

[magic%20Ed]

Not so strong, just a smaller diameter pump and a lot of pump strokes. For example MTB shocks contain air pressurized between 80 & 300 psi (depending front or back and rider weight & preference).

[Toby]

How much pressure the Best Hellfish was designed for?
Was it 12 psi or more?