Wing loading as a metric

[Kamikuza]

DOH Funny, cos I originally worked them out in g/cm2 then thought it'd be better to do kg/m2 to compare them to the chart on Wikipedia

[Kamikuza]

Wing loading is essential if you are foilsurfing.

When kitefoiling it is partly essential yes, you are right.

But only partly and not proportional, because when heavier you use a bigger kite, thus not needed a similar bigger sized wing.

Sorry to muddle your info up full-on fail mode today, me.

That's my point: a rough guide, not the final word. I don't want to use a bigger kite, I want to use a smaller one. I don't want to rely on the kite, I want to ride the foil.

We can get a rough idea of how big a wing you'd need to match a known rider experience. As it were...

Maybe it's irrelevant...your small wing is 100g/cm2, my big one is almost 90 to me, but I bet it's a different ride.

:shrug:

[bragnouff]

With Spitfire XLW, that'd be 95kg over 800cm2 = 119g/cm2
with the XXLW it's 73g/cm2 which I find a bit too lifty for everyday kiting.

[PugetSoundKiter]

WingLoading-Foils.jpg (111.15 KiB) Viewed 1038 times

[gbrungra]

Great topic.

Foil surfing is a more pure hydrofoil wing-loading situation. As soon as you add a kite, the kite also has a wing-loading, but it is probably some factor of rider weight/(kite-size*sqrt(windspeed)).

Also, canard (spitfire) front stabilizers lift, so not a direct comparison of main wing sizes. Would probably need a 1.1 to 1.5 factor applies to main wing size to get equivalent rear-stabilized area.

[RalfsB]

I am not sure if it is correct to calculate for the front wing area only, the back wing also contributes to the total lift of the foil.

[Peter_Frank]

I am not sure if it is correct to calculate for the front wing area only, the back wing also contributes to the total lift of the foil.

It is a lot smaller, so not much influence.

And the back wing reduces overall lift, as it pulls a bit down, negative lift usually.

Peter

[gbrungra]

Right, rear stabilizer is negative lift (pushes down).
Front stabilizer is positive lift (pushes up).

[RalfsB]

It is a lot smaller, so not much influence.

And the back wing reduces overall lift, as it pulls a bit down, negative lift usually.

Peter

Sometimes it is not a lot smaller. When I use the speed wing in the front, the back wing looks about 2/3 the size of the front wing.
And regarding the negative lift: front and back wings work together as a system, the negative lift of the back wing translates into an increased positive lift of the front part.

[Peter_Frank]

It is a lot smaller, so not much influence.

And the back wing reduces overall lift, as it pulls a bit down, negative lift usually.

Peter

Sometimes it is not a lot smaller. When I use the speed wing in the front, the back wing looks about 2/3 the size of the front wing.
And regarding the negative lift: front and back wings work together as a system, the negative lift of the back wing translates into an increased positive lift of the front part.

No, it does not.

Sorry to say, but you can not increase the lift of the front wing, so any downwards lift from the stab is total loss in overall lift for your foil

PF