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Foil Size vs. Speed

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Gestalt
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Foil Size vs. Speed

Postby Gestalt » Wed Apr 28, 2021 7:30 am

I have tried looking but not come across an estimated average or max speed for given foil sizes.
I am curious if anyone has a rough idea of the estimated speeds (average and max) one can expect to ride kitefoiling with low to mid-aspect front wings of the following sizes.

- 400cm2
- 600cm2
- 800cm2
- 1000cm2
- 1200cm2
- 1400cm2
- 1600cm2

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Re: Foil Size vs. Speed

Postby Foil » Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:15 am

both feet strapped down, one foot only or no straps will make a difference for top speed numbers.

1250 front wing top speed is 27knts,or as I found out 29knts with the help of a 2 knot tide flow:] but you need to be fully strapped to keep control over a bumpy surface, and its not easy to keep it up there at that speed for long runs,
990 front wing top speed fully strapped is only 1 to 2 knots faster, but is creamy smooth at speed by comparison to the 1250, and faster speeds can be maintained as well as higher upwind angles, drawback is its not as easy to use(less fun)at lower speeds.
1550 front wing, well by far the lowest stall speed, walking pace is slow, and it will stay up at that speed, only fun in very low wind and low speed under 15knts at the most, over that its a hand full even fully strapped, it can run away with you, sort of out of control as you bear off to control its massive lift then find your going into a out of control off wind run of doom.but best pumping foil I have ever owned, jumping it is just fun,, as at times it just skates along the surface when landing.funny to see.scary to feel.
I did have faster wings than all the above but did not own a gps watch back then.
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Re: Foil Size vs. Speed

Postby dave1986 » Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:39 am

Remember that foil wing area is only one of many factors.
Profile thickness has a big influence on speed, as well as wing shape/ taper etc...

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Re: Foil Size vs. Speed

Postby Peter_Frank » Sat May 01, 2021 11:10 am

Gestalt, how much experience do you have?

Your avatar says you got a 1000 cm2 Levitaz foil, but not how much experience you got, and how fast/slow you can ride now?

As Dave says, so many other parameters can be more important than surface area, regarding lift and drag.

Also, it is not proportional, as there is always a "fixed" amount of surface from the part of the mast under water, and the fuselage, and the stab.
Besides, lift (partly lowend) is squared with speed of course, eventhough almost proportional with area for a give wing profile and outline.

Meaning, the smaller the wing, the less "advantage" in speed, unless you downsize the other drag parts (which one could with the stab at least)

IMO it might be nice for you to know these numbers, but it is really really difficult, and can only be done for specific wings and foils and riders.
Also, low end is just as much a matter of kitesize - as you can hang under a really big kite going superslow, even on a small fast racewing - if you want.

8) Peter
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Re: Foil Size vs. Speed

Postby Gestalt » Sat May 01, 2021 1:45 pm

Peter_Frank wrote:
Sat May 01, 2021 11:10 am
Gestalt, how much experience do you have?

Your avatar says you got a 1000 cm2 Levitaz foil, but not how much experience you got, and how fast/slow you can ride now?

As Dave says, so many other parameters can be more important than surface area, regarding lift and drag.

Also, it is not proportional, as there is always a "fixed" amount of surface from the part of the mast under water, and the fuselage, and the stab.
Besides, lift (partly lowend) is squared with speed of course, eventhough almost proportional with area for a give wing profile and outline.

Meaning, the smaller the wing, the less "advantage" in speed, unless you downsize the other drag parts (which one could with the stab at least)

IMO it might be nice for you to know these numbers, but it is really really difficult, and can only be done for specific wings and foils and riders.
Also, low end is just as much a matter of kitesize - as you can hang under a really big kite going superslow, even on a small fast racewing - if you want.

8) Peter
I just started learning on the 1000 cm2 Levitaz foil, and have 20 hours experience.
I ride with one half hook, and am riding virtually standing straight upright most of the time. In this configuration my average cruising speed is about 28 km/hr (15.1 knots) and max speed is 32 km/hr (17.27 knots)
I'm not sure about slow speed but the website says lift speed is 9.2 knots.

I realize there can be a lot of nuance depending on setup, but I just wanted to even know ball park in that if I wanted to step up in progression and speed what to expect when buying a new smaller foil.

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Re: Foil Size vs. Speed

Postby Kamikuza » Sun May 02, 2021 12:28 pm

Only had a GPS watch in the past year or so. That being said...

Axis 820; I hit a max of 45.1kph but I bet that was a freak of nature. I could hold about 38kph for a while on a flat-out speed run, maybe a minute or so before I couldn't hack it any more. Easy to hold fast cruise at ~32, with an easy relaxed heading back upwind around 26. Slowing right down, 18kph is about as low as I could go and it be useful...

Axis 660; smaller wing but thicker and more lifty profile IIRC. 40.4kph for a top speed and it's hairy-as pushing it fast. I've only used it with the Short fuselage though which is already looser. Fast, powered cruise is 28, relaxed is about 24. You can ride it down to 16 or so, it seems...

I don't know, it's kind of hard to look at your wrist and focus on riding at the same time. These seem consistent across the times I sneak a peak...

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Re: Foil Size vs. Speed

Postby edt » Sun May 02, 2021 12:36 pm

Like others have said there's no linear formula between size and speed. Shape is so important to drag and lift that it means more than size.


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