Flysurfer Peak 4

[nayy]

my last session with the peak4 5m²... finally some swell...

https://youtu.be/BxOQwsJres4

[nothing2seehere]

Can anyone remind me if the 6m is considered one of the golden sizes (like the 4m and 5m) or whether its one of the foil kite sizes like the 8m and 11m (slow turning but hangs in the air well)

[mirza23454]

Are folding wing tips when overpowered inevitable? Does everyone experience that?

I flew peaks all of last season and just accepted that’s the way it is, but yesterday I ran into someone riding a 5m on a twintip in winds I would consider overpowered. He also said he rode a 4m in 40kts on a surfboard recently, and he never has wing tip collapse. He said he doesn’t have to sheet in and keep steering lines tight to avoid issues like that. He has stock peaks. I forgot to ask what kind of bar and line config he has (maybe Y vs V makes a difference?)

Anyone know what’s up with that? Does anyone else here not experience collapsing wing tips when flying a peak above its typical wind range?

[drsurf]

Are folding wing tips when overpowered inevitable? Does everyone experience that?

I flew peaks all of last season and just accepted that’s the way it is, but yesterday I ran into someone riding a 5m on a twintip in winds I would consider overpowered. He also said he rode a 4m in 40kts on a surfboard recently, and he never has wing tip collapse. He said he doesn’t have to sheet in and keep steering lines tight to avoid issues like that. He has stock peaks. I forgot to ask what kind of bar and line config he has (maybe Y vs V makes a difference?)

Anyone know what’s up with that? Does anyone else here not experience collapsing wing tips when flying a peak above its typical wind range?

Defining what's overpowered with a Peak kite depends on what you're using it for. You can find videos of a 4m or 5m Peak kite being used to pull a skier up a mountain in 20-30knots flying fine but starting to collapse when gusts of 40 knots occur. On the water with a foil this would be way overpowered but with a surfboard or twin tip you may be fine depending on your weight.

Generally the Peaks are more likely to lose shape when you fully depower them when you're way overpowered. On the water when hydrofoiling you'll depower the kite way before any other discipline because you just don't need much power from the kite to pull you on a hydrofoil. When you're being pulled up a mountain on skis or riding a surfboard you need much more power to overcome the inherent drag/gravity so you won't be depowering the kite until the wind is much stronger. When you're heavier you'll need even more power from the kite so your windrange before being overpowered with be higher again.

There may be circumstances where the kite bridles may be out of specification due to stretch/shrinkage but this can be checked and corrected using info from the Flysurfer website. Personally I've never had Peaks collapse wing tips in flight but I have a range of sizes to choose from for foiling and prefer to be lightly powered and surf the foil rather than be dragged around by a well powered kite.

[bitxopalo]

Hey mirza, check Page 274. I had the same problem. Fixed now

More about line length.
Last session with rain and hail... Wind speed suitable for my pulsion 12... but afraid of getting it damaged by hail.... I decided to try foiling with my P4 5m and 29m lines. Here is the result :


I really didn't have high expectations, but it turned out well. I don't think it will improve the lowend noticeably, but the waterstart seems easier for me.

Wind speed was measured by me before sailing, 2 meter height, checked later with nearest station.

[Trent hink]

Can anyone remind me if the 6m is considered one of the golden sizes (like the 4m and 5m) or whether its one of the foil kite sizes like the 8m and 11m (slow turning but hangs in the air well)

The six meter peak4 is a lot of fun, way more similar to the five meter than the eight, but of course, more power than the five.

[Trent hink]

Are folding wing tips when overpowered inevitable? Does everyone experience that?

I flew peaks all of last season and just accepted that’s the way it is, but yesterday I ran into someone riding a 5m on a twintip in winds I would consider overpowered. He also said he rode a 4m in 40kts on a surfboard recently, and he never has wing tip collapse. He said he doesn’t have to sheet in and keep steering lines tight to avoid issues like that. He has stock peaks. I forgot to ask what kind of bar and line config he has (maybe Y vs V makes a difference?)

Anyone know what’s up with that? Does anyone else here not experience collapsing wing tips when flying a peak above its typical wind range?

If the bottom leading edge starts folding in, you are probably way overpowered and sheeting out too far.

Usually, the kite will be flapping like crazy before you hit this point.

But the kite itself is not overpowered.

To some extent you can "fix" the problem by keeping the kite sheeted in. Or even oversheeting the kite to backstall it slightly.

If you try these methods, you need to make a sincere effort to go slower and point higher, just like you need to do as a beginner kiter, trying to ride when you feel overpowered.

If you switch to something with more drag, such as going from a hydrofoil to a wide surfboard, or even a twintip, the "problem" disappears.

These kites have very good range, pretty much equal to other modern kites, and on the low end they can generate a lot more power than you might think.

The issue is that if you try to use them above the power range you can handle, and try to depower them too much, they start to behave a bit strangely.

...But still "sort of" usable, which is not such a bad thing when you choose the wrong size and have way more power than you can handle.

Next time you see it, try hopping off your board and body dragging upwind. With the extra drag, the "problem" will disappear, and you'll find yourself dragging upwind at a pretty good clip and not too bad of an angle.

[merl]

Are folding wing tips when overpowered inevitable? Does everyone experience that?

I flew peaks all of last season and just accepted that’s the way it is, but yesterday I ran into someone riding a 5m on a twintip in winds I would consider overpowered. He also said he rode a 4m in 40kts on a surfboard recently, and he never has wing tip collapse. He said he doesn’t have to sheet in and keep steering lines tight to avoid issues like that. He has stock peaks. I forgot to ask what kind of bar and line config he has (maybe Y vs V makes a difference?)

Anyone know what’s up with that? Does anyone else here not experience collapsing wing tips when flying a peak above its typical wind range?

One of the most frustrating things about forums is when you have kite problems and all you get are posts trying to explain why it is a problem with your technique and not the kite. Here is some practical information that should be worth a try:

viewtopic.php?p=1157604#p1157604

[nayy]

Hi all,

I have a Peak4 5 and 3m² that I use mostly for kitefoiling.

Yesterday I flew my 3 for the first time... the kite has the tendency to backstall very fast when I pull the bar.

I'm flying it on an Ozone bar, all lines are checked and equal length.

The 5 I have to depower it a few cm to avoid backstalling when I pull the bar completely 'full power'... the 3 is much worse, I have to depower it almost completely.

But then is flies ok... but this seems strange to me.

A friend who flies the peaks a lot says it's due to my flying syle...

So both kites backstall when you pull the bar full power . The 5 I have to depower a few cm to avoid this, the 3 I have to depower almost completely or it is uncontrollable.

Nayy

[lederhosen]

Hi all,

I have a Peak4 5 and 3m² that I use mostly for kitefoiling.

Yesterday I flew my 3 for the first time... the kite has the tendency to backstall very fast when I pull the bar.

I'm flying it on an Ozone bar, all lines are checked and equal length.

The 5 I have to depower it a few cm to avoid backstalling when I pull the bar completely 'full power'... the 3 is much worse, I have to depower it almost completely.

But then is flies ok... but this seems strange to me.

A friend who flies the peaks a lot says it's due to my flying syle...

So both kites backstall when you pull the bar full power . The 5 I have to depower a few cm to avoid this, the 3 I have to depower almost completely or it is uncontrollable.

Nayy

I have had peak4 3,4,5 and peak5 4,6 and all of them need to be trimmed in a bunch in order to avoid backstall when fully sheeted on original connect bars. Then when I let a friend try a peak and he complained about not having enough backstall.