"It" finally happened. Wings and alula.

[Dontsink]

What i do not understand is the half baked release operation they are doing.

Almost no data, no pics ,no vids,just some 3d images...come on OR,wake up!.

[OzBungy]

It's consistent with the kite release. A lot of promise but nothing tangible to back it up. The reaction to the kites has been quite muted.

Here's some chat about Aluula wings from other manufacturers, starting at 53 minutes.

[leeuwen]

1600 for a wing? f*** off.
Looking forward to Duotone steamrollering OR in the kite market with their allula equipped kites, just for the sheer greed of the OR wing prices.

I would not hold your breath hoping Duotone to have a better pricing model: the SLS “light kite” they sell is just as heavy as any competitors kite and they ask a premium for it.
(Sure it’s lighter then their own kites but those were just very heavy)
Also Duotone base price for regular kites is one of the highest in the market last time I compared prices (only Ozone being more expensive)

[leeuwen]

It's consistent with the kite release. A lot of promise but nothing tangible to back it up. The reaction to the kites has been quite muted.

I would say that the kites are a superior product comparing to the Dacron counterparts for sure.
Is it worth the premium? That is a harder question to answer for sure.

Also lack of “excitement” or however you want to call it might be because part of the potential audience just ride different kind of kite (or wing) which are a better tool for the job.
The kites are amazing in light winds and have very good drift for a tube kite.
But extreme low wind riders will grab a foil kite.
People who want drift because they are foiling on waves will grab a single skin or a wing.

[Dontsink]

1600 for a wing? f*** off.
Looking forward to Duotone steamrollering OR in the kite market with their allula equipped kites, just for the sheer greed of the OR wing prices.

I would not hold your breath hoping Duotone to have a better pricing model: the SLS “light kite” they sell is just as heavy as any competitors kite and they ask a premium for it.
(Sure it’s lighter then their own kites but those were just very heavy)
Also Duotone base price for regular kites is one of the highest in the market last time I compared prices (only Ozone being more expensive)

Exactly.Nobody is going to offer a student priced Aluula wing anytime soon.
Aluula/Dacron for wings is like carbon/glass for boards,want cheaper?...here's good old Dacron.

I can relate to the resentment from some people at the prices and the posibility that a new performance level is reached.

When i windsurfed and the "new" sails started coming out with floppy,exagerated twist at the top,monofilm ,xply etc...i was left with instant obsolete gear.I did not get on plane while the fancy geared guys blasted around me with a happy smirk, i could not buy them as i had no money and my gear was worth almost nothing.
I hated those sails...

The guy in the vid (Slingshot?) seems to have no doubt that Aluula is going to significantly raise the bar in wing performance.

My prediction (probably wrong ) is that we will be able to drop 1m in size to get up on foil for the same conditions,and get higher speed and upwind angles.
So a 5m wing with the low end of a 6m and the weight of a 3m
That would be pretty cool.

[Nem0]

Reducing your weight from 90 to 88 kg for example, would be much cheaper and more effective than reducing 200g at the wing!

[nixmatters]

Reducing your weight from 90 to 88 kg for example, would be much cheaper and more effective than reducing 200g at the wing!

Which is irrelevant to how the wing performs in low end and downwind glide.

The bigger advantage of aluuula in wings I see in increased frame stiffness -> possible reduction of LE diameter and LE/strut deflection.

[salvino]

They should publish comparison of wet weight as that is reality. Not a dry kite needing to stay airborne.

Ridiculous pricing BTW

[Nem0]

Reducing your weight from 90 to 88 kg for example, would be much cheaper and more effective than reducing 200g at the wing!

Which is irrelevant to how the wing performs in low end and downwind glide.

For a kite which is flying in the air I agree.
For a wing which you hold in your hand I don’t.

Stiffness might be an advantage but not the weight.

[Dontsink]

Reducing your weight from 90 to 88 kg for example, would be much cheaper and more effective than reducing 200g at the wing!

Aluula wings are not 200g lighter.They are 40% or 20% lighter depending on model.For a 3kg Dacron reference wing this is 1.2kg or .6 kg saving.
This is a lot, i think this wings will handle like a dream,stay flagged in nothing.
And i assume this percentages are for dry wings.Dacron absorbs water,Aluula does not.So they should be even lighter comparatively once wet.

OT:
As for losing body weight,the effect is very similar to using a bigger foil size.
Stall and max controllable speed of your foil happen at certain angles of attack,constant for that foil.

Speed at which that AOA is reached depends on load factor=your weight in level flight.

So you loose body weight and you gain some low speed range before stall,but you also loose max speed and lateral command using the same foil.

A stiffer wing with thinner Leading Edge will give you better low and top end performance.
Nothing's free so probably it will feel "harsher" in handling.