15M Flysurfer Speed

[UKSurf]

I was wondering if anyone could advise me if they think a 15m Speed foil kite is a bit large for hydrofoiling in light winds (7 to 11 knots). I am using the Liquid Force Rocket Foil and like cruising about - not into racing

[Peter_Frank]

I was wondering if anyone could advise me if they think a 15m Speed foil kite is a bit large for hydrofoiling in light winds (7 to 11 knots). I am using the Liquid Force Rocket Foil and like cruising about - not into racing

Hmmm, depends on what you want and experience.

In 7 knots it is perfect, although on the heavy side so you have to be able to keep it flying all the time.
A 12 m2 LEI can work in 7 knots easily also, but not below this.

From 8 knots you might be overpowered quite fast, and find it slow turning, if average weight and a medium or surf wing

If you go for speed and jumps and performance though, it should be sweetspot from 8 knots and up with the 15 m2 Speed, is my vote

PF

[jakemoore]

Deluxe the maybe
Regular cloth is a little heavy.
The best use for a 15 speed is sent twintip jumps in 12-18 knots

[UKSurf]

In 7 knots it is perfect, although on the heavy side so you have to be able to keep it flying all the time.

Will it have problems staying in the air in 7 knots in your opinion?

[Peter_Frank]

In 7 knots it is perfect, although on the heavy side so you have to be able to keep it flying all the time.

Will it have problems staying in the air in 7 knots in your opinion?

I don't know, somebody else has to answer that one.
It is just, when normal fabric/weight the lower limit is usually around 7 knots, maybe even 8

PF

[windrider1]

all foil kites will stay in the air in 6 kntts no problem.

In 7 knots it is perfect, although on the heavy side so you have to be able to keep it flying all the time.

Will it have problems staying in the air in 7 knots in your opinion?

[Peter_Frank]

Hmmm, you might be right, but I still doubt it slightly...

Even the superlight racekites tends to have difficulties when the wind goes below 6 knots.

And most other foilkites are somewhat heavier, which is the reasoning for my estimate, not having flown the very kite only many others, but could be wrong.

6 knots in 10 meters height is often only maybe 4 knots measured headheight - VERY low winds...

Peter

[Adventure Logs]

Which generation of Speed? If it's the Lotus(4th gen), yes but at 7 kts you'll have to coax it to keep it up. Not so sure with the Gen 5, but if I have to guess, it's about the same. The problem you'll have with the older kites is bridle shrinkage. Make sure you go through it well. If it's backstalling, Z most likely shrank and you'll have to extend it a couple cm to get everything good again. These bridles will shrink after awhile even in the bag.

=Jason-

[BOEMIX]

broke your piggy bank and get a 15m soul!

[FLandOBX]

I have a 15 m FS Speed 4 Lotus, and I (at 80 kgs) wouldn't bother heading out in 7 knots. I think the problem would be that 7 knots average wind really means sometimes it's 9-10 knots, but at other times it's 4-5 knots. The 15 m is hard to manage in the lightest lulls, especially if you need to water-start. In very light wind, I need to loop to water-start, and loop through all of my jibes. If the kite glances the water on a loop, I'll struggle to re-launch and water-start again. For me, it's just too much work to use the 15 m Speed 4 in 7-8 knots.

On the other hand, I had a truly great session today in winds averaging 10-11 knots (lulls probably dropped to 8 with gusts to 13) on a FS Soul 10 m. The Soul 10 m is so much faster and more nimble than the Speed 4 15 m that it handles the lulls better. If you need to sine the kite several times or loop it to get up on foil, the 10 m Soul can do it easily, but the 15 m Speed 4 is just too slow to generate consistent momentum beyond a single loop.

Just my 2 cents.