It's true that kites are not equal- some are better in the light than others. The very best light wind fliers are NASA style single skin frameless
kites- they fly in winds you can barely feel. When Chris Brent and I tested NASA's against Arcs using identical KiteCats in 2005, we found not only
that the NASA's allowed kitesailing in much lighter winds, but that the performance crossover was at much higher wind speed than we expected. NASA's
have L/D's of around 3, Arcs >5, but even when the wind was more than enough to allow the Arc to be parked solidly in a corner (+/-15km/hr), a
NASA of similar size would still beat it around an upwind/downwind course. There is hope!
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