Power Kite Forum

look and hold your breath: Libre RADICAL II (proto?)

herc - 17-1-2012 at 12:09 PM

there is coming something mighty from little known company libre:

a closed cell depower foil with a radical aspect ratio:




http://www.libre.de/Eventnews.html









did they got inspired by these russian ELF kites that also feature a extremely high AR?

this new libre radical II looks like a weapon of choice for cross terrain racing ! (its getting time for flysurfer to release a speed IV - or otherwise thei might get a beating by new products like this radicalII ;)

herc - 17-1-2012 at 12:15 PM

klick this image to see it in large - really looks like closed cells:

http://www.bildercache.de/bild/20120117-183359-496.jpg

wheresthewind? - 17-1-2012 at 12:25 PM

interesting.... whats the a/r on this?

herc - 17-1-2012 at 12:53 PM

very HIGH ! but atm i dont know more.. will keep you posted if new infos appear!

wheresthewind? - 17-1-2012 at 01:01 PM

looking forward to this..... libre rocks!!

Feyd - 17-1-2012 at 03:40 PM

Wow that is a sexy kite. Doesn't look like it's pulling a whole lot from those photos, doesn't look like much wind.

Looks wicked fast tho.

lad - 17-1-2012 at 06:05 PM

That thang looks deadly! :Ange09:

herc - 18-1-2012 at 03:49 AM

yeah - this kite looks more like the highest performance paragliders available, for example the swing core2:



and it looks like as if this libre kite has an even higher aspect ratio!

i think this kite will the opposite of an entry level kite .. probably difficult to ride in gusty or rotor wind conditions ?

B-Roc - 18-1-2012 at 06:04 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by herc
i think this kite will the opposite of an entry level kite .. probably difficult to ride in gusty or rotor wind conditions ?


Totally agree with that. Likely no fun at all to fly in anything but ideal conditions and I'm assuming the price tag will be quite the deterant to many.

Bladerunner - 18-1-2012 at 07:40 AM

Who can you go to to buy / try Libre in North America now?

herc - 29-1-2012 at 10:04 AM

here are some new pictures of this killer-AR-kite:

http://www.libre.de/Eventnews.html

some more infos from the a german kite-forum:
http://www.drachenforum.net/forum/Libre-Radical-2-t71804.htm...


Quote:

Stimmt,der Schirm heisst Radical 2,es ist einer Drachen mit 7 Leinen, der 7e Lein ist safety, es gibt zwei Haupt,- und Bremsleinen wie normale Schirme. Pro Seite gibts zwei Hauptleinen die es möglich machen das Profil zu ändern.
Es ist also möglich das Profil anzupassen an die Fahrtrichtung.
Der Drachen hat 65 Zellen, der 15 und 18 sind schon Produktionsfertig und an den 10er wird noch gebastelt.
Der depower ist riesig sowie auch das Flugverhalten.
Weil der Radical 2 Luftdicht is,is es auch möglich als Kitesurfdrachen zu benutzen.
Info von Rens van Lier,der anwesend war beim Snowrennen, hab ich mal übersetzt für euch.
Grüsse Marc
Quote:


translation:

this kite is named "Radical 2", it is a kite with 7 lines ! the 7th line is the safety, and there are two front lines per side. one line is the normal front line, taking most of the load, the second line is there to be able to change the profile according to the wind situation.
the kite has 65 cells. the size 15 sqm and 18 sqm are alread production ready; the 10 sqm is still in development.
the depower range is huge as well as the flying characteristics is perfect.
the radical2 is air-tight, so it is possible to use it for kitesurfing.
this information is from "Rens van Lier" who was there at the snowkiterace. Grüsse Marc


zero gee - 29-1-2012 at 10:47 AM

Interesting... 7 lines. I would love to see video of these.

mougl - 30-1-2012 at 05:07 PM

I like!!!

Kamikuza - 30-1-2012 at 05:25 PM

New ideas, always good...

herc - 22-3-2012 at 01:19 PM

some more pictures of another prototype:

https://plus.google.com/photos/116156082308108866815/albums/...



and finally, there is a detailed youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i40M6ukO-WI

the guys in the german drachenforum.net say this beast delivers a "skilift" feeling in only 4 knots !

(in case you can read german)
http://www.drachenforum.net/forum/Libre-Radical-2-t71804-p20...


sadly the kite is planned under the "libre" label and not the zebra kite label -- meaning the price will probably twice as high as those zebra-kite prices...

bigkid - 22-3-2012 at 01:45 PM

Will see what I can do, they are nice.

ripsessionkites - 22-3-2012 at 06:47 PM

funny they used the Zebra pattern as proto

who knows maybe a Slope Race Version

Time to bug HH about some info. hehehe