they work

easy to launch

easy to land

stupid big air

range

easy repair

no bladders

no pump

no rattle as they accelerate

intuitive bar feedback

they look really cool

great human design feel

land, water and lots of air

I bought an Arc because of the depower, the auto-zenith, and the water crossover capability.

As a buggier I had flown FB dual and quad line foils. I've never had a big quiver so I too often had to choose between the kite that might rip me out of the seat and the kite that leaves me under powered. With the arc I can dial in the power I want. I can have the mind bending acceleration and speed that makes buggying such a trip while not having to worry about the next gust.

The auto-zenith lets me get a drink, unhitch a trailed buggy, rinse off my glasses, or whatever I need to do without landing or worrying about the kite. In short more seat time and more enjoyable experience all around.

Lastly, I'm working on a plyboard. I really need to bite the bullet and order some epoxy. :-)

Philip

The "stake the kite" method relies on there being some kind of decent stakeable object around ... not the case here.
"My" beach is erm a beach with deep loamy sand, tough to even stake down my Rev's cos they pull the stake out. The other sites I've been too have been much the same.
One site is so tight that there's just enough room for one of two LEIs to set up while another launches - with the launching pilot wading out into the water. Bloody dangerous spot cos it's always blowing 'onshore' and directly into a 20ft concrete wall ... guy was killed there last season when he got gusted into the wall I'd have to drift launch an arc there but I'd rather go elsewhere ...

I used to self-land my C-kite by safteying to 5th line and then clearing the mess up :Ange09:

...and arcs are just beautiful especially the Phantom :D
Flying the 15m Phantom on the water was like riding 400cc V-3 two-stroke ... it had a good pull but when it hit the powerband it was off like a rocket. My 16m C-kite is like a scooter - you can wring it's bloody neck all through the rev range but it just wont pull any more. Same with the 16m Crossbow I used ...
What I'm saying is you can work the arcs and get more out of them - single skins are like a sail ... no point in flapping it around

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell The pumpers on our beach just anchor the CL to a stake or point on the ground, then walk to the kite at the edge of the window and launch it, setting it on it's wing tip. It will fly there by itself a foot or two off the ground while they walk back to the bar and hook in. Landing is just the reverse.

I've heard that modern bows and SLE's do that. Is it kind of like the an LEI's version of auto-zenith? How well does it stay there? Do all bows/SLE's have this feature??

It's the 'auto relaunch' feature of the new kites that they advertise - the tend to drift to the side of the wind window then park on a wing tip ... the Crossbow I used so a piece of cake to relaunch although it was an older one and wasn't quite so up on a tip.
Do all of them do it? Dunno

I launch my LEI's by staking the chicken loop. pushing them over onto their leading edge and just following the water relaunch procedure... which is a piece of cake with the cult.

It does drift to the edge of the window but it wont sit up on a wingtip till you give a little tug on a backline. There is almost no resistance because of the sigma shape. SO much easier than frantic swimming towards C kites!!

The new charger (Naish) which is a delta SLE has the autolaunch feature it almost takes off by itself - requires very little pilot input.

Quote:

Originally posted by lives2fly The new charger (Naish) which is a delta SLE has the autolaunch feature it almost takes off by itself - requires very little pilot input.

Now this sounds like something I want to hear about ! Any reviews ?

Quote:

Originally posted by Bladerunner Quote: Originally posted by lives2fly The new charger (Naish) which is a delta SLE has the autolaunch feature it almost takes off by itself - requires very little pilot input. Now this sounds like something I want to hear about ! Any reviews ?

The kite is not out in the UK yet but I have a reliable report from someone who has tried a demo model that its a pretty sweet kite. It just drifts over to the edge of the window and sits on a wingtip when you crash it. - heres a diagram

since about 07 most all bow kites we'll launch/relaunch themselves if the lines are kept tight. with very little input in the right wind it will do it automatically.

the newer easy rolling design LE are truly easy , but you still have to keep the lines actively tight.

kamikuza:

Quote:

Flying the 15m Phantom on the water was like riding 400cc V-3 two-stroke ... it had a good pull but when it hit the powerband it was off like a rocket.

please explain. what is the powerband? are you talking about continuously increasing speed due to apparent wind ?

regarding tube relaunch: my naish helix 2009 has it, too: let go of the bar at the wind window, and it sits there, waiting to take of the second you grab for the bar and corner it just a bit. see my (beginner) snowkite video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvWA7syy-N4 - somewhere in the middle i let the kite sit at the wind window totally depowered, and can totally easily relaunch it. to land it, i put the chickenloop on my anchor and let it also sit at wind window. then walk to kite and turn it over.

i love arcs (have scorpion 7qm experience , but soon 16sqm will launch first time), because of the autozenit. thats the very best feature of them.

The power band as I know it was the point at the upper RPM that the 400 honda ( miss my old CMT ! ) rocketed forward at. It is sort of a feeling that if you have felt it you get it ! Makes me want a Phanny ! :frog:

usually the power band starts about the time you no longer need to sine or work the kite. the system has enough air speed to continuously (without working it) deliver power. different for variables like weight and ride resistance play out a little differently per rider but the MFR range gives good clue . heavier systems at the top of the range and lighter at the bottom of the range. the feedback while on a ride, is that you can't very easily choke the system only input of direction and point of ride can reduce power and speed. if you have c-kite experience they represent a great example. they are full on always and are selected for wind speed/weight combo's and fairly narrow at that. their powerband is very steep v. a depower which can be blunted by AOA variances with the throw in the bar. when the kite is "lit" or "powered" there's no mistake in what you feel through the harness, hence the rig is with in the powerband. best i can do

The Phanny got me up and moving with enough grunt but once I got the right board speed and the kite was in the right place, it just locked on and started hauling ass ... just like a powerband you can sort of feel it picking up, picking up BLAM off it goes!

My old C-kite and the Crossbow I used at Shizuoka, even when nicely powered just pulls the same or so it feels; there's no ramping up like with my foils or arc(s) ... could be my imagination though :D