I've been in Monterey at the beach all week. Let me first say first its time for me to move closer to the coast. The winds are just sooooo much cleaner. I had my 3.5m ace out yesterday in 5-7 mph winds and it flew solid. At home I wouldn't even be able to get it to fly in winds that low. Then the winds picked up to about 8-10mph and a younger guy showed up with a naish inflatable. It took him about 20 minutes to get that kite flight ready and he appeared to know what he was doing. I didn't ask him how big it was, but I estimate around 8-10m. When he launched it I was looking at in the air next to my 3.5. I don't know really to explain this but it basically looked like my 3.5 with big ears. What is the benifit of the big u shape ? Anyway he was atleast 50 - 60 lbs. lighter than me and couldn't get near the scud I was getting from my little 3.5m. I was doing loops and wingtip spins and he couldn't do it with the bar. Finally he put his kit down and came over and was asking me questions of how I got so much power out of a little kite.
So what up with those inflatables ? They are big in size but since they are bent in half it seems they don't generate near the power of the foils. Maybe someone can give me some insite on this.

your talking about a c-kite right?

If it was a C-kite a 10 meter will have a good amount of its surface area vertical, which doesn't produce any power. So it becomes like an 8 meter then because it is an LEI it is less effitient than a foil so it really only has the pull of your average medium AR 6-7m foil. And the Ace is a "High" AR kite so it produces more lift so you would get pulled more, and with a 3.5 you can really get that thing moving, and the faster you move a kite the more power it makes so it was really as if you were flying in 15mph wind when he was still in 5-7. Kinda like how my 8m Ace produces better scuds and jumps than my 17m Bomba in the same wind.

I guess so .. That would make sense because it was shaped like a "c".

Being a C-shape, so much less of their area is projected as usable area to produce lift. Also their profile is more sled-like whereas a foil has an efficient airfoil profile. They LEI guys on our beach do not come out in less than 10-12 mph and then they are starting with 16-17m and dont trade down to the 9m until close to 20 mph dependin on rider size. Those are Bows though; a bit more efficient than C-kites

I did n't see you out there:puzzled:

unless you were there after 3pm

kyte slinger I'm down in marina not at OB ... After this week I think you will be seeing me at OB more than you might like. These ocean winds are priceless.

as stated earlier, its all about Projected Area and Surface Ratio to compare kite size equivelants.

also a Foil is more aerodynamically correct, so its efficiency will also produce more power per size compared to a tube-kite

then there's the whole Fixed Bridle-vs-Depowerable architecture to factor in ....

I try to stay away from Marina beach the sand is way to soft and the hang-gliders and some time the para gliders get fussy with other items in the air, besides the beach is not that wide.... if you can just 6miles so. till you see the Flag next to the hotel on Canyon Del Rey + if you want to try any Ozone wings, I have a pretty good quiver to select from

I will be there today .. My wifes co workers are staying in that hotel and I was going to pick my wife up there today arond 2pm so I figured I would fly while I was waiting. Hope to see you there.