The French Kitesurfer, Alexandre Caizergues, defeated yesterday on the salt-de-Giraud Canal and in the salt and speed framework, his own record of the
world of speed in 500 metres with a 57,97-metre stratospheric average. 107,36 km / h.
couldn't find any video
Scout II 4m
Montana VI 9.5m
Matrix 15m
F-arcs 1200 & 1600
Pulse 13m
Ozone Reo 8m
LF Envy 12m
Do you think they dragged him to the start by the back of his harness for each new try? "C'mon guys, faster! The wind's picking up!" ("I say we let
him go")
That just looks so sketchy in every way. One little glitch and he eats it in the dirt.
Amazing performance, but I'm setting my sights on mowing the lawn in 5mph with a Chronos...
So... he went only a little faster than the wind speed itself.. or in gusts, actually less...
Friction!
I think there has been talk in the past about this very subject. The physics of diminished returns pertaining to wind speed. Just because you can go
triple the wind speed at 15mph, doesnt mean its the same at 60mph wind speed. I really don't understand the physics behind it, just that I experience
this same phenomenon when trying to go for speed on ice covered lakes. Water friction plays a hug role for sure!
SS Turbine 17m
SS Rally 14m
SS Rally 12m
SS RPM 10m
SS Rally 8m
SS Rally 6m
FS Speed 3 15m dlx
FS Peak 2 6m
Ozone Frenzy 9m
Ozone Access XT 6m
PL Farc 1200
What I ride:
Home brew buggy
Volkl race tiger DH 210
Dynastar DH 218
Blizzard Cochise 185
Steepwater 179 twin tip
Aboards Reverse 161
Cheddar is right. You can only get so much out of so much. And I will add that edge grip plays a huge role in dictating your end results.
We go as fast or faster in less wind because we can squeeze the most out of a given windspeed by virtue of the fact that a solid skier on a solid edge
experiences very little to zero downwind drift. It all gets translated to forward motion.
For the guys on water, they need the controlled conditions and the insane amounts of wind to both offset the drag in the water but also to bag the raw
speed while splitting the balance between forward motion and drift. Their boards (some barely more than a water ski it looks like) do an amazing job
of getting bite. But still at the cost of additional drag I imagine. So they need a ton of wind.
We won't even mention the air temp boost factor that they lack vs. winter riders. Both disciplines have thier advantage and disadvantages.
Not long ago it was a pretty remarkable achievement to go 2X the wind speed. Now with modern race variant wings we can go 3-4x the wind speed in
light winds. But as Cheddar stated, diminishing returns come in at higher wind speeds.
Chris Krug-Owner @ Hardwater Kiting. Authorized Dealer of Ozone, Flysurfer, HQ kites. www.hardwaterkiter.com 603-986-2784
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