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Flysurfer Speed 5
Just thought I would post my experience with my new Speed 5 21m. Bought it from Flysurfer USA. Ted gave me their Black Friday deal which was great. I have never flown a foil kite before, except a 1.5m trainer, but I am used to big kites as I used to fly a 21.5m Cabrinha Blacktip back in 2001. I was a bit apprehensive my first day out particularly with launching and landing. Got an assisted launch in around 7-8 knots and was quite impressed with the power. I flew the kite on the beach for a while to get a feel for the turning speed of the kite and again I was impressed as it turned as fast or faster than my 16m xbow. So I donned my 135 x 46 Crazyfly and made a few runs. I was able to stay on track but then the wind dropped some and there was not enough to stay upwind. After some more flying on the beach the wind shifted and picked up to 10 knots, gusting to 12. Went back out and was fully powered, especially in the gusts. I rode for about 1 hour and tried some jumps. Boy was I surprised at how high and floaty the jumps were. Each landing was like landing on my couch which was great for my old knees. Came in for a landing and tried a self, back stall landing but was not comfortable. So I opted for a self landing in an area sheltered from the wind with a friend standing by in case of a problem. I brought the kite down and it landed backside down and folded over like a taco and stayed put.
A few days later I tested the low end range of the kite. The winds were around 6-8 knots. I self launched at the edge of the wind window. I flew the kite on the beach and decided to ride. I was able to stay upwind for a couple of runs until the winds dropped to 5-6 knots. At one point the kite almost dropped when the wind lulled to practically zero (at least it felt like it), but I let out on the bar and recovered nicely. I flew the kite on the beach for a while and then self landed back stalling the kite. So far I am very happy with this kite. With such a large kite it takes awhile to inflate and deflate in light winds. I preinflated with my battery powered air pump which worked very well. I will post again once I get as chance to fly the kite in higher winds (12-15 knots). A special thanks to Ted at Flysurfer USA!! |
Tested the upper limit today. Winds started off at 6 knots, gusting to 8. Around 1:30, winds increased to 13-14, gusting to 17-18 knots. I had to fully depower to maintain control/keep from being pulled off the edge. It was OK, got a few high floaty jumps, but I prefer a steady 10-12 knots.
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