Saturday 20 April 2013

Birthday present!

What do you give a kite enthusiast as a birthday present? Well, sorry, but that's a pretty silly question ... And this year's present was basically sorted when I saw a very impressive kite-stack offered for sale, as good as new, on Drachenforum. To make a not-so-long story even shorter: thanks to Irma and her family!

So here's the stack in question, a WS Drachenbau Yin-Yang progressive stack:


First flew this gorgeous stack at Stoney Cross, at winds between 2 and 8 mph. It needed 5-6mph at least to fly properly, but when it did, it did!


The black-and-white really gives it a graphically very strong appearance in the sky.


Flight was controlled and pretty slow, but I don't doubt speed (and pull) will increase when the wind goes above 10mph.


And finally, a wee bit of video, showing the stack in action:


Update: OK, one more picture then, from flying the stack at Stokes Bay today:


2 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday!
    And one question: I have always wondered how stack configurations can fly so evenly. Doesn't the first kite create turbulence that should mess up the kite behind it and so on??

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    Replies
    1. You're absolutely right: kites create turbulence that makes for 'dirty' air for the kite behind it. BUT in a stack, kites are not BEHIND each other! They're ON TOP of each other, so all the turbulence they create is behind the stack and doesn't affect the kites in the stack itself.

      Kites really are affected by turbulence when they're closely behind each other, as happens when they're flown in close formation during team-flying. The #1 kite has clean air, but the kites in #2, #3, #4, etc, position can really hit turbulence of the kite(s) in front of them. And hitting turbulence can feel like hitting a speed bump, hard. One way to deal with that to some degree is for the fliers in the team to stand staggered, with #2 standing half a meter behind #1, #3 half a meter behind #2, etc. That way, you avoid most (but not all) of the turbulence.

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