Stay connected in the wind. This forum is for anyone who rides the wind, winter or summer, on whatever board suits their fancy. Share the stoke, find out where people are going, ask any question, share your discoveries, and discuss any esoteric idea you may have related to the pursuit of wind. Please keep it positive.
Has anyone looked into the 5th Element system from North. Actually Wipika developed this a few years ago but now North seems to be running with it.
It looks great for relaunch and total depower on water. I am wondering if this system would do anything for relaunching an LEI on snow. Anyone ever tried a Leading Edge 5th line for relaunch on snow?
It looks like it might be great for drift launching and a drift take down on our local lakes. You could wind up your bar with the 5th line activated and drift launch with no pull, and no chance of kite launching prior to all lines being let out.
When implemented correctly the 5th line improves the flying characteristics of an LEI in gusts by retaining the correct shape of the kite.
I have used a leading edge 5th line on my Cabrinha's this last winter. It worked quite well. It does look like a more advanced set-up on the Norths however.
Scott
I ran a 5th line to my pump leash on my kites last winter. It definately helps roll the kite onto it's back.
Only downside.
With one attachment point the kite can spin. With two like Wipika and North have, it stabilizes it.
Having a kite roll on it's back then slide across the ice can be tough on the canopy if the surface is sharp. The 5th line to the trailing edge liftoff is preferred.
I ended up with a 5h line to one side of the trailing edge and liked the way it turned the kite up from one side and flew it forward. The two lines to the trailing edge excell in really light winds.
looked @ noaah & the graph shows little, but the Mpls frcst says S@ 13 to 15 which seems do-able! Want to check and see if my bar is set up right so was hoping to get it in the air tomorrow, preferably early before the crowd shows.
Does anybody have a more detailed diagram for this type of setup. I would like to set my kite up with it. I think the north looks a little better than the wipika.
FYI: This is not a really a 5th line system, as you end up with 4 lines total.
Quote from tester:
How 5th Element improves depower is a complex question and I looked like a stranger from a different planet when seting it up at my local spot, but I try my best because this the future.
When a kite is flying across the sky the lift is proportional to the square of the wind velocity, if the apparent wind of the kite is twice that of the actual wind you will get four times as much power from the kite. Inflatable kites presently configured as only partial laminar airfoil to the wind, therefore produce more drag in flight, which in turn reduces the lift produced by the wing and you feel overpowered because of that. LEI designs today having reduced lift to drag ratio (L/D) probably not more than 5:1. The main culprit with LEI designs they cannot achieve a high AOA and top end without any distortion of wing tip flaring which causes unwanted drag. Thanks for North to come-up with the 5th Element so that now the lift can be increased exponentially as airspeed increases for a given AOA and self stabilizing the wing with it’s front lines through the distributor ring.
I found the M3 16m now works in high winds better with the 5th Element setup and produces the same power as the M2 19m, and turns much faster which dramatically increases the range of the kites while adding more rigidity and steering response. I broke my record, I never could handle on the M3 16m more than 15 knots but now even 20 knots is no problem when I depower the kite and never ever could jump 8m height with my light 60kg weight and never loose my edge anymore before fully loading up before a jump. Now it allows the kite to depower much more while creating so much more lift L/D ratio and converting wind gusts to controlled upward power boosts, therefore jumping ability and range is increased like never before. Additionally consistency of turning and effortless relaunch with good safety feature is worth to upgrade for the benefit of 5th Element. The pressure on the bar is still about the same.
Maybe we don’t need any spar or double skin profile surface kite to increase rigidity and L/D ratio for laminar airfoil to the wind. Maybe time will tell. Who knows? Anybody?
