Wind wing + Directional kiteboard = Fail

[Wetstuff]

I had 'this notion'...  In my early years of kites (~2003-5) I had a 7-0 Directional from FOX in Hatteras that would simply 'haulass'. I could outrun some of the windsurfers. I figured -maybe- this Ozone WASP could produce similar results. I got some extra inspiration/motivation from JB, a Naish wing flyer in OZ, a poster on the Breeze from whom I clipped the following:  ('mericanized by Grammerly)

A few key tips.
Understand that the angle of the wing (or the pitch) is controlled primarily by the height of your backhand.

It is best to have your front out straight in front of you and allow it to fly at an upwards angle towards to wing so your hand ends up roughly in front of your face/eyes.

When you move your back arm lower (towards the water/land), the Wing will fly itself up into a horizontal plane and over your head. When you move your arm upwards (towards to sky) the wing will fly down and into a vertical plane towards the water. These inputs are separate to sheeting and are inputs you will use the entire time you are flying. It is very common at first for people to try and hold both hands parallel which usually ends up with the wing rotating down onto a vertical plane and resulting in the wing hitting the water (once the wing hits the water, it will all go south, and you will go downwind. To correct this quickly, lower your backhand position towards the water quite aggressively and the wing will fly back up and over your head). So try to fly with your arms (or the strut/boom) on an angle tilting upwards towards the leading edge.

Next is sheeting. This is also primarily done with your back arm also. You basically want to "feather" the wing, not holding too much power and stalling it out. I wind gently massaging your angle of attack (sheeting angle) will help you feel out the most efficient sheet angle. Just because it feels powerful, doesn't mean it is going to efficient to go faster. (Over sheeting will cause you to go downwind!).

Next is the relationship between the Wing and the board fore and aft. This is a real crash course in sailing, but in basics when the Center Of Effort (the combined forces of the Wing) and the Center of Lateral Resistance (The central drag point of the board) align you should sail straight (theoretically! There are lots of other factors, but for now this will do). When you move the COE (Center of Effort) forward of the CLR it produces more power towards the nose of the board forcing it to be pushed away from the wind (i.e. go downwind). When the COE is moved aft of the CLR it produces more power aft of the CLR and forces the board upwind by pushing the tail downwind. There is a lot more in it than this, but this will help you to set up and understand what is happening.



Noting that when kiting - backfoot edging the board so it throws up a very high wave acts as the CLR, and reading about other people used old sailboards with daggerboards to get upwind - I decided to add a central fin to this Naish 8-0 Directional I found on CL.  However, my larger concern was the abilty to do 'deepwater' restarts. (I was never a jiber..)

That is where 'fail' comes in.  Perhaps a young acrobat-type could get this started, but I never had sufficient lift from the wing to pull me, laying back in the water, up to a standing position. (winds were ~12kt)  I did not try standing on a submerged board for a 'raise the submarine' start. I was in shallow water and did not want to bust the newly installed fin. 

Jim

[Wetstuff]

Here are the supporting images JB provided on the Breeze.  (Many thanks, JB. I am one who's eyes work much better than my wordprocessor.)


Jim

[daswusup]

great stuff! I have 2 sessions under my belt on the Slingwing. This answers many of my questions that came up. Thanks Wetstuff and JB. Send it!!!!