Surfing Kites

C Kites, Bow Kites, and Others

Who hasn't been down to a beach and noticed board riders being drawn along by large surfing kites? Nowadays, it's not just seagulls and swimmers that are a common sight at beaches. A large proportion of the explosion in extreme sports after the year 2000 is the kite-surfing crowd!

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The C Kite

It's obvious isn't it? A big "C" shape drifts around on the end of those long lines! These were the first surfing kites and they were designed to float if they came down in water. That's a pretty essential feature for a kite used in the ocean and is achieved by means of an inflatable spar running along the leading edge—the front edge of the kite. Hence, these kites are also known as Leading-Edge Inflatables or LEIs, which is less of a mouthful. These kites were also designed to be easily relaunched from the water, if necessary. On some designs there are shorter vertical spars that are inflatable too. Actually, it seems surfers talk about "struts" rather than "spars," so we'll use that word from here on!

Why are LEI surfing kites still being used when at least three other types have since been developed? One reason is that they respond in a quick and direct way to control inputs from the board rider. Perhaps the biggest reason is just that they are fairly simple! Everyone likes a kite that just keeps on going with a minimum of wear, tear, and other failures.

I asked around in the forum about which kites appeared to be the most popular. Overwhelmingly, in the C kite category, the choice was:

The Slingshot Fuel

Now for some basic facts on this design:

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The Bow Kite

The Bows were the next generation to come out, and their big selling point was the fact they could handle much bigger wind ranges than the LEIs. They were de-powerable, meaning that the rider could alter the kite's angle of attack to the wind, to a large degree. Never mind the aerodynamics, the bottom line is that the pull generated by the kite can be easily reduced, while keeping the kite in the same area of sky. One thing that made this possible was the flatter curve of these kites, compared to the deeper C shape of the LEI. Another practical result of this was that you didn't need two or more surfing kites to cover most wind conditions!

However, there were a few downsides to the early Bow kites. They tended to be a bit harder to fly than the LEI and pulled more heavily on the rider's arms as well. Hence, they could be fairly tiring to fly, particularly in strong wind. Finally, if a Bow hit the water it could be trickier to relaunch than the equivalent LEI.

And which one was our forum kite surfers' favorite?

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The Hybrid Kite, or SLE Kite

By 2006, kite designers really excelled in striving for the best of both worlds. They managed to combine the easy relaunching characteristics and moderate bar pressures of the original C kites with the 100% de-power ability and higher performance of the early flat LEI kites. Hence the term hybrid, which just refers to the combining of two things together—kite design in this case.

A noticeable feature of these hybrid surfing kites is the supported leading edge or SLE, where a series of bridle lines attach to various points across the kite's leading edge. Hence, many riders refer to these kites as SLEs. The handling of these kites has been developed to the point where even beginners can soon master the required flying skills.

Apparently, there's a lot of these SLEs around now, but in March 2008 the forum poll showed up a clear favorite:

The Slingshot REV

Here are a few facts about this one:

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The Parafoil Kite

The parafoil kite, or just foil (as many abbreviate it), is much different to the other three types already mentioned. This type is much like a parachute, in that it is completely flexible and relies on many bridle lines to hold its C shape in the air. Like most land-based kites these days, ripstop nylon is the usual sail fabric. These surfing kites have upper and lower surfaces with ribs sewn in between to form cells. When in flight, air pressure inflates the cells, giving the kite a wing-like shape that generates lift—just like an aircraft wing.

What about when one of these kites hits the water? The designers have taken care of kite-surfers here by providing an extra feature—inlet valves! Air can force its way in while the kite is flying, but otherwise the valves stay shut, keeping the kite inflated. Hence, it doesn't sink once it hits the water and can be relaunched fairly easily. Parafoils designed for water in this way are known as closed-cell foils.

Since you don't need a pump to inflate a foil, these are also known as self-inflatable kites. The latest surfing kites of this type (at least at this writing!) have wide de-power ranges, just like Bows or SLEs. Hence, they can be flown in a wide range of wind conditions.

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Surfing Kites: Conclusion

This has been just a glimpse into the world of surfing kites, from the perspective of a non-surfer. It's a snapshot of the surfing kites that were used by Australian riders in 2008. If you knew nothing when you arrived on this page, I hope you now have at least some appreciation for these specialized power kites!

Many thanks to the real experts from the kite-surfing forum at Seabreeze.com.

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