Flexifoil (I,P) $$$-$$$$$ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew Beattie , Ken Yoder Nov 1992 Manufacturer: Flexifoil International Materials: Fiberglass spar Wind Range: depends on size- larger needs less wind Span: 10',8',6' (305, 244, 183 cm) Height: Type: rectangular Note: price depends on size Reviews: [ABOUT THE LARGER Flexifoils:] "Pulls hard, moves fast but has a big turning radius. You must think ahead when flying a flex." - Ken Yoder [ABOUT STACKS of 10' (305cm) Flexis] "The kite that got me started. I found it difficult at first, they don't really want to launch when wet and until I started to understand it, it just flew to the edge of the window and then fell out of the sky :-(. With practice, I grew power hungry and bought another one. I remember using the pair to ski the length of Queens Parade in Aldershot (This area is so large that you might not notice the polo field tucked in the corner :-) ) The second was soon joined by a third, a fourth, and then another two to bring the stack to six. The big stack is a very different beast to the original foil. It moves and corners much more slowly. There is oodles of power available, but it tends not to hurt you, as it comes on smoothly and slowly and you just slide gently across the grass. Paradoxically, the 2x10' [2x 305 cm] stack is the most dangerous, as it moves at the same speed as the single foil and tends to encourage you to dig in against it, as you can hold your ground against it until it overpowers you suddenly, right at the peak of the power zone, catapulting you horizontally towards a high speed re-contact with the ground."- Andrew Beattie, Nov. 1992 FLEXIFOIL The original power kite. The ram-filled aerofoil will be familiar to most fliers. Different sizes are available: Hotshot (4 foot) Too small for traction (unless you have *loads* of them) but it's a blast to fly on it's own in a strong wind. Stacker (6 foot) A popular kite. Many fliers buy a 6' as their first kite because it is quite reasonably priced and then buy several more to build a traction stack. The 6' comes in a choice of nice designs including the splitz (diagonaly split black/hot colour) and the Quatro (4 rectangles) and a couple of rainbow schemes as well as loads of different solid colours. One of the advantages of this size is that it requires less arm movement to steer. Team 8 (8 foot) This is the first Flexifoil with a carbon centre spar. It was designed for team flying - most traction fliers bypass this size for the cheaper 6 or the more powerful 10. Super 10 (10 foot) The 3' solid carbon centre spar makes the 10 flatter, producing considerably more power. Reasonable progress can be made on a buggy with a single 10' in a strong wind. Andrew uses a stack of 6(!) for buggying. Hyper 12 (12 foot) This is the biggest standard Flexifoil. It has a massive 12mm centre spar, producing considerable pull. Stacks of more than 3 are rare. 16 foot This is not a standard production kite but it can sometimes be seen. The massive span leads to very slow turning and the massive strain on the solid 12mm carbon spar has been known to break it. [Andrew says: I've never seen 16's stacked but I'm willing to try :-) ] Ultraflex Spars The ultraflex spar available for the Flexifoil takes the wind range right down off the bottom of the scale. Flexifoil don't reccommend using them above 10mph wind but in a stack, the strain is distributed between the spars (you might be able bend one enough to break it, but can you break six?) allowing use in stronger winds. The extra flexing of the Ultraflex spar acts as a form of reefing, making the stack pull less in the power zone but opening up to catch more wind at the edge. Perhaps if enough Traction kiters demanded stacks of Ultraflex Flexies, they would supply them complete rather than only as an upgrade.