Steffen and his crew at Born-Kites continue to innovate and today made public their newest offering, the RaceStar. Like their other kites this one is
SS too. I'm going to be getting one over the winter and plan to bring it to IBX2018. I'm excited and a little nervous to fly such a high (6.0) AR
kite, but who knows, maybe I'll be the fastest SS guy on the playa!
Steffen sent me some pictures and a series of bullet points describing his new baby. I believe it will be available for purchase early next year.
Gotta love that Steffen keeps innovating!!!
RaceStar, the first serial single skin high performer
AR = 6.0, very good up-wind characteristics
Construction without profile ribs, thus barrier-free flow distribution on the bottom of the kite from the center to the tip
Reduced bridle design offers low air resistance
Start and landing stress-free without additional "staff" possible because super fast, the air flow is applied and can be eliminated
Single skin construction, high light wind properties, crash unsusceptibility, very small pack size, minimal weight and unaffected by flying
snow or sand
Loops can be flown via tip or center rotation
Very pleasant bar holding forces for long stress-free kiting
Depower function like the LongStar 2 and StreetStar out of the "belly" and not on the tips
The RS can be flown with any conventional control bar
Considerably cheaper than a double skin high performer
So much effort for such a small market. This guy has a drive that we will all benefit from. I hope he can make enough money to continue his R and D!
Interesting that it will "belly " depower? Wonder how that works / feels? In my game I most enjoy how powering up sets the kite back by AOA . not
clear how " belly " depower will accomplish that?
So cool. I've still got a soft spot for singleskins and might yet build some more someday, especially since depower singleskins became a real thing.
My "depower" AoA adjustable NPW really doesn't stand up against some of the innovations of the last few years.
I also am amazed by the effort Steffen puts into developing these. I'd love to see a video and hear how the depower works on this kite.
Interesting that it will "belly " depower? Wonder how that works / feels? In my game I most enjoy how powering up sets the kite back by AOA . not
clear how " belly " depower will accomplish that?
Steffen mentions that it does "belly" DP in a similar fashion as the LS2s. The first-look video below of the LS2 shows this action from 1:50 - 1:60.
The DP on the LS2s feel to me similar to DP on the Peaks. The AOA changes and these RSs are high AR kites so if they have a belly at all it is a
pretty skinny one.
What size do you think you are likely to get as a demo Steve?
I get a strong feeling the 9 will be a great all round size but will be big for Ivanpah? That said, even the 5 may be big?
I think you may already have the right kite for Ivanpah with that LS2 3.5? Once you learn to keep those crazy bridle lines under control!
I wonder why Stephan didn't make a 3.5 in this model? Too fast? Too small a market?? ( in a small market ))
What size do you think you are likely to get as a demo Steve?
I get a strong feeling the 9 will be a great all round size but will be big for Ivanpah? That said, even the 5 may be big?
I think you may already have the right kite for Ivanpah with that LS2 3.5? Once you learn to keep those crazy bridle lines under control!
I wonder why Stephan didn't make a 3.5 in this model? Too fast? Too small a market?? ( in a small market ))
We will have to see what sizes he ultimately goes with in February. The pics he sent me show computer renderings of 7, 9, and 11m sizes. On the
first day he showed the pics on FB there was a comment asking about a 5m so you aren't alone in that sort of thinking. My guess is that he went with
a 7m on the small size as folks that race tend to go slightly overpowered (way overpowered for me, slightly for them) and that the 7m therefore seems
small. I agree that a 5m would likely be right sized for Ivanpah if it gets blowing much over 20 mph. At IBX2017 I spent almost the entire time
with my 3.5m LS2 in the air, certainly it was the only one in the air once the wind was 30+. Time will tell!
Steffen indicated that he was sending me one in January so I guess February sometime. The first time I will have a chance to actually fly it will be
in he beginning of April on Ivanpah at IBX2018. Let the countdown begin!
Steffen provided me a more detailed explanation of how DP works for his line of DP kites (LS2, SS, and RS).
"DP works with variable AOA. The kite blows mainly in the "belly" and only minimally on the tips, this leaves the kite in depowered state with
relatively quiet flight."
Steffen let me know that the LS2s and RSs are comparable pull wise on a square meter per square meter basis. The LS2s come in sizes that are 0.5m
larger. He noted that the RS flies faster in the air which makes sense with its increased AR and that it will therefore develop comparably more
apparent wind and progressive pull force with speed. Whupp!
He also sent one more picture nicely showing the axis of rotation for the DP action:
Some snowkiting action with the soon to be released 11.0m RS. It looked as if there was some nice pull in low wind. I'm looking forward to these.
There is a great shot in the very beginning of the video below with all of Steffen's kites out in the snow. Born-Porn at its finest!
Just got a new video sent to me by Steffen. Features his orange and black ribbon again doing some nice work in 7-8 knots of wind. They were in a
mountain ski spot in Italy that looks outstanding! I had some pangs of envy seeing all those folks out enjoying the wind with kites. Thought folks
would enjoy a gander!
Every kite in that second video seemed super high A/R. The times sure have changed since I entered this sport.
The high AR of the RSs has me personally a little nervous. I get that such a geometry is a positive for upwind performance among other things but it
also brings with it greater lift. I use one of the BigKid AQRs in my buggy but that does not mean I want to deploy it. I have been really pleased
with my low AR kites so far so we will have to see.
Steffen shared a picture with me of the soon-to-be-released RaceStars in all their natural beauty. They have done a lot of testing with them in the
snow and as a result have worked with the bridle line manufacturer to make the lines silver grey. In their original white color folks could step on
the lines since they blended in with the snow.
That is an awesome picture. Congrats on getting some race stars soon Steve. I've long been a fan of steffen's.
They do look pretty. Steffen told me via email this morning that he would ship those two to me by the end of February. With good fortune I'll have
them in time for IBX in the beginning of April. I have to say I'm a little nervous to fly such a high AR kite. Thank goodness for Jeff (BigKid's) AQR
installed in my buggy. I have a feeling I may put it to good use....
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