Submitted by Fastndeadly on August 26, 2007 - 5:37pm.
hey, all, short question here, i stumbled upon this sleek looking eskimo 07 kite...basically looks the same as the nano, could it be modified to a speed-flying wing? Its 14 meter squared and there smaller ones, i believe i saw an 11 squared meter one as well, they talk about it having good tremendous lift, would it go anywhere? what would the estimated glide ratio be, i'm think 3.1 please correct me if i'm wrong!
Submitted by kitesurfa on September 13, 2007 - 9:01pm.
IMO not worth the effort looked at the price of the 07 Eskimo and compared with the Nano yes the Nano is more expensive but the price includes Harness and risers too.
Modifying the Eskimo would need lots of work as you will need to replace the whole bridle for a start. So each line would need to be measured and cut to exact lengths so it keeps its correct shape. Existing bridle is far to thin and no where near the correct lengths.
Next and most important fact - Kites only have 4 rows of connections A,B,C & D - Speed-Flying wings have 5 normally split into 2 banks A & B and C & D with E - being the brake/toggles.
Check the Nano manual to see the line plan.
With a kite only having 4 means the Trailing Edge will collapse much to much when you pull on the toggles - which is ideal on a kite to land it but on a Speed wing NOT good - The Rear edge will collapse you will fall out the sky as the wing wont have enough time to recover.
Next there is no guarantee the mods you do will work and the kite will fly and behave how it should in flight.
Conclusion - Buy a proper wing designed to Speed-Flying.
