Precision vs. Freestyle

[kite-head]

I am still pretty new to all this, especially technical details. From what I understand so far though is that there are basically two categories of dual line kites...precision and freestyle. I know there are kites out there that maintain qualities of both these categories, but those don't make the best precision kites or the best freestyle kites (you have to sacrifice some qualities of one category to achieve qualities of the other)

I am wanting to try my hand at design and fabrication and would like to design a strictly precision kite and a strictly freestyle kite. What I would like to know is what characteristics define a kite as either precision or freestyle. So if anybody could offer up some info or point me in a direction to some resources I could study, I would be very grateful.

Thanks for any help

[audioRob]

Ive been working hard on designing a polyvalent specifically for myself. Lots of work in solidworks and touchcad for designing.

Also good to get the contacts of kite designers and ask tons of questions.

Other than that the one thing I've learned from talking to others and my own work is... you wont have any clue till it's on the strings and in the air.

[Tedrick]

....From what I understand so far though is that there are basically two categories of dual line kites...precision and freestyle. I know there are kites out there that maintain qualities of both these categories, but those don't make the best precision kites or the best freestyle kites (you have to sacrifice some qualities of one category to achieve qualities of the other)

This is not necessarily the case anymore. The latest generation of "French" kites have managed to combine excellent precision AND freestyle characteristics in the same design. Kites such as the Masque, STX 2.3, and Nirvana were among the first true "all-round" kites that minimized the compromises. These were followed by kites such as the Transfer, Viper, Machine, BMK Mantis, and the Prism Quantum Pro. In fact, the proliferation of these well-balanced all-around kites has resulted in a shift in kite design away from the dedicated precision kite, because frankly most of these newer designs fly as good or better that the old skool precision-only kites.

The two most recent "benchmarks" for precision that I can think of were the HQ Tramontana and the CdC Shiva. Most, if not all, of the kites listed above will outperform the Tram for precision, and the Machine, Viper, and STX 2.3 are equals to the Shiva, which IMO is the best pure precision kite ever made. Yet ALL of the kites listed above will out-trick the Tram or Shiva by a mile.

If you want to design a precision-only kite, I suggest you study 4 or 5 old-skool precision kites to quantify how they were similar. Consider such things as wingspan (larger generally equals slower and more precise), leading edge shape (straight vs. curved), tunnel width and depth, trailing edge shape, aspect ratio, bridle design, etc. Then use those characteristics to come up with a design. From there, it's pretty much trial and error until you get something that you're happy with.

Good luck!!