Hi Rod,
I’m posting again the old initial video made with the same 120 cm wingspan Vibe kite.
The tests yesterday were with the same kite but twice as fast wind, and the diameter of the low radius loops was also around 2.75 to 3 m. It’s very tight, but still around 2.5 times the span of Vibe: that’s what I saw, and which can be measured approximately on the video itself.
We would expect a greater drop in traction because the inner part of the kite, although not stationary, flies significantly slower.
My explanation for maintaining the relatively high traction is that the kite is located more toward the center of the flight window, where the traction is higher.
Another thing: as it is a very small power kite, I think it peaks more quickly and does not deliver as much relative power for large and faster trajectories as a larger power kite that is designed for this purpose.
We can therefore predict that a SkySails or Flysurfer with additional rods to increase performance wings could be relatively less efficient flying tight loops than large figure-eights or loops or horizontal trajectories. In other words, the difference between tight and large loops or eights that I obtained with the small Vibe could increase on better and larger wings which are designed to deliver relatively more traction when flying at higher speeds.
