Why do small kites JUMP HIGHER? How strong is 60 knots?!

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There were a few minor errors ... I am happy to help with technical explanations anytime. Eg Lift is a square function of velocity, as in your equations. You incorrectly went on to say its 'exponential'... x^2 vs e^x

I don’t even kiteboard, but you’ve got my sub brother. I fly stunt kites and it brought me here and I’ve learned so much from your videos that I can apply into multiple formats, thank you.

Great video. A lot of misconceptions about the physics out there. Many people dont know why apperent wind exists and how it works. 1 more thing about the topic big kite vs small kite jump height. When u leave the water in a jump - you start to travel downwind. This reduces your apparent wind in your kite -> decreasing lift -> you sink -> land. With super strong wind on a small kite you dont lose this lift as quickly - getting the vertical pull longer. -> jumping higher. Sorry if this explanation isnt good in english. Also if you really want to dig deep into kite physics i recommend the Phd paper of Jan Hummel, he build a kite measuring device for duotone called „ project teta“

Great video Mike! This confirms a recent experience I had: I forgot my smaller kite and was out on a 16m switchblade in 20-25knots. I was waaay overpowered, and could barely hold an edge. The only way I was able to jump was by using some fun kicker waves. the hang time was absurd... But I wasn't going very high.

I'm 68, have been riding 16 years and I'm 100 kilos. All I do is try to jump as high as possible, and jump transitions. I have had my 12M XR kite in 25k winds (accidentally due to a very abrupt wind gust) as well as my 10M XR kite in the same winds. While I definitely have more power in the kite with the 12M, it is much harder to keep my edge, which gives me more horizontal jumps, less vertical. I could try going to a smaller board, as Toby Braeuer once suggested with the larger kite, but while I would get better edging and more vertical take offs, as well as some very nice hang time, I would not have the kite speed to get the same height as the 10M in the same wind. This past June I went to Floras lake and was boosting vertical 30+ footers every jump (as per multiple witnesses on the beach and video evidence) on my 10M with wind speeds of 25-35mph (approx 21-30kn) off of flat water, no ramps or kickers. Absolutely love the Core XR kites, just wish I had the money to keep updating them. Thanks for all of your great content, keep up the good work. If you ever find yourself coming to the San Francisco area and want to ride an awesome flat water spot, especially in July, contact me.

Very nice content. Also interesting to say is the influence in the density of the air. Sometime you go in 30degC on the water, some times in 2degC or in high mountain lakes. The density varies around 20% and therefore the Lift too. Some specialists go on the water and choose a size with their wind measurement, but this can be tricky when you are used to kite in other temperatures. It would be a nice master thesis for a cfd student to really understand the powering up of the kite while you jump. Maybe numerical results bring a benefit on how to get the best performance out of the kite. (Im just jumping 12m - 😅) Thank you for your content! I manage heliloops thanks to your video!

Hi Mike great video. Could you make next video with including a riders weight difference as I believe its a very big factor choosing the kite size and type of the kite being 65kg or 95kg rider..

Super nice explanation, it will help even beginners understand, why they are not enjoying their sessions overpowered. I have a few additions though, because this at the moment, is only the theoretical part of lift an aerofoil(in this case the kite) could make. But in practice, the power of the kite, as well as the actual lift greatly depends on the weight of the rider. And i’m not saying the lighter the better! I think with good technique for the pop, a heavier rider can edge harder, pop harder therefore he can load the lines better and increase the efficiency of the kite. I know it feels like it’s not really a part of this equasion but to me it feels like it should be just as much as the true wind and induced wind adding up to apparent wind. I mean the lift calculated here is a constant so if all the rest wouldnt really matter in the case of actual jumping, all the jumps would last forever. About the strong wind and big kites: Just another testimonial: i’ve ridden 17m kite in 25kts+ even worse on a door board. It was more trying to survive than actual kiting. People were sending 10+meters next to me on 9-10m kites i could barely go 3-4 meters and it was a fight (obviusly i didn’t chose to take this one, i was teaching a heavy 120kg guy and i took the kite when the wind picked up to make sure he’ll be safe) And there comes the next part about the opposite of the range: when jumping lit on a 5m kite 35+kts i feel like there is a moment my board is generating lift also, or even more often it has huge drag pushing me under the kite, depending on how i put the board. It’s kind of a scary feeling loosing line tension while the kite is still in front of you. Now my question is, surely it is up to the rider to solve this issue, but don’t you think 6m kites in stronger winds will basicly plateau before reaching new high scores, or if it does make people reach 40m, the trend changes and everyone has to size up again to reach new top height?

Mike I am a mechanical engineer and my job is helping to design jet engines. I love this video and think the principles you describe are spot on. The numbers for the lift aren't necessarily realistic since you used made up factors of 1 for the lift coefficient and density so no one should take the your lift force values and think they are real, but the relationship between the variables and the trends are absolutely real and they show why you can jump higher on a smaller kite

I wish I was living in Cape Town or Tarifa. Great content Mike. Can not argue on your info.

GET HIGH With Surfr 🤙🏻

Got hit by a 35kt squall on a 20m once...ZERO FUN factor ! But massive hang time ,was grateful to be alive 🙏

Great video - brilliant discussion starter! Definitely, you can expand the theory bit more: with smaller kite you have more control of CL and V components of your lift equation, which means you can time it with edging to give you the highest jump result: kite position, angle and speed - you can more easily park smaller kite in high winds to get highest initial riding speed and as you redirect the kite to zenith you sheet out which then reduces the drag coefficient of the kite and increases V even further. Then as the kite approaches the zenith you time releasing the edge with sheeting in, the latter changes the shape of the kite bringing the canopy closer to critical angle of attack (ramping the CL component to max) at max kite speed which then maxes your lift equation - and boom you are flying!!! With large kites at high wind speed you simply have no ability to control anything other than keeping above your head and praying. :D

Nice 👌🏼 video bru!!! Hands down one of the best kite videos Iv ever watched.

Excellent vid, love the physics... & first time I've seen air density mentioned in over 20+yrs of kiting.... it's noteable! Don't just look at the wind meters... 😉 the weather matters.

Great video Mike, thank you. Great to get some real physics theory behind this amazing sport.

I would approach the problem from an energy exchange point of view: when you take off you have a high kinetic energy: e = 0.5*m*v^2 where v is your airspeed (upwind ground speed + wind speed) as you fly upwards this energy is converted into gravitational potential energy by the kite. larger kites will be more efficient than small kites as the wing loading is lower. call this efficienty term b. once at the peak of the jump most of the kinetic energy will have been converted to gravitational potential energy: e = m*g*h. equating the two terms and solving for height: h = 0.5*b*v^2 / g the v^2 term will have the largest effect on the height, and we feel this intuitively. at high wind speeds the most important factor in a high jump is how fast directly upwind you are traveling when you leave the water (v = upwind speed + wind speed). larger kites make it harder to edge and pop without going downwind, but with all else constant will take you higher, however, smaller kites allow you to edge and pop better with a higher upwind angle.

Killing it brother wishing you the best!

Thanks Mike! Very cool video!