- A Moment for Life -

Ruby

Vida

Kite

A high performance foil kite for racing and airstyle

Minimalistic bridle layout
Morphing aerofoil
Cord Cut Billow (CCB)
ALULA - logiciel de simulation

Specs

	TEN	FIFTEEN
Surface à plat (m²)	10	15
Poids de l'aile (kg)	2	2.5
Nombres de suspentes principales (A/B/C)	3
Caissons	51	59
Allongement à plat	6.6	6.9
Corde centrale (m)	1.6	1.9
Envergure à plat (m)	8	10
Wind range foil racing / twintip freestyle (knots)	15 - 32	12 - 22
Wind range foil freeride (knots)	8 - 22	7 - 15
Recommended line lengths - freeride (m)	17 - 18
Recommended line lengths - racing (m)	10 - 12

Info

The wind is an unpredictable traveller. It’s in constant evolution, in constant fluctuation, yet here we are, chasing its perfection. Training our acuity, refining our tools, in the hopes of understanding this transient energy on a deeper level.

The Vida is a product of patience and meticulous attention to detail, capable of redefining your connection to the elements and finding true pleasure.

A glide of meditation, a buttery soothing sensation of pushing the limits of speed. A moment that will stick with you. A moment for life.

– Dorian LeBihan

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Tech

Minimalistic bridle layout

A huge number of structural simulations were performed in order to minimise line consumption and reduce the number of attachment points. As a result, the kite has the simplest bridle line layout of any foil kite for it's class. So the lines do not tangle easily and you will be up and ready in seconds.

Morphing aerofoil

The shape of the kite's aerofoil is designed to change when it is powered or depowered. As a result, the power to depower ratio is exceptional. Powered up, a high-camber aerofoil provides all the lift you need; Depowered, the aerofoil turns into a low-lift, super stable reflex profile, so wyou can have absolute confidence when overpowered, even in the worst conditions.

Cord Cut Billow (CCB)

Découpe spéciale des panneaux de bord d’attaque: la technologie « Cord Cut Billow » a été développée pour améliorer l’état de surface, la stabilité, et plus généralement les performances de nos voiles. Pour cela les panneaux d’extrados du bord d’attaque sont réalisés avec deux découpes le long de la corde (CCB), afin d’assurer un développement de surface optimisé des cellules. Le long du profil, jusqu´à dix centimètres de tissu excédentaire sont créés par l’effet de boudinage. Cet excédent de matière est normalement absorbé par les plis inter-cellules, alors que notre CCB en se rapprochant du développement de surface idéal ne se contente pas simplement de minimiser ce défaut. La réduction des plis contribue aussi à une meilleure mise en forme des nervures, ce qui en améliore la tenue.

ALULA - logiciel de simulation

Le futur de la conception des kites repose entièrement sur les avancées des techniques de simulation. Plus besoin de concevoir et de fabriquer des prototypes l’un après l’autre :nous sommes maintenant capables de simuler des centaines de kites grâce à notre code unique de couplage fluide-structure. Nous testons ainsi de très nombreux prototypes virtuels, environ 200, ce qui correspond à 500 000 itérations du calcul structure / aero pour chaque simulation!

Three piece diagonals

La Koala est conçue avec une structure interne complexe utilisant des cloisons diagonales découpées en 3 pièces. Cela permet d’optimiser la distribution des efforts dans la structure et de maximiser la rigidité de l’aile dans la corde. De plus, le tissu n’est pas chargé dans le biais, augmentant ainsi la durée de vie de l’aile.

Target

The VIDA is a high-performance kite for racing and airstyle. It has the agility and performance to satisfy the most demanding of riders and seasoned pros. Because of its stability and ease of use, it is also an accessible competition kite for riders just starting to get serious.

The VIDA is built for performance. It is a hybrid 3 / 2 liner with a high aspect ratio and thin lines. It has an incredible power range – the pull when it's fully powered up, compared to depowered, makes it very easy to use for its category. It means riders will feel in total control, and trust in the kite when out racing. You can put it where you want it, and the VIDA will stay on target in broad reach conditions.

Because it has no fibreglass rods, the VIDA is easy to relaunch and also easy to pack.

Foil-freestyle pro Maxime Desjardins loves the great pop and massive hangtime – this kite will make you fly!

Size 15 is available, size 10 will be released soon.

Not IKA registered

Designer Notes

At Airwave we design kites we want to ride. Tom designed the Vida for hydrofoil racing, as none of the existing options were exactly what he was looking for. Tom says:

When I started hydrofoil racing my dream was to push my own limits in the most difficult conditions, but none of the kites on the market quite did the job: the classic 3-liners were easy to handle with good power, but they lacked the depower to withstand strong gusts; the 2-liner kites had the depower, but, because of the fibreglass rods, they did not have enough power to water-start in light winds. They are hard to relaunch, and much harder to handle in general.

My super-computers started running at full capacity with one goal in mind – to get the best of worlds! The power and ease of use of 3-liner kites and the depower of 2-liner kites, without fibreglass rods. I also worked extensively with foil-freestyle professional Maxime Desjardins to test and validate its freestyle capabilities. Its longer lines and shorter brakes, with the great depower and performance really made it also amazing for airstyle!

Riding Level / Style

Material

Internal structure	Porcher Skytex 40g/m² Hard
Top surface	MJTex 32g/m²
Bottom surface	MJTex 32g/m²
Pulleys	Ronstan/Harken P18 pulleys
Top lines	Edelrid Magix Pro 8001U
Middle lines	Edelrid Magix Pro 8001U
Lower lines	Edelrid Magix Pro 8001U