Is this the most efficient inflatable yet?
It's a commonly known fact that a high aspect ratio will have the best performance for anything that moves through the air. Aeroplanes. Birds. Paragliders. Sails. Wind Turbines. Kites. Scientists have proven it. Riders and pilots can attest to it. High aspect ratios are the key to efficiency. Now we're not going to explain why the ratio of length and width relates to efficiency, if you're interested you can look it up; but be prepared for some big words.
Cabrinha do a great job of explaining it in their promo video for the Apollo below too. But here is why this kite is such a big deal - Nobody has done it before.
Sure, kites have been 'high aspect' before. Take the Ozone Edge II from back in 2008 for example. The North Rhino 2. Even the Best Nemesis. None of these kites were a true departure from the norm though. Kites never had that pencil thin look of a paraglider wing until Ozone released the Chrono a couple of years ago. While that revolutionised the racing world, freeriders were reluctant to come to the party due to these kites being foils. Now, Cabrinha drop the Apollo, with an aspect ratio similar to the high performance foil kites, but as an inflatable! So what's it good for? Here are three things this kite will excel at:
Jumping and gliding: With such an efficient outline, jumps will be big, glides will be long, and onlookers will gawk.
Riding Upwind: And downwind: Efficiency allows riders to kite closer to the wind direction, and actually lets the kite fly faster through the air. This means riding downwind is faster too.
Going fast: Drag opposes forward speed, so reduce the drag, increase the speed. Simple as that.
Watch the new Cabrinha Apollo in action below
Sandringham, VIC
