Best Big Air Kite flatwater - Flysurfer Sonic 3 11m

Wind 15 -22 ish knots
60cm custom bar
Line length 18m
Board TT 131x40 Shinn Monk
My Weight 78kg - advanced rider

Well now that the wind speed has got your attention thinking, what the Farq - that was exactly my thoughts the first time I rode it yesterday.
I have a few of the best big air inflatable kites and Souls that I ride in the higher wind range and storms.
What has intrigued & inspired me over the last few years, is the way Flysurfers rider "Olly Bridge" has been throwing some huge and ridiculously long jumps, breaking distance and hangtime records - it seems like he is creating another style in the market, and his latest Sonic 3 jump with 36-second hangtime certainly shows it.

So anyway I bought the 11m as a board off training hang time kite that I could also use as a 10-knot light wind Foil boarding kite too. Its aimed at advance to expert riders as it is a cross between the Vmg race kite & the Soul.
After unpacking and checking every single knot, line connection, and the stitching seams, It was straight down the river for a ride.

What I was expecting was a predictably slow turning kite for the above that goes like a bat out of hell.
On the beach, it turned very well for an 11m foil and that's always a good sign for jumping. Leaving the shore I could see the gusting 22 knots just ahead of me, so maybe a 50m run no kickers or waves and Boom straight into it, I'm going up and up and up thinking WTF ? this is not a 30-35 knot day ! ahh well, let's do the big Heli-Loop thing while im up here.

That's the point where you understand why Olly has so much Fun :)
The Sonic 3 is fast and has Huge aerodynamic lift for its size, the slightest gust up at the top of a big jump and up you go again - even when coming down from a small transition jump - it will lift you up again and hover, your feet trying to reach out where the water used to be..

After a short while, I started to get the timing dialed in better which just added to the fun. Oddly enough, the Flysurfer posted wind range is 7-23 knots, I'm guessing that's for a foil board as its nowhere near the feeling of being overpowered. It's already great for foil boarding so no need to mention anything there.

I set the kite with a bit of back stall at the bar, just in case you end up in a surface downloop near the shore or another kiter - it quite safely looses power and will 'pivot turn' to where you want it.
No wing tip folds occurred while riding - I did manage to swing under the kite too far a few times, then it closed up a bit fell back in the window and opened nicely... no worries there.

This kite - to me is easier and more fun to ride than the Soul with a nice light feeling at the bar.
I can't wait to get it out in some small kickers or ocean swell at about 25-28 knots or Flatwater.
It made me think of how much effort it takes to jump a 12m inflatable and how little result you get in 20 knots.

If you want to just go big without megaloops and have insane hangtime, at a lower wind range... this is the kite that will do it - no more waiting for 30-35 knot dream days !

not me..

Here's a little jump pic at our favourite Pond :)

Haaa yeah I have a CrazyFly LTD which is great. Recently I put 2.5" rfc surfdog fins on the Monks heel side. It used to wash out when heavy loaded but now is transformed into an excellent stomp and boost board for it's relatively small size 131x40 and such a nice chop muncher too with the big concave :)

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Ozone Kites Aus said..

SaveTheWhales said..
Haaa yeah I have a CrazyFly LTD which is great. Recently I put 2.5" rfc surfdog fins on the Monks heel side. It used to wash out when heavy loaded but now is transformed into an excellent stomp and boost board for it's relatively small size 131x40 and such a nice chop muncher too with the big concave :)

Haven't heard someone mention RFC TT fins for a very long time you must be a hoarder?

Guilty as charged - I bought a few pairs that were on sale a long time ago. Most fins are just fin 'looking' but with the Atac & Rfc fins - they got the hydrodynamics right and you have to try very hard to kick these sideways compared to a normal fin... great for helping to load jumps and nice to have various handling options for the same board(s)