Tech Focus - VIDA Airwave Kiteboarding

Introducing the VIDA, AIRWAVE's newest kite! Delve into its revolutionary design, explore its development journey, and discover groundbreaking features that redefine racing and airstyle. Catch this exclusive interview with AIRWAVE’s Tom Lolies in our latest issue!

How does the VIDA kite's high aspect ratio contribute to its agility and performance, especially in racing and airstyle conditions? 

The main advantage of the high aspect ratio is a very high lift-to-drag ratio. As a result, the kite will go very far on the edge of the wind window and will cross it without losing energy. Combined with a lot of depower, the rider can send his pop with an incredible lift force, and the high energy retention will keep them airborne for a long time. On the racing side, we want the kite parked as far as possible in the wind window to achieve incredible upwind angles.

You mentioned that the VIDA kite lacks fibreglass rods; how does this design affect the kite? 

New racing kites now feature fibreglass rods, making these kites not very durable, impossible to fold, and hard to relaunch. The Vida is not like that; designed with "free-racing" in mind, it features a robust construction and is incredibly easy to water relaunch for its category.

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What role has Maxime Desjardins played in designing the VIDA? 

He is the "free" in "free-race". He helped me trim the kite to the best compromise between pure race and airstyle. He is also our video star!

What challenges did you face during the development process of the VIDA kite, and how did you tackle them to achieve the desired performance and usability? 

The greatest challenge was to achieve high stability and ease of use with an outstanding depower at the same time. This was missing in the world of race kites. The main issue is that both characteristics are susceptible to tiny design changes to the profile shape, billow shape, arc, etc ... going through these parameters with prototypes alone would have been impossible. I thus used the new version of my simulation program, initially developed for powered paragliding sail design, to better refine the compromise between stability and depower. As a result, you will feel that the wind range is infinite on this kite with a wide usable trimmer range.

Are there any specific innovations or technological advancements incorporated into the design of the VIDA kite that set it apart from other kites in its category? 

Our innovation lies in the small attention to detail in the profile shape, planform, arc, etc., which makes the kite fly so well. There is nothing in particular that you can see on the ground, but the feeling once the kite is in the air is unique.