Flexifoil
Encyclopedia
Flexifoil International is a designer and manufacturer of kite products. Started in 1972 by Ray Merry and Andrew Jones in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Flexifoil has become known for its power kiting products. Flexifoil owes its early success to its original Stacker 6 kite, which became the first commercially-sold recreational power kite. This kite could be attached to other Stackers to make a more powerful kite and it is still available today. Other successful kites have included the Stranger trick kite and the Blade series. A factor in Flexifoil's success has been the growing popularity of kitesurfing
Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...

and they manufacture boards, foil and LEI kites such as the Proton, Ion, Hadlow Pro, Sting, Rage, Blurr and Blade for the sport.

Flexifoil Blade

The Blade is a ram-air inflated traction kite made by Flexifoil that has large lift making it ideal for land and snow kiting. It could be used for Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...

 but because it is not an LEI (leading edge inflatable) this is not recommended as it is very hard to re-launch the wet kite. There is an option in the control system for the kite either handles or on a bar, more control can be gained by using handles due to the brake lines. The control system chosen affects the price of the unit.

The Blade is currently in its 5th series http://www.flexifoil.com/uk/powerkites/products/bladev/. They come in a range of different sizes to match the varying wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...

 conditions and rider ability. The most popular size of the series is the 4.9m which is held to have the perfect balance between speed and lift.

See also

  • Kite buggying
  • Kitesurfing
    Kitesurfing
    Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...

  • Kiteboarding
  • Power kite
    Power kite
    A power kite or traction kite is a large kite designed to provide significant pull to the user.They come in three main forms: foils, leading edge inflatables and supported leading edge. There are also rigid-framed kites and soft single skin kites. There are several different control systems used...

  • Kite line
    Kite line
    Kites have a wing and a kite line , or sometimes more than one line. Kite systems may have more than one kite and more than one kite line....

  • Kite mooring
    Kite mooring
    Kites are given mooring by many methods. Watercraft and aircraft traditionally have the term "mooring" applied to making the watercraft or aircraft fast to some external object...

  • Kite types
    Kite types
    Kites are tethered flying objects which fly by using aerodynamic lift, requiring wind, , for generation of airflow over the lifting surfaces.-Kite types:...

  • Kite
    Kite
    A kite is a tethered aircraft. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind...

  • Kite applications
    Kite applications
    The kite is used to do certain things; one kite or many kites are applied to achieve certain purposes, objectives, or tasks, that is: applications. Humans have applied the kite to bring perceived benefits during peace and war alike. New applications for the kite continue to be found...


External links

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