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This is the first attempt at kite making & is a sail of my design. I retained the extra reinforcement between the leading edge and the sail as on the EXP and simplified the way the leading edge is attached to the sail (my sewing skills were not up to the official method).
On 22/6/03, whilst at the Fylde Kite Festival, I replaced the existing EXP leading edge spars with the 1.5 SLE spars in order to bring the whole kite up to (more or less) a 1.5SLE. Of course I had to replace the end caps - I actually purchased the official Revolution ones instead of making my own. This has had the effect of making the whole kite stiffer - the EXP spars bend more in the wind, whereas the SLE stays straight. From the afternoon I spent flying it seems to have made the flight more responsive and accurate. More information when I have got used to it!
Made: January 2003
| Width | Height | Depth | Weight | Spars | Sail | Windrange |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 234 cm |
80 cm |
n/a |
300 g |
Revolution Wrapped Carbon |
Ripstop Nylon | medium |
| Cost |
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|
n/a as I already had the spars from the Revolution EXP and all the materials were fairly cheap (approx. £8 for the ripstop, £5 for the leading edge, £3 for the bridle, £2 for the mesh fabric). As for the SLE spars - the two outer ones are £13.50 each, the center spar is £14.50 and the SLE end caps are £5.10 for the pair. Not a cheap upgrade! |
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All the good points of the EXP plus..
Same kind of bad points plus....
Very pleased - flew much better than the EXP even when it had the EXP leading edge spars, but now I have upgraded to the SLE spars it is a big improvement over the original. How does it compare with a 'real' 1.5SLE? No idea yet as I haven't flown one, although I guess it isn't quite as good....
Pack up : 83cm x 5cm
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