please excuse the french - the following is a press release:



THE BOW

THE NEW KITE CONCEPT BY THE LEGAIGNOUX BROTHERS


To reconcile the rigidity of a tube kite with the flatter shape of a ram air kite, such was the dream of many designers since kitesurfing became popular, but nobody to date had succeeded in developing an effective one. The proof is that none is marketed today.

Paradoxically, Dominique and Bruno attacked the problem at the end of 2001 on their home spot of Dominican Republic in reaction to the increasingly frequent accidents. Their goal was above all to obtain a wing with full depower capability, since it should well be admitted that opening a quick release in a panic situation is most of the time utopian.

However they knew that the new wing should also be more efficient to take a lead in the market
Now it is that a flat wing is easier to depower than a curved wing. They thus sought a means of obtaining a wing having at the same time very few bridles and a flattened and clean shape, without pockets nor deformations of the canopy.

The main innovation consisted in putting sweep, i.e. to move back the wing tips compared to its centre until the trailing edge is concave, which makes it possible to flatten and perfectly tighten this one. This is associated to an original and very simple bridle device, only fixed on the leading edge, conceived to allow almost full depower and a great turn speed.

Swept-back + simple bridling on the leading edge only, here is what differentiates the BOW concept from all other flat wings.
Many alternatives of planforms and bridles are possible inside this concept. Thus the Nova such as it is presented today was developed by the Takoon designer, Nicolas Caillou and has a different form from the Nova exposed to the Paris Boat Show in December 2004 and which was a Legaignoux design.

The BOW concept was proposed to Takoon since 2003, then to all the licensees of the classic inflatable kite in early 2005.

Diamond White Lda, owner of the patents protecting the BOW concept, now offers user licences to any brand interested in the wing of the future!

bring bac the cquads.