The arckite or twinskin kite is a type of

traction kite A power kite or traction kite is a large kite designed to provide significant pull to the user. Types The two most common forms are the foil, and the leading edge inflatable. There are also other less common types of power kite including rig ...

designed and patented by

Peter Lynn Peter Lynn (born 1946) is a New Zealand kitemaker, engineer and inventor. He is notable for his construction of the world's largest kites (Guinness book of records holders), giant inflatable (sparless) display kites (the most widely known is the ...

. It is a very stable, safe and secure type of powerkite. It can be used for all kinds of kite powered sports, for example:

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

landboarding Kite landboarding, also known as land kiteboarding or flyboarding, is based on the sport of kitesurfing, where a rider on a surf-style board is pulled over water by a kite. Kite landboarding involves the use of a mountain board or landboard, which ...

kite buggying A kite buggy is a light, purpose-built vehicle powered by a traction kite (power kite). It is single-seated and has one steerable front wheel and two fixed rear wheels. The driver sits in the seat located in the middle of the vehicle and accelera ...

snowkiting Snowkiting or kite skiing is an outdoor winter sport where people use kite power to glide on snow or ice. The skier uses a kite to give them power over large jumps. The sport is similar to water-based kiteboarding, but with the footwear used in ...

. The shape of the kite is similar to a C shaped

leading edge inflatable kite A leading edge inflatable kite (LEI) is a single skin kite with inflatable bladders providing structure. It is useful as a power or traction kite. These kites are flown using 2, 4 or 5 control lines and a bar. (See also: kite control systems) ...

, however the construction is similar to a

foil kite Foil kites are soft kites based on the design of the parafoil. They consist of a number of cells running fore to aft, some or all of which are open at the front to allow air to inflate the kite so it takes on an aerofoil section. Due to the amoun ...

. These kites also fall into a category of foils called "closed-cell inflatables", meaning that the ram-air inlets on the leading edge of the kite are normally closed by flaps that act as one-way valves to maintain internal air pressure. It is this feature that makes the kite useful for

kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

since, unlike standard open-cell foils, if the kite crashes on the water, it will stay inflated and float long enough for the rider to recover and re-launch.

History

* 1999-2000 S-Arc * 2002 F-Arc * 2003 Guerilla & Phantom * 2004 Bomba & Guerilla II * 2005 Venom * 2006 Venom II & Vortex * 2007 Scorpion * 2008 Synergy * 2009 Charger * 2012 Phantom II * 2013 Charger 2013

Styles

Depending on the specific style of the kite its suitable better for different usages, however, each of the kites can be used on all terrain.

Land based kites (highest aspect ratio)

Kites which are not as easy to water relaunch, but have better depower and upper wind range. * Phantom * Scorpion * Phantom II

Water based low aspect ratio

* S-Arc * Bomba * Vortex

Water based high aspect ratio

Better low wind performance, * F-Arc * Guerila I & Guerilla II * Venom I & Venom II * Synergy * Charger

References

Official web site
{{Kites Kites