KAP Foil 3.0 - a good lifter kite

My 1,047th kite video. This kite is colourful, well made, and easy to fly, and good value as well. Mine came from Metropolis-Drachen in Germany, a very good company to deal with.

[@grahamev1]

Two great Kites there Jim, Good colours too.

[@JimNicholls]

Nothing as big as the ones you fly, Graham! I hope you're able to get out and do some flying soon.

[@fotonmom]

another great video...great colors and a tail too!!!

[@JimNicholls]

Thanks, Priscilla. I hope all's well with you.

[@fotonmom]

Erratic weather---so not much happening in the fields, these days. .. Just got back to normal after the solar eclipse that passed over the U.S. If I had a dollar for everyone calling the store for those glasses...I would be a pretty wealthy gal!!

[@vikramsinghkite4358]

Good luck 👍🏼

[@cloudybongo]

Nice!, The HQ range of KAP foils are excellent, fully agree they're top qulaity kites and serious lifters. My KAP8 is a gorgeous flyer., a bit of a monster at times but an amazing kite. I'm torn between a smaller an HQ "KAP" or a larger HQ "Flow Form" as I'm re-designing the camera rig. Looking at a single rigid pendulum system to get away from all the string of the picavet. Decisions, decisions.... ;-)

[@JimNicholls]

I'm sure that whichever system you choose you'll have great results, Bill. Your KAV work is amazing.

[@halaasen3416]

Hi JIm. I appreciate the comparison between the KAP 3.0 and the UltraFoil 30. Have a UF 30 on order from ITW, whenever their next order arrives 😞. Supposed to be middle of October. Will see how anxious I get before then. Good to know there is another kite out there of similar quality and performance.

[@JimNicholls]

October's a long time to wait, Hal, so I hope there's no further delay. I'm sure you'll be pleased with the UF30 when you get it, anyway. With luck, you might be able to fly it before winter hits in Montana. I doubled the tail length on mine, which made it a bit more stable.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Hal Aasen → I agree about the comparison video. Thanks for posting it Jim!

[@kiteflyingdownunder....car6272]

I enjoyed the comparison. Now which one to have? Both of course! But if it came down to one I think the Ultrafoil wins.

[@JimNicholls]

Yes, it's close, Carl, but I agree that the UltraFoil is slightly better. It costs a lot more, though, so the KAP Foil is better value.

[@timfox2654]

Is this Kite still available Jim?

[@JimNicholls]

The last time I checked it appeared to still be available from HQ Kites in the USA and Metropolis Drachen in Germany, and probably elsewhere.

[@ianvirco5897]

They are very nice parafoils but i can't help but notice the current crop of these kite types are getting relatively less sophisticated. This K.A.P. Foil has scarcely got an aerofoil shape, the top being almost flat, tapering towards the rear. The Peter Lynn lifter Parafoils always look very basic. Jalbert's original Parafoil was a near copy of an aircraft wing, Greens Stratascoop even had an enclosed leading edge to make it very wing like. Still these modern Parafoils do the job they are inended for and look good in the sky so i guess that ticks the boxes !

[@JimNicholls]

The KAP Foils were designed by Ralf Beutnagel, a well respected designer, and in their various sizes have received good reports from numerous fliers. The PL Pilots have, of course, been around for a long time now and done a great job at countless kite displays. I'm not sure what you mean by "less sophisticated," Ian, but for my money I'm quite happy with both these designs. I'm not so happy with the PL single skin lifter (SSL,) which is a kite that seems to still need a lot of development.

[@ianvirco5897]

These Modern breed of Parafoil Kite appear less sophisticate with their large front openings and very little in the way of aerofoil shape, this causes increased drag which from what i have seen of them is born out by their lower flight angle compared with a Parafoil from years back. There is an element of benifit to this drag for creating pull but they are acting less like a sophisticated aerofoil and more like a two layer / two flat surface kites. Traction Kites for buggies and high quality Parafoil stint kites like a Flexifoil are much closer to the original Parafoil of Jalbert, these have to create a lot of pull but still retain the ability to move through the air at high speed meaning drag is a critical issue, these kites have highly developed aerofoil sections, gaining their pull through aerodynamic lift rather drag.

[@peterdennhey5030]

Ian Virco I fly kites not planes.

[@ianvirco5897]

Hi Peter, I grew up with an aircraft mad father, his working life and beyond was all aircraft so enevitably a lot rubbed off on me. Kites are aircraft, some very simple, others surprizingly complex. knowing the reasons why they fly, the various merits of each design improves a Kiters ability to get the best from their flying. Kites are subject to almost the same forces as an aeroplane, lift to overcome weight, which is acted upon by gravity, most of this replaced by the flying line, drag is made use of with tails and drogues.airspeed is completely taken care of by the wind. knowing this and how it relates to each kite can gelp a kiter adjust an errant kite to fly correctly or even design and build new kites, something you are good at Peter.

[@JimNicholls]

Ian, I look forward to seeing the one that you design and build with all your expert knowledge. Maybe it will catch on and be the king of parafoils.

[@thetrieunguyen2900]

hey jims, please make more videos about this kite

[@JimNicholls]

I'll try to do that. Our weather is so bad these days that I can't fly much at all.