This past weekend, I had the opportunity to visit Hunter Brown and Paul Debakker and take the two newest kites from Focus Designs out for a test drive. The flagship of the Focus line, a full-sized competition kite, the Jinx (and it’s UL counterpart) have been redesigned, and the outcome is simply incredible. While the Hydra was originally designed as a trickier Jinx, I can safely say from my perspective, the new Jinx is a more precise Hydra.

In terms of construction, all the lessons from the Hydra are in play here. The new Jinx supports more mylar on the trailing edge, the new P3X (P1X for the UL) spars from SkyShark, and a fantastic new sail panel layout that brings it visually in line with the newer Focus kites. The bridle is the same Dynamic-Static bridle featured on the previous Jinx, but the stock settings have changed. Like the Hydra, the kite features only a single adjustment point at the upper leading edge. The new kite’s stock setting puts the nose slightly back, on the lower knot. And, when the wind is up, it has that distinctive, throaty roar of a Focus dual line kite.

Sunday’s winds started strong (8-12mph) so we started out with the Standard. The Jinx flew slowly and deliberately, even in stronger winds. The square corners were very clean, and the Jinx would fly a remarkably straight line across the wind window, as though it were on rails. The nose-back setting means that the kite will stall easily, even in the higher winds. Control is largely in the wrists, rotating quickly into a snap stall from any aspect, even a screaming dive. I ran through my competition figures and was very impressed with how well the kite tracked, even at the edges and top of the wind window.

The Jinx is a kite that requires very clean, specific inputs. It has a nice, tight turning radius without any oversteer. The side slides look (and feel) just great. But, one area where I struggled was in the Cascade. That’s the cornerstone of my technical routine, and while I was hitting the half axels without any trouble, I had a very hard time chaining them together into a cascade. After working at it for a while, they started to come together, but the kite didn’t go out of it’s way to hand me this trick.

Mid-afternoon, the winds dropped down to about 4-5mph and it was time to take the Jinx UL out for a spin. The first thing I noticed was that the UL felt much lighter on the end of the lines, both compared to the standard and compared to the previous generation Jinx UL. It doesn’t feel as light as a Talon, but it’s definitely an improvement. It’s flight characteristics largely matched that of the standard, straight tracking, sharp square corners, awe-inspiring side slides, and powerful snap stalls. It rolls up a little slower on the pitch axis than the standard does, but that’s to be expected from a lighter kite.

So who is the kite for? Well, any serious competitor should check this kite out. Rumor has it that a number of pairs teams have already placed their orders for the Jinx, some having waited for this new version to come out. In addition, any intermediate to advanced flyer looking to improve his skills, to sharpen his inputs, or interested in carving rail-straight lines across the sky should take the Jinx out for a spin.

-Jared

“Focus proudly presents the re-designed Jinx!

Here are the first pictures of the new Jinx, our flagship competition and performance kite.

As you can see, it has a completely new look but we didnt just stop at cosmetics. A tweaked frame configuration and a refined sail cut result in better precision flight and better trickability, without sacrificing on versatility, or flight characteristics.

The Jinx will be framed in the new P3X tube by Skyshark, where P400 was used last year. The UL will use the brand new P1X, versus P200 last year. These changes result in a lighter, equally tough frame and a more responsive kite.

The new sail cut has been altered from last years, to improve the flight of the Jinx in all aspects. Better precision, better side-slides and better behavior when the kite goes through pitch-based tricks are the result. At the same time, its style, grace and elegance in flight remain unchanged.

Were working on getting the new Jinx up on the website, including video and a colorizer, please keep an eye out on the site and blog. We are taking orders now. Feel free to contact us with questions, comments and orders!”

The yo-yo stoppers are integrated into the leading edge, rather than fastening on the outside, leaving the edge clean and smooth. Contributing to the already stiff frame, the Hydra incorporates a fiberglass stiffener inserted into the pultruded carbon spine, extending all the way up to the center tee, providing further reinforcement. There’s also a brass weight installed at the tail end of the keel, aiding the kite’s ability to pitch.

The Hydra also features a continuous Mylar panel along the trailing edge. According to Paul DeBakker, the stiffer trailing edge contributes to the kite’s low wind performance, by helping to maintain the sail shape when the wind pressure isn’t strong enough to do it naturally. To keep the kite from displaying a ragged, sharp mylar edge, the Mylar panel is sandwiched between two layers of Icarex. The Hydra also features small winglets, with micro fiberglass battens to tension the trailing edge near the wingtips.

The bridle features only a single point of adjustment, where the nose can be tipped back by means of adjusting a lark’s head knot at the upper attachment point on each side of the bridle. The section of bridle which crosses over the Avia B-Tweeny lower spreaders is sleeved, to help reduce wear.

My particular Hydra sees a lot of flight time over hard-packed clay soil and tall fescue grass, so I’ve managed to break or lose a couple of my winglet battens, but Hunter & Paul have been great about replacing them for me.

So, how does it fly ?

This kite is balanced like a precision chef’s knife. While it does feature a few tuning options (the aforementioned bridle setting, plus the removable spine stiffener and barrel weight), it has definitely been tuned to fly with the factory settings. In fact, in conversation with Paul he reveals that no matter what the wind conditions, he has not yet changed his Hydra off the stock settings.

It has a remarkably wide wind range, I’ve personally witnessed Paul flying it in 2mph and 18mph winds, the latter during his 1st Place Master’s Ballet routine at the Old Dominion Sport Kite Championship. Even under maximum wind conditions, the kite still maintains it’s light, balanced feel; it picks up speed, but it still doesn’t have very much pull.

Regardless of the wind speed, the Hydra is always ready to be put into a stall. As a freestyle kite, it transitions smoothly from one trick to the next, but definitely rewards proper pilot input. If you’re flailing around and hoping the kite will make you look good, you’ll be in for a poor surprise. The Cascade is a very good example of this, it requires three distinct, well timed inputs, otherwise the kite just limply drops from the ceiling to the ground. I’ve found that a fingertip touch is best in all but the strongest winds, particularly in combination tricks like the Jacob’s Ladder (done primarily with my wrists and fingertips, rather than by moving my arms).

The kite does have a very shallow backflip/turtle. Watching it in flight, it actually backflips a little deeper, then settles into a shallower position. According to Paul, he wanted a kite that wasn’t going to sit deeply in a turtle and be difficult to recover. The Hydra will easily pop out of the backflip if too heavy an input is given, and it did take me a little while to learn just how small an input is needed to spin the kite while it is on it’s back. However, ground-based pitch tricks such as the Flapjack and Roll-up Launch are standouts on this kite, because of that initial, deeper rotation. The Hydra rotates in a very tight arc around it’s center of gravity and can be rolled up multiple times.

Despite being built for freestyle, the Hydra still has elements of it’s precision, inherited from the larger Jinx which inspired it. It tracks across straight lines, has sharp square corners, and can execute a crisp snapstall that adds dramatic punctuation to a ballet routine.

Bottom line, if you’re looking for a hand-crafted, thoughtfully designed and meticulously crafted kite, one that will give you the best elements of both precision and freestyle flying, the 2009 Hydra is the way to go. While this kite is best suited to the intermediate to advanced flyer, the focus on giving proper inputs is essential at any skill level. I know there are a lot more tricks still locked up in my Hydra, and I can’t wait to get them out.

-Jared

So I’ve had a Jinx UL for a while now. I plumped for the color combo shown and very nice it looks in flesh too (I’ll try to remember to take a picture next time I’m out). Its a little different from most kites I fly, a little more demanding of technique, which held me back initially. But as I correct my (frankly) piss-poor technique I get much better results. And the interesting thing here is that I’m flying everything better as a result, not just the Jinx.

Paul has suggested a couple of tweaks for us early adopters. An extra 5 grams on the tail (from BMK weight kit) and a fractionally shorter upper spreader to speed up rollups and P90 leading edges to reduce a the mass and help out a little at the lower wind range.

I’m finding the Jinx very rewarding to fly as I improve my technique I get ever better results from the kite which I suppose is to be expected. But like I said, the Jinx is demanding that I clean up my act and now I can JL cleanly without wobble and flop, my slots are controlled enough to multi and my landings have improved in leaps and bounds.

“The Hydra utilizes more mylar this year, tightening the sail and moving the centre of gravity down. This gives the kite improved balance and results in better overall freestyle performance. Oh, and we believe it looks cool, too. The Hydra will use the new Skyshark P2x tubes for their very nice balance between durability, weight, and flex characteristics. Because the kite as a whole is balanced more efficiently, we were able to remove some of the added weight. Finally, the bridle has been beefed up to be able to withstand a Ron G. session”

Paul and Hunter will have examples of all their kites at Kite Party 7 – Huntingdon Beach, LA this weekend.

If you’re planning to attend, do look them up, they’re very friendly chaps and the kites are really top drawer. They’ll also have their “Skate” and “Manta” SLK designs on hand.

The boys at Focus have added a blog to their site. I dunno if they plan to announce all new products on blog, but there is an exiciting update there this week – the new “Manta” SLK. I’ve seen the smaller “Skate” version in action and its a lot of fun on a windless day.

The “Manta” though ups the ante considerably, this beast has a 10ft wingspan.

I look forward to giving the one a spin next time I get to hang with Hunter and Paul.

]]> http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/new-focus-kite-designs-blog/feed 0 http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/focus-kite-designs-hydra-video http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/focus-kite-designs-hydra-video#comments Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:04:17 +0000 admin http://www.kiteclique.com/?p=146 Paul DeBakker ably demonstrating the capabilities of the Hydra from Focus Kite Designs.

]]> http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/focus-kite-designs-hydra-video/feed 0 http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/focus-design-kites-hydra http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/focus-design-kites-hydra#comments Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:31:11 +0000 admin http://www.kiteclique.com/?p=105 Another new design from Focus Kite Designs, the “Hydra”, a little smaller than the Jinx at 2.15m and targeted more at the freestyle/trick crowd . It is framed similarly with SkyShark P series leading edges; Avia lower spreaders and pulltruded spine / upper spreader. Unlike the Jinx there is only the one model offered which Paul rates this kite more as a Light/STD. However framing can be tailored to the needs of the customer, you want it more UL you got it. The sail construction is similar to the Jinx, a polyester and mylar mix and the bridle is a three point. The Hydra will be priced the same as the Jinx, with standard and custom colors available for a small premium.

It is framed with SkyShark P series leading edges; Avia lower spreaders and pulltruded spine / upper spreader. The sail is a polyester with mylar around the standoffs and at the winglets and the bridle is a dynamic three point. The kite includes all the standard features one would expect from a top quality sport kite, covered leading edges, snag free nose, yo-yo stoppers, tail weight etc and more innovative design features, but you’ll have to wait for details of those.

The Jinx is made right here in North Carolina, in Wilmington. It will be available in both standard and custom colors and will be priced very competitively. Stayed tuned to this channel – more details to follow.