Leading Edge Inflatable
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LEI
A Leading Edge Inflatable kite is a single skinned kite that has a bladder running through its leading edge (as its name implies) which when inflated holds the shape of the kite.
Compared to a fixed bridle kite, this makes it much more suitable for use on water, as it can't lose its shape, or fill with water, and it will float easily for a simple re-launch.
LEI kites are flown on a bar, and are depowerable kites.
Pictured below is the Flexifoil Ion
LEI kites are named differently depending upon their shape and bridling. They can have upwards of 2 lines, but nowadays 4 and 5 lines are the most common configurations. The fifth line is used to distort the canopy and can provide safety. For 4 line safety, a flagging safety system is used where either the front or rear lines are released to allow the kite to flap around on the other pair.
In addition to the inflated leading edge, additional smaller inflated struts generally lead off from the main leading edge and are used to preserve the stability and structure of the canopy. The struts can either be completely separate from the leading edge, or can be connected to the leading edge via valves that allow the kite to be inflated all at once (a one-pump system). For safety, the struts are isolated from the main bladder after filling, to ensure that the kite will not completely deflate if one of the bladders is damaged, which is essential to permit safe self rescue.
LEIs result from development by the Legaignoux brothers and originally marketed as Wipika but subsequently licensed to a few manufacturers including Naish. The original patent expired at the end of 2005, opening up the market to many more.
C Kites
These are the original first generation LEI kites. They are characterised by having no bridles. The front lines and back lines connect directly to the sides of the canopy at the leading edge and trailing edge of the kite. The "C Kites" sides are long and almost vertical when the kite is overhead.
SLE / Supported Leading Edge kites
As the name implies, the leading edge shape is supported by bridles. This includes both Bow and Hybrid kites as detailed below.
Bow Kites
Bow kites are similar to C-Kites but with the overhanging part of the wing tips removed, so they appear flatter. To retain the canopy shape, they employ bridles that connect not only to the edges but also to points along the leading and trailing edges. The trailing edge on a bow kite is concave between the wing tips. Bow kites became popular because they can have almost 100% depower range on the bar throw, so if you get into trouble, you just need to let go of the bar.
Hybrid LEI's
A hybrid kite refers to an LEI design that falls between the precise definition for a C or Bow kite above, invariably employing bridles. Like bow kite, modern hybrid kites can have almost 100% depower range on the bar throw, so if you get into trouble, you just need to let go of the bar.
References
http://www.inflatablekite.com/
--Badger 18:32, 31 January 2010 (UTC)
