Excellent info so thanks.
Can you give us an idea of what wind you experience as underpowered? Some real experience on ranges would be even better. 😀
I think the published ranges are pretty accurate. The track above was taken from a session where there were squalls coming through with reasonable regularity. I had the 4.5 and the 5.9 with me and was swapping between them. The wind ranged from a low 12-14 knots, like during the segment I've extracted in the track posted, up to a solid 20 gusting 25 in the squalls. The 4.5 didn't once feel like too much wing, and I could get it up at any stage if I waited for a gust and bump combo. The 5.9 never felt too small and only felt too big during the strongest squalls, I imagine a better rider would have just pushed through with the 5.9 the whole session.
The upwind stretch posted here I had the PAL engaged an inch or so and was milking both board and upwind angle to offset the low wind strength.
For context I'm 79kg, 56 yo, lifetime watersports surfer and windsurfer, relatively new to foiling but took to it naturally. I'm in SE Tasmania so 5/4 wetsuit and boots, cold air and water, these wind strengths have the sense of a lot of push for a given number.
For me to reach the low end of what PPC claim takes an 8' downwind board and a large foil. (I was riding the Code 1075R this day) Note that I also freely admit that I'm not the most skilled at pumping up a smaller board and foil so I think their claim on the low end is reasonable. Maybe a little low for the 3.5, I haven't enough sessions on it yet to know, especially in that kind of breeze (15 knots) , as the 4.5 or 5.9 are clearly a better choice. I'd be saving the 3.5 for days that don't drop below 20 knots I reckon, or maybe even more, I've no idea where that 3.5 tops out, I'm guessing it will be more about sea state than wind strength.
The PPC claimed top end I would say holds true for me for the gusts on a given day. That is: the 5.9 is hitting it's top end for me in gusts of 22-23 knots or so, so a steady wind of something less than that, maybe 18knots, depending on how gusty it is though. I've had the 4.5 out in winds reading 20 steady, with gusts of 30 knots (nearby official wind station). Comfortable. Flat water that day though so I didn't have to manage the usual bumps that we'd expect with that strength of wind.
The depower is different to what I've had before - Upwind I lean into it with an assertive strong stance, commit to the harness and edge the board over, the parawing flies forward and speed goes up dramatically. Powered up upwind can be pretty challenging, just negotiating the bumps head on at speed. Heading downwind the depower seems to work best for me to float the parawing high. As long as I don't overtake it it just sits above me, well behaved.
The packdown, for me so far, is quite a bit less certain, though I am managing to collapse and re-deploy, just with a lower success rate . Note that I've come from the Quest which is hailed as one of the easiest and most well behaved wings, especially in packdown. I do think that it is just a matter of time before I get a more refined method or technique with the Orbit, though I doubt it will ever match the Quest for simplicity. Fair trade though for me! I'll keep a Quest for when I want that, or perhaps upgrade it to a Frigate V2.
I hope this helps! I'll update with further session data if and when I have something worthwhile.
Cheers!
