Kitefoil ZENOS full Race

AlpineFoil ZENOS, a concentrate of performance and elegance.

A design more assertive than ever, a concentrate of performance and elegance, the ZENOS embodies the sportiness in its pure state. It is the epitome of what the AlpineFoil Research and Development Department can produce and defines it as the ultimate racing machine.

For this brand new project, Alpinefoil has imposed extremely strict specifications where no compromises have been made to the detriment of performance:

To purchase your AlpineFoil ZENOS kitefoil, visit the site's store.

Specifications :

- 100% Race

- High efficency, low drag

- Amazing upwind angle

- Excellent light wind abilities

- High support downwind

- Optimum stability for accessible performance

- Precise trajectory at all navigation phases

- Comfort and precision at very high speed

- Progressive and homogeneous behavior on the three axes of control

- Exceptional glide

- Maximum rigidity on the whole foil

General presentation of the foil

The entirely new design of the ZENOS, is first inspired by developments from the competition glider. the profiles used by the German engineers for long alpine flying at high speed and in active aerology, constitute a solid database for the development of a competition hydrofoil.

Its ultra-thin mast profiles, the 8.3 projected aspect ratio of its front wings and the choice of a titane fuselage have established a record of drag weakness, guaranteeing outstanding performance in light wind conditions.

In particular, when the wind is very light, ZENOS is in its element. Its brand new design provides a very high efficiency, guaranteeing a full exploitation of the energy provided by the kite. ZENOS is a real glider low consumption.

On light wind competition days, which often determines the overall standings, ZENOS efficency will provide you with an additional competitive advantage.

Like all our performance and competition foils, ZENOS has an excellent behavior on a rough water and in difficult conditions.

The S-shape technology coupled has a mast length of 108cm effective offers unequaled comfort and prevents the intake of outside air that leads to the phenomena of ventilation. Many hours in turbulent conditions were accomplished as part of its development to ensure that the foil met our requirements in accordance with our doctrine of true usable performances. We wanted a progressive and accessible foil at the highest phases of navigation to free the minds of pilots.

The homogeneity on the three axes of the flight and the perfect management of the appearance and disappearance of the lift offers the possibility to use all the speed range of the foil on the entire task and without compromising the stability. The ZENOS is an intuitive racing machine where adaptation is almost immediate.

A high-performance foil is not the whole story; pleasure is the reason we foil. The R & D team focused on maneuverability and spent a lot of time optimizing the feedback and consistency of the curves. We wanted a foil with a direct feel and linearity in acceleration and cornering.

The front wings :

The ZENOS coupled with the RLW 700 is a concentrate of performance and innovation. This wing developed specifically to be the ultimate weapon in light conditions turns your ZENOS into a low consumption glider. It is endowed with an extreme finesse, a projected aspect ratio of 8.3 and an intelligent twisting which shows a still unknown efficency on these surfaces. The upwind and the velocity of this wing today exceeds our expectations. The long process of maturation was worth it, and we are eager to hear your reactions.

The Race 400 flourishes fully in medium strong and very strong condition. It is characterized by its ease, stability and moderate effort at very high speeds. You are able to maintained good downwind support by using the highest navigation regimes in the catégorie. The acceleration is excessive, the wing is extremely precise and the actions lead to an incredibly compact feeling, making sharp turns effective. This very coordinated feeling, combined with a 62cm wingspan, translates into superb upwind capabilities.

The Race 580 inherits the development and technologies developed on the RLW 700 project. The goal is to keep the benefits and performance of a wing like the RLW on a more compact and precise. This results in a sharper behavior of net accelerations and sailings phass significantly higher than its eldest. The perfs in glide remains excellent guaranteeing an upwind abilitie at the height of the elite. His behavior and ease in turbulent conditions impressed the Alpinefoil team. It turned out that the Race 580 is the intermediate wing by excellence wich will follow you in a wide range of conditions

The fuselage :

The titanium fuselage comes from our developments on the titanium range. The isotropy of titanium allowed us to perfectly model the fuselage according to the mechanical forces it will undergo and to completely optimize its shape according to these requirements and according to the flow flow. Titanium is a material completely insensitive to corrosion and fatigue, impact resistant and very light, but whose incredible mechanical performance is similar to that of steel. The behavior of the fuselage remains homogeneous in the face of flexion or torsion, and its section could be reduced by 80% compared to that of a carbon fuselage, guaranteeing a considerable improvement of the flow . The laminar flow is also ensured by the presence of a leading edge and a trailing edge on the fuselage (FRDS technology). Also, the presence of karmans and the modification of the wedging contribute to a considerable reduction of the drag. For more safety and serenity, the fin has been refined and placed at the top of the fuselage, and the nose has been rounded. Finally, for unparalleled stability and a better upwind angle, the fuselage is relatively long: the longer the lever arm, the more effective the stabilizer is.

The mast :

The mast alone reveals the magnitude of the technological challenge behind ZENOS. Our desire being to achieve the best possible flow, it was necessary to create an extremely rigid mast, the finest possible on a length of 108cm.

With a very complex internal structure. It comes from an assortment of fiber ultra high modulus and high modulus fiber M46J from Torrey. These incomparable fibers with standard carbons, guarantee a resistance in ultra-high elastic range for a minimal elongation. The fibers are precisely cut on a center to work in the desired angles ensuring optimum responses to the constraints on the foil

The mast of the ZENOS affirms its sporty genes by a profile with thickness and variable rope optimizing the constraints on the various points of efforts. Numerous prototypes have allowed us to establish the best profile ratio attesting to an upwind ability to the height of the elite. Of course the S-shape technology patented by Alpinefoil in 2011 is present on this ZENOS, it guarantees the absence of ventilation whatever the body of water.

The stabilizer :

With a specific asymmetric profile to eliminate the calibration and therefore reduce drag, it is in adequacy with the 3 wings of race proposed. It has an entirely new design designed to increase the stability and accuracy of the foil at very high speed. Developed from a high ratio and without arrow, it attests to high performance and promotes low range start. These last-generations sharklets and their progressive vault reduce induced drag and increase stability in yaw. The choice of profile and the arc used allowed us to create a progressive stabilizer with high efficiency without degrading the maneuverability and precision essential for pleasure and maneuvering at high speed. Finally, its complex construction offers maximum rigidity adapted to the highest flying phases

The box :

The Zenos has at one’s disposal a KF-Box (KiteFoil Box), a housing specially studied and conceived for kitefoils. Its four sides give it a pyramidal shape that allows an automatic catching of the clearance but also a resumption of efforts between the deck and the hull of the board. Originally, the housing had only a single mounting screw in the center, which involved a risk of loss of foil in case of rupture of this screw. Now, AlpineFoil has awarded the KF-Box two mounting screws, which greatly reduces the risk of loss, but also significantly improves the rigidity of it.

These double screws are complemented with a large washer in machined ABS that has several advantages. Firstly, the efforts are distributed: it takes punctual overloads in case of impact with the ground, thus avoiding the destruction of the board. Then, the fact that this part is machined increases its mechanical strength by 80%. Finally, the broad shape of the washer avoids the punching which deteriorates the deck of the board. In his ABS washer is embedded a large stainless steel washer that prevents friction, followed by an A4 Torx stainless steel screw specially made for AlpineFoil in Germany. This screw increases the tightening torque by 300% without damaging the screw footprint.

In the beginning, more than a decade ago, AlpineFoil fixed the mast to the board with a platinum system. But during the experiments made the following year, the platinum showed many drawbacks: increased drag during takeoff or touch, it acting as a brake, especially in Light Wind; no resumption of efforts between the deck and the hull, which implies a less rigid set; bulky size and laborious mounting. The KF-Box was then created to deal with all these problems.

After years of work, AlpineFoil has designed a completely new housing: a KF-Box equipped with the MCBox technology (Monobloc Carbon Box) technology developed and patented by AlpineFoil. The principle is simple: instead of overmoulding a very low-resistant resin housing, AlpineFoil has chosen to mold the housing directly with the mast, in a single block. The housing is integrated into the mast; the fiber is continuous between both. This technology increases the stiffness of the connection between mast and housing by 20%. Added to the KF-Box, it has other major advantages, such as a very small bulk, a very important drag reduction and ultra fast assembly. This revolutionary system is made possible thanks to the unique Made in France know-how of the RTeam division, which uses a high-pressure manufacturing technology.

n the beginning, more than a decade ago, AlpineFoil fixed the mast to the board with a platinum system. But during the experiments made the following year, the platinum showed many drawbacks: increased drag during takeoff or touch, it acting as a brake, especially in Light Wind; no resumption of efforts between the deck and the hull, which implies a less rigid set; bulky size and laborious mounting. The KF-Box was then created to deal with all these problems.

The wedging :

The wedging was also modified. The embedding was perfected in a way that the flow is optimal. Equipped with the RSS system (Reflex Stability System), it automatically compensates the nose down moment of the wing according to the speed. This technology makes it possible to beat records of stability of the foil, whatever the speed. Now clipping, the wedging offers a maximum of settings options (ultra wide stance), which is particularly useful for competition drivers. The setting is customizable, adaptable to each rider, regardless of its level, navigation or weight. The front wing and stabilizer can each be set to 0 °, 0.7 °, 1.1 ° or 1.5 °.

Manufacturing

Each carbon element in the RTeam range is composed of pre-impregnated carbon (prepreg) from racing cars and aviation. This fabric is CNC cut for perfect precision and reproducibility. Each layer of carbon that constitutes the wing has been meticulously studied and has a fiber orientation of its own. Thus, it perfectly meets all requirements in terms of flexion and torsion. The profile of each wing, but also of each mast or stabilizer is also very accurate. Several years of research were needed for their development; now the profiles are optimal and deliver sensational glide performance. For these profiles to be fully respected, each wing is compressed at a pressure ranging from 50 to 200 bar, as needed. This gives an ultra compact and rigid carbon, while maintaining an ultra-thin profile.

The AlpineFoil wings are the result of a long process of research, modeling, but also experimentations which generated profiles developed especially for the hydrofoil.

Technology

The wings have different profiles in the center and at the extremities with a particular twisting, and a different angle in the upper part and in the lower part of the wing. This is the VAS technology (Variable Angle System) developed and patented by AlpineFoil. The objective is to fictitiously remove part of the wing surface at low incidence (so at high speed) to always maintain a quality glide. Indeed, in hydrodynamics, it is considered that the higher the bearing surface charge, the higher the speed. In other words, to gain speed, failing to be able to change the weight of the rider, we reduce fictitiously the bearing surface of the wing through a variation of angle between the profile located in the center and that located at the ends of the wing, so that the load on the remaining surface is higher.

The finishing

The finishing lavished on AlpineFoil products is the most elaborate in the industry. We chose not to settle for a slight sanding at the exit of the mold, as this is not enough to fill the porosities of carbon slowing down the glide. Indeed, the carbon, because of its multiple crossings, generates a bad flow and therefore much turbulence. That's why, to counter this problem, AlpineFoil blocks up these porosities by applying multiple layers of successive varnish and sanding between layers. In this way, we return to the original profile while progressively filling the porosities. After the last coat of varnish, for products with Gloss option, an AlpineFoil operator performs a manual sanding with water at P2.000 then at P3.000. Finally he performs a final polishing at P16.000 using a polishing paste.

Prices

ZENOS is the most complex foil produced to date by Alpinefoil in the RTeam production facility. Our pricing is based on the actual cost of the materials used and the production time required to build each foil. Our pricing policy applies to all our products and the Zenos is no exception.

With its highly complex structure, the construction techniques and tools developed specifically for this racing machine reduce the asperities (due to the crossing of the fiber) to their minimum and ensure precise layer positioning to the millimeter. Zenos is a real multidisciplinary challenge and the pinnacle of modern hydrofoil construction.

To buy your AlpineFoil kitefoil ZENOS, go to the online shop.

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