Kite Lab: Aeros Gyro 12m

Overview

Last year we were contacted by Alexei Sudak from Aeros Paragliding of the Ukraine about their Gyros foil snowkite. He was kind enough to send out a 9m and a 12m version of the kite. Unfortunately every time we scheduled a test session with the kites, mother nature had other plans. Until this year at the Snowkite Masters (more than a year since they arrived). Under light winds and blowing snow, James and I unpacked the Gyro 12m and rigged it for a test session. We discovered a nice flying snowkite that had good low-end power, flew when most other kites fell out of the sky and had all the characteristics we would expect from a modern ram-air foil kite.

Details

The Gyro came in a rucksack style bag that comfortably swallowed the 12m kite, bar and lines and although not fancy, easily did the job of holding the kite and would be comfortable for even extended carrying. The kite itself is made from a nice, lightweight Skytex 9017 material that has a bold color, a crisp feel and looks smart in the air. It is reinforced and well stitched throughout creating a durable kite. Aeros’ has nearly 20 years of building and flying a wide range of wings, from paragliders to hang gliders to fixed wings, and it is evident that they know the importance of good construction.

They know a lot about snowkiting as evidenced by the performance of the Gyro, too. We flew the kite in light conditions. Conditions that almost all the inflatable kites struggled in and only the large foils piloted by experienced kiters were at all effective. The Gyro launched and reversed launched effectively in light wind and were simple and fluid when the conditions strengthened. The kite recovered easily if dropped into a bundle, but wasn’t so skittish and eager on the ground that you had to keep a wary eye on it.

The Gyro turned predictably and had enough acceleration to fly a clean line. It had a smooth control range in the bar and a pretty standard amount of bar pressure. The depower system isn’t as clean and simple as we would like to see, but it is effective and does the job. The safety release at the chicken loop uses an old-style hook and loop/pin release that works, but could use some updating. The lines are colored which is great on snow, but the connection ends aren’t color-coded making rigging the first time less kook-proof than we prefer. Like all foil kites, the Gyro had an intricate bridle system of a pretty standard length.

The wing shape’s most remarkable feature was the forward-swept tips. In an era of delta kites with tips that sweep back, it was visually unique. The narrower tips seemed to help resist tip collapse which is common on foil kites, even in very light conditions. This shape also cut a unique look in the sky helping make the Gyro stand out.

Specs

Manufacturer: Aeros
Model: Gyro
Size: 12m
Line Length: 25m lines
Online Info: Aeros Gyro
MSRP: none provided

Ratings

Durability Rating:

The kite appears to be very well constructed using good constructions methods. The rigging uses sewn pigtails and pre-knotted lines. The bar is carbon fiber which can be very strong, but can also fail catastrophically. We did not fail test the bar or rigging. The chickenloop is functional, but we would like to see it updated to a more refined system.

Function Rating:

The Gyro flew well in light wind conditions, a good measure of its aerodynamic design. It is a stable canopy that generated a nice amount of power, but never felt sluggish.

Quality Rating:

The construction of the kite appears to be of a high standard. The bridling appeared well constructed. The lines and bar system are not cutting edge and could use some refinement, but use tried and true systems.

Appearance Rating:

The kite design is not flashy and it doesn’t have any branding or graphics on the kite, but the build design of the kite is distinct and looks nice.

Packaging/Environmental Responsibility Rating:

Since we didn’t receive a retail kite, it is hard to assess the packaging on the kite. It is our guess that the product does without lots of packaging.

Overall Overall Rating:

The Gyro was a nice surprise from a company that obviously has leveraged its extensive experience in flying to build a good quality kite. Although Aeros is not a common name in the US, it appears there are retailers in North America and we assume it is widely available in Europe. The Gyro is a fine snowkite that would make a good foundation to build a snowkite quiver off of or to add to a collection of kites.

Conclusion

We are sorry it took us so long to fly the Gyro. A nice kite and we look forward to more time snowkiting with it!

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