Description

Description

Aether - Light wind finesse and precision

The all-new Aether is incredibly light and beautifully balanced to perform in the lightest breezes when your regular kites are grounded. It responds to fingertip inputs with a lively precision that’ll give you confidence to explore graceful stalls, flat spins, axels, fades, and all the core maneuvers that form the building blocks for more advanced combinations. With a light but forgiving all-carbon frame, 1/2 oz polyester and Mylar sail, and all the details you’d expect from a high end Prism kite, the Aether makes light winds a joy and will take your dual-line game to a whole new level.

Here in the Rain City, we can go weeks without a windy day. So we have decades of experience designing iconic ultralights that’ll fly even when the flags hang limp and the water has barely a ripple. In fact, we’ve come to love flying those drifter days more than anything else. All it takes is the right equipment.

The all-new Aether is incredibly light and beautifully balanced to perform when your regular kites are grounded. It responds to fingertip inputs with a lively precision that’ll give you the confidence to explore graceful stalls, flat spins, axels, fades, and all the core maneuvers that form the building blocks for more advanced combinations.

If you’ve never owned a kite that flies in the light stuff you’ve got a treat coming. And if you’re working on more advanced tricks there’s no better way to improve your touch and finesse than flying in light winds. Flying with fingertips on the line and just a breath of wind gives you sensitivity and touch that’ll supercharge your skills.

Unlike many exotic ultralights, the Aether is light without being fragile. It’s framed with flexible carbon leading edges and spine that absorb impacts and turbulence, combined with wrapped, tapered carbon lower spreaders for crisp response and a wide wind range. The ultra-lightweight ripstop polyester and mylar laminate sail won’t absorb moisture and get heavy on humid days. Light winds can be fickle, so if there’s a hole in the breeze the wing is nicely balanced to float patiently in a stall while giving you time to recover.

Light winds favor shorter lines, so we built the Aether a tad smaller than our full-sized models to be perfect on 50-75 foot lines. This gives you more room to move as you fly and opens up smaller flying spots that might be too turbulent in stronger winds.

As your touch and finesse develop you’ll be able to feel smaller and smaller subtleties through your lines. That’s why we include a floating center T with adjustable inhauls and adjustable outer standoffs that let you tune it perfectly for the conditions and your flying style. The floating T also allows a higher lift wing while eliminating the hard connection that so often breaks spines in a crash.

Whether you’re new to light winds or on your way to becoming a trick guru, the Aether has a place in every collection. It’s a delightful, beautifully balanced wing that’ll make you a better pilot and let you have a blast flying even when there’s barely any wind.

Resilient pultruded carbon spine and leading edges absorb gusts and turbulence for a lively, responsive feel.
Dynamic DT10 wrapped, tapered carbon lower spreaders put stiffness in the middle of the kite where you want it for performance and minimize weight towards the wingtips for quick response.
Adjustable standoffs allow precise control over wing twist to add or reduce lift when the wind changes.
Floating center-t provides flexible spine connection to absorb shock and reduce spine breakage.
Adjustable bridle inhauls let you fine tune turn radius and control response.
New APA leading edge connector fittings reduce weight, make assembly easier, and capture the bridle legs so fittings can’t get lost in the grass.
Lightweight sleeve fits easily in a kite bag without extra bulk.
Lightweight 1/2 oz ripstop polyester sailcloth minimizes weight and won’t stretch and absorb moisture on humid days.
Captured upper spreader increases upper wind range and prevents it from getting lost.

Wingspan	80 in / 203 cm
Skill Level	Intermediate to Expert
Wind Range	1-12 mph / 2-19 kph
Height	40 in / 102 cm
Weight	6.6 oz / 187 grams
Sail Area	8.6 sq ft. / .8 sq m.
Aspect Ratio	2.0
Sail Loading	.77 oz/sq. ft. / 234 grams/sq. m.
Frame	Dynamic DT10 wrapped tapered lower spreaders, 4 mm pultruded carbon leading edges and spine, 4 mm carbon upper spreader, 2 mm carbon standoffs
Sail Materials	.75 mil mylar laminate, .5 oz ripstop polyester
Bridle	Stitched 1.3 mm Dyneema core with polyester overbraid
Does Not Include	Flying Lines, Printed Instructions (available online)
Recommended Flying Lines	50-75’ x 50# Dyneema

You might ask...

Can the Aether be flown indoors?

We optimized the Aether to fly from 1-2mph up to around 12mph. That’s when you’ll start to see the first whitecaps forming on water. Unlike a dedicated indoor kite, the Aether has reinforcements and materials strong enough to handle flying outdoors in a wide wind range from 1 to around 12mph.

With that said, you can fly it indoors if you have a little experience in zero wind. Give it a try on some light, short lines. Set the bridle on the lightest wind setting, slide the outer standoff fittings inwards to increase lift, and remove the top spreader to save weight. Indoor flying takes some practice but it’s one of the best ways to improve your touch and subtle line control.

What's the Aether upper wind limit?

The Aether can handle up to about 12mph which is when you’ll see the first whitecaps forming on water. For a kite as light as the Aether 12mph is a LOT of wind. While kites almost never “explode in midair” even well above their wind range, it’s a lot easier to break a rod in a crash or when the kite is getting blown around on the ground. In fact, 95% of the replacement rods we sell are to fix breakage after an encounter with planet earth.

So when you start to see whitecaps, put away your ultralight and grab something heavier that’s intended for normal winds. You’ll be able to do a much wider range of tricks and avoid the risk of breaking something in an unplanned landing.

Why doesn't the Aether include flying lines?

When the wind is light there are a lot of places you can fly an ultralight that would be too turbulent in normal winds. You might want short, lightweight lines for small spaces and the lightest wind, or a longer set for an open beach. Most folks buying an ultralight already have other kites and lines in their bag, so we decided to keep the base package affordable and let you choose what’s best for where you fly. A great all around line set for the Aether is 75’ x 50# but it’ll fly happily on 20 feet up to 100 depending on where and how you like to fly.

Is the Aether easy to break?

The Aether’s frame will take plenty of abuse because it’s flexible enough to bend quite a bit before it breaks. But you can certainly break a rod, either in a hard crash or by pulling on the kite while a wingtip is stuck in the ground. If you do break a rod, the 4mm carbon is readily available and much more affordable than exotic wrapped tapered rods.

Why the Minimalist Sleeve?

Some folks have asked why the Aether doesn’t come with a fancy travel case like some of our other models. One of the problems with kites is that it’s hard to be content with owning just one. If you’re shopping for an ultralight, you probably have at last one other kite already, or possibly a lot more:) And if you have kites you likely use a kite bag like our awesomely versatile Launchpad to haul them around. The Aether’s minimalist sleeve makes it easy to pack in your kite bag without a lot of extra weight and bulk.

What does the yellow T bridle adjustment do?

The yellow center-t fitting provides an easy way to adjust the kite’s control response by moving the tow points laterally towards or away from the spine. Pulling the tow points inwards makes the kite more responsive with tighter turns and stronger pull. Moving them outboard stabilizes the kite, adding a more “locked in” feel. Certain light wind tricks like pinwheels and slow flat axels are easier with the tow points further inboard. Snap stalls, tip stabs and aggressive tricks in higher winds are easier with tow points farther out.

What do the adjustable standoffs do?

The Aether has two thin carbon standoff rods on each wing that push the sail out and hold the kite in its 3-D shape. The standoffs affect the lift and forward drive of the wing as well as how precisely it tracks. On the Aether we’ve designed the outer standoff on each wing to be adjustable so you can fine tune the kite for different winds and your flying style.

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