Cool freestyler for a groovy tempo

Another kite from the Prism Design range, still as prolific in novelty. In addition to the beauty of Its graphics, the Elixir does not waver from the code of quality that the American manufacturer is still committed to.

DESIGN CONSTRUCTION

The Elixir is clear in its intention:

Freestyle: a significant extension, short spine, leading edges cambered along the length, squat and rounded, impressions accentuated by curved paneling The sail, in ripstop and Mylar, is held by three stand-offs (the central of which has three positions); the frame is a mix of wrapped and tapered carbon.

The wing tip openings are in Dacron for the belly and Mylar for the back. All the fittings are APA.

It has a Turbo bridle, with the internal bridle opening out on itself to be held at two points on the bridle that links the connectors to the leading edge.

The openings in the wingtips will create a supplementary brake, to slow down the kite a little and improve its stability. The bridle allows optimum control whatever position the kite is in.

The seams are sewn with three point zigzag, glued and sewn. Quality of construction and finish is very good, only the small sticker sporting the name of the kit came unstuck a little too quickly during the first flight. It's just a detail but it's a little annoying all the same.

FLIGHT TEST

Not too fast and with light acceleration, the Elixir is also not too stable in its tracking. An instability accentuated by small jerks that do not make its trajectories very fluid. Stability is gained by positioning the central standoff in the outermost position.

Although angles are clean, precise and react immediately to the slightest movement, the Elixir does have a slight tendency to move before wavering in its trajectory. It's the same for corning out of a turn.

Without being a confirmed precision kite, it can be developed in this style.

If its programme is above all freestyle, it's not so radical in its

moves. Its freestyle is more ample in style, slow; which really gives the pilot the impression that it knows what it is doing and why it is doing it.

It axels with good range, slowly, flat, without showing its back and with a nose that sits low. As soon as the nose is at its lowest, in taking up pressure on the lines you can also put it into a fade very easily and flow into a flic-flac or a whole flat spin by simply releasing your hands

We tried the ample freestyle with 125 foot lines, a much appreciated set-up notably with the stand-offs in the outermost positions, that adds even more amplitude to movements

With 25 foot lines the reactions are livelier, and tricks can be linked more quickly. But this doesn't seem to be the most suitable set-up for it

It has a wide repertoire: torpedo, double axel, flat spin and 540, cascade as well as all the positions on the back and the belly. The stop is clean but not easy to maintain, like all the spike type landings where the pilot must anticipate and be generous in gestures

If ground work is good, its weight makes it stay a little too heavily

on each figure, without particular finesse, or to be more exact the pilot must react with finesse. In the same way balancing on a wing tip is unstable and the slightest hand movement brings it down immediately.

On one of the days during the test period the wind was strong and turbulent, coming off the ground. In these conditions the Elixir was also perturbed, taking the gusts in the wind badly and having a hard time regulating its speed. In these conditions if one still managed to make it carry out precision, freestyle became more than uncertain and the Elixir revealed itself to be technical as soon as it was brought out of basic figures such the axel and its simplest variants

CONCLUSION

With its large freestyle repertoire (ample freestyle) and its strong acceptable precision, the Elixir flaunts good versatility that those who like to combine maneuvers and tricks will adore, with a kite whose look leaves no indifference.