I use the water tube method you describe in my current build as it’s simple and in my case necessary as my vesc is not heat sink cooled by direct connection to mast.
It seems most manufactures and a number of builds here are using the heat sink approach to cooling vesc and I’m convinced that it is effective enough without any passive water cooling to complicate things.
Things like the water tube/channel getting obstructed which happened to me just today. Simple to resolve by water hose flushing to dislodge the clump of algae. First and perhaps only time that might happen but I was not AWARE that the temp of the vesc had climbed until end of session when I glanced at my remote. No damage and the temp did not get high enough to approach the limit in vesc but proved to me that the simpler heat sink approach is better if possible.
You posted this above and just want to confirm that the dimensions are accurate for the Fliteboard battery compartment. I have battery pack already and I think it will fit but the 80mm Height is close for me.
The spec in the user manual for the Explore battery is
I’m wondering if the 80mm battery leaves a bit of space to the inside of the lid when the lid is closed and sealed or perhaps Flite uses the battery case to help support the rider weight bearing down on the lid.
I also noted the thickness of the100l board is 118mm which only leaves 28mm for the lid thickness and bottom of board to bottom of compartment to fit in. Must be enough but doesn’t sound like a lot.
I’m on vacation at this moment, and am not able to check, but the lid itself has two struts / stringers running from front to back.
The lid is maybe 5mm thick (except where the struts are) *have to check when I’m back home to make sure.
The lid itself is from what I remember solid (as in not bendable).
We did some watertightness test (without the battery in it), and it did not leak.
However we did this test by holding the board underwater by hand and not pushing on the lid.
It did have a very small amount of water in it, but this happened because of drips running from the lid into the box when we opened it.
Again. As I’m away, I have to double check things I wrote above as this is all by memory.
Kian
Thanks for this, and while on vacation!
Sounds like the lid is very sturdy and there would be no reason for Flite to have it supported by battery. To me that means that there is for sure the 80mm of battery height and likely a bit more so the surfaces don’t rub on each other.
Cheaper, but the shore hardness of Smooth-on is higher meaning less flex in the blades if used for a prop. Ultimately these are great if you have a CNC to cut molds or have a part to reproduce easily. But for one off parts it can be expensive. What I like about them though is that Smooth Cast 385 can also be used in a rough mold and then CNC’d afterwards if need be.
Thanks for the detail info. I’m now confident my battery will fit.
This will also let @kian relax and enjoy the holiday
You are both very supportive!
I’m also likely going to use the Gong v2 mast you chose but their foil selection is huge to say the least! I don’t see myself aggressively carving - so I’m considering X-over as I’m relatively new to foiling. Have you ridden them?
I can’t recommend the X-Over unless you weigh more than 110KG and have no balance experience.
If you want a relaxed wing that is relatively easy to ride, Gong’s Curve LT would be it. It’s even on sale right now. Flies from about 16km/h up to 40. It is also, as the name says, suitable for curves. Something for beginners and the family, but offers a lot of driving fun. With Lift it would be the 250, with Flite the 1500.
Thanks. I’m definitely in a smaller weight class than that
As far as balance goes I can fly mostly straight with a few touch and goes and gradually progressing but I’ve only used a very large Slingshot front foil so far so nothing to compare it to. I can’t see myself ever just trying to rip turns but the wind where I am can stir up some pretty big chop and waves so I would like to eventually be able to handle that.
Very useful experienced feedback - much appreciated!
The LT span is close but surface area is quite a bit less. Again I don’t really have much experience so not challenging you opinion.
If I’m going for a new build I want to change things to make things easier and more efficient but I’m really not after turning ability - I’m into nice comfortable controlled flight - wide turn - go back the other way. Yes swerve around to make it interesting but not into crashing trying to figure out challenging maneuvers.
My uniformed opinion is that I might have started to outgrow my big front foil but am not looking for a substantial change in riding style.
I found that when going from gong alvator xl to gong curve LT it was actually easier to ride with the LT since the alvator xl rode like a truck - you had to almost put pressure before you even knew it since it was so stable and slow. If you can foil a bit already i think you’ll like the curve wing.
Thanks - truly appreciate experienced opinion on this. Back to Gong site to learn about alvator. Glad I’m not running Gongs inventory management system! How many sku’s can a company have!
Sorry just realized that allovator is part of curve product name, not a separate product,
Or maybe it is - website is confusing!
Ich habe dich vor einigen Wochen auf dem Lippesee nach deinem Setup ausgefragt. Auf deinen Rat haben ein Kumpel und ich uns jetzt jeweils ein Fliteboard, Gong Wikg und die ganze Elektronik besorgt.
Ich bin jetzt gerade auf dem Rückweg aus Berlin, wo ich sehr günstig teils Brandneue 21700 von LG mit 5Ah geschossen habe.
Nun fehlt uns noch das Schweißgerät um die Zellen zu verschweißen. Wie ich sehe, hast du dir eine Kweld besorgt?!
yes, i changed the stab, but not really to get more speed, i’ve come to realise that the stab and wing need to match quite well to have a nice ride - i’m sure this is obvious to experienced foilers but it took some trials before i understood this. The huge stab i had with my first wing was too stable and lifted the front of the board too much so i got a curve stab to go with the curve wing. I’ve since gone to fluid and veloce stabs but there the differences are smaller.
but found a reference about where the T fits in to their naming nomenclature.
