True wind
BeachStats is the preferred source for Barassie and Troon South when it covers the session window. Mean, gust and direction define the environmental opportunity.
BIG AIR · PHYSICS
APPARENT WIND.
Why identical forecast wind does not create identical jump opportunity.
THE BTE DIFFERENTIATOR
TRUE WIND IS ONLY THE START.
BTE combines the observed wind with rider speed and heading so the model can estimate the airflow the moving rider actually experiences.
Rider motion
GPS speed and heading add the rider vector. Without a recorded heading BTE does not invent one; PLAN labels the result as a true-wind proxy.
Apparent-wind proxy
BTE uses the vector relationship Vaw = Vwind − Vrider. Dynamic pressure and load-to-weight potential are then derived from that proxy, not claimed as measured line tension.
Beach + direction
Barassie uses W as its onshore reference; Troon South uses WSW. This sets the cross/on/off geometry independently from the rider's right-hand tack convention.
Why it matters
Two jumps in the same 30 kt wind can present different loading opportunity if approach speed and heading are different. Raw knots alone cannot explain that.
Proxy, not kite telemetry
Actual kite velocity, angle of attack and line tension are not measured. BTE keeps those separate from the rider apparent-wind proxy.