More questions on Lines !

[TassieDevil]

Hi all,

I've just been talking with Steve privately about placing an order, but I was surprised at one of his answers to my questions regarding lines. I wanna ask more, so I thought I'd post out here so other newbies like me could benefit from the knowledge as well... ;)

My friends and I have been having a ball dogfighting with these cheapie Aldi foils. The lines that come with them are obviously crap (nylon, I presume) so after a couple of months (maybe only 4 or 5 sessions) we're getting some pretty decent tangles, some unravelling of fibres and our first actual breaks. As previously mentioned elsewhere, I ordered some decent Prism lines from KitePower to fly the cheapie Aldi stunt kite, but I have also used them on the foil, but only when I'm flying alone. Of course the better lines improve the way either of the kites fly - less drag, less weight, less stretch, etc etc. All the reasons why good lines are essential !

I haven't used the Spectra lines when dogfighting with my mate 'cos I know you're not supposed to mix line types.. the cheapie crap lines will damage the good quality ones, right ? So I've been waiting for my mate to buy some decent lines, so then we can dogfight with the good lines (no mismatch in line types). But Steve tells me it's a bad idea. Maybe it's because of the nature of dogfighting.. as opposed to an ordered display ? I dunno...

I thought Spectra is what teams of flyers use ? They obviously cross their lines frequently. I've noticed they tend to stand fairly close together to minimise the angles at which the lines cross, too.. so we've been doing that as well, even with our cheapie lines/kites.

So the question is... if not Spectra, what lines should we use if we wanna have fun dogfighting these foils ? We'd like to be able to continue doing it as it's a HEAP of fun.. but we need to learn which lines are best for this purpose.. :)

All thoughts appreciated !

Gary

[goshen]

Hi, I'll give just a quick reply. Spectra IS the best stuff to use for team flying, etc. Depends if you mean team-flying (flying of stunt kites in an orderly and smooth manner), or Dogflighting (which, means what?). Anyway, as sellers of the stuff; we could not recommend you do that - as you'd be back to us in no time to replace the lines when they break. Sure, it might work fine; but it's not something we could recommend to you.

EDIT: I Guess I missed some previous posts! But that seems a bit harsh luke...

[Luke]

EDIT: Removed, equally unnecessary.

Best of luck to you Gary.

Nothing more to say.

[.Joel]

So the question is... if not Spectra, what lines should we use if we wanna have fun dogfighting these foils ? We'd like to be able to continue doing it as it's a HEAP of fun.. but we need to learn which lines are best for this purpose.. :)

All thoughts appreciated !

Cheap ones....

.... When we dog fight with kites it's just the standard lines that come with them. Just be prepared if they do break, as it is possible. If you are doing this with smaller kites that don't pull as hard the friction is less so usually ok.

Regards,

.Joel

[TassieDevil]

By "dogfighting", I simply meant chasing/closely following each other around the wind window. Collisions may occur, sure, but are avoided where possible (as they usually mean the kites collapse and fall to the ground).

The Aldi foils aren't a big kite at all (120cm x 52cm, so roughly 0.65m^2). When lines have broken (only once so far, mind U), it really is a non-event. The only danger I've seen is the danger of disappointment for flyers and any onlookers, as the fun stops for a few minutes... ;)

Is this wholly unacceptable kiting behaviour ? I really would not have thought so.

So, again.. yes, the lines are certainly crossing each other, and we are trying to learn flying a full circle around each other. But don't some of these big teams have many sets of lines crossing and twisting multiple times ? How do they manage not to cause damage to their lines ? Is it perhaps the "style" or speed of flying they're doing ? Lines meeting gently at acute angles only ?

I was under the impression that Spectra lines could be crossed/twisted with other Spectra lines of similar weight many, many times, with no major fear of damage or other problems.. ?

*shrugs*

Gary

[mojo]

I always hought about a 5 times twist was the workable limit, probably better to ask Jason on this one tho, as he has been in a team.
Might be a bit of fear mongering with the Spectra tho, a little 2m going crazy, twisting 30 times before you can stop the wretched thing.
What about braided Dacron, got a bit of stretch, but at least it won't twist up so badly as the shocking line that comes with those Aldi kites, and those damn horrible reels.
Some of those Aldi kites aren't too bad. tho I thought the foils sucked, the little sports kites aren't too bad.

[nigel]

Kite Fighting!?

Manja line!!!!

Great to fight with, it WILL cut any poor soul who touches or crosses it!!
Let alone any other line!!!
Banned in nemerous cities in most of Asia as it kills too many people every year!!


On serious note:
Spectra is smoother than the cheap stuff your using, it can and will slowly be destroyed by crossing the lines.
For cheap skates, I'd stick to the cheap line, as it's dirt cheap to replace, cheaper than spectra in the long run I think.

Save the spectra for a more serious kite.

[mojo]

Horrible, throats cut, wings cut off eagles. F^&in insane
Note: if you fly with Nylon Monofilament, I will hunt you down

[SoutherlyBuster]

To get rid of the twists, you need to wind up your lines in a figure 8 fashion. If you use the provided reel and just hold the reel with one hand and wind on with the other, after every wind, you twist the line once. So after a few sessions your lines get more twisted or less twisted. I started kiting with the elcheapo nylon twisted pair lines from the local hardware store. Cheap as chips and no cries when they break, I even tied a knot in when it broke. The other alternative is to make a paddle wheel, ie some sort of drum or flat paddle with offset handles so you turn the handle to wind in the line.

For my NASA I use Spot Light curtain "string" line. I wind this onto one of those boomerang like shaped winders in figure 8 fashion, and when I am too laisy or in a hurry wind onto the handles and make sure I wind off exactly opposite to take all the twists out.

Yea, I would not play dog fights with expensive spectra. Sometimes Zach and I have a dog fight but if the lines tangle, we imediately take off the tension, cause replacing them lines is expensive. We avoid line tangles like the plague.