New Kites - Our First Fly

[TassieDevil]

Hi all,

Well we got to Nobby's Beach at around 4pm to find a slightly bumpy NE breeze blowing... at about 40kph.. and gusting to about 45 or so. The tide was the lowest I'd seen there so far, so we'd have plenty of room. There were, however, quite a few PPL wandering up and down past us on the beach, including a large gaggle from the SLSC, so prudence demanded we wait for the wind to drop and the beach to clear a little. We amused ourselves by playing with the little cheapie foils for a while. It also allowed my inexperienced neighbour (Shane) to hone his basic kiting skills.

It could have been worse, tho. Out in the water, at my last count there were 15 kite-boarders and 5 wind surfers, all buzzing happily across the fairly confined "bay". I know more arrived later, but I was too busy to count by that stage.. ;) Many of the kiteboarders were coming very close to the beach so we had to keep an eye out for their kites which occasionally arrived over our heads. Incidentally, whilst I was talking to one of the guys who'd just quit riding for the day, his son, still out in the water and practicing some new tricks, had a line break, which I've never seen before on a big kite. They were both flying what appeared to be identical Peter Lynn Synergies (not sure about size tho). Now when I say he had a line break, it appears that ALL lines broke ! (perhaps he cut them ? No idea.. ) The kite floated downwind, maintaining only some of it's shape, but unfortunately, as he was relatively close to the Southern end of the beach, ended up sailing over the Southern car park and what appeared (from our viewpoint) onto the road ! Not surprisingly, his dad cut our conversation short and was off down the beach to assist. I hope they got their gear back safely...

Anyways, by 5.30-6.00pm the wind had dropped a little (to about 35kph) and I felt it was time to setup the Hypnotist. Not ideal conditions for a first flight, I know, but as I'm sure many of U can attest to, enthusiasm and adrenaline are both difficult to ignore. I thought the Aldi stunters were awkward to setup in a breeze.. this thing is considerably bigger. I set the pigtail adjustments to the most tame position for the first flight, and a couple of minutes later, after double-checking everything, she was all ready to go. Lines attached to the bridle, lay them out, and we're off.

Now, right from the start, I should make one admission. By the time I finished flying it, I wasn't completely happy. As much as I hate to say it... I was bordering on.. well.. a little disappointed, to be honest... :(

:eek:

It tracked straight up to the outside of the window, but man, this thing had some pull as it did so ! Since I was flying a stunter and not a power kite, the power took me a little by surprise, and I wasn't sure I should take it near the power zone. The 150lb lines were singing almost constantly, even with the kite parked overhead. I know the kite is rated to 40kph, and that may even be a conservative figure (?), but I couldn't help but wonder if I should have waited for the breeze to drop a little more.

What worried me on the initial launch climb was that the tips wobbled, not too violently, but very noticable nonetheless. I'd double-checked everything before launch, so I knew everything was OK in the setup. I didn't think it was "normal" behaviour (perhaps someone who's flown one before can enlighten me ?), but I also didn't think it was bad enough to warrant aborting the flying.

The kite seemed to turn nicely, not too sharp, which was to be expected given the pigtail setting... but what concerned me most was the fact that it wanted to turn considerably sharper in one direction than the other (I can't remember which, to be honest). At this point I noticed that the lines weren't the same bloody length ! One was about 4-5 inches shorter than the other. I thought these things were pre-stretched and checked for length ? I knew that given the tension, and that it was my first experience (in recent years, at least) using Spectra in a strong breeze, that I might actually experience some noticable stretching in the lines... but that much, and only apparently in one line ? The day I received the kite, I checked everything over thoroughly, albeit with the eyes of a relative noob. Apart from quite a few marks on the sail, everything seemed in near-perfect condition. I ran the lines out and I'm fairly certain that they were exactly the same length !

After making those mental adjustments to fly the thing straight with uneven lines, I brought it across the window thru the power zone. It seemed to track fairly straight, with a corresponding increase in speed, of course... nice ! But then the tip wobble struck again... aaggghhh ! It didn't seem too happy at high speed, and I had no idea what was wrong.. :( Nonetheless, as it flashed across the sun, the bright "spark" of light that came thru the clear mylar part of the sail was quite dazzling.. damn it looked good in the sky.. :) I think "fire" was the right choice for colour scheme !

Next, I made my first couple of attempts at landings right out on the edge of the window. More accurately, I guess, I tried my first controlled stalls. It seemed fairly easy to get it to stall, which was comforting (unlike the Aldi cheapies, which pretty much refused no matter where U were in the window). In my relatively inexperienced hands, I could maintain control whilst stalled, at least for a moment or two.. with the kite sliding sideways towards the centre of the window a little, and me trying to keep it level... I was happy with that. I made many, many attempts at a landing into the wind, trying to stall the kite and have it drift back onto it's tips. Easier said than done (for me, anyway !). In the end, I think I got to land it just twice in what could be described as "text-book" style, but to be fair, I'll put that down more to luck than skill.. ;) Most of the other attempts ended up either with the kite sitting on one leading edge, on it's back (nose away) or on it's belly (nose towards)... all of which gave me the opportunity to learn how to recover it.. :) I had much more luck with the kite on it's back than on it's belly. I think I only managed to get the kite airborne again once from the belly down position.. but I was grinning hugely when I did.. :D As with so many things, they make it look so bloody easy on these instructional videos... well, it ain't !

I tried flying some square corners (using mostly push turns), and again this is where I was disappointed. The kite did them beautifully in one direction, but very poorly in the other. I thought there may have been a couple of factors that could have caused this. I may not have been standing with my back directly into the wind, and thus I may not have been executing my turns at equal distances on either side of the centre of the window. Also, the unequal turning issue may have been contributing. I noticed my exits on one side were very much over-controlled, especially when at the top of the square and turning down towards the ground. The exit was more often than not at about 50 degrees (almost drawing a diagonal in the square), as opposed to 90 degrees and straight down. I remembered being able to fly much more accurate squares with the Aldi stunter in a stronger breeze... and that in itself was depressing.. ! Perhaps some of U more experienced guys can offer your thoughts on this. Was it likely me, or perhaps an issue with the kite, or conditions ?

I must say I am really looking forward to our next trip out, and the chance to practice all the basic moves, especially recovery. It's also starting to sink in what a mammoth task I've actually taken on. Perhaps this realisation is what made me feel a little disappointed with this first flight, but I doubt it... I have the patience required, and I understand that these skills will not come overnight. I feel it's fair to give the kite the benefit of the doubt and say that it didn't perform as expected due to the stronger breeze.. so, perhaps a bad decision on my part. But hopefully the breeze won't be as strong over the weekend, so we'll see what happens then. I shall no doubt be asking lots of questions if it doesn't perform as expected. In the meantime, I'll clean the kite today (the salt spray in the air yesterday was as bad as I'd ever seen it!), and I'll be checking the line lengths again.

For the sake of clarity and ease of reading, I'll start a new post in this thread soon for comments about our first flight with my neighbour's new kite.. the Ozone Imp Quattro 2.5m.

Gary

[TassieDevil]

OK.. after packing the Hypnotist away, my neighbour, Shane, was almost foaming at the mouth, keen to get his new pretty blue and grey pride and joy into the air. It was about 6.30pm or thereabouts, so the sun was quite low in the sky and a little easier on the eyes. The breeze had eased a little more, to perhaps around 32kph or so, with just an occasional stronger gust. We spread the kite out on the ground and dumped sand on the trailing edge to keep things in order for a bit. When checking it out the day before, he hadn't even undone the bridle from it's keeper at the top centre of the sail, so this was another first. After sorting a minor tangle, we laid the bridles out and everything looked in good order.

Next, to the lines and handles, which were already attached to the bridles. Again, this was the first layout of the lines. The colour coding made things very easy to check that we had no twists anywhere. We left the brakes set to the default position. With paranoia rivaling a hang glider pilot's first launch, we checked and rechecked that everything was connected correctly.

Now, somewhat co-incidentally, this is around the same time that Shane mumbled something about him not feeling supremely confident at being the first one to fly it. Perhaps he felt a gust that made him think twice, I dunno. Instead of calling a spade "a spade" at this point, I'm gonna call a spade "a chicken". :p But anyway, it was Tassie The Unsuspecting Test Pilot stepping front and centre (well, pushed, more like :D). Again, and I swear, honest to goodness, out of pure co-incidence, I re-checked that all the lines were OK... :D We had a green light. The kite was well behaved, semi-inflated, sitting with the handles staked. The time was near. I donned my leather flying helmet, goggles, life jacket, and G-suit, I kissed the fake picture of my fake wife and fake children, and was ready for the new challenge. Quite a sight on the beach considering I was wearing only speedos. And if U believe that, you'd believe anything... ;) Finally, Shane strapped me in to the kite killers, and it was "chocks away" !!!

A quick tug and I was in bliss. And then the kite took off :D ... and all was good in the world ! With gentle but increasingly firm power it rose and I was easily able to steer it to the side of the window, where it sat happily in the breeze, nice 'n' stable. I took it up to the neutral position overhead and it was the same. The canopy looked perfect. Steering back down the edge of the window, it was time for a quick test of the kite killers. They worked just as we expected.. the kite collapsed and fell almost straight down to the ground. Upon gathering the handles, I tried a re-launch, this time using the brakes to slow things down a little. It wasn't as easy as I'd hoped... it required pretty much maximum brake application to get them to work at all, and I found it was difficult to release the brakes slowly. That would be the first of the adjustments we'd need to make. It rolled around a little, performed a couple of bouncy jumps, dumped it on the leading edge once or twice, then finally figured out which way was up and it cruised forth again.

After a couple of minutes flying, I aimed it for the centre of the window. Shane started laughing as I performed The Dance Of The Uninitiated.. basically hanging on for dear life as the kite tried to show me who's boss. But I'm a big bloke, so I deterred it's enthusiasm for killing just a little. In the power zone, the speed doubled, the power doubled, the lines sang, and the adrenaline began 'apumpin'. I believe the most appropriate term is "Woohoo".. !!! :yes3:

As is so often the way with these folks, the guy who actually owned the thing became quite jealous that I was having so much fun with HIS brand new kite... and it was time to hand over the reigns, as it were. I stood to his side, helping him get the kite killers on, and constantly reminding him to keep the brakes on full until launch. He was standing in front of me, and then all of a sudden he was gone... so I knew he'd launched.. :D

I'd just like to commend him publicly and say that he can be very proud of the way he handled the kite, given the extent of his experience. In the 20 mins or so he had on the lines, he took things slowly and carefully explored the window, altho he did avoid trying it at it's most powerful. Common sense prevailed and he lived thru the experience unscathed, although I feel we will have to work a little on his giggling like a little schoolgirl as the kite tried to drag his arse all about the place. Some things just aren't acceptable from grown men in public.. :D At the height of the fun, it appeared as if he was doing Tai Chi, which I luckily caught on my pathetic camera phone. If we see it again, this will rightfully earn him the nickname of Zen Master Shane, I think.. ;)

All smiles and rather sore bodies, we packed up and left by about 8pm.

Considering he's a bloke who's pretty much never flown a kite at all up until a few weekends ago, I think it's quite correct to say that he's very happy with his new power kite, and is looking forward as much as I am to our next trip out to the beach. Thanks for the go on your new kite, Shane... it was a hoot.. :)

Gary

[.Joel]

My eyes are bleeding..... nice write up TD! :D

[TassieDevil]

36 views ? Well I'm glad at least one person actually read it.. :p Thanks Joel.. ;)

[.Joel]

PS: If the kite is pulling to one side measure all the bridles. Also, check the canopy that it is equal. An early sport kite that we owned had incorrect sized panels and cutouts. So one side of the kite had a slightly deeper profile then the other.

Regards,

.Joel

[Steve]

Hi Gary

I've been real busy down here, because its been really windy!
Ands thats part of your problem with the Hypnotist. If the wing tips are shaking when you fly across the window, its telling you its too windy for it.
Full size framed sport kites all have an upper wind limit, and wing tip shuddering is the main sign.

The uneven lines is unusual, they may have been unevenly stretched when you first launched and turned in one direction.
Stake them out and try pulling on the shorter line to see if you can stretch that one to the same length?
Check the sleeving has not become bunched up at one of the loops (indicates the lines has slipped inside the sleeving) Only remedy for that is undoing the sleeving and re-tieing it.
Check the bridles on the kite, make sure they are identical.

If you are still unhappy with the kite or lines please send them back and we will either fix them or swap them for new (fully checked and test flown).

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

[BobM]

Tassie,

After the test flight at KiteTober, I too bought a IMP 2.5 Quattro. Today was the first day that I was able to take it out. My motive for buying it was to get my kids into kiting. I could only bribe my daughter into coming along - but what a blast she had! We unpacked the kite and it was litterally Ready To Fly - lines attached and the thing that surprised me was the kite-killers already on the handles. I had bought a new pair of killers just for this kite. I managed to get my daughter to hold the kite while I unfurled the lines and handles. Once the kite was in the air, she was quick to come up to me and take over.

I'm glad I made her wear the killers. She was a bit surprised at how much power the kite developed and the squeals of delight as she was dragged (scudding) around the oval were worth the dollars spent of the kite;). I managed to convince her to "give Dad a go" after half an hour or so. I had a blast dropping the kite into and out of the power zone and dancing down wind instead of scudding (I was in bare feet and didn't fancy greass stains on my soles). I tried out the killers and showed my daughter how to use them. After that there was no stopping her - she was dropping the kite to the ground, launching it again and generally having a great time. I showed her how to launch from a "leading edge down" position, again she practised it a couple more times. She still needs to proactice that a bit more.

I was so impressed with her pick-up of the skills (she had flown the dual lime 1.5 Imp a few times) that I said she could come along to the next KiteTober! Whether or not she actually attends is a bit dependant on school and other committments

Cheers

BobM

[nigel]

Top write up Tassie!!!

As the others said, check the lines, and the kite.

You will find all the tricks easier to do in a far lighter wind, about 5 knots is perfect.
If the kite shudders like that, bring it down before you kill it.
My indoor kite does the same thing when it hits 4 knots, no point risking some damage.

Sounds like we are all in for a few new members to EK, more happy kiters!!:)

[TassieDevil]

Thanks for the advice, gents. Keep it coming.. :)

If the kite is pulling to one side measure all the bridles.
Check the bridles on the kite, make sure they are identical.

Did that today. I did find that one of the bridles had slightly different lengths than the other (by 0.5 - 0.75 cm). Incidentally I've also noticed that the bridle is more complex than the one shown in the documentation that came with the kite, and as shown on the Prism website, which is a little confusing.

http://www.prismkites.com/tips.html

I understand that the Hypnotist and the Quantum have the "special extra tuning feature", and a diagram is supplied for this on the pamphlet, but there is no diagram for what I think is the main bridle adjustment on the pamphlet, only on the website. :confused:

This "special" adjuster is the Inner Yoke line attaching to the pigtail with a Lark's Head knot that is pretty much free to slide backwards and forwards for a set length along the pigtail as it chooses. Tightening it seems to have little effect, as it comes loose again VERY easily. I can't imagine it would maintain it's setting whilst flying.

What also doesn't help is that the pamphlet that came with the kite (dated 2005, incidentally ?) mentions the "factory bridle settings" that should be marked with either a black or silver marking. I've looked half a dozen times and I can't see any marks at all. I did get a 2-yearly reminder from my optometrist to get my vision checked the other day, but I didn't think it was that bad ! :p

I'm assuming that the "factory setting" is simply the midway point between the 2 knots that are tied into the line that joins the bridal tow points.


Also, check the canopy that it is equal. An early sport kite that we owned had incorrect sized panels and cutouts. So one side of the kite had a slightly deeper profile then the other.

I'll freely admit that that is one possibility I find quite unbelieveable, tho being realistic it's obviously possible. I mentioned earlier that I feel I've probably fallen completely for the hype and marketing behind the brand and the kite, and one of those factors is build quality. When companies release videos of how their kites are made, and reviewers tell of the maker's "fastidiousness" for perfection and detail, I don't think it's unreasonable to say that an expectation and, dare I say it, peace of mind of quality is established in a prospective buyer. That's why I paid for what seems to be considered as pretty much THE best beginner's kite available.

But it'd be just my kinda luck for something like that to happen to me ! :( Today I've checked it and it seems OK. That is, of course, without removing the entire framework of the kite and measuring every single seam and join for precise symmetry.


If the wing tips are shaking when you fly across the window, its telling you its too windy for it.
Full size framed sport kites all have an upper wind limit, and wing tip shuddering is the main sign.

Why don't the manufacturers put little gems of information like this into the product brochures ? :( It'd be handy to know..

I've now come to the conclusion that the wind rating of these kites seems to be the absolute maximum. No room for conservative guidelines here, apparently. When they say it's rated to 40kph wind, that's INCLUDING gusts. It's 40kph max, period. I'm guessing that in practice this could potentially mean flying at a max of only 25kph breeze at an inland site, for example... :( BOM tells me that it was gusting to 41kph on it's maiden flight. (I'm also mindful of the fact that wind readings I take personally with my Hall Airspeed Indicator (http://www.hallwindmeter.com/) are at ground level and are thus subject to wind gradient, whereas BOM readings are mostly taken from 10m AGL to help avoid the phenomena.)

I'm obviously still in the mindset of poor quality stunters. Plenty of breeze, scream around the sky as accurately as possible and draw whatever shapes your heart desires.. just don't try any "tricks". Hopefully it won't take too long for it to sink in that one needs light breezes for that.


The uneven lines is unusual, they may have been unevenly stretched when you first launched and turned in one direction. Stake them out and try pulling on the shorter line to see if you can stretch that one to the same length?

OK, so now some questions about the stretching of Spectra. Is that how it happens ? I know when I've been checking the lines here at home, when under considerable tension, U can easily feel the stretch in the lines.. and when the tension is released, I've been assuming that the lines have been returning to their previous length (I haven't been measuring). Perhaps this is not the case. There may be times when, like so many other materials in everyday life, the lines are stretched to a certain point beyond which they will not return to their original length, and.. this would obviously be different on a line-to-line basis.. ?


Check the sleeving has not become bunched up at one of the loops (indicates the lines has slipped inside the sleeving) Only remedy for that is undoing the sleeving and re-tieing it.

I checked this today. The line hadn't bunched at the sleeving anywhere, so I untied the handle loop end of the longer line. There was a tiny amount of the Spectra sticking out the end of the sleeving already, which made it very easy to just slide the sleeving about 5 inches further down the line and re-tie the knots. It's left the excess Spectra dangling out the end, but it's no problem.


If you are still unhappy with the kite or lines please send them back and we will either fix them or swap them for new (fully checked and test flown).

Thanks for the offer, Steve... I'll keep it in mind. Here's hoping it won't come to that. I'll see how it goes now I've made the adjustments, and in lighter conditions.

Gary

[TassieDevil]

After the test flight at KiteTober, I too bought a IMP 2.5 Quattro. Today was the first day that I was able to take it out.

Did U get her one of those special fluoro pink ones ? (I think it was the Imp that had a special colour available ? Heck, I've looked at so many different kites online over the past few weeks that I don't know what's what now... :D )

I wouldn't mind getting one myself ! (No, not the pink one.. :p the orange and grey was nice.) But due to my health issues, I've just gotta take things very carefully. All in good time, I'll get a decent power kite, I hope.

Sounds like U had a fantastic day with your girl, anyway... :yes3:

Hope U get decent weather down there so U can go out frequently and maintain her interest.

Gary

[.Joel]

I'll freely admit that that is one possibility I find quite unbelieveable, tho being realistic it's obviously possible. I mentioned earlier that I feel I've probably fallen completely for the hype and marketing behind the brand and the kite, and one of those factors is build quality. When companies release videos of how their kites are made, and reviewers tell of the maker's "fastidiousness" for perfection and detail, I don't think it's unreasonable to say that an expectation and, dare I say it, peace of mind of quality is established in a prospective buyer. That's why I paid for what seems to be considered as pretty much THE best beginner's kite available.

But it'd be just my kinda luck for something like that to happen to me ! :( Today I've checked it and it seems OK. That is, of course, without removing the entire framework of the kite and measuring every single seam and join for precise symmetry.

Don't be disheartened too much TD, mistakes do happen! I bought a Prism Nexus from Goshen (KP Geelong), after a handful of flights it started to disintegrate. I sent photos of it to Prism asking them to look in to it and they replaced it, there was a small batch that came with the wrong material on the edges of the kite that the spars push through, it would fray and start to look shabby quickly.

There can be accidents, a roll of material slips, person moves the cutting line a few millimeteres whilst they reach over to grab the scissors etc etc. There's still a human factor in everything! On the plus side, as much as it doesn't help, you're getting a crash course in getting to know your kite! :D

I had the same thing with the 7m Ozone HAKA, it flew like a piece of crap due to screwed up bridle lengths from an early production batch. I got sent some modifications to make to it until they got the new bridles out the door, I made those modifications and it flew like a dream! It also taught me how I could continue to fudge with the bridle to tune the kite to fly how I want it to fly.

Sometimes learning can be inconvenient, but somewhere down the track you will take what you have learn't and reapply it again somewhere, and it will save your afternoon's flying.

Regards,

.Joel

[nigel]

Tassie!!

To stop the line from moving all over the place, try a prusik knot.
Similar to a larks head but with an extra twist.
This locks into place and wont move.

My two Prism's, Micron and Adreneline, both use this knot on the AOA adjusters.

PS: a thanks to you as well.
My Mircon turns tighter one way than the other, when I pulled it out and had a look at the knots, I thought now was a good time to see if the bridle was even, guess what, it wasn't!!
So a little knot fiddling, and now the centre lines are even.
Will have to fly it today and see if it solves the minor problem!

Good luck!

[spotter]

I have found that there have been a few occasions that I have got a new string set and they have not been the same length. I have had to adjust the length in one of the strings a few times now (had to do a brand new set on Saturday). I must admit I never cut the string but leave a small bit hanging out the end and if I need to readjust in the future it is easy to lengthen one.

Also I have found that in the bridal you need to have the adjustable setting for different winds to be the same. This has made turning the kite quicker going one way or the other. This is explained on the instructions sheet when you get a kite but something I found to be an issue when I first started.

As others have said, then the wing tips are jumping around like that, it is telling you to get it down before something breaks. I have found with other Hypernists that other people I fly with have, they are a strong kite and can stay together in the stronger winds, but I really dont recomend it. I have broken to many poles on my E2 in 20-30 knots to go out in the strong winds.

Dont give up that your kite is not excatly what you were expecting. Get out in some lighter winds and you will have a lot of fun with it.

[Cesium]

I'm not trying to be a smart-arse here, but you could buy a Benson Gemini or Deepspace and I assure you that you'd know the kite is fine. Any issues could then be narrowed down to the wind, lines, or skill. :)

[Steve]

Some great advice being offered in this thread Gary.
Particularly the bridle adjustment - must be the same on each side.
Line lengths, and don't trim off the excess unless its more than 20cm or so. (very unusual)
Return the lineset if it is really uneven and I will personally check them and make them exact.
And full size kites (anything over 2M wingspan) are designed for lighter winds, generally.
Kites used to be made from archery arrow shafts, and the max length of most archery arrows is around 820-850mm, a "full size" kite had 2 of these in the leading edge and one per side for lower spreaders.
Due to the smaller diameter (less stiffness) of the shafts and the joiner in the LE, they work best in lighter winds, up to around 15-17 knots max.
Most modern kite spars are still made in lengths of 800 -1000mm, and most do not have a diameter larger than 6-7mm.
So big kites still work/perform better in lighter winds.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

[TassieDevil]

Last Sunday we headed out for our second fly with the new kites. This would be our first fly with them at an inland site. A nice sports field (2 x rugby fields) with open ground for at least 1.5 km in many directions. The breeze was lighter than our first attempt out at Nobby's Beach... 11-13 mph. There was some gusting, but it seemed like nothing too much to worry about, being only very occasionally up to 18 - 20 mph.

We set up Shane's Imp Quattro first, made the planned minor adjustment to the brakes, and strapped him in. A couple of "practice runs" again with the kite killers, and all was good to go. He was much more comfortable with the lesser wind speed, and had a ball just getting the feel for his new kite, mostly avoiding the middle of the power zone. He hit the ground with it once or twice, but nothing too drastic. As this was our first time on a firm (grass) surface, when the power did build, he was easily able to take a step or two forward. It will take some time before we get enough confidence to lean back and stop fighting the pull of the kite so much, but no doubt that will all come with experience. He continued to fly for 15 mins or so, then handed over the reigns.

I found I was able to concentrate a little more on how well the kite flew in the lesser wind, as I wasn't so concerned with getting pulled over. Shane and I both have reservations about flying on the harder surface (especially me, as a fall for me is gonna be BAD), so we do need to be careful... but it's also brilliant to have a flying site that's much closer to home, albeit an inland site. I enjoyed flying for 10-15 mins or so, tried a couple of reverse take-offs, and specifically played with the brakes. Personally, I couldn't feel much of a difference between the factory setting and our adjustment (we tied another knot on the handle leaders about 2cm away from the factory setting). The brakes still feel as if they are pretty much all or nothing, so the kite responds very quickly and doesn't feel as controllable. I found it's very hard to apply gentle brake and reverse the kite down to a landing from the top of the window, for example, yet I remember it was very easy to do on the Flexifoil Rage 2.5m.

Shane then took over for another fly whilst I started to set up my Hypnotist. At one point I had my back turned, which is when I heard Shane yell out (I'll spare U the expletive) and I turned around just to see him getting pulled down, shoulder first to a bit of a hard landing (3 days later and he's still a bit sore). He'd let go of the handles, but as I expect he was already off-balance, the kite killers still pulled him down for a spill. He was a bit stunned that it happened so quickly... a gust had hit him and the kite had turned and pulled into the power zone at the same time. We ceased flying for a while for him to regain his composure and to check the kite over thoroughly. The kite seemed fine, but then we noticed that one of the kite killers had started to give way (the sleeving had torn away from one end and bunched up, and 4 or 5 of the rubber "threads" of the bungee had broken).

By this time we had been joined by my other friend Shane (hereafter known as Shane2) and his son, Matt. We set the kite up again to give the other guys a go. As Shane2 is fitter than the rest of us, and with a similar experience level to my own, he was able to give the kite a bit more of a workout, flying thru the power zone on most passes. He was almost on the point of skudding, but he wasn't wearing decent footwear. Then, as so many excited noobs will tend to do, he thought of a way he might be able to get sliding. He remembered a heavy duty plastic bag in the boot of his car, in which he had us tear holes for his legs.

After a few shouts of "weak bladder" and various other incontinence references, Shane2 tried skudding on his arse. He did actually manage to get dragged in multiple short bursts to the centre of the fields (so about 50m in all). Lotsa laughs had by all... that is, until he hit the ground with the kite at an angle. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until he reverse launched it and immediately I noticed a white spot where there wasn't one before. He landed the kite safely and upon inspection we found a tear on a seam about 10 cm long, near a leading edge bridle attachment point. Bugga ! :( No more flying for the Imp, unfortunately... she'd have to be sent back to KitePower (which we did on Monday).

A little deflated (pun intended), but battling on regardless, we all turned our attention to the cheapie Aldi foils and the stunters. Shane had never had a go of the stunters so I got him flying mine with the 90lb Spectra lines. It didn't take him long to get the feel for it and he spent the next 90 minutes or so learning about stunters. Throughout the afternoon he hit the ground only occasionally, and actually started taking it deliberately closer to the ground, etc etc. All good fun.. :) And guess what ? The bugger had the hide to show me up, and found it little of a problem to recover and relaunch the bloody thing... something I could NOT do on the first Aldi stunter (now retired due to a broken T-piece) ! "Zen Master Shane" is also a master at recovery ! :D My excuse is.. it's a different kite.. :p Anyway, now he wants his own stunt kite, too.. ;)

Gary

[TassieDevil]

Time for the Hypnotist to fly. Again, it was much nicer in the lesser winds than we had at Nobby's. Even with the little gusts, the pull was smooth and it flew well. I noticed immediately that the minor adjustment I made to the AOA bridle (just a few millimetres) had worked, and the kite now turned more evenly in both directions.

A fair bit of my time was spent running around helping everyone, but I devoted as much of my flying time as I could to learning to stall the kite, mostly low and out on the edge of the window. I'm very pleased to say that I think I now understand what everyone means when they say to "pop" it... the noise that the sail makes when doing a snap stall is quite distinctive ! And I was STUNNED at how it feels - during my best efforts, U can literally feel all the air being dumped from the sail and the kite just sits there, motionless in mid-air. Amazing stuff ! :)

Curiously, I found this "pop" easier to execute on the left side of the window than the right. I was thinking that it could be caused by either my not standing squarely with the wind, or the fact that I'm right handed and felt that I could "pop" the upper line quicker, or more sharply, with the right hand than the left.. ?

I haven't been able to execute a push turn that ends in a stall yet. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong, or maybe I've got the kite set a little too tame for it to do it, I dunno. It's OK tho.. when generally flying, I've noticed I tend to fly with little regard to the type of turn that I'm doing. As I was taught push turns very early on (years ago), and I'd say I probably use them more due to their responsiveness when flying square corners, for example, so I'd guess most of my turns would be push turns, or perhaps even combo turns. I've yet to learn when and where the best times/places are to use each type of turn.

I tried lots of landings, all (at this stage) still out on the edges of the window... quite a few of which were successful. The one's that weren't gave me the opportunity to learn how to recover the kite to a 2-point position. Some were from the leading edge, some were from belly down/nose away, and the most frustrating were from the belly down/nose towards position. I tried many, many, many times to achieve a dead launch, but succeeded on only 3 occasions, I think. Let me just say that I was damned happy when it worked.. ;) Good, safe, sure recoveries are gonna take a lot of patience and practice, I think. I'm looking forward to it.

To top it off, purely by accident, the kite managed a "fade" on me twice. Shocked, I did my best to hold each of them, but the breeze was probably too strong and as a noob I'm still wearing concrete shoes. I didn't move forward fast enough, so the longest fade I was able to maintain was only for about 3 seconds. Hardly worth writing about, eh.. but it did put a big grin on my face.. :p

So there U have it. We flew for a total of 5.5 hours, quite a worthy and enjoyable session (with the exception of the incident with the Imp). It seems Xmas might bring some new toys for the boys to play with. Everyone is loving the flying, and getting more and more keen, which is great.. :)

Hopefully it won't take too long to repair Shane's kite. We're all looking forward to our next session out. Not surprisingly, we've got a newfound respect for the Imp, so will undoubtedly be a little more cautious with it next time, even in lighter winds !

Gary

[spotter]

TD, I must say. I do enjoy reading up on your adventures. Some well writtern stuff.

[TassieDevil]

I'm not trying to be a smart-arse here, but you could buy a Benson Gemini or Deepspace and I assure you that you'd know the kite is fine. Any issues could then be narrowed down to the wind, lines, or skill. :)

Your shout, is it ? How much are they in Oz ? Over $350, I bet... not the kind of money I was willing to invest on my first good stunt kite... :(

Beautiful kites, sure, but an expensive way to start in the sport, I reckon.


To stop the line from moving all over the place, try a prusik knot.
Similar to a larks head but with an extra twist.
This locks into place and wont move.

My two Prism's, Micron and Adreneline, both use this knot on the AOA adjusters.

I think the Hypnotist does as well.


...the bridle adjustment - must be the same on each side.

Curiously, now I've made the adjustment and it's turning roughly the same each way, the bridle is uneven, tho not by much. I was wondering if perhaps it's the position of the leading edge connectors for the spreaders causing the turning (I can measure each set to ensure they're all the same distances from the nose, etc). I know on my very old WindJammer, there were stoppers on the leading edge to prevent the connectors sliding along it. I notice many newer kites don't seem to have them. Is the softer plastic/rubber material they're made from grippy enough to prevent sliding ?


Return the lineset if it is really uneven and I will personally check them and make them exact.

Thanks Steve, but I think I've got it sorted. All was good on the weekend.. :)



TD, I must say. I do enjoy reading up on your adventures. Some well writtern stuff.

Thanks... glad to hear it. I usually enjoy writing it.. ;)

Gary

[Steve]

Curiously, now I've made the adjustment and it's turning roughly the same each way, the bridle is uneven, tho not by much. I was wondering if perhaps it's the position of the leading edge connectors for the spreaders causing the turning (I can measure each set to ensure they're all the same distances from the nose, etc). I know on my very old WindJammer, there were stoppers on the leading edge to prevent the connectors sliding along it. I notice many newer kites don't seem to have them. Is the softer plastic/rubber material they're made from grippy enough to prevent sliding ?


Yes, symmetry of the frame is very important. The prism fittings don't slide easily and normally don't need stoppers, but a small piece of clear tubing, slit so that it will fit over the spar, and then super glued in place will fix any fitting moving issue.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

[TassieDevil]

Yes, symmetry of the frame is very important. The prism fittings don't slide easily and normally don't need stoppers, but a small piece of clear tubing, slit so that it will fit over the spar, and then super glued in place will fix any fitting moving issue.

Thanks... great tip, Steve ! I'm thinking airline tubing from an aquarium might be spot on.. :)

It's all made me think of something, tho. When I'm packing the kite up, I am releasing the wingtip bungees, and trying to pull the lower leading edges out of the ferrules, ready to fold away. Naturally, they will only move so far before the connectors and lower bridle point hit the edge of the cutaway opening in the sail cloth, but it's not quite enough to get the lower leading edge spar out of that ferrule. At that point, I've found all I can do is push the connector and the bridle just a few millimetres up the rod, and the job's done. When setting up the kite, I've found I have to do the opposite (or the sail cloth will be creased) and slide the lower connector and bridle back down the leading edge.

Is there a trick to packing them up ? Or do we have to keep moving and re-adjusting the lower connectors and bridle points ?

Gary

[Steve]

Thanks... great tip, Steve ! I'm thinking airline tubing from an aquarium might be spot on.. :)

It's all made me think of something, tho. When I'm packing the kite up, I am releasing the wingtip bungees, and trying to pull the lower leading edges out of the ferrules, ready to fold away. Naturally, they will only move so far before the connectors and lower bridle point hit the edge of the cutaway opening in the sail cloth, but it's not quite enough to get the lower leading edge spar out of that ferrule. At that point, I've found all I can do is push the connector and the bridle just a few millimetres up the rod, and the job's done. When setting up the kite, I've found I have to do the opposite (or the sail cloth will be creased) and slide the lower connector and bridle back down the leading edge.

Is there a trick to packing them up ? Or do we have to keep moving and re-adjusting the lower connectors and bridle points ?

Gary

Thats more to do with the bag and the portability that type of bag and construction method offers.
Traditionally, kites came in bags that were long enough to take the kite, without separating the LE spars.
You can make or even buy a long kite bag, and just don't break the kite down after every use, only when say travelling on a plane.
Aquarium airline tube is what I use.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

[TassieDevil]

Well, I took the Hypnotist out for it's third session this arvo. I was also checking out a new location, which turned out to be OK, but not brilliant. There is some low scrub about 100m upwind which is no doubt causing some turbulence. The wind today was light and quite variable. It's the lightest conditions I've flown in so far, but I still flew it on the standard 150lb lines. Perhaps I should have tried the 90lb set for the first time.

Mostly I was practicing snap stalls, landings and recoveries. Thanks to the bumpy air, I achieved none of these really to my satisfaction... especially the dead launch, which completely eluded me today. I made tons of errors, generally remembered little from the tutorials (even tho I've got some of them on my mobile and I DID watch one or two of them to remind myself of what I was supposed to be doing) and overall, simply frustrated myself.

I think I can say with assurity that I did "The Walk Of Shame" more times today than I think I have in all my scattered years of kite flying.. :D

For the first time I explored all the different bridle adjustments. I found that I could barely notice subtle differences at best, but that's no doubt my inexperience in general, and with this kite.

As the sun set, the wind became lighter and lighter, and I had a bugger of a job keeping the kite airborne most of the time. The fact that the ground was uneven (occasional hidden tyre tracks sunken in the grass) made it difficult to move backwards without worrying that I was gonna twist an ankle, etc. It wasn't as much fun as when out with mates, and unlike at the beach, there were no passers-by to interact with, but I still value the experience of flying the kite in as many different conditions as possible.

As always, looking forward to the next session. Perhaps then I can report some more "tangible" progress.

Gary

[TassieDevil]

Went out today with neighbour Shane to South Stockton Beach in a dodgy Westerly. Far from ideal conditions (that was yesterday, and he missed out !), but we had a fairly good session nonetheless.

'Twas his first ride of the horse since being thrown, and the gusty conditions didn't make it any easier for him. But he did get to have a play with the kite in much lighter winds than he's experienced so far. It was sometimes difficult to keep the kite flying, so there was a lot of footwork involved.. bloody tiring on the softer sand !

We found the brakes more responsive, perhaps more controllable today. We could fly the kite using just 2 or 3 fingers on each hand, and I noticed this aided in avoiding accidental brake application. I managed to make the kite spin on it's axis for the first time, too... but I found that it lost all it's lift after doing so, and pretty much fell out of the sky once the spin was completed. This was most likely due to the light conditions... it took at least half the height of the wind window to recover, no matter what I did !

Shane got to try his first reverse launches, and was able to practice a few landings, too. All in all, it was a good confidence-building session for him, being much happier on the soft sand, and where the "local talent" is occasionally distracting.. :D

Gary

[TassieDevil]

Just got home from another solo afternoon session on Nobby's Beach. Can't understand why there was so few PPL around... I was the only kiter on the beach all afternoon, and there was only 3 or 4 kitesurfers out. Overcast all arvo, but no rain (showers were predicted). Wind was squarely onto the beach at 15-20 kts, easing a little as the afternoon marched on.

Had one main mission today - to test fly one of my Aldi foils after some bridle adjustments. It's improved a little, but it's still nowhere near as good as one of Shane2's kites. If we fly together, I just can't keep up with him. He's quicker, got more power, and turns better. Still more adjustments needed, I guess. Gonna have to find some info about foil bridles.. :)

When the wind eased a bit, I set the Hypnotist up. I suspected it'd be close to the max wind speed, and it was. There was only a couple of occasions throughout the arvo when the wing tips started oscillating. There was plenty of power in the kite, and it was just so smooooooth to fly.

Again, I practiced snap stalls for landings near the edge of the window, both left and right, altho I think I missed quite a few today... probably due to concrete shoe syndrome. Some ended in bodgy tip-stands and half-cartwheels, only to rise and accelerate away back towards the centre of the window. The rest ended in tangled shitfights, many requiring a "Walk of Shame", unfortunately. Not one attempt at a dead launch was successful.. :(

I certainly didn't have too much luck trying to free tip tangles today, either. On a couple of occasions I relaunched, thinking the lines were clear, only to have the kite go into a deathly, often high-speed spin just inches from the ground. Now and then one of the tips would contact the ground, but it never seemed to deter the spin of the kite too much. Once or twice I could really see the LLE bending, which was a bit of a worry, but the Hypno took it all in it's stride. Walking towards the kite really helped slow the out-of-control spin until it settled on the sand.

A lot of my attempted recoveries today were from one leading edge down, and I remembered the DVD tutorial advising to practice rocking the kite on it's nose. But from there, I think I forgot what I should have been doing next, hence the heap of extra walking. I haven't watched the DVD at all this week, so better watch it again before the next outing. Out of the 30 or so times I had to recover today, I'd say only 5 or so were reasonably well done... disappointing, but I enjoyed the session nonetheless.

Looking foward to getting out again on the weekend with the guys.

Gary

[Two Hands]

Gary,

If it helps you're doing fine! I advanced far more slowly than you are (and there are some good time just round the corner ;) trust me, this is the hardest bit!!)... And you're right to be on the 'recoveries trip', get them right and the day gets a whole lot more enjoyable!

On the 'Walk of shame' we shall now refer to it as the 'Walk of Contemplation' :p It's a little time you can take to go back over what your trying to do...

As a little aside, in the DVD you'll here them talk about practicing on 'short' lines say 5-10m, it helped me heaps with regards to 'tip wrap identification 101'. And on that, the Hypnotist has no 'leader lines' the lines attach directly to the kites pigtails. If you can get your hands on some 150# bridle line you can make up 2 '1.5m(ish)' leaders, they're so much easier to see from a distance.

Good luck with the next bit!

Oh and yes you're right with the hand dominance thing affecting you're snap stalls, spot on.

TH

[TassieDevil]

Hey TH... and welcome to the EK forums ! It's fantastic to have another person in the sport kiting section who can offer their experience for us noobs. Please hang around if you're able... I'm trying to make this part of the forum grow (it's only new), and believe me, your advice is very much appreciated !! Do encourage your GF to dive in here as well... I think it's bloody awesome that there are some of the fairer sex out there as well who enjoy kiting, be it for competition, or just purely for fun. :hatsoff:

After yesterday, the 20ft lineset is definitely beckoning. I'm waiting on my mate Shane2 to get his arse into gear to place an order for some new lines for his power kite.. when he does, I'll be getting some line with him. In the mean time, I even thought about cutting up my old braided dacron lines from my very old WindJammer stunt kite, but they're very heavy in comparison with the Spectra lines... I expect they'd be troublesome in lighter conditions.

Thanks for the encouragement, anyway. Damn good info ! :)

On the 'Walk of shame' we shall now refer to it as the 'Walk of Contemplation' :p It's a little time you can take to go back over what your trying to do...

Hehe... I like it ! :D

Gary

[Two Hands]

Thanks for the welcome!

LoL :D I was looking for people to help me out! I'm just starting to accept that I'm not a nOOb anymore, now I'm in the vast desert called 'Why isn't that doing what it's supposed to, it was doing it last week??!!'.

I'm glad the tips are of some use, If its of any help, in 18 months I was able to do all the tricks in the video at least reasonably well, even some of the freestyle showcase stuff!
BUT... after 1 year I could do only about a third. There are some real watershed moments in freestyle progression. the axel (and it's variants) for instance are nearly 1/3 of what I'm doing ATM. All good things come to those who 'put the dang effort in'

Stick at it, but remember to enjoy your progression, making it a race wont help!


TH

[TassieDevil]

Well I've been out again (3 times, in fact) with the Hypno since my last report. First was a short session at a new inland site we've found, second was a solo session in Newcastle, and third was this afternoon... a couple of hours of stunt kiting with my neigbour, Shane, at a different local site.

I took the plunge and cut my old dacron lines to create a set of 25 ft training lines. I removed the straps from my Hypno's 150lb set and have begun putting a fair bit of time into practicing the recoveries. And already, I have to say, it's paying off. It definitely makes things easier, if U can ignore the actual flying part (as it feels as if the kite is on steroids when airborne, especially if there's a bit of a breeze blowing).

For those that may not know, there are 5 most commonly used recoveries for relaunching after a "crash". These are:

The Cartwheel
The Leading Edge Launch
The Sleeping Beauty
The Dead Launch
The Pop-Up Launch

Tuesday 16th was my first attempt on the short lines. It didn't take long to see that this was the best way to learn recoveries... you're much closer to the kite, it's very easy to see tip tangles, and how the bridle is responding to inputs. I also tried a Leading Edge launch, but I think this might be one of the more difficult methods. I was certainly doing everything the tutorial said to, but perhaps my timing was off. Not to worry, how about my favourite... need I mention that a successful Dead Launch was elusive yet again on this occasion ? :( Best of all, however, was the Sleeping Beauty launches. It became clear quickly that this really is the easiest recovery of all to use, especially when the kite is near the centre of the wind window. It's a real buzz when U can get these relaunches to work... exactly as they say in the tutorials.. :) After just these three sessions, I think I'm now almost guaranteed that I'll be able to get the kite back into the air using this method. I found that even if U can't complete a proper Pop-Up launch, for example, U can use this to get the kite standing on it's nose, then just lay it down into the Sleeping Beauty position (belly up, nose towards) and away U go. So long as U can avoid the "belly down, nose towards" position, you're laughing... !!

Wednesday afternoon I jumped on a train and headed into Newcastle for another solo session. Instead of heading straight for Nobby's Beach, this time I decided to spend some time in the beautifully kept park that's in between the railway station and Nobby's. It's got quite a few trees around the Northern perimeter which cause some turbulence, obviously, but so long as the wind is anywhere from the SE to NE, or a NW (S and around to the W is blocked by Fort Scratchley and multi-storey residential complexes), then it's not too bad for just mucking around. There's plenty of room there, and the grass is pllluussshh. It's even surrounded by lighting... (night fly anyone ? :whistle: ) Unfortunately, the grass is too plush to make it easy for Dead Launches... so I didn't bother trying too often :p But I did spend a couple of hours practicing the Sleeping Beauty launches. I wasn't too successful with Leading Edge launches again... for some reason I just couldn't get the kite sliding towards the edge of the window. I was able to do a couple of Pop-Up launches when there was a lull in the breeze, but if there's too much wind, attempting these will often result in a "lawn dart".

Occasionally for something different I'd try one of the other tricks. Two or three times, from unsuccessful Pop-Ups I was able to get into a "Fade".. but only for a few moments at best. They really do require light winds to learn, I think. Other frivolity included a few "BackFlips", which I was also able to hold for just a few seconds (not so easy on very short lines, methinks !), and one "Half Axel", which I think was more fluke than skill.. ;) Doing something silly occasionally helps to break the monotony of a lengthy practice session, that's for sure !

All the while I'd been keeping an eye on the activity out on the beach. Whilst U can't directly see the beach from the park (it's slightly uphill to the beach front), U can certainly see the kites if anyone is flying out there. By 6.30pm or so there was at least half a dozen kite surfers out so I wound up the lines and headed for the sand.. I was really looking forward to getting my feet wet as, even in the sea breeze, it was still a fairly warm afternoon. When I got to the beach I was shocked to see how low the tide was... I've never seen Nobby's with so much open, flat space !! Quite a few of the kite surfer blokes were heading in and starting to pack up & have a yak on the beach as the wind was easing off... which was absolutely perfect for me ! I spent maybe 15 minutes talking with one of the locals about their harnesses, strops.. and power kiting in general (I mentioned I had my Flexi Bullet 3.5 with me, but as he was leaving, I didn't want to fly it when I was alone), but for the rest of the time, I was occupied with a perfectly smooth breeze and thoroughly enjoyed practicing my straight lines, landings, a few stalls, and recoveries. As the evening progressed, I was treated to one of the finest sunsets I've seen in a long time (the spires of Newcastle Cathedral(?) silhoutted with scattered shafts of light through it) which I'm sure provoked quite a few onlookers to approach me to compliment how good the kite looked on such a pretty background. I found it hard to disagree. I didn't stop flying 'til about 9.15pm, when I finally noticed the stars were well and truly visible... ;)

Today's session had a fair bit more wind.. about 15kts, gusting up to about 22.. so again, I mostly practiced recoveries on the short lines. I set Shane up on the Aldi stunter with the 90lb spectra lines and he had a ball screaming about the place and trying out the occasional Sleeping Beauty. We were surprised to find that it works quite well on these kites, actually ! But this time, I had my mind set on one thing most of all... the Dead Launches. This particular locale has a cricket pitch down the middle, which is made from plastic grass, outdoor carpet stuff.. whatever U want to call it. If there was one time I had to get this bloody launch working, it was now. And sure enough, I did. I achieved more Dead Launches in an hour than I have since I bought the kite weeks ago. So that's it... the decision has been made. No matter where I'm flying.. if I end up getting the kite in the "belly down, nose towards" position, I'll be dragging it all the way to the nearest cricket pitch... ;) But I'll say this tho... it's still a bugger of a thing to do... and I don't expect I'll be discovering the secret anytime soon... :o

Bring on the weekend !

Gary

[Two Hands]

Ups to you Gary,

Big steps forward!

You will persist with the Dead launch.... sigh :p...

Higher winds will help as they get under the nose easier, low wind will be the battle.

Now as launches go the 'pop up' is my most used launch, both on the Prism Quantum Pro's (similar to the Hypnotist in characteristics) and the Talon, a far trickier kite. But it's a more modern version of the trick, and the good news, you've already done a few! That's the variant that ends in a fade.

Now, whats it all about...

First, to rely on it you need to be able to 'own' the move, and the sign of this is nice rock solid fades at the end.

Sounds like your 'nose away, belly down' starts and the 'pop's are good. The thing you now need to watch is (to avoid lawn darting), as the kite is climbing up 'backwards' (after the pop), you should, to prevent the lawn dart, be now stepping into the kite a bit, (plus a 'little' flick of the wrists to encourage the nose to roll under) this will have the effect of letting the tail roll over and settle deep, and the nose rotate up and into a fade position. How we going so far?

Now as you've already done this a few time it shouldn't take to long to get to this position.

(not a bad idea to take some of these and practice holding the Fade, that trick is harder than it looks because it's all 'backwards'... (left wing [as seen] is right hand and visa versa, not that easy to get your head around. But I digress)

Now the next bit, once you're in the 'fade' (and you don't have to hang around in this position long), to recover to 'flying position' you 'roll' out of it, all that is is pulling on one line (think: pulling on the choker chain of a small recalcitrant dog, firm tug but not to hard) and giving a little slack with the other (off hand, arm forward) and letting the kite roll onto it's belly, nose towards and a meter or 2 off the ground... now.... pull on both lines and up and away!

Just something else to practice, I know... ;)

Luck, and hope it helps;)

TH