Kite Question

[FastEddy]

I picked up an un-used Spectra Reflex kite at a garage sale today.
It has a 54' wingspan. Everything was included as well as a video.
I'm assuming by its design its an entry level kite. I have always been interested and saw this as a chance to introduce myself.

I set it all up as per the instructions and hit the park.
I have no troubles getting it off of the ground however it seems unstable.

I assumed that with a steady wind that the kite should make its way to the top of the window. It starts to go up then becomes unstable and goes out of control. I am trying to be conscious of hand movements yet am still having issues. I can't see any pattern to its unstableness it seems to do something different each time.

Did I just by a radio shack RC, or is this a good starter kite?
Bottom right of the page.
http://dryboxes.safeshopper.com/15/cat15.htm?433


Any suggestions or comments?

 

[Error401]

Not sure about the model you got, but a number of years ago my dad got me a stunt kite at Kitty Hawk NC. Since I'd flown diamonds and stacked diamonds and a small entry level wing before, he opted to get a real stunt kite. Carbon spars, real light, about 4.5' span and some kind of area 51 lines. it took me a whole season of messing with it to finally get some semblence of control with that thing.

If the kite you got really does say "beginner" then there might be some problem. Might be the type of line you got with it (if it's nylon, it's probably stretching). Check any and all dimensions and knots where the lines attach. If they slip, you'll have a hell of a time controlling it. Also make sure all the spars are good (not cracked or fatigued).

Stunt kites are a blast, but they take time to get used to.

 

[robmob]

I have a 42" or so stunt kite. Don't remember the brand but it cost about $80 around 8 years ago and came with nylon straps as handles. Thing has been bullet proof and is quick. Have not had any experience with any other stunt kite but with mine, I must keep it moving or it will flounder. Also must have a steady wind. I have a blast with it. Love doing spins and skimming along about 6" from the ground.

 

[Error401]

Originally posted by robmob
Love doing spins and skimming along about 6" from the ground.

Oh hell yeah! Mine will fly in a clean steady 5mph breeze, but give it 15mpg wind and it'll wear my ass out. I really have to watch out for pedestrians with it in the park though, doing blade skimming passes at God only knows what speed.

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

Spread your hands apart a little farther until you get used to it.

 

[Error401]

And say "yeah, I got a kite" alot too so folks won't pester you about flying it. Concentration is the key.

 

[FastEddy]

I spent several hours with it today.
The wind is up pretty good.
I'm able to keep it in the air for up to 5 minutes or so most of the time.
I have found that jerking motions are a lot more effective than pulling or pumping. I'm able to navigate the window and am starting to do some ladder practice. I'm have floundering issues if the wind speed changes or the lines go slack I haven figured out how to rescue it yet. It gets old as hell walking over to flip the kite.

All and all its a kick in the ass.

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

Eddy - you got owned by a kite dude!

 

[FastEddy]

No poop.

Its only a damn kite how hard can it be to fly?
This is a pic of me flying it :hypno:

 

[Error401]

Sounds like the line type is wrong. If it's nylon, it'll stretch unevenly, and make it feel mushy. I forget what my lines are, but they're thin as hell and are something like 300lb test. I'll try to get some pix here in a minute. But they don't stretch at all under load.

 

[SkyMaxx]

My last stunt kite is now a home to a bunch of fish at the bottom of the lake behind my house. Freaking line parted and off it went. Before I could get a paddle boat out to it, she sank and was never seen again. Most expensive kite I've lost. It was a beauty two, three dimensional double diamond wing.

Guess I'll have to stick with my box kites and huge diamonds for now. My last diamond is almost as tall as I am. Awesome kite.

I have no advice to offer other than that already posted...just figured I'd chime in and let you know that you are not alone in the kite thing. We could all jointly tell Chris to go fly a kite...

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

kites, really?:flamer:

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

lol - Funny thing is, my father and I used to fly at the local annual kite festival every year. We made it in the paper MANY years. We used to fly canvas kits and some HEAVY rope along with leather gloves plus the occasional caribbeaner anchoring me to a stake in the ground. No poop.

I had a couple of stunt kites back in the day, when my father got out of it all together, and did OK with them. Since then, they have gotten SOOOOOO much easier to assemble and fly. But still not a walk in the park. And why should they be. That would destroy the novelty of it all.

I was serious when I suggested spreading his hands farther apart. Gives you more dimension to the surface of the kite. The closer your hands are, the more unstable it becomes. But at the same time, if you can master than instability, you can do more 360's in the blink of an eye that your Hyper 8 port lol

Its still funny to get owned by a kite.

Now I have to go buy another one. Damn you Eddy! AGAIN!

 

[Error401]

Originally posted by HumboldtBlazer
kites, really?:flamer:

Yeah, really. Ya know the look of terror on someones face when they see one of these barreling down on them from 12 o'clock high, or chasing them across the field? :help: I do. Trust me, it's almost as good as some mace...

Note the penny under the line in the last two. damn, I wish I could remember what that stuff is called.

 

[Candyman]

Error, the line is usually called Spectra or Dyneema. It's a cotton fiber cross woven and is incredibly slippery. Some pros will use ArmorAll on it to make it even slipperier.

Eddy, sounds like a tuning issue. Yes, I know it's a kite. But it can be tuned. If you look at the triangular setup of strings that you attach the flylines to. These are called the "bridles". They essentially control the angle of attack of the kite. By making slight adjustments you can the nose of the kite a little more forward or backward.

So, here's a basic explanation. Lean the kite back and it slows down a bit. It pulls a little more. And won't climb as high in the window. It also doesn't fly as well in light winds.

Lean the kite forward and it speeds up. Flies higher and in lighter winds. It gives more lift.

Now the hard part. You say it will shoot through the window until it starts jerking around at the top. My hunch is that you need to lean it back a bit. This gives it more "bite" in the wind. To lean it back, you need to move the knot at the peak of the triangle. Now it gets complicated. If you look closely at the triangle, it's actually only made of 2 lines. 2 legs of the triangle are actually made of one continuous line. Usually that runs between the 2 outside attachment points. The third line runs from the peak to the lower center point. The continuous line is typically held in place by a lark's head knot which actually isn't a knot. If you look at how it sits, you'll see you can loosen it by slacking the lines and working the knot gently. When you have it loose, you can then change the relative lengths of each of the 2 legs by moving more line to the top or bottom. In this case, you want to make the top line longer. Much like carb tuning, do it a little at a time. 1/8 inch at a time. Make sure both bridles are adjusted equally or the kite will be horribly unstable. Once they're equal, give it a fly. If it's better, then you're going in the right direction. If it's worse, work backwards. You'll be pulling your hair out for a while, but soon it will be second nature.

Unfortunately like our RC's, you'll need to retune the kite each time you fly. Depends on wind conditions. Wind speed. Turbulence. Just try to fly as far from trees as you can. They disrupt the ground wind so bad that it can make flying very trying.

And just for kicks, here' a pic of one of mine. It's an 8 foot kite called the Scorpion. Stacked 3 of these one day and it took a 250 pound guy to keep me from getting dragged away...

 

[Error401]

Rock on Candyman, and thanks. Spectra was what rings a bell.

 

[Candyman]

And luckily I still have one of my favorite pics.
This is me flying a Flexifoil Psycho on Newport Beach a few days before Christmas in 1996. Just one of those lucky pictures I guess, but it has always been one of my favorites.

 

[Error401]

Kind of like this one:

Too bad it's not my plane, and I really despise the dude that was flying it. But the pic is cool.

 

[Rolex]

I still have a gold ribbon on my wall that says, "First Place, Kite Day, Boys, 1958". It was 6th grade, and there were about 400 kids in the school, and we had the whole afternoon just for the kite flying contest. Old Coach Thompson presented the ribbons at a ceremony in the auditorium. A proud moment, indeed.
Now, when people tell me to go fly a kite, I tell that story.

 

[FastEddy]

Candyman,
Thanks for the tuning tips.
Ill put them to use tomorrow as soon as the wind picks up a bit.
It seems a lot easier to fly in the high wind what I'm guessing to be around 15 mph or so. As soon as it lets up I get slack line and it falls like a rock. I will try several adjustment points and see what works best.

I'm finding it difficult to keep tension on both lines at the same time. this seems to be the trick. How much arm movement should I be using for basic flight? I feel like a spaz.

-Ed