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I just wanted to thank so many of you for the Prism Quantum recommendation for our first "real" dlk. After cold weather and a virus that hit us hard, we finally got to fly it today...well, I should say my 13 y/o flew it 99% of the time with a huge smile. Yep, a few lawn darting crashes, but lots of fun, especially after we through the 75ft. tail on. Maybe a bit too breezy for our first time today, about 12mph winds, but still had a blast. I did notice when we wound inthe lines after that one line had stretched a good 2 feet, but I think the handles have some sort of way to re-knot and correct that. Do you think we did something wrong to cause that kind of uneven stretch? Now waiting for a low wind day for the 4-D. I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy some flight time this weekend

Success!!! Despite the bus like dimensions, this thing flies and exhibited pretty decentlow wind capability.. Video from Whalehead when I return home.

Awesome! Sounds like a success. Lines will stretch, especially at first. 2 feet might be on the high side. However, if you discovered the 2' difference at the end of winding up, it might not actually be that bad. As you wind, it is easy to not get exactly the same amount of line from each line in each wind. Or you may possibly have accidentally dropped one wind on one line. That will make a big difference. So, check the line lengths again after you have unwound the line before your next flight. And when you do that, it's best to have the two loops on the far end of the lines placed together on a stake, a helper's finger, or something similar instead of being attached to the kite. Good luck.

The odds of the line stretching two feet are "slim, to none", literally. The most likely explanation is missing a loop or two when winding, an assembly error by whoever made the lineset, or a manufacturing inconsistency in the weave that wasn't noticed. Check the shorter line to make sure you haven't inadvertently tied any knots in it that you didn't notice. Sometimes you end with a knot when you move or drag the lines around, which is common. Do stretch both lines, paying special attention to the one that ended up shorter. If the difference after stretching them is more than 1/4 inch, untie the end loop and adjust. This can be done on the field, but the first time or two you should do it at home unless you have no choice. If the difference in length is 1/2 inch or less, you can shorten the long line by tying a knot in the loop as close to the others as possible. Each knot you tie will shorten the line up to 1/2 inch depending on the thickness of the line and sleeving (if any) combined. This is a good cheater method than can be quickly done on the field, and I have used it as a permanent fix for years now with no issues, even with quads to shorten 3 out of 4 lines. If you have any questions about making the adjustment, ask. Or you can just screw this crap and go fly when Rob can make it. The avatar looks great. I have sent the hubby an email telling him you intend to buy many more kites and he says it's ok as long as you buy some for him also.

Hell no! You take a rod or two and a kite or two. No wind? Fish. No fish? Fly. Simple solution. Sometimes both are good. Win/win. Twice the smiles. Once in a while -- No fish, no wind. Beer.

If the lines would have stretched out while in flight, this would have been immediately noticeable to the pilot. As a pilot with experience, when my lines, or more accurately one side of the set, stretched, I found it difficult to fly; for a beginner, it would be downright frustrating and learning to fly would be very difficult. If the last person flying didn't have this experience, then your lines are probably fine. If the lines are uneven, try stretching out the other line. I fixed a "Stock" line set(shortened the longer, stretched line) only to have the other line stretch out on the next flight. Since then, I have pretty much sworn off stock line sets. Which brings me to my two cents: Buy some good line sets. Use the stock sets when you are flying in "grabby" grass or stickers or when you are flying around a bunch of small children with SLK's, like at a kite festival. Final note: Most SLK lines will cut through your dual lines very easily. If it's a runaway kite with cheap-o kite string, it will be like a hot knife through warm butter.. ETA: The cause for the line stretching in my case was flying it winds that were gusting in excess of the kites wind range. If it did stretch, you didn't do anything wrong to cause the lines to stretch, other than flying the kite, and that is kinda the point of having a kite. I broke a 100# Skybond line while flying my Quantum in some pretty gusty winds.

I have flown Revs on lines from eight feet to two hundred and fifty feet long. The shorter the lines, the faster the kite moves, and the perimeter of the wind window decreases. You have less time to react to the kite's movement and this makes it harder to learn. The advice most experienced pilots give to folks just starting out is to use 80ft or longer lines. You can do it with 65's, it's not impossible, but it will be more difficult and take longer unless you are a "natural". Some people pick it up in minutes. Some people will still be having a hard time after 10 hours on the lines. You will probably fall somewhere in between. I would recommend a 120ft set that you may fashion into two shorter sets eventually when they begin to wear. 120ft are the common length you will fly in a group should you get the chance at a fest. 120's also give you a huge area to fly across. I would recommend learning on 120's and timing your learning to when the tide is out. I know that's a pain in the ass and won't let you fly each time you get the urge, but you'll get more smiles per gallon when you're not fighting the kite. Most beginners start backing up when trying to fly the kite, walking backwards until they run out of room. Don't. One step back when launching, then try to stay in the same spot or even move forward a few steps when the kite is pulling well, so if you do need to add some oomph if the wind slows down you have the room to do it. Don't fly in the upper or lower recommended wind range stated for the kite. Stay about five mph away from the extremes until you have mastered basic control of the kite. It will only frustrate the crap out of you if you try. The techniques you will need for those conditions will come to you with time. It may take as much as 80 hours to get the hang of it. Remember, you're doing this to have fun. Don't make it like work. You will have some frustrating situations arise if you will be learning on your own without an experienced flyer by your side telling you what not to do, so check out the beginner tutorials available on this forum and watch each one several times until you nearly have it memorized. Then watch them a few more times -- seriously. Pay very close attention to everything John says in them. He does not give you any info you won't need. If you do it exactly the way he describes it, you will have zero problems, especially the videos on setup and breakdown and handling the lines at those times. Treat what he tells you in the tutorials as GOSPEL and you'll do well. These are proven methods that will not let you down. Once you have established a routine way of doing things you will begin to develop your own "style". Until then stick with what is guaranteed to work. And just so you know you're not alone, at least 95% of all quad flyers have tangled their lines, horribly. Frustrating as hell -- oh yeah! Sit down, untangle them, get over it. __it happens. If it feels like the kite is out of your control most of the time and you'll probably break it. You may consider taking a couple of spare frame pieces with you just in case. You will use them if you fly fairly often. They do wear out eventually. Buy no-snag handles if you can get them at the same time as the kite, and extended leaders for them. If you end up with the hog ring style handles, we'll tell you how to modify them to make them snagless. Definitely get or make extended leaders for the handles. If you don't, you'll never have your kite adjusted well for conditions. I'm sure others will chime in to give you some insight into their experience with quad kites, so stay tuned. If you have questions, ask. We'll give options you may not have considered, and tell you what will only cause frustration even though it may seem like the logical solution. If you're going to do it on your own once you get there, stay in touch so we can give you a hand with it.

That bugs been kicking my butt since Thursday. Hopefully I can fly this afternoon. It's been hack,hack here have a lung. Apparently I don't need it anymore. We're advised to stretch new lines and equalize before 1st flight. Finally started doing that on my last 3 sets. Lot less pain in the brain. I was nervous and really over thought the process the 1st few times.Had knots slip and even come undone. Few snarls too. After one of those Makatakam moments I remembered to breath and the simplicity came into focus. Piece of cake now. My Prism lines stretched a lot. Doesn't mean you got poor lines. It's been explained to me most kite assembly lines will not stretch flying lines due to labor cost.Pain in the neck but makes sense since it is easy to do.The experts tell us to practice tricks equally on both sides so we become more ambidextrous in our flying. Do a axle with your left then your right and so on. Lessen that effect Wayne is talking about and makes us better fliers. Having left and right handed newbies at the same starting point is going to be a real advantages for you folks.I'm still working on not being right hand dominate. When I get in the zone I forget and most everything starts out from my right side.Still have to pause a lot and make the left side of my body lead.Glad you and yours 1st flights were good ones. Can't hardly tell from the excellent avatar that the poor kite was nose dived a few times LOL.

Thanks Dragonfish and Wayne I will definitely give the staking technique a try in our yard before we head out again. Thanks so much for the advice! Interesting on the handedness. My one daughter is a righty who was flying yesterday. I'll have to put her identical twin (but a lefty) on the kite and see if she has the opposite effect!

Yep - the stake method is good. Stake down both lines and then see a side by side comparison.. You do this in a yard (if room), a field, or the beach. But I would suggest it before your next flight. It is possible that everyone is putting strain on one line by being a certain "handed" right or left, but comparing length while still hooked to the kite might throw you off. After shortening the long line, try switching to see if the other stretches too. JB has a great tutorial on line equalizing for quads - same applies to dual line kites too.

Lol Rob, it definitely got gusty later this afternoon at which point we packed it up;) Hoping for a calmer breeze next time we're out, but it still felt great to get outside.

OMG... So sorry this was your first day out. It was so unpleasant today, I didn't think of venturing out. Oh, ok, I took the kids and dogs for a walk around town, but couldn't help but to think about how unpleasant it must be at the beach! Sorry, I've becOme quite the wind snob recently. Glad to hear you guys had a good session... Hope to catch up with y'all next time ! Sent from my [device_name] using http://KiteLife mobile app

I saw the Windjammers at the Howell Balloon Festival several years ago the first time. I am glad I found this resource. I thought about stopping by School Craft today but it's still pretty chilly. I'll be bying a 2 line kite soon and maybe a single line too.

Agreed about using it as a narrow tail of custom length. It works well. Full price is about $5 for 600 feet, so you can get several. That can mean tying on one strip or five, a single color or a mix of colors. If you're careful cleaning up you can reuse it. If you've got the space in your bag and can handle the weight, some stakes (or perhaps several broken spars) coupled with surveyors' tape can also help discourage people from walking over your lines. I've got a set of stakes with about 150' of tape that I can set up when laying out my line. I use it when I'm in an area with occasional foot traffic and I'm set up for hours. When I land and step away I can put down my kite along the taped stakes so people are more likely to avoid them. (There are still some people who will walk through, break the tape, and trip over the lines, but they're the rare exception.)

Ok... I will say that, despite 35-50km/km wind, had a blast. Spent 95% of the time at the edge of the window, nervously watching the LEs twitching, but still so much fun... 4 y old Swedish boy who only knew the english word “snake!” helped Aruba: not a stunt kite destination, but the rum helps. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app