cjay

I am really getting into flying the E2. I tried it with a 85' x 100# skybond line set, and that made a huge difference. It is much more responsive and precise now. Compared to the Widow NG, it seems to load up smoother, be more stable at the edge of the wind window, and it is also quieter and doesn't pull as hard. It is almost as precise now. I can't quite describe it, but there is a difference in how they turn. The E2 feels more smooth especially in turning, it is also much quieter than the NG. The E2 is my go to kite now for 9-12 mph wind range. I like it just as well as the Widow NG for just flying around. I still need to try the NG without the weight.

Sounds like the 1.3 size I got is probably better for beginners with less pull than the 1.8.

Quite a change going from Colorado to Coos Bay. The dune riding on that part of the coast is excellent. People seem to really like and recommend that Silver Fox kite. Appreciate the offer. If I am ever able to make it down there I will take you up on it.

That's cool you live there. I have spent a lot of time there, and still go to the Oregon Coast quite a bit. Was just down in the Newport and Lincoln City area for 4 days, and going to be in the Seaside area for 4 days starting on the 9th. Lots of great places to fly everywhere there. I bet the wind is very strong a lot of the time. What part of the coast do you live at? Interesting that you have both the Challenger Max and Silver Fox UL. I am interested to know which one tracks and turns more precisely.

I plan to get something like that. I am going to try out the thunderstruck and see if that will fit the bill or not. I decided not to buy another kite for a few months, I need to practice with what I have more. I did some research on the Pro Dancer Super ultra light, and you are right, i think that might be a good light wind choice for me.

Thanks for all of the replies, much appreciated. I get the picture now. Sounds like the Symphony Pro was a good choice for these type of kites. I just wasn't sure what size to get. I wanted to get the 1.8 but was concerned about too much pull for smaller people, and in higher winds, so I ended up getting the 1.3. I don't need to get the 1.8 since it is the same sort of deal and doesn't handle much differently.

Broke my Widow NG in 10+ mph wind. The tail weight piece collapsed into the spine, the lower spreader female end broke, and 2 c clips on the upper spreaders came loose. But then I got it fixed, and had some good wind conditions and had the best flying session I have ever had.

Hq Symphony Pro vs. Prism Synapse. And1.3 or 140 vs 170 I did an uneducated impulse buy on a HQ Symphony Pro 1.3 to try out. I think it looks nice, and it is ok for beginners to mess around with, but I didn't care much for the way it flies. It is twitchy and cant cut a straight line for anything. Is there much difference between a Prism Synapse and an Hq Symphony Pro in the way they are built? And is there much difference between the way a 1.3 or 140 and a 170 handle while flying? Especially does a 170 turn slower than a 140 ?

Very interesting info about the Skydog Breezin. Ended up buying a thunderstruck as a gift for someone that has never flown before. Look forward to taking them out and flying it. Did some flying at the beach. Had many frustrating attempts and one great session. I learned some lessons. I learned that I am not that good at judging wind speed. I set up multiple times in light wind and couldn't get the E2 or Widow NG fly. Then I kept trying to fly the Widow NG in too high of wind and broke it a bunch of ways from Sunday. I learned that the Widow NG seems to have a fairly limited wind range. It is too heavy for a light wind kite, and breaks too easy and pulls too hard for a high wind kite. I think it is about a 5-8 ish mph kite. It also has a weird delay to turn inputs at the edge of the wind window and is unstable in a stall at the transition, which I am sure is great for tricks but sucks for actual flying in low wind. I might remove the weight and try it. When the wind is right it really is something special to fly! I know now that I need a light wind kite, and also I want a more dedicated precision higher wind kite.

Thanks for the info. That is cool that you have those. What are they like flying in the 10-15 mph wind range? Do you consider them more of a precise tracking type of kite?

I don't mind modifying the E2, I am not going to get rid of it anyway. I went to Prism the other day, and they punched a few holes in it for me in the area I wanted. They put the extra holes in the reinforced area, in between the trailing edge zig zag threads. I am going to be at the beach in Newport Oregon for a few days flying next week, and Keith at The Kite Company there has the Skydog Thunderstruck, and Freebird in stock. I might buy one just to have. He thinks they would be a good choice for what I am trying to do with it also. I would like to know if it is capable of doing sharp turns and squares or not.

Appreciate the info. I am sure the Lam kites are great, but spending $400+ on a trick kite, for something I am going to use as a high wind beater isn't the right application. Eventually I might get one, but it isn't in the budget right now. I am quite happy with the Widow NG as a 5-10 mph kite right now.

Thanks for the info. I am a beginner also, so I am certainly interested in your thoughts about how it flew. I am not looking at it for tricks, but for 10-15 mph flying. What I am interested in is 10-15 mph wind, how easy it is to fly, how hard does it pull, how loud is it, and how precise does it turn and track, and does it have a lot of over steer.

Any updates on experiences with this kite? I might buy one of the Challenger Max vented kites.

I laid the E2 on top of the Widow NG and tried to approximate the stand off locations from that. The sail shapes are different and the stand offs aren't exact either. It will be interesting to see how it works. I am going to punch a few more holes in the reinforced area to give a few more adjustment options.

I might try a Skydog Freebird or Thunderstruck for this application.

I just checked the bridle settings and they were set just slightly to the light wind setting from the middle. I think it was set in the middle originally. I did the 2 standoffs per side mod to the E2, anxious to try it out now.

I am trying to decide what kite to get for higher wind. Like 10-15 mph. I am looking for something that doesn't pull too hard, and tracks really well since I am not really doing tricks at that wind range. It needs to be able to take a beating. I am considering the HQ Ion as it has a good higher wind rating, but I am not sure if it is good for precision or not.

+1 vote for the Widow NG. I am a beginner, and have only flown 3 dual line kites, but the Widow NG steers and tracks better than anything else that I have tried so far. I find it really fun to fly.

Sure, thanks. I need more practice to match control movements to desired kite movements.

The Widow NG is a much more precise flying kite than anything else I have tried so far by a large margin. I cant wait to try it in lower wind. I will adjust it for sure the next time I am in that strong of wind. I really like that skybond line also. It had a good feel to it, and is so much easier to see especially in foggy or grey sky conditions like I get at the beach a lot of the time. I will be getting some other sets of it for sure. It is stronger than I thought too.

I sometimes zone out and forget about what I was trying to do, and end up just enjoying the environment, and feel of the kite in the wind. Good times! The precision flying looks like fun also.

Yeah that's what I remember. Hard to explain about the control and keeping track of how the kite is turning and hand position. I was used to flying using pull turns before, and the kite moves in the reverse direction doing push turns. So this makes it more difficult to keep track of, and become instinctive on the controls. I simply couldn't fly in a square pattern using push turns. That is good to know. Yeah, I was focusing on turns, and trying to get control and accuracy during flight. I practiced quite a bit of stall flying before and it seems much easier for me than keeping track of the hand movements and controlling the kite for turns.

Took a trip to Ocean Shores today, and flew the Widow NG for the first time. And it is awesome! Flew it on the Skybond 100# x 100'. Then I decided to switch to the factory 150# x 85' lines so I didn't break the skybond lines. Put those Skybond lines to the test though, if they weren't pre stretched, they are stretched now! I could notice the difference in response between the 85' and 100' lines. I think the wind was on the high side for that kite because I could lean fully back and away against the pull of the kite and I weigh 200#. The wind speed was supposedly about 8-10 mph, but I think it was more like 10+. It roared as it went across the window, and pulled with authority ! I am going to have to watch myself with this one as I have a back disability, and I messed myself up playing hard with the pull. I am thinking it would be more suited to 5-8. The E2 pull was more reasonable in the same wind. Maybe I need to do more adjusting on the NG bridle. I had it set how it arrived. Compared to my E2 it Turns much more precisely, and tracks better. My woman thought so also. (update; I tried the E2 with skybond 85' x 100# lines, then the E2 became almost equally precise, and turned way smoother and more predictably at the edge of the window than the NG.) There is a little more delay in response to inputs with the NG than with the E2, so the timing is a little different but not in a bad way. That might be due to the tail weight also. I could tell that is a spot where tricks can be done, cause I accidentally did a few. Had the best day flying yet!

I was finally able to get out and fly at the beach the other day for about 3 hours. I took my E2 out this time. Put a real beating on it and crashed many times, but didn't break it. The wind was awesome, smooth and steady at about 8 mph. I am still working on basic control. It is hard to keep track of movement and hand position when it is moving that fast. Also I watched Dodd Gross videos and don't really understand punch turns vs pull turns. I mean either way the same hand is farther forward than the other so I don't see why it matters which method you use. I found the kite was pulling too hard in the window to hold the handles at the waist in a neutral position for very long, so I had to fly with my arms extended most of the time.