Hadge

Stiched loops are a pain! I'd unpick the stitching and just adjust and knot them.

Here you go. http://kitelife.com/forum/videos/view-38-rev-tutorial-line-equalizing/ This is for 4 line kites but the method is exactly the same for duals, it's an easy job.

In light winds you reduce the length of the uphaul line, pulling the nose forward giving a lower angle of attack (AoA) to 'catch' more of the available wind. In stronger winds increase the length of the uphaul, giving a higher AoA letting the kite 'spill' some of the wind reducing the pressure. That said, with some kites in very strong winds you may find that shortening the uphaul back to the light wind setting does actually help by depowering the sail.

Waaaayyyyyyyy too much wind!! Don't worry, everyone break bits when they start - the good news is that kites are easy to fix. Try and fly between 6-12mph if you can while you are learning. If your kite has adjustment on the uphaul (top) line make sure it is set to the longest setting when it's windy.

I recently finished making a new bag designed to hold 3-4 kites and lines just to take down to my local field. Cordura fabric was bought online and total cost was around £10 ($15?). The top flap opens up to let you use it for longer kites if you need to.

Nice job! I've also been busy and recently finished a kite bag of my own. Based loosely on a well known commercially available design ( which isn't available in the UK and costs a bomb to import) I call it the ...er....'Quick' bag Made of heavy duty proofed nylon rucksack fabric, the top flap just folds over so you can adjust the length for longer kites. Made to hold 3-4 kites and linesets to grab and take down the local field. Total cost around £10 ($15?). Oh ignore the bright red strap - I haven't had time to go into town and get some black webbing so that strap was used off an old bag.

Does anyone know a safe way to remove dye 'bleed' on Icarex fabric? I've just bought an HQ Tattoo Zero with some stains where the red panels have bled into the white panels ( I did know about this when I bought it). It's not too bad and I can live with it, but if there is an easy way to get rid of them it would be good. Thanks

As I recall ( I had one a couple of years ago) the leech line is sewn in at the wing tip - you just adjust the tension by sliding the larksheads on the bungee cord around the centre T up or down. I think the HQ Infinity manual is a bit misleading. Check out this video at 38 seconds for a good image of the wing tip.

Hi there, What kite do you have - how big is it? The Sensei lines look like Power kite or kite surfing lines - 200lb is pretty strong and heavy. Most stunt kite fliers probably use lines between 90lb and 150 lb @ 25-30 meters long. 30mph is a lot of wind for any kite so if you are going to fly in that regularly then you really want something around 150lb depending on your kite. Prism lines are fine but there are other options depending on how much you want to pay. If your lines stretch you adjust them by untieing the sleeved loop on the long line and slide it up the line a little and re tie. If you tie a loop in the main flying line it creates a weak spot which is why your line probably snapped.

Climax lines are made of Coramid which is a type of spectra type fibre "Most climax sport kite lines are manufactured from CORAMID. CORAMID is a high quality brand fibre among others such as Dyneema or Spectra. CORAMID has the same basic characteristics as these (i.e. melting point) but performs better in all other areas. climax® lines are different to conventional sport kite lines. A special braiding technique, through and through impregnation and a special polishing process give braided climax lines their unique characteristics. The fibres have a tighter alignment and line surface becomes smoother and harder. A tighter braid reduces line cross-section by more than 50%. This results in a minimum of wind resistance (drag), and forces acting on your climax kite line are distributed more evenly among the individual fibres." They last very well, all of my line sets are at least 3 years old and still fine. I just bought a set of 80' x 110lb protec lines which cost £20 ( abound $30?) and I wouldn't think shipping would be too expensive. If you want the details of agood supplier send me a PM ( I don't know if I can put direct links on the forum).

Are these new lines? if so they may need flying in a little as 3-4 wraps isn't much - my old Climax sets will take 20 + wraps before they even start to bind.

I've got the chance to get hold of a used Silver Fox 2.5 Vented at a good price and wanted some opinions on it as I've read it is supposed to be a pretty good vented. Basically I'm looking for something to use between my standards getting to fast - around 15mph and low/mid 20's mph when the Delta Hawk gets interesting. Any thoughts/opinions/tips gratefully received! Thanks

As long as it's sensibly stored - out of direct sunlight, avoiding excessive heat/humidity - it should store practically indefinately. Once you start using it, well thats a different story depending on brand- some lines wear much more quickly than others - I've heard of some pilots changing lines after as little as a 12-18 months! I have a set of Climax lines which are at least 5 years old ( I've had them 3 years and bought them used) and while faded are still fine. I've just bought some Scectra lines so time will tell. The only real way of testing the actual strength of line is to break test a length of it with a big set of scales. Remember the poundage quoted is usually the minimum breaking strain.

The Fractured Axel forum in the UK use to have a similar thing - the kite library - forum members could borrow a kite for a month before sending it on to the next person on the list and the only cost was the posrage to the next person. the problems they had were keeping track of who had what and a very small minority of cases of newish member borrowing kites and then disappearing. It's a good idea but takes a bit of organising.

A good quality gel type CA works best - the gel type gives you a few seconds to get the ferrule in the right place - I've had the liquid type dry on me before I've gotten the ferrule fully home! Epoxy may make a bomb proof bond, but if you want to remove the ferrule - say to replace a broken spar - it's nearly impossible to do it cleanly. With CA all you need to do is apply a heat gun for a minute or so and it will pop right out.

Lots of alternatives out there it depends on what you actually want the kite to do. Do you want a precise accurate competition kite for performing patterns?. Or a freestyle tricky kite for kite tricks? or something in between the two?

...........May the Fourth be with you.....

I think you may be looking at the HQ Multi kite which can be flown as a single or dual line. It costs around 35 Euros.

The Phantom is still being made by Tim Benson though I'm not sure if it will be the same as yours or an updated version. As rob has said, it is old school - axels, half axels, 540's' lazies etc. If you want to do the modern pitchy wrap tricks you will need to look at something a bit more up to date - still a very nice kite though. If you need to check your current bridle an email to Tim B should get you the info you need. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s39Z_4TJXfg

Hmmmmm............but they also do this....it was an Exile UL ....not mine thankfully but the dog's owner apparently didn't want to know....

Where I live in rural Lincolnshire I AM the only local kite flier - it's very much a minority sport in the UK anyway, most people who fly prefer big 'power' kites. I've had to teach myself everything from scratch by trial and error and from online tutorials - I've been flying 5 years and I'm now OK but by no means an expert. You can teach yourself, it will take a long time, but you can do it. Watch all the videos again and again and try to understand exactly what is happening - I even made a little cardboard cut out kite so that I could get into my head exactly what the kite needed to do. Don't get too ambitious to start with - get the basic take off, landing, control then the snapstall then backflips and the easy tricks and gradually build up. I use to look to add maybe 2-3 tricks a year at first, as you get better you find you will pick stuff up more quickly. You will find you have 'Nemesis' tricks - tricks, not always hard ones, that you just CANNOT get then suddenly one day it will click - mine were the 540 and the backspin. If you can't seem to get a trick you will usually find giving more slack helps most of the time! If you can get any time with experienced fliers grab it!! - It's gold dust. Finally keep at it, it will eventually come. Oh yes, remember to keep moving your feet! I use to stand rooted to one spot, you need to move. By the way have you seen these? - they show you what your hands should be doing. http://www.prismkites.com/lounge-training.php