makatakam

New Smyrna Beach. @Jynx flies there. She's a Milwaukee, WI snowbird and on the beach almost every day if the weather and tides allow. A few others show up there frequently also. She's pro grade and can flatten your learning curve considerably.

Cool!

Congratulations.

Happy New Year.

You're the kite equivalent of the Energizer Bunny! 🙂

That is one badass kite! I'm really impressed.

Looks great!

Now you can control the kite. I would use a full vent kite in 18mph wind, a mid-vent in anything over 10mph. Strong wind with a standard sail is great if you like the pull, but it does stretch the sail and it can snap spars in two with no warning. For light winds, should you encounter any soon, move the top lines out to the last knot. This squares the sail nearly perpendicular to the wind and puts more pressure in the sail, allowing to harness as much of the energy as possible. Pressure on the sail is what keeps the kite airborne. We're talking 4mph and under. It will be harder to launch from an upright position but super easy from inverted. When you have very steady wind play with moving the lines in and out on the top knots to see how it affects performance.

I imagined a comma after the word After and a period after the word kids. The rest just flows logically.

Eleven inch handles will decrease the effect of every input you give the kite. This is good if you are flying in strong wind or a smaller kite like a B2. This is BAD if want to learn better control. Longer handles force you to use the correct amount of input to achieve the result you want. With shorter handles you can give "sloppy" input to the kite and get away with it, but the reduced length will not allow the throw distance you need to initiate some advanced moves like axels for instance. The best way to improve your skills is to use long handles on small kites to hone input precision. I've been flying quad for almost 10 years and still don't have 11" handles (but I do want a set). There are some quads that require short handles -- Revs do not.

It's good to have more than one set. Get snagless handles if possible. Modify the ones you have to snagless also. Keep it in mind that 120' lines can be cut down to shorter sets when they begin to wear, or even when new for much less than buying separate sets. Make your own sets from bulk line spools for half as much if you have the time and patience. The more you do yourself, the better you will understand what makes it work the way it does. That can only make you a better pilot.

Or you can just extend your top lines with whatever cord you can get until they come in. All it takes is a loop and a larkshead per handle. Check out the possibilities at your local hardware store. Shouldn't cost more than a dollar. All you need is a foot or two.

Yes. Getting everything as tight as possible on top will roll over the leading to a degree and the change it makes is dramatic. However, like everything else that changes performance it is a compromise. You get more of one, less of the other. Which end of the scale you prefer is part of and also influences your flying style, but it's good to know that what you want is what you can get. I like things tight enough at the top to increase glide for ground recovery a bit, but not enough to hinder axels or to make it want to turn and run away from me on catch and throw. There's a sweet spot to the curve that takes some experimentation to find, and that sweet spot shifts a bit when conditions change. It's a ton of fun once you know how to change the amount of rollover to adjust for the wind conditions. You can tweak it to accommodate line length and wind speed, and it can be a huge bonus in light wind. I've also played with bowed uprights to simulate Reflex curvature, as well as pieces of rigid foam between the upright and the sail. Wayne, I recommend that you don't try Paul's setup 'cause you're gonna like it.

When your new leaders are installed, attach your lines to the furthest knot out on the bottoms and the top lines to the third knot in from the furthest out. You won't like it at first, but you will get used to it and it will do wonders for performance. To launch from an upright stance -- watch the beginner videos -- you will need to give it a good "pop" while simultaneously taking a step backwards. It will be awkward at first, but as I said, you will get used to it and it will become the norm before you know it. A good dose of patience and determination is all it takes. Take both with a glass of water when you rise. Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe.

Are you going to include leading edge mesh? This type of venting pretty eliminates the need for it. It can save you a step or two during construction and some materials, and if you build a higher aspect ratio sail it will increase the kite's overall speed, regaining some of the speed that the massive venting removed. Of course, that would involve shortening the uprights, but if you don't mind a non-interchangeable frame . . .

Getting really good really fast. Nice work -- keep it up!

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Two minutes ago I suggested that you let those top lines out some in the other topic. Yup, by looking at the pics you posted I can say with certainty that your top leaders are WAY too short. Double the length of the bottoms would be good; triple would be better. Make the change BEFORE the next time you fly. You can extend the tops by tying in a loop between what you have now and the handles. Buy the JB leaders or make your own if you're handy at crafts. You can make them from bridle line purchased from your local brick-and-mortar kite shop or online. Dirt cheap either way. Definitely make those top lines longer and put more knots in them any way you can! The way they are now only impedes your progress, and you'll have a harder time unlearning things later. Not traumatic, but you'll think: "Damn, I could have skipped this part."

Keep letting those top lines further out as comfort allows. Try each time out. Eventually you'll feel right at home with max brake and you'll appreciate what it does and wonder why you didn't just start that way. When I let new flyers try one of mine, I only bring the top lines in two or three knots if I'm all the way out. Watch the beginner tutorials on this forum. It's actually easier to start with more brake than it is to unlearn not using enough brake.

This may simply be an issue caused by not using enough brake in the settings. Are your upper handle leaders about seven inches longer than the bottoms and your lines are attached to the third or so knot from the end? Depending on conditions and wind speed you might not have the sail as square to the wind as it should be. Try letting the top lines out a couple of knots and see it that takes some of the slack out of the brake lines. This will also tame down the kite so it doesn't go shooting off on its own when a gust hits.

Hi, Corey, and welcome to the forum, as well as the dark side. You'll love quad, eventually. Takes a touch of unlearning after you've been flying duals, but other things you've learned while flying duals will flatten the curve. Good luck. Good wind!

This is wrong. The opposite of this is what happens and is very simple to prove to yourself. Hold the kite by the bridle with your hand directly above point A as if you were going to launch it. Then hold it below point B in the same wind speed. Which one pulls more? The stronger the pull, the more weight it can lift.

Leading edge mesh isn't necessary if there is enough ventilation near the leading edge so that it doesn't "block" wind pressure when the kite is moving in reverse. It's practicality will vary in relation to the amount and location of the venting. A "pressure dam" at the leading edge will reduce speed and control in reverse flight. If the pressure can't "slide" all the way to the leading edge because it blows out through voids in the sail then it offers no resistance to motion or control inputs. Very complicated aerodynamics happen and sometimes the best way of achieving desired results is through trial and error. If you plan ahead during the build you can include or omit a feature such as leading edge mesh, and then later add or remove it easily if you've allowed for the possibility.

I look at the names of dual tricks and wonder how many of them started out as "repeatable mistakes" that looked cool.

And if you hit right you can pop a rixel.