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nus
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First of all I'm sorry I'm posting this in the category as it's probably the wrong one to post this in. I just started to fly a "GoFlyaKite" - Typhoon last week. Got it as a gift as I had always wanted to give stunt kites a try but was to lazy/scared to go buy one. So after just 2 weeks I'm loving it, I can get the kite up no prob and move it around a bit with simple loops and what not, but have issues keeping it in the air if the winds aren't very strong... I'm sure part of this is the location in which i'm flying... but on to the question, I'm already looking for a new kite since I've been reading getting a bigger kite might be a bit easier to learn and advance quicker with, SO...... i'm really anxious and want instant gratification so I was wondering if anyone knew of any good store fronts in the North Shore, Massachusetts area so I can buy one and fly it right away. I have looked around but with no real luck.

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Thanks.... this has been the only place I was actually able to find, it's about 3 or 4 hour roundtrip so at that point I think I would just a web order.... thank you though, for the input, and am I correct getting something with bigger wingspan (currently only have 48") will make things eaiser to learn and control?

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Looking to stay under $100 at this point.... I saw a Pyro XS for $35 which was on the calssfied sections which would be nice to stay under the $50 and it's located in MA, but then I also read your comments on the Acrobatx which seems like I can get it shipped for about $80 which seems good.... any other suggestion? and would you strongly advise to go with the Acrobatx over the Pyro XS

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Hey Nus,

I have both the Acrobatx and the Pyro XS. You made the wise choice, the Acrobatx is more versitile. It will go up in just a little wind, and is strong enough to take a 20mph wind as well. The Pyro is slower and less precise, but it is a smooth flyer. It needs more wind than the Acrobatx to stay up, but it wouldn't stand up to a 20 mph breeze.

I feel like I get better faster when I fly the Acrobatx vs. any of the kites I have.

Good luck...

~Rob.

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the lower wind speed ratings is one of the reasons I made this kite my choice. I guess my next really big ? is how important are the kite lines? The kite is coming with lines which seems standard but should I look into purchasing a "better" set and what exactly qualifies as a better set. If this has been answerd in a previos post feel free to direct me there.

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So I got my kite the other day (Acrobatx).... very excited but I must admit I was overwhlemed..... obviously it's alot bigger but also it's a different setup which although wasn't that complicated too my a couple min to figure out..... BUT i do still have what look like a couple of brass bushings? with a couple of rubber spacers... NO IDEA what they're for, nothing in the documentation or anything.

So i did take it out... however niether day has been optimal but I must say it is a huge difference from the Typhoon i've been flying. obviously I expected it to be diferent but not this much.... anyway, the kite is definatly a ton slower which is cool I can see where this is totally gonna help me when geting into the trick stuff, and also seems like I can land it way easier if the wind disappears. The kite also seems a ton more responsive almost over responsive but like I said the days/locations I flew have not been optimal.

All and all I'm toatllly excited to learn and progress...... however right now I think one of the things I need to learn is good flight locations for a ceratin direction of wind.... Does anyone know of a website that has historical weather data... even if it's only a week back just so I can have a good idea of some of the places I have flown in the past week and my experiences?

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One item... The metal bushings are weights which go on the keel (tail/bottom of spine), which effect the flight characteristics.

Thanks...so I guess the next question would be.... how would I put them on and what would be the benefits of having them....

On side note I got out this morning and had a much better time flying, winds where good and the location was decent, and I had a blast. At this point I'm still learning how to finess the controls as I seem to go to hard at it (which I had to do with my smaller kite), but I'm still lov'n it.

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www.wunderground.com and enter your zip code. Near the bottom of the page you'll see individual weather stations with historical data available.

nws.noaa.gov also keeps historical data for you to view at a later time.

Thanks www.wunderground.com is fantasic, exactly what I was looking for, thanks a bunch!

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One item... The metal bushings are weights which go on the keel (tail/bottom of spine), which effect the flight characteristics.

Thanks...so I guess the next question would be.... how would I put them on and what would be the benefits of having them....

On side note I got out this morning and had a much better time flying, winds where good and the location was decent, and I had a blast. At this point I'm still learning how to finess the controls as I seem to go to hard at it (which I had to do with my smaller kite), but I'm still lov'n it.

Hey NUS...

The weights in the tail cause the center of gravity of the kite to change, with the weight bias towards the tail, the kite stalls easier. I think it also helps to compensate out over steer. My Acrobatx came with the weights installed all ready, and I haven't messed with them because the kite flies great as it is. I have moved the weights around on other kites that I have, but I prefer them towards the tail, because it makes landing, side sliding and just stalling in general easier.

I find experimenting with the tuning of a kite to be half the fun of flying.

Take care...

~Rob.

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The weights in the tail cause the center of gravity of the kite to change, with the weight bias towards the tail, the kite stalls easier. I think it also helps to compensate out over steer. My Acrobatx came with the weights installed all ready, and I haven't messed with them because the kite flies great as it is. I have moved the weights around on other kites that I have, but I prefer them towards the tail, because it makes landing, side sliding and just stalling in general easier.

I find experimenting with the tuning of a kite to be half the fun of flying.

Take care...

~Rob.

Thanks for the info... I was figuring that was what they are but still kinda unsure how to get them on the tail... does the piece on the bottom of the tail pop off?

I went and did a bit more flying today and I just noticed my kite lines are off... i think i was so excited to fly I never noticed it before and I think this is part of the reason it seems over repsonsive (i'm sure that's not the right term) at time, so now I'm gonna look around and figure out how to fix these bad boys.

Thanks everyone for all your help, I hate being a total noob but am enjoying the kiting a ton.

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Adding tailweights will begin add overstear to almost every kite i've flown unless you're very used to flying like that.

Many kites have a threshold where they wont be affected much and past that point it becomes unruly, the acrobatx will become oversteery pretty quickly though, but in return you will get many tricks much easier.

Until you become getting into more advanced tricks, I'd suggest flying the acrobatx without the tailweights, general flight is much more enjoyable on it and basic tricks are slower and easier to understand.

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