First flight of the Fulcrum

[Outlaw]

This past Wednesday was my first flight of the Fulcrum (standard version), all I can say is WOW! 

I am a beginner in the quad-line framed Kite world, my only experience is with a Prism Tensor 4.2 and a new Rev XX Which I have been struggling with. 

We have about 10-15 pilots gather every Wednesday at the local soccer fields and fly if weather permits. This past gathering looked sketchy, the rain had just past and almost zero wind. As we were hanging out the wind started to pick up, by the time I got the Fulcrum set up the winds were close to 15 mph. I was fortunate to have John Trennepohl with us so he checked my line setup and gave me a few pointers and off I went. 

With a flick of the wrist and I was in the air and at a stable hover, after a few minutes of getting used to the controls I was flying forward, in reverse, inverted and doing dive stops. One of the coolest things I was doing was landing the kite then stepping forward a couple of steps allowing it to fall backwards then with the lines slack the kite will start to float up off the ground, at about 8' off the ground I stepped back and pulled back on the top lines and off I flew. 

With the winds up were they were the kite had a good amount of pull and adjusting the leader lines did help the surges when the gusts came up.

The quality of the kite is very good, all the hardware is tight and secure, the stitching looks even and the frames (std & UL) fit snug, evenly cut and finished well. The sail when assembled is taunt with no soft spots. Even the printing is good and sharp. It comes with a sleeve that is large enough to hold the kite with both frames in the main pocket and a smaller pocket for the lines, handles and ground stake. 

I can say that I came away from that evening feel good about about the kite and advancing my flying abilities. I was so happy with it that Thursday morning I ordered a vented Fulcrum. 

I now need to decide what to do with my Rev EXP, XX and XX Tarantula. 

[Edmond Dragut]

John T. making the setups for your kite is the best thing what may happend. About your Revs waith a bit till you will met somebody to check te bridle and make setups for you. I am not a fan of new generation Rev but is not worthing to get rid of them befor a an experienced flier try them for you.

Generaly you will have more strugaling with Rev becouse is not a 3D kite  

[khsidekick]

That’s awesome your first flight with it was with John T. no better person to learn from for sure. Glad you had such a good first flight with the Fulcrum. And like Edmond said I wouldn’t give up on your Revs yet you probably just need more air time with them.

[Outlaw]

Edmond and Khsidekick, 

Thanks for the replys, in all honesty I haven't given the Revs a fair chance. I tend to jump in head first which is how I ended up with 3 Rev's in less than a months time and now 2 Fulcrums. 

I will put the EXP in the closet and pull it out on the 4th of July (it's red, white and blue) and keep the other two on the bag. 

John was great, looked over the setup, then took it for a flight, got to watch his hands and see how the kite reacted to his inputs while he explained. 

 

[mebeatee]

Most excellent!!!!!

You realize you have (now) opened a can of worms......I can see Airbow’s, Deca’s, et al in your searching and acquisition future......;).....!!!

bt

[khsidekick]

Two Fulcrums nice. Haven’t had mine out in a while, put it back in the kite bag for this weekend. If you get a chance try out a Djinn or if your like me just buy one you won’t be disappointed I guarantee it. Soon you will be like the rest of us and have way too many kites but that’s one way of figuring out what we like. I keep saying I’m going to sell some but never do. I’ve given a few away to new flyiers

[Outlaw]

Mebeatee, 

To late, I've been looking for an Airbow. Thanks 🙂

 

khsidekick, 

I am waiting on the second one, John ran out of cross spars and they are due in next week. It's bought and paid for a blue one though. I have seen the Djinns and they look nice but i'm saving my pennies for the new Fulcrum .85, it's suppose to be a speed demon. 

 

[Zac B]

Any news on those Fulcrum .85’s?  I visited John in June and bought a full sized Fulcrum.  He was talking about the new .85 but I have yet to hear or see any mention of it since.  

[Outlaw]

I was in the store last week and asked about it, Jon said getting closer but didn't have a date. 

I did get my vented full size, had it out last Sunday and it flew nice and smooth in winds 12-15 mph with gusts. 

[Zac B]

Outlaw,

Very nice looking kites you have there. I have the standard sail, same color as your green/yellow one and I love it. I’m strongly considering a vented Fulcrum as well.

I’ve encountered a few gusts where the kite overloads. It feels like you’ve broken a spar but then it pops back into shape. It happens so fast you really don’t have time to react.

Having broken and replaced my UL frame once already, I don’t care to wreck the standard one too.

Since you’re in the neighborhood, keep us posted on the .85. I only get over to Michigan a couple times a year.


Sent from my iPad using KiteLife mobile app

[Outlaw]

I've flown my full sail in some high winds and when the gusts came up I was concerned about snapping the cross spars. That's when I decided to get the vented. I got it around the first of July and last weekend was the first time I had strong enough winds to try it out. 

Jon said I could put in the UL spars and fly it in lower winds just haven't done it, easier to get the other one out. The vented is actually heavier than the full sail

F/S: Std - 11.9 oz UL - 10.9 oz

Vented: 12.5 oz

I think the mesh adds weight to the kite which would put it between the Std & UL frame weight. 

I think it might be louder than the f/s, maybe just the higher winds. But it sounds great

If you are on Facebook, look up "Fulcrum Quadline Sportkite experience" page

 

 

[Exult]

10 hours ago, Zac B said:

Having broken and replaced my UL frame once already, I don’t care to wreck the standard one too.

I think that a contributing factor to why this happens is that with a Rev-like quad the flexing of the LE is a natural part of the control – you are thus constantly being updated/reminded about the load on the spars. I have not broken any Fulcrum spar so I have no direct feeling of when the UL-spar(/spine) is unsuitable.

On 6/25/2021 at 1:15 PM, Outlaw said:

I was fortunate to have John Trennepohl with us so he checked my line setup and gave me a few pointers and off I went.

He didn’t happen to say anything about if the handle length was in important factor when flipping the kite (pitch-wise, on its back i.e.)? Is there a recommend handle length (range)? Are the 13 inch (33 cm) Rev-handles “the best option”?

[Outlaw]

Exult, 

When one purchases a complete package (kite, line and handles) the handles that come with it are the Ocean Shore Kite brand 13". They are an anodized solid aluminum handle with a firmer grip than the Revs, they also have less of a curve to them. I can take a picture of them compared to my Rev handles tonight when I get home. The leaders are tied like you would find on a Rev style handle, I got some 200# bridle line and made new leaders as shown in the Fulcrum manual but added a couple of extra knots. 

Whether the length is a factor when flipping the kite, we have not spoke about that but I will ask when I see him possibly tonight or this weekend. I believe Jon uses the same ones. 

 

[Outlaw]

Exult,

I saw Jon this evening and asked him about the handles, he was using 14" but said he could wait to switch back to his 13". He did say regarding the flip that "the longer handle might do a little better because you have more down there for the brake". 

Here is a picture comparison if the Rev carbon wrapped handle (black) and the OSK handle (red). As you can see the OSK aren't curved as much. The red handle has the leader set up like in the Fulcrum manual. 

[Exult]

Thank you for this nugget of info @Outlaw! This goes into this discussion:

http://kites.aerialis.com/are-you-ready-for-the-third-test-flight/

(see comment section at the end of the blog post)

Here negative camber line curvature (like the Sky Burner Fulcrum or Benson Air Bow http://airbow.org/flying.html ) is introduced to a Rev-like wing. For the start of this interesting series of development work see:

http://kites.aerialis.com/adding-3d-to-an-old-quad-lined-kite/

[Redangel]

Anyone know of a supplier that ships fulcrum’s to Canada?

[Outlaw]

46 minutes ago, Redangel said:

Anyone know of a supplier that ships fulcrum’s to Canada?

HI,

Jon Trennepohl has a store in Plymouth Michigan and I'm sue he can help you with this, he ships all over. 

His store is called Kites and Fun Things and the number is 734-454-3760

[Redangel]

1 minute ago, Outlaw said:

HI,

Jon Trennepohl has a store in Plymouth Michigan and I'm sue he can help you with this, he ships all over. 

His store is called Kites and Fun Things and the number is 734-454-3760

Thanks Outlaw, I’ll check him out.

[mebeatee]

17 hours ago, Outlaw said:

HI,

Jon Trennepohl has a store in Plymouth Michigan and I'm sue he can help you with this, he ships all over. 

His store is called Kites and Fun Things and the number is 734-454-3760

Good luck with that....shipping to Canada... I had inquired about some Q flaps amongst other stuff, and was dissuaded as they had some huge probs with a couple of deliveries to southern Ontario.....BUT....that was about a year ago now iirc...;) Could have been time of year but their shipping woes were from the summer.......

I even had postal probs with a package from Lam Hoac who is about 40 miles away from me..... This was during a lockdown and I know mail issues were huge....as to be expected.

But things could be different now so hopefully it will work out...great folks at the shop btw!!!!!

bt