New pilot with an old Jewel... Suggestions?

[monkeywrench83]

Greetings from Vancouver, BC.

I say "new pilot" but my first experience with 2 line kites was when I got myself a Trlby somewhere on the coast of Oregon on a family trip when I was about ten years old. I really enjoyed flying that thing, but for whatever reason it never really stuck and I ended up getting into other hobbies as time went on. Flash forward 30 years and the nostalgia bug bit me, so I got myself a Peter Powell stunter to mess around with and, yeah, it's still a lot of fun. I did end up picking up another Trlby off ebay and, while it's nice to fly when the winds are down a bit, I have to say I like the PP more. It seems to be a real crowd pleaser as well, but I digress...

Not that long ago I picked up an old Jewel by Premier for $50 CAD from a guy cleaning out his garage or whatever, and have been messing around with it a bit lately. Finally managed to break the spine yesterday (4mm carbon, I believe) and, while I do intend to replace it, it did kind of get me wondering if this is such a great delta stunter to cut my teeth on. Since I live on the west coast (of N. America) I've been doing most if not all of my flying off shore. There are a couple nice parks a LOT closer to home that I really WANT to be able to fly in, but the wind never quite seems to want to co-operate with me. Such is life...

In any case, while my limited experience with the Jewel has not at all been bad, I have found it wanting in a few regards... First off, it really doesn't seem to want to do much (at all) below about 7 mph winds, which is a bit disappointing seeing as that's mostly what we get out here on summer days and, well, I was just really hoping that it would perform in lower winds. I'll qualify the word "perform" as being able to maintain flight with little to no input from the pilot, or something like that... Adjusting the bridle does seem to help somewhat, but really only gets me so far and I can only move backwards so much until the whole experience becomes something altogether less then a totally good time. The other thing, which may come down to its (relatively) small size is that the kite feels, well, twitchy. Granted that a lot of that is coming from my own lack of experience, but I'll put it like this: If flying the PP is like driving a Cadillac then flying the Jewel is like driving a gokart. I mean, yeah, it was blowing at around 14-15 mph yesterday when it broke its back, and I definitely felt like I was flying it at the upper limits of what it was intended to do, but (again using the automotive analogy) in comparing those two kites against one another the overall impression it gives me is that what I really want to drive is a Porsche or maybe even a BMW. Something fairly sporty, somewhat powerful, but comfortable enough that I don't need to be wearing a 5 point harness seat belt to take corners in. Something I can hit a little pot hole with at a decent speed without losing a filling. Something I can put into a drift reliably and get out of again without the whole vehicle getting all squirly on me. Something like the Wolf NG?

In my own, long winded and probably more than a little abstract kind of way, I guess what I'm really asking for here is advice. The situation is thus:

I do most of my flying off the coast, yet the winds tend to be a bit tame and I'd like something I can get moving at around 6 mph.

I want something that's fairly forgiving to a new pilot and yet allows me enough flexibility to learn some of the basic slack-line tricks.

I want something in the $75 to $150 CAD range and yes, I am vain AND self conscious, so looks are important to me.

I know I mentioned the Wolf NG earlier, but I'm on a fixed income these days, and it would actually be REALLY hard for me to justify spending that kind of money on a kite. I've been eyeing up the CIM Beetle X15 in a pretty serious way for the past couple months, as (while actually a little smaller than the Jewel) it sounds like it comes with a good pedigree, and seems like the type of thing I could bomb around in 5 mph winds, learn the basics (like how to crash), and not regret buying as I progress along my journey. My only real concern about buying a Beetle (funny, considering all the car references, no?) is that I already have one in Jewel form and I just don't know it.

Another bird I'm considering is the HQ Salsa II. Here's the manufacturer's description:

"This kite is aimed at beginners who want to have their first experience in trick and nice flight.
Even with little wind, the Salsa II flies smoothly and elegantly. Due to its good-natured handling, even beginners quickly learn to fly the first cartoon characters.
The circular precision is also very remarkable for a kite in this category. The dance with the salsa can begin!
For the trip on vacation, this kite can be folded to a suitcase size and stowed away to save space."

I'm not going to lie, the whole paragraph makes me nervous as, to me, it absolutely reeks of poor translation, which makes me suspect the description entirely. I will say, however, if it really does fold down enough to fit into a suitcase (or a backpack) that would be pretty damn cool, I like the looks, and I must admit I seem to be leaning towards this kite in particular ATM.

Another (somewhat freaky) alternative I've been toying with is to pick up the HQ Trigger (because some guy on youtube said he was really impressed with it, considering the price tag) and replace all the rods with pultruded carbon in hopes of being able to get it airborne in 5-7 mph winds. This would be an experiment to say the least, but at least it wouldn't be a very expensive one.

OK. I'm tired of reading my own thoughts now, and I'm getting hungry so I guess I'll wrap this up. What do you guys think? Should I stick with the Jewel as my first learner kite? Should I buy a bug? Is the Salsa II any good? Is my idea of retro-fitting a cheapo kite totally off the wall? Should I just move to Scotland and be done with it?

Thank you in advance for all of your thoughts and considerations as well as having a place for people like myself to congregate and discuss some of the finer things in life (like flying a kite), and just being helpful and supportive in general. I really do appreciate it.

Best,

MW.

 

[The 5piff]

I, like you, have relatively little experience with dual-line kites, but I've always had fun with the Prism Nexus and 4-D in light wind. The 4-D is a little fragile for learning on though

[monkeywrench83]

Apparently so is the Jewel. The 4-D interests me because of how incredibly light it is, I'm just not sure how much more it has going for it apart from that. Interesting you bring up the Nexus; I hadn't got the impression that it was in any way a light wind kind of kite.

[mebeatee]

Yes the winds have been pretty stupid over the last 5 daze or so here on the west coast....no wonder your kite broke...;) I’m close by......Sunshine Coast....and started flying mid ‘90’s in Vanier....when I was in the city.

Two things to check out in Van......go see Sally at her shop on Granville Island....yay a physical kite shop of sorts. She is waaay kewl!!!!!
The other is where are you and where did/do you fly? Dunno if anyone flys at Vanier these daze. Apparently Garry Point park in Steveston is the place folks who share our love of kites congregate. That lot should be good source of info et al.......
I live across the street from the beach on the SC...see the indoor Tsuru pic on site page and some vidz below.....and rarely go into the city.

bt

BeaTee Riddims

Go fly a kite....

https://www.youtube.com/@aleatorasounds4033

[monkeywrench83]

Hey bt, pleased to make your acquaintance.

Vanier park is where I've doing all my flying up until the last time when Jewel fall down go boom. That time I spent the extra 15 minutes to get down to Jericho beach. Honestly (and maybe it was just the weather its self), even though the winds were more.. erratic(?) there, I think it's probably going to be my new spot. Probably more likely to meet other flyers at Vanier, but it's been pretty sparse so far and, frankly, I'm tired of swathing through metric tons of goose sh*t. Plus Jericho is just.. nicer.
 

Had a chat with someone at Kites and Puppets the other day over the phone looking for a 4mm carbon rod. He didn't sound like a Sally though. I'll have to make it out there in person sometime. Haven't been since I was wee tiny. I'm actually a transplant from Victoria. Makes me miss Clover Point, if you've ever been there. Pretty tough to beat that spot.

As for Garry Point, I haven't made it down there yet. I'm a slave to public transportation, and it's starting to get to be a bit of a pilgrimage to make it out that far. On the other hand, it does seem like the flying conditions there are pretty good and if there are kite people hanging around too then that would be cool.

Are you northish or southish of Sechelt? I spent a couple months hanging around Robert's Creek a few years back. Pretty gorgeous out there...

[mebeatee]

Sent a pm with more info as to not clog this place up....;)

bt

[cjay]

On 6/6/2023 at 5:21 PM, monkeywrench83 said:

Beetle

An experienced dual line kite flyer friend of mine kept telling me a long time ago that the Beetle was a very good flying kite, and that I should get one.

So when I got the chance, I bought a used Beetle 2100+ off of craigslist for $20 USD.  

It is one of my favorite kites. Tracks really well. Has a good line feel, but doesn't pull too hard. Very predictable and responsive to line inputs which is very useful to recover from a mistake before crashing. Really surprised how much I like this kite. Everyone else that has tried it likes it well also.