Ultra Lights

[Upnet]

Hello Again. Jo and I are progressing with the Cherry Bomb. I bought an Acrobatx for a second kite. Jo is practicing stalling...and is concentrating on getting the"feel" of the kite. Her inputs are more subtle now with less YANK. Got rid of the Dacron line and went with spectra. I have had a series of successful landings...flying horizontal to the edge of the window....point the nose up...and let her down. What a thrill! Also been experimenting with punch inputs. Man, that kite really turns tight. Of course I have had a couple of pile driver's into the grass as the inputs are reversed! (lol) Also lately...the winds have been light, making it difficult for us. I am contemplating getting us an Ultra light kite. Do these things really fly in light wind? I checked specs...as a comparison. My Acrobatx weighs 10oz. An Acrobatx UL weighs 7.3 oz....and is the same size. Does 3oz really make a difference? Is there some difference in the sail shape? I assume you use shorter lines.

What say you all?

Here's a link. Video is a little jumpy...but you will get the idea. Me flying...she's the camera person. She is just learning that too.

Flying the Cherry Bomb

[tonycarl60]

Looks like you're coming along just fine:) I think you'll enjoy the Acrobatx, it will do more tricks when you're ready. The Acrobatx ul which I also have, will fly in a lighter wind an is fun, but I find myself getting out my hq Shadow with 50ft lines instead. The Shadow seem to hang in there better in a light wind then the Acrobatx ul. When there is no wind I break out my single line Skate by Focus Designs tied to a light fishing pole. Have fun!

[windofchange]

Yup, I recommend the Shadow as well. Great UL kite that tricks very well. Unfortunately HQ has discontinued this kite because of the difficulty in getting the colored material used in the sail. It is one of the best UL kites I have flown. We do have a couple left in stock if you are interested, give us a call.

[JoneZ]

Good to hear you're diggin ur kites My Fiance and I love the Vid. Its great to hear newcomers reactions to kite flying.

A word of caution on the UL side -- they are a tad-to-a-lot more fragile, so you'll definitely have to practice up on control, landing, and running forward to avoid a nose down crash landing (happened alot for me when I was learning flic flacs, and still running forward learning 540's), or any crash landing for that matter (most of my unscheduled landings occur from unsuccessful yo-yo's with my lines getting caught up in the LE's).

I was thinking about getting an AcrobatX, but got my Widow instead (Love you My Widow ).

How's she fly?

[JoneZ]

Ya know, now that Im thinkin about it, Im gonna revise what I said above. I wouldnt suggest buying a UL right now. When the winds are light, just study up online,, imagine trick movements, practice theory.

Also, when you think the winds are too light to fly, go out anyway. Try and make your kite fly in lighter winds (through bridle adjustments [providing you study up on them], and walking backwards).

Some tricks I've found:

--Use a shorter lineset with less poundage (maybe grab a 50# 50' set or make a set of 50# 20"-30"'s). Less line and less # = less weight and downward drag on your kite. Also it will be more punchy with your inputs, being as it is a much shorter line. Just stick with Spectra -- less elasticity.

--Your Standoffs. If they're adjustable at the sail point, move them inward toward the spine. If not, and you have dual standoffs on each side, move the outer standoff APA connector on each side (the one closest to the Leading Edge) closer to the 2nd standoff closest to the spine -- infact, just butt it up against the 2nd standoff (I'll upload a pic on this one if you don't understand -- Im not the clearest at explaining sometimes. lol). That will reduce the sail tension and allow for easier light wind flying. If you just have one standoff per side, do the same -- move the standoff closer to the spine. **Don't over do it. It puts quite a bit of stress on the connectors, and you don't want to break one mid-field without replacements. Bad times. On the cherry bomb, I've moved them as far as 4' .

--Bridle adjustments. Most kites have factory marked settings for light winds and strong winds by adjustment of the tow point on the upper and lower leg of the bridle. I found that these points are pretty gracious and can be over extended quite a bit. Once again, don't over-do it. If you adjust the tow point too far forward (toward the nose) in light winds, you'll actually counteract what you're trying to accomplish by letting too much wind dump out the back of the sail, instead of catching more air like you intended. Also bad times.

I hope this little rant helps you out.

Happy Flying m8.

~Jon

[roisinroisin21]

Try shorter lines 1st. set of short lines may well be cheaper than a spine or leading edge.

Even in no wind on short lines practice control, launch and landing over and over again

[JoneZ]

lol. and wear some headphones with loud music, that way you can avoid the "he-he-he not enough wind there hey?" comment from passer-by's.