Need help with flying in low winds

[zebs1025]

I just bought a Prism Quantum and I really like it so far. It seems like whenever the winds drop below 12mph (estimating) I have a hard time getting it to stay in the air. The Prism site says that the Quantum can fly in as little as 3mph winds. I did some reading and I was wondering if a shorter lineset would help. It came with #150 x 85' lines. Would a #50 x 50' help me solve this problem or would these lines break to easily on the Quantum? I also tried adjusting the bridal to the low wind position and I didn't notice that much of a difference. Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks.

[John Barresi]

Here's an article I wrote in November of 2004, hope it's of some help...

http://www.kitelife.com/magazine/issue39/l...d39/content.php

[zebs1025]

This article has some nice tips. So would a shorter and lighter lineset help when flying in light winds or does it matter?

[JoneZ]

A lighter # line will reduce the weight of the lineset, thus reducing downward drag on your kite in lighter winds. I use 100ft @ 75#, for 5-10Mph, and 50ft of 90# for anything lower (until I get a set of 50# 50ft.). The shorter line really helps in the lightest of winds, but theres not a lot of 'room' in the window. Good lineset for indoor flying though.

In super light winds, you're going to have to pump your kite quite frequently to keep it in the air. This is where having your bridle set for "light winds" isn't the best thing (as I myself learned recently). Every time you pump, and go to reload your arms for another pump, the nose of your kite will fall back slightly, dumping wind off the top of the sail. It will have the tendency to want to fall on its back between pumps. Makes it extremely hard to rise your kite effectively. To stop this, set your bridle so that in between pumps there is little bobbing coming from your nose (I call it the sweet spot -- good place to mark with a sharpie on the bridle). Then just pump smoothly, and step back smoothly (try not to run back -- just take long smooth strides).

Also try moving the outer standoffs on each side of the sail, inwards towards the in-most standoff (move it about 1" or 2"). It will reduce the tension on the sail and help keep it afloat (a little).

If all else fails,, bring a good book out into the field, and wait for the wind to pick up.

~Jon

Good KL issue Jb. Great info on there.

[windofchange]

One of the things that is most often overlooked is bridle settings. If you are going to be flying in light winds then you WILL need to adjust your bridle and set the kite up to do so. Changing your bridle is simply adjusting your kites angle of attack or in more simple terms, bringing the nose of the kite forward or backwards for the current wind conditions.

If you set the nose of the kite backwards (away from the pilots position) then you set the kite up "heavy" (simple term that describes how the kite is flying in the current winds) Heavy setting means that you can launch the kite up and then it stalls out and falls back down to the ground like it has a brick tied to the tail. No matter how many times you pull, the kite launches up and then stalls or falls back to the earth.

If you set the nose of the kite forward (towards the pilot) then the kite is set up "Light" meaning that the kite will have fast forward drive and be difficult to stall out. Both of these settings are changing the angle of attack of the kite. For lighter winds you will "usually" need to move the nose of the kite forward into the light setting. This will give the kite much more forward speed and keep the kite flying in lighter wind by dumping most of the wind out of the bottom of the sail.

Weight of the kite also plays a big factor for light wind. The heavier the kite AND the smaller the sail area, the more wind it will take to keep the kite in the air. A lot of people will remove the upper spreader of the kite for the lightest of winds just so they can take off a couple grams of weight. Sometimes that will help but only do this in the lightest of light wind conditions.

I believe the Quantum comes with tabs on the bridle that read "light wind" and "Strong wind" with knots to adjust between. Don't be afraid to move past the factory knots a little to see if that will help you in your light wind flying. The setting on the bridle is just a factory "Average" setting and the bridle is designed to be adjusted by the pilot for the different wind conditions. Usually you will only need to adjust about a inch max either up or down on the bridle. Small adjustments will make a big difference on the flying. Try different settings to see if it gets better or worse, if worse, go the other way. Don't worry about messing up the bridle by changing the adjustment point, there is a mark on the bridle so you can always put it back to the factory setting. With proper bridle adjustments and good technique, 4-5 mph winds are very attainable with the Quantum.

As a dear flying friend of mine says....

Heavy wind flying builds muscle, Light wind flying builds skill.

Flying in light wind is an art and skill that needs to be learned. It can be very technical and delicate but once you get the "feel" of light wind flying, you skills will improve immensely and flying in heavier winds will be a breeze. (pun intended)

Hope this helps.

[ko-2]

Here's an article I wrote in November of 2004, hope it's of some help...

http://www.kitelife.com/magazine/issue39/l...d39/content.php

thanx john great help KO

[John Barresi]

Awesome, glad to hear it!

[wen]

I've also found when the kite's heading down and turning up close to the ground (too close?) i pull/push turn and when the lower line is slack, pull in the lower line and step back for a tighter turn (sometimes). the kite will stall a bit though, but better then hitting the ground (of course i try not to have to use this much ) hope that makes some sense... even if you think it means "make a sandwich"

[John F]

One thing I have learned with light wind flying is that pumping is more of a desparation move. I do it but it is the last resort. Keeping a steady pressure on the sail is more effective. Forward motion of the kite seems to give it lift as it reduces pressure on the back side of the sail and that is the same as having wind.

So what I do is launch by extending my arms, step back to bring the lines under tension, take a breath, then step back and pulling the hands back to the chest in a solid steady motion (this simulates what a steady wind does). Then continue steppping back to gain altitude. If I do pump I do it at chest level as opposed to hands hanging down. This reduces the length of the pumping stroke and seems to make the motion smoother (think of it as your arms putting wind into the kite as opposed to jerking it higher). As soon as some altitude it reached then turn letting the kite gain speed with gravity and then turn up. If you maintain some speed on the kite you will create some lift.

Also shrink your flying window vertically and horizontally. Maybe as little as +- 30% horizontally and no more than up 60%. This gives you more use of whatever wind there is.

Almost every trick I have learned, I first executed in light wind. Things slowdown nicely and you can get input sequences and timing down. In fact I love low wind ( a good SUL kite helps too).

[Materdaddy]

Updated URL for the light wind article: http://kitelife.com/kl-archive/issue-39-milking-the-breeze/

[John Barresi]

And here...

http://kitelife.com/kl-archive/issue-40-milking-the-breeze-part-2/

[RobB]

The Quantum is not a good choice for winds under 8mph. You need a light wind kite... And don't waste your $$$ on 50# lines for the Quantum, they will be broken in no time. I can't count how many times I broke the 50# lines that came with my Zephyr. The Quantum just has too much pull.