West Australian Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 I had a Meet with SparkieRob this morning. We got to the park pre-dawn. There was only a very light breeze. Rob and I got out our Zero-G's. Very sweet, very gentle. Rob got the hang of the Zero-G very quickly. He was getting long glides, great smooth circles and consistent launches. We got out my Rev SUL for a spin on some 7' lines. They have proven to be too short (they were made from off-cut) I have decided to make some new lines fron my 50' x 50#. A set of 12' and 30'-ish seems like a good idea. I took the chance to fly a Plutz 3 and my MegaPlutz too. The MP can sure glide. Awesome. Rob figured out a way to ground launch the gliders easily. Lay it on its back, nose away. Get a good length of line out, pull gently to raise the nose. Give a strong tug to launch. I tried it out on the MP with about 80m (263') of line. Fantastic launch with a brilliantly high start. It was a near windless to windless morning, but brilliant fun was had. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkieRob Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 I'm beginning to come around to these single line gliders! The Megaplutz looks like a Battle Cruiser from Star Wars in the way it glides around. Very hard not to watch it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
--Pete Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 Gonna have to get out the Zero-G I got at Grand Haven (it was too windy for it there). I'm thinking a nice long wand would be nice to avoid too much running around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 Rob figured out a way to ground launch the gliders easily. Lay it on its back, nose away. Get a good length of line out, pull gently to raise the nose. Give a strong tug to launch. --Pete: a wand makes this launch very easy to do! I've seen you're on FB, are you on the Glider Geeks page? I have a video from an indoor event that shows how much a wand can do for you!! I'll see if I can get it over here!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 --Pete: It's from indoors, but should give you a general idea!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Australian Posted May 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 Thanks for the comments guys. Pete: The ZeroG will not have you running around. A casual stroll is all that is needed for beginners in zero wind. I find the only movement I do is a few side steps when I am in direct line with the spine of the kite. If you like wands they are certainly an option too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHBKF Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Spent quite a few hours with the Zero G now & have not come up with any ground launch other than the one mentioned with the kite laying on its back. I have bounced it along on it's belly finally getting it airborne but decided it was a bit hard on the little glider. Belly down landings mean I have to go to the kite & flip it over. Or just pick it up & hand launch it with a toss. Then you can let it glide out a bit turning upward before getting too low or you can whirl it like a lasso letting out line as you go. Have not yet tried a wand with any kite or glider nor super light line. Kite flying is interesting in that you can constantly try different approaches. I don't think I've made much progress until I try to teach someone new & see them struggle. Guess I have a few skills but still have much room for improvement. Added note: Two days later I came up with a belly launch. See post #10 below. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Australian Posted May 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Hi Dayhiker, sounds like you are having fun and learning heaps. Belly launches are something I would like at times, but I have the Wala for that. The ZeroG gets some super sweet glides though. The Fused Braid Dynema I use for my Gliders is awesome. 0.3mm Dia (0.012" Dia) 20# strength. The gliders carry it very easy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHBKF Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Here's a interesting article about another use of Dyneema. http://www.compositesworld.com/news/dsm-dyneema-fiber-used-to-help-crown-freedom-tower 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHBKF Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 Just came in from a twilight calm session with the Zero G & made some progress. I finally managed to come up with a successful belly launch. While launching off my front lawn I thought I would try several different line angles from the rear of the kite. I tried from the rear of the kite because it seemed so unlikely that it would work & had not considered it before. With the kite laying on it's belly I lined up a bit off center & gave a pull. The ZG lifted a bit then nosed into the grass. I move over to a bit larger angle, gave a pull & it turned upward climbing nicely. I was able to do this repeatedly. The angle can be varied a bit. The correct pull is important. Just experiment a bit & it will work. I was back about fifteen feet which gives some upward angle to the line. Back further is possible but I did not succeed every time. No doubt I will get better at this. I don't know how it will do in some wind but it does work in a calm. The angle of the line crossed the main wing about where the small black dashed point is located. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Australian Posted June 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 G'Day Dayhiker, Great to hear you are having fun on the ZeroG. Good work on the belly launches too. It is great to have options on launching. I sometimes belly launch, mostly glide launch though. Doing a tilt up launch from the back on 300 feet of line is pretty awesome too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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