Mujician Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I'm at a fairly basic level with my kite flying. I own a Spirit of Air 'Sabre', and a Brookite 'Black Hawk'. Last year I discovered how much fun it was to simply 'hover' the Black Hawk at the edge of the wind. Apart from that I can make them do the usual figure 8s but nothing fancy. The small kite I have (Sabre) has some difficulty getting up in light winds. I wonder if anyone has any adjustment tips for me to get it flying in lighter winds. Or could you point me in the right direction online to find out about bridle adjustment? Many thanks, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul LaMasters Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 search for "turbo bridle" and\or "Andy Wardley" You want a web-site about bridle options and effects. It's on there somewhere and he's deeply involved, if not the outright content owner. I'm a quad-head bridle playing around kind of guy myself, so not too much help with your specific mission. I always attack the weight overall of kite first, if trying to lower it's wind range, but two points to consider are mass and balance points also. Dramatic changes to framing may mean other areas are impacted with the flight dynamics, quite possible these changes are unfavorable. A partner to stand underneath or watch the kite from some other perspective (besides the flier's) is helpful and F_U_N too. You might benefit from having two identical kites so you can comparison evaluate (it's the easiest method, which one feels better?,.... "why" is a tougher question though! Next is the flexibility, doubling the size of the surface area quadruples the stiffness requirements of the frame. So if you frame too light the darn thing may ultimately snap in half, or just wiggle uncontrollably with every pilot command. A longer bridle (built further away from the sail) is how to defeat this problem with a quad,.. but again that darn re-designed bridle thing may now be able to swing wildly about whilst doing tricks, so it snags on a point of contact, when you don't want it. Andy's bridle site is a must-read even if you (like me) don't understand half of it or not even fly dualies at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 The only "light wind" bridle adjustment I know of, is to try moving the bridle so the nose slants forward some. Most good bridles have some marks to indicate range of motion in adjustments. Try moving to the top, little by little, but not so much you're off the scale. Lighter framing is an option, but getting a dedicated SUL might end up being a better answer to the problem, rather than trying to make what you have, do something it is not meant for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Hey Ben... What Wayne said... adjust the nose more towards the pilot. That might help a little. What he said after that will probably help more.... get an UL or SUL kite. The Skyburner NikNak would be the best bet for someone starting out over here in the US. Shipping & VAT might double the price to you, though. I'm sure HQ has something that would work for you like the Shadow. The Shadow might seem a little pricey, so I should let our resident HQ expert (Hadge) suggest something more cost effective. Try to stay away from the low-end (cheap) kites from China, 9 times out of 10 you're just throwing your $$$ away. Both of the kites you have sound like decent kites, I've heard of them, but never flew either. Get another decent kite from a known manufacturer, and try to stay away from small kites, they tend to be twitchy and tough to learn on. Good Luck ! ~Rob. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hadge Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 The Sabre is a small kite so you are always going to struggle with low wind as it's not designed for it. You could try shortening the two bridle lines that go up to the nose of the kite by 1-2cm - if it does have adjustment knot you could either tie a small neat knot in the lines or wrap the lines once around the top spreader. The Brookite, while a bit bigger is quite heavy so again it's never going to be great 6mph winds. Proper light wind kites are expensive because of the materials used to make them and your options in the UK are limited. Rob mentioned the HQ Shadow ( HQ Expert! Cheers Rob sounds like I've been promoted! ) which is a nice light wind kite but expensive - around £160. Cheaper options are the HQ Stratus - basically similar to the Shadow but with a more basic frame and sail material - I haven't had a chance to try one but they are supposed to be Ok and will fly in 2-3mph. The other option is the Prism 4D - nice kite that will fly in virtually nothing but it can be a bit twitchy. Both are around £80-90 so still not cheap. It depends how much you need a really light wind kite. Short lines make flying in light winds easier - 15-20 mtrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 The Sabre is a small kite so you are always going to struggle with low wind as it's not designed for it. You could try shortening the two bridle lines that go up to the nose of the kite by 1-2cm - if it does have adjustment knot you could either tie a small neat knot in the lines or wrap the lines once around the top spreader. The Brookite, while a bit bigger is quite heavy so again it's never going to be great 6mph winds. Proper light wind kites are expensive because of the materials used to make them and your options in the UK are limited. Rob mentioned the HQ Shadow ( HQ Expert! Cheers Rob sounds like I've been promoted! ) which is a nice light wind kite but expensive - around £160. Cheaper options are the HQ Stratus - basically similar to the Shadow but with a more basic frame and sail material - I haven't had a chance to try one but they are supposed to be Ok and will fly in 2-3mph. The other option is the Prism 4D - nice kite that will fly in virtually nothing but it can be a bit twitchy. Both are around £80-90 so still not cheap. It depends how much you need a really light wind kite. Short lines make flying in light winds easier - 15-20 mtrs. If I had a question about an HQ product, you would be the first person I asked ! I would steer away from the 4D because it's so small. It moves really fast and anything more than a finger-tip input is too much. It is tough, though, considering that it can easily fly in 1-2 mph wind. Usually, the lighter the wind a kite can fly in, the more fragile it is. Another note... I learned the most about flying in light wind by trying to fly my standard kites in too little wind. By the time I got a real SUL, I really appeciated how easy it was to fly. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave362 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 This last bit by Rob is really good. Use a little technique to help lower the wind range of the kites you already have. Here's three basic things I try to do: 1. move back on the field when the kite is going up (Take a few steps backwards) 2. Move forward when the kite is going down. 3. If you are flying toward the top of the window and want to turn down, do so before the kite stops and while it still has some momentum. You can also draw your hands back and down toward your hips smoothly while climbing or during the turn mentioned above to help fill the sail. And BTW, welcome to the forum! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Same thing works on our Revs too!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 Some other light wind references... http://kitelife.com/kl-archive/issue-39-milking-the-breeze/ http://kitelife.com/kl-archive/issue-40-milking-the-breeze-part-2/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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