riffclown Posted June 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2017 First Flight of the full sail out at the point at Whalehead.. the Saill was intentionally loose to make it "talk" more but it was a bit too loose. I had to tighten the sail up a bit but was still pleased with the kite overall from the first toss. IMG_0485.3gp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 You can also change how much it "talks" by changing the lengths of bridle legs to shift the overall location of the bridle vertically, changing its width from side to side, or just changing the length of the center leg of the bridle on the LE. I will usually make an adjustable bridle on scratch made kites so I can play with bridle positioning as I test fly. Once I am satisfied that I have found the sweet spot, I build a more permanent one. On some, I leave that center leg adjustable, especially the really SUL ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted June 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 In this case, I had left a loose belly on purpose so the kite would flutter. I wanted to explore some slack sail characteristics to increase sail area without increasing the kite size significantly. Just had to tighten it up a bit to get the flight characteristics I was looking for. I wanted to enhance low wind performance in a sail that was a heavier fabric than a typical SUL. I tend to design for distinct flight behaviors. I use slightly higher aspect ratios to make inverted side slides fit my control style. It also artificially speeds up the sail over a similar production kite. (gives it some of the supersonic characteristics without the undesired side effects of instability.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 22 hours ago, riffclown said: In this case, I had left a loose belly on purpose so the kite would flutter. I wanted to explore some slack sail characteristics to increase sail area without increasing the kite size significantly. Just had to tighten it up a bit to get the flight characteristics I was looking for. I wanted to enhance low wind performance in a sail that was a heavier fabric than a typical SUL. I tend to design for distinct flight behaviors. I use slightly higher aspect ratios to make inverted side slides fit my control style. It also artificially speeds up the sail over a similar production kite. (gives it some of the supersonic characteristics without the undesired side effects of instability.) Exactly! I really, really like a bit higher aspect ratio in an SUL. The additional speed keeps it moving and makes up for the missing amount of mass. If only I could design one that doesn't involve this compromise......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted June 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 10 minutes ago, makatakam said: Exactly! I really, really like a bit higher aspect ratio in an SUL. The additional speed keeps it moving and makes up for the missing amount of mass. If only I could design one that doesn't involve this compromise......... The slack sail helps "SOME" but the artificial belly has to be in your mind for anything reverse.. Worth the tradeoff??? maybe.. Trying to find that perfect compromise.. this video is before I trimmed it down a bit.. VERY low wind.. Notice how the sails belly is reacting to input. Remember this is a far heavier sail than is typical for these conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted June 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 Moving on lessons learned, I've decided to finish out this particular run of kites with the second full sail as clost to this one as possible.. if it works better, I may actually rig this one permanently for lights and night flying.. As several friends have found out recently. Night Flying is an absolute blast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted July 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2017 FS #3 is complete and first flight was today.. While there was almost no breeze, I was very encouraged by first flight.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted July 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2017 Mesh #6 finally has a video 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Clay Posted July 31, 2017 Report Share Posted July 31, 2017 First time I've ever flown a B2 size quad. Definitely a zippy little guy. It was a blast to fly! Glad I could be your video test pilot [emoji3]Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted July 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2017 @Bill Clay, Thank you very much for the kind words.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted August 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2017 Full Sail # 10 found the air today.. It was still air but it was "still" air.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Klaiber Posted August 19, 2017 Report Share Posted August 19, 2017 Nice little float Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Great kite. Great moves. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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