broken Widow ng

[Wayne Dowler]

The Kite Shoppe uses smaller diameter sleeving, otherwise it is a tossup between the stores. Either Speed or Skybond will work for your dual line kites. Speed has been around longer, but Skybond is good stuff too. LPG is good too, but preferred for quads. Can't go wrong with any of the shops I mentioned, but my local store is The Kite Shoppe.

Just remember to match line strength to kite pull. Sometimes you need 150# line on certain kites or the kite will break it. You just have to know your equipment. My Prism Ozone flies on 50#, but my Stranger(middle wind range) uses 150#. My higher wind kite, a Prism Alien flies in higher winds and uses 90#. Design of the kite plays into line choice. There is no "one size fits all".

[cjay]

I am going with 90# or 100# line, because that is what is available close to the weight I want.

The Shanti Speed and Skybond are 100#.

LPG is 90#.

 

The skybond 100# is said to be the same diameter as the LPG 90#.

 

Skybond and LPG are both coated line, where Shanti speed line is not.

 I guess it comes down to not knowing if I should get coated or uncoated line.

 

[Wayne Dowler]

Skybond is definitely coated. LPG - ? Tighter weave might be a better word. Speed has been around a very long time, got sets nearly 20 years old and still fly them. All 3 are really about the same strength, but still kite design and pull will dictate what line works for which kite. not poundage. I try using 90/100# line on my Stranger and it breaks nearly every time. Not every kite will work best on lighter line......           IMHO     YMMV

[Breezin]

There are 2 Prism Snapshot 1.2 foils on Ebay new for $45.00. Won't be much good over 25 mph with the stock polyester 55# x 85' lines.The 140 has the cheaper line set too. I've only flown my Snapshot 1.4 on the stock 150# x 100' lines. I do the best job on sleeving 😁. Took me 4 times to become an expert because 1 time it was 15 F outside. You can to can become a pro in just 3 frustrating lessons.I don't know enough yet to know what would work best for me either.For my duels I pick Speed cause I like that word better than Skybond. Got another TOTL C today. Needs a lower LE , whisker and some fairly major sail repair. Nose needs some work too. It'll be my first nose repair. Didn't steal it but close .Think it's worth getting back in the air. Going to be a fun project. Put 4 vents in it, gain about 25#s of muscle, 250# x 150" line set and it'd be a helluva beater in 35+ winds. 

[cjay]

Have a Shanti Skybond 100# x 100' line set on the way. Will see how it goes.

[cjay]

I found out some information the other day about some Widow NG fixes from Fun With Wind.

Turns out there are 2 main things that people fix.

One is the female end of the lower spreader breaking at the T.  The other is the lower spreader popping out of the T. 

 

One fix for the lower spreader popping out of the T is the C clip bungee solution discussed earlier which holds the rods in the T.

The other option is to use an HQ Excel cross connector T size .240, part#17-160070-10. 

The Excel T has longer ends so you eliminate the male piece. You cut off the male end of the lower spreader and glue it in the female end that breaks to reinforce it there. You then have both ends of the spreaders with solid rods glued inside at the T to reinforce them. The Excel T is said to be very sturdy. 

 I think that C clips and a bungee would still have to be used to keep the rods in, as the T ends aren't very long.

 

The other thing I read that happens, is the spine slipping to the side in the pocket and the weight can fall off and get lost. The simple preventative solution I came up with for this is to wrap a male piece of Velcro around the weight facing out. Since the whole pocket is female or soft Velcro, this locks it in place. It weighs next to nothing. It is also very thin and not really noticeable.

 

I removed the Premier rubber patch. Also my tail weight is actually 14g, not 16g.

 

Fun With Wind had a going out of business sale on the Widow NG that I missed. They were going for about $80.

 

 

[cjay]

Took a trip to Ocean Shores today, and flew the Widow NG for the first time. And it is awesome!

Flew it on the Skybond 100# x 100'. Then  I decided to switch to the factory 150# x 85' lines so I didn't break the skybond lines. Put those Skybond lines to the test though, if they weren't pre stretched, they are stretched now! I could notice the difference in response between the 85' and 100' lines.

 I think the wind was on the high side for that kite because I could lean fully back and away against the pull of the kite and I weigh 200#. The wind speed was supposedly about 8-10 mph, but I think it was more like 10+. It roared as it went across the window, and pulled with authority !

I am going to have to watch myself with this one as I have a back disability, and I messed myself up playing hard with the pull. I am thinking it would be more suited to 5-8. The E2 pull was more reasonable in the same wind. Maybe I need to do more adjusting on the NG bridle. I had it set how it arrived.

  Compared to my E2 it Turns much more precisely, and tracks better. My woman thought so also.

(update; I tried the E2 with skybond 85' x 100# lines, then the E2 became almost equally precise, and turned way smoother and more predictably at the edge of the window than the NG.)

 There is a little more delay in response to inputs with the NG than with the E2, so the timing is a little different but not in a bad way. That might be due to the tail weight also. I could tell that is a spot where tricks can be done, cause I accidentally did a few.

Had the best day flying yet!

 

 

[Breezin]

Think slower instead of delay. Semantics I know but it makes a difference in how I relate to the kite. Back issues myself. Some days better than others. On high wind days at times the next day is a no go. Getting better though cause the kites make me use a bunch of muscles. Above 12 mph I always tilted the nose back. Never had a problem with the tail weight or spreader popping out. Except on hard crashes with all my kites. Last couple times on the Tekken SUL I adjusted at the out hauls. Can fly and trick a little lower. Not by much but in 0 to 3 it's noticeable. Can hop the kite in 0 to 1 doing tip stands and flips now. Things I could only do on my 3/4 kites. Got this yesterday . It's in A+ shape. Guys moving to the S. Carolina coast and I couldn't talk him out of his Trixster. Tried but I'm still pretty stoked to get this old bird. Rained when I got it home. Today was a SUL day. Maybe it'll fly tomorrow for the 3rd time in it's life.

[cjay]

The Widow NG is a much more precise flying kite than anything else I have tried so far by a large margin.

 I cant wait to try it in lower wind. I will adjust it for sure the next time I am in that strong of wind.

I really like that skybond line also. It had a good feel to it, and is so much easier to see especially in foggy or grey sky conditions like I get at the beach a lot of the time. I will be getting some other sets of it for sure. It is stronger than I thought too.

 

[cjay]

Broke my Widow NG in 10+ mph wind. The tail weight piece collapsed into the spine, the lower spreader female end broke, and 2 c clips on the upper spreaders came loose.

But then I got it fixed, and had some good wind conditions and had the best flying session I have ever had.