Primier Addiction

[DCSWINGLE]

Hi all-

I was an avid stunt kite flyer @ 13 years ago. I only have a few kites now, E-3, Addiction and an Into the Wind UL, Prizm Jazz for learning friends that crash!!

I fly in Lake City FL, read not much wind... The ultralight is critical, but the Addiction is my all time favorite. The kite is bad ass for the $$. I have owned several over the years. I re bridled one with super thin spectra and it flew like dream, the kite is $100 bucks... geez.

Anyone in Lake City, FL? Tough for me to get to the beach a lot with my job.

I make my own custom linesets, go to Walmart and get the spectra fishing line. I nomally fly on 50', 65 lb test. Sleeve them if you want, buy 200 lb test dacron and run the needle with spectra thru. It is very tedious work. In the end, I just run everything without sleeves. The fishing line is not that expensive.

The bridle is a major source of drag. Buy your favorite kite and re bridle. I'm sacred of the E-3, but I will rebridle her soon. 80 lb test spectra, or a bit higher for heavy wind. Learning the dynamics of a bridle, tow line points, adjustments, that is half the fun.

I have a question for ya'll? I had a kite @ 2005, by Premier. It was the Addiction on steroids. Shark sticks, double standoffs between the rear cross bar and Dacron sail. It was about $200 bucks, worth every penny. I learned to fade on this kite and was able to fade other kites. I lost it sailing off the back of my sailboat in Mexico.

Is there an equivalent? Premier has nothing like this. It put the E-3 to shame...

I am also in need of an UUL (ultra ultra light)? Suggestions?

Thanks and Cheers!

[frob]

5 hours ago, DCSWINGLE said:

I make my own custom linesets, go to Walmart and get the spectra fishing line. ... The fishing line is not that expensive.

Fishing line spectra is different than kite line spectra.  Both use the same chemical compounds for the core fibers, but they are spun and woven differently. If it is coated line, those produce dramatically different line.

Fishing line spectra is designed for dragging a fish through water, it is somewhat stretchy and designed to absorb shock when a fish bites. It has less stretch than a non-woven line; nylon can easily reach 50% stretch, but fishing line spectra stretches by about 15% when pulled to absorb the shock of a fish strike. They usually have a coating to help slide over grass, stones, and various crud in the water, but that coating is sticky when it rubs over itself, increasing friction. Often the line is tinted to blend in with water or grass and be less visible to fish, which adds weight. 

Kite line spectra is designed to be non-stretch with a high tensile strength, and a different type of weave that is designed to help the line wrap and slip around itself.  Different brands use different weaves, some take up much more spectra fibers than others, increasing their cost. The stretch rate is about 4%-8% for kite line weaves versus about 15% for the fishing weaves. Some spectra kite lines (like Skybond) also have a coating, but the coating is designed to reduce friction over itself, instead of protection from underwater grass and pebbles. 

If you have both spectra kite line and spectra fishing line, do an experiment. Pull out a kite-line length of line, that's about 100 feet, secure one end of both lines, and feel the difference of pulling on them.  Put some serious strain on them, maybe 50 pounds or so, and feel how they respond.   Feel the difference of twisting a few lengths of it over itself, you'll feel the fishing line start to snag on itself and bind up quickly.

Since common kite line lengths can be 120 feet or longer, even a tiny variation of stretchiness makes an enormous difference.  I've got a set of 120' lines where I suspect one line of the set came from a different batch because it has slightly different stretchiness.  At the full length of the line it works out to a few inches when the line is under tension, meaning perhaps a 0.5% difference in stretch. That's not enough variation to matter for a fisherman, but for a kite it means the lines must be held at a different positions based on the pull, and one line is less responsive than the others.

[Breezin]

16 hours ago, DCSWINGLE said:

 I had a kite @ 2005, by Premier. It was the Addiction on steroids. Shark sticks, double standoffs between the rear cross bar and Dacron sail. It was about $200 bucks, worth every penny. 

My guess is you had a Premier Widow.Maybe a Magnum. Now they produce the Widow ng and special.Widow ng was my 1st kite. Sold it, my Addiction, Nighthawk and Jewel to move up to a Widow Maker Pro(SWEET). Had a absolute blast on the Addiction and my grandkids still have one. Since then I've gotten another Nighthawk. Not as hysterical as the Addiction but more tricky.The newer version of the Nighthawk is the Wolf ng.Lam Hoac (Sky Sport Design) has redesigned some of Flying Wings kites. Should all be $200.00 or less. I have 2 SUls and a vented built by him. They're the snizzle but pricey.Started flying 11/17 and struggled with 50# dyneema lines. Bought some Spider line 4 ply at Walmart hoping it would be tougher. SUCKED!!. Now I'm better and have 50# LPG 75'/120' and really digging it. Lam said to get some 30#x 80' Power Pro Super 8 Slick spectra fishing line in yellow for the bottom of my AC SUL range. Surprised because I think Frob is correct.I'll get some because Lam is one of the best fliers and builders on the planet.When looking for a SUL ( UL UL 😊) most need to be put away at 5 or 6 mph and fly on 80' or less. I like longer lines.Watch how your winds cycle from the low to high. Monday mine started out 0 to 5. Pretty soon 0 to 8/10. then some 11/12 bumps. Switched from the AC SUL rated 1 to 10 but can go a bit higher to the Tekken SUL. It's rated 2 to 12 and can handle 14/15 hits with ease. Winds would be 10/12 and drop to under 4 for 10 or 15 minutes then back up they'd go. By the end of the day I was flying my vented. Even though they cost more than most the way my Lam kites handle these rollercoaster winds makes them worth it to me.My Prism Zephyr UL and Skyburner Pro Dancer SUL didn't and they're gone.Without having dramatic cycles like I do at times it opens the door to more choices. If tricking is your main goal it'll be hard to surpass a AC SUL. After looking for 3 months at everything I could read up on and flying a few OPK SULs I don't think you can.If you don't want to spend a lot of money and don't mind a lot of mylar read up on the Cesium Continental. Great Canadian Kite Company has some at a great price.NEVER SELL YOUR ADDICTION!!! Rotten grandkids never bring theirs when they visit(last Sunday) so they can fly my kites 😡.