Quick bridle adjustment question with picture

[Terrible Juan]

Hello,

A few of the two line HQ kites I've purchased recently have an adjustable bridle. I'm curious how changing the knot from 140 to 80 in the attached picture would affect it for wind and turning/speed?

I feel that the position at 140 would be better for higher wind, but I'd like to know what else to expect from this adjustment.

[Paul LaMasters]

my understanding of that adjustment is about the stall (simplistic ease of application or more effort being required) by moving the nose towards the pilot or away from

experiment, ... how does one location adjustment "feel" over the others?  Only your own opinion matters!

I'm a 25 yr+ quad-head, and completely untrustworthy for all opinions offered on a dualie

[makatakam]

First, welcome to the forum. Good to have you on board.

You're tipping the nose of the kite toward or away from you. This will make changes in the high/low wind range the kite can handle well, as well as the kite's stability and tracking which comes into play when doing tricks. An unstable kite is easier to stall, which is the foundation for the vast majority of tricks done with a dual. However, an unstable kite will not track as well, so it becomes a compromise and the final setting is what you prefer for what you want the kite to do. It becomes more obvious with time as your experience increases.

At the beginning, tip the nose towards you for light wind and away from you for stronger wind. Try different settings in the same wind to get a feel for the difference.

 

[DTill]

On 6/25/2019 at 12:25 PM, makatakam said:

At the beginning, tip the nose towards you for light wind and away from you for stronger wind. Try different settings in the same wind to get a feel for the difference

Total quad head but , isn't this the opposite theory of tuning quads? Wouldn't you want to square the sail in light winds to increase the pressure and nose in to dump pressure in high winds. I know it's all theory, but both schools of thought work for me. I fly super brake heavy on my quads, second knot on TK's leaders. I guess you can kick in drive with a quad, if you have no drive on a dual in won't go anywhere.

[Paul LaMasters]

If you angled the kite LE towards you in high wind?

Nope, adjust ALL (almost?) of the forward out, so it doesn't surge angrily away, presenting the trailing edge

I'm a brake heavy pilot too, square to the wind in dead calm, impossible to reach that objective in high wind, full forward command matters not w/o total control

[makatakam]

15 hours ago, DTill said:

Total quad head but , isn't this the opposite theory of tuning quads? Wouldn't you want to square the sail in light winds to increase the pressure and nose in to dump pressure in high winds. I know it's all theory, but both schools of thought work for me. I fly super brake heavy on my quads, second knot on TK's leaders. I guess you can kick in drive with a quad, if you have no drive on a dual in won't go anywhere.

Simple advice for beginning pilots so that the kite is slowed down in strong wind and the pilot struggles less in lighter wind. Notice I said lighter wind, meaning still well above the lower end of the kite's range. Once it's down in that lower end of the kite's range a beginning pilot has little chance of getting airborne and staying there. As the pilot gains experience and control we start talking about squaring the sail to the wind and how tipping the nose will affect performance. You can kick in drive with a dual, but it is less effective the further back the nose is tipped.

[DTill]

Sage advise. Hopefully the OP is gleaning info here.

[Terrible Juan]

2 hours ago, DTill said:

Sage advise. Hopefully the OP is gleaning info here.

Sure am! Thanks everyone for the replies.

[makatakam]

16 hours ago, Terrible Juan said:

Sure am! Thanks everyone for the replies.

Depending on how often you can get out to fly, the time it takes to gain basic control of the kite, which means no more crashing, can be multiplied by three and that's about how long it will take until you can feel the changes that subtle adjustments make to how the kite flies. For some people that's three years; for others it's three weeks. It all depends on how much time you put in on the handles. Of course, some are "naturals" and it just clicks for them. For most folks who get out to fly frequently it takes about two seasons to get to the point where you understand the how and why of what makes it work. To put it simply, there are three stages of flying a kite, whether it is single, dual or quad line:

1. The kite flies you.

2. You fly the kite.

3. Both of you fly as one.

Most people never get to the third stage, or only feel it briefly in certain circumstances when everything is ideal, including mindset. Watch videos of the pros flying. It's easy to see that they are somewhere else mentally and no longer have to think before making a move. It's difficult to explain, a Zen-like state that you will only understand when you've felt it. If you stay with it long enough it will happen, and the desire to have it happen again is what will keep you in kiting. It is an addiction to bliss.