Twisted flying lines

[Lon]

OK, this may be an off the wall question, but please bear with me.

I recently purchased a new kite made by Premier.  My question really has nothing to do with the kite, but the lines included with the kite.

As I flew the kite for the first time today I was having a hard time getting it to fly as I felt it should,  I just could not get it to settle down.  I should mention that I DID NOT check the lines before flying to see if they were of equal length.

So here goes and please don't hurt yourselves laughing!!  With the kite in a launch position and holding the handles, are you able to see twists in a single line?  I asked because I thought I could see the line extending from my left hand was twisted.  Sounds crazy I'm thinking!!  So I twist it until I do not perceive any more twists.  As in it looks the same as the right line.

Kite still does not fly as I feel it should and now it is time for me to pick up and go.

I wind up my lines and find that the line I untwisted now appears to be about 1 foot longer than the other.  I unwind them and go back to my stake to make sure they are both secured the same and they are.  Double check left line and it is still much longer.

So I have two questions.  Can one really see if one line contains twists and if so after removing said twists, would it really effect total length that much?  I am guessing they were just equal to begin with. The left line was NOT twisted to the point where it was trying to knot up on itself.

Thanks for listening and I am really wondering if I am crazy or not!!

Lon

[khsidekick]

You might be crazy. Lol. If one line has severely been twisted it would shorten the overall length of the line. I haven’t seen this with kite lines before but in theory it could happen. Almost every kite I’ve bought that came with lines they were not equal. I’ve seen on multiple occasions the lines being 6 inches or more off. I make my own lines now from 900 to 1000 foot spools of line. I recommend staking the lines and getting the twists out of them. Then equalize them by untying the knots and moving the sleeving down on the longer one until they are equal. Good luck.

[Lon]

Yes I definitely might be crazy!!

I do not think I would have seen what I described, but the morning sun was coming straight down and reflecting off the lines in the direction I was standing and I sure felt like I could see something different on the left line that I was able to change by twisting the line one way or the other.

But enough of you have looked at this post without responding which leads me to believe, as you nicely agreed, I may be crazy🤣

I will equalize the lines and give it a go!!

[Lon]

You are correct that I should not take the silence as the fact that the group agrees with me regarding being crazy😉

The lines I am referring to are spectra lines and came with a Premier kite.  I wish that I could describe better what I saw and really hesitated even asking here because it sounded pretty off the wall do me!! 

I will go ahead and equalize the lines and hope that I have not created any further issues by twisting/untwisting the line.

[makatakam]

2 hours ago, Lon said:

You are correct that I should not take the silence as the fact that the group agrees with me regarding being crazy😉

The lines I am referring to are spectra lines and came with a Premier kite.  I wish that I could describe better what I saw and really hesitated even asking here because it sounded pretty off the wall do me!! 

I will go ahead and equalize the lines and hope that I have not created any further issues by twisting/untwisting the line.

It's possible that someone NEW at Premier Kites unwound line by rolling it off the spool and for some reason did not need the line unwound so wound the line back onto the spool with the winding "crank" motion which puts a half-twist in the line with each wind. The rest you can figure out. Came back from lunch or the next day and unwound it by rolling it to make a line and no one noticed. Untwist and equalize and you'll be fine. The line was probably half of a foot longer which made the kite fly wonky, and a full foot after you unwound it -- even wonkier. Putting 30 or 40 twists in a line can shorten it by a foot, or close to it, assuming you exaggerated just a "touch". Spectra line is braided so strands cross in opposite directions. You can get all the twists out by staking down the lines at one end with nothing attached at the other end, and walking them down to the loose end from the stake between your fingers with a bit of pressure one at a time, doing each two or maybe three times. And yes, you can see the twists by sighting down the line. A couple or six is nothing to worry about. More than that may affect flight. This is exactly the kind of question that should be asked on this forum. This is how the knowledge base expands. Any question you have, one or more of us has asked when we were just starting, so fire away.

[Lon]

9 hours ago, makatakam said:

 Putting 30 or 40 twists in a line can shorten it by a foot, or close to it, assuming you exaggerated just a "touch". 

You may be correct that I may have exaggerated a touch.  It may not have been a foot, but it was enough that it caught my attention and made me double/triple check, thinking wow, that is really off!

9 hours ago, makatakam said:

 And yes, you can see the twists by sighting down the line. 

I sure thought I saw something, but then questioned myself and wondered if I really did see what I thought I saw😉

9 hours ago, makatakam said:

This is exactly the kind of question that should be asked on this forum. This is how the knowledge base expands. Any question you have, one or more of us has asked when we were just starting, so fire away.

Thanks for that!!  I have much to learn, but do not want to overdue or ask to much.

I really appreciate the help provided here @ KiteLife.  There are a number of great individuals here!!

[frob]

I can imagine hundreds of twists shrinking perhaps an inch, probably less. I'm also old enough to have learned on twisted rather than braided line, twists don't bother me at all. 

But really you should equalize often, if you fly aggressively do it before every flight. There are grips by prism and others with leader lines. Making your own is not difficult. You can add knots at short intervals or just tie one leader a little shorter, either way it is a quick and tiny adjustment. 

[Lon]

9 hours ago, frob said:

I'm also old enough to have learned on twisted rather than braided line, twists don't bother me at all. 

I cannot really say they bother me, more was the curiosity as to whether one could actually see the twists and if they might effect the length of the line😉

9 hours ago, frob said:

 There are grips by prism and others with leader lines. 

Yes, I have several PRISM grips and know exactly what you are referring to.

Thanks for your thoughts!!