Power Kite Forum

Question for you Navigator owners

Cheddarhead - 23-3-2011 at 01:45 PM

On the Navigator bar setup, the two leading edge lines come to a "Y" and then run together down to the chicken loop. Has anybody found this "Y" setup a bit annoying when trying to recover from a leading edge down or launch scenario. What I mean is that it's impossible to pull one of the LE lines by itself because it's basically tethered to the other at the "Y" or ring on the main line. I know that this is how the safety is setup, to flag the kite on one of the front lines. I prefer to be able to pull on one side of the arc separately without pulling on the other. Anybody make any modifications to get rid of the ring on the main line and just run two conventional main lines to each side like is done on the Zero 7 bar? Hope this makes sense.

geokite - 23-3-2011 at 02:53 PM

I don't have a navigator bar.

But yes, that makes sense. I really like to be able to pull one top line at a time. Like when launching; peel the kite off the ground, pulling on the downwind lines until the kite is off the ground. Makes the difference between a great launch and getting yarded into a tree. Happened at Sherman this past summer...

flyjump - 23-3-2011 at 03:17 PM

I think Feyd has converted one of his nav bars in the way that you are talking about. I've thought about doing that to mine as well because it's cheaper to buy 4 lines of the same length instead of buying a matching kit, but realistically speaking I dunno if I'll ever get around to it

g-force junkie - 23-3-2011 at 03:41 PM

Cheddarhead
I have the Nav bar and love it, if you mod the front lines you do away with one of the best parts of the system and that is the thru the chicken loop front line flag, in a leading edge down situation the front lines don't really come into play because you are either pulling on one back line or reaching way up and hauling on both back lines to relaunch and steer the kite up. If you like the close Y then just convert any 4 line bar to a long throw and you have what you are talking about. I don't see any need to pull front lines separate on any of my arcs but on my open cell foils and tubes it does come in handy.

BeamerBob - 23-3-2011 at 03:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by flyjump
I think Feyd has converted one of his nav bars in the way that you are talking about. I've thought about doing that to mine as well because it's cheaper to buy 4 lines of the same length instead of buying a matching kit, but realistically speaking I dunno if I'll ever get around to it


Angus keeps a good selection of round tuits in stock at all times! :smilegrin:

flyjump - 23-3-2011 at 03:57 PM

Hahaha I definatly need a round tuit. One nice thing about the Y line set up is that it keeps those wing tips from flaring out far on a lull which helps avoiding inverts.

Bladerunner - 23-3-2011 at 04:26 PM

I only miss being able to toss my bar through the middle when I have rolled the kite on itself.

The adjustable stopper more than makes up for it !

My only other issue is the foam on the handles gets marked up / damaged fast. Shortly after I got it my Nav' looked like the oldest bar in my bag. So bad that when Rip sold my 19m Charger for me the new owner rejected the bar.

flyjump - 23-3-2011 at 05:30 PM

yeah bladerunner not many people like the foam on the bar. We have voiced our opinions to the manager and designers, so input like this is important to us!

Kamikuza - 23-3-2011 at 06:53 PM

I thought I'd miss being unable to pull up one front line but ... I don't :lol:
Foam on the bar gets messed up easy which is a problem, but is the grippiest when wet that I've experienced!

Feyd has converted his bars to 4 lines, same length and has kept the through the bar safety ... I now have a spare bar and have been thinking about doing it - should be easy to test and see if I like it, then go back to stock if I don't ...

Feyd - 23-3-2011 at 07:44 PM

I've modded all the Navis I use.

I have retained all the safety features and the line through the chicken loop. I didn't simply turn a Navi bar into a '07 bar.

Check Arcusers for the diagram. For those of us who don't have steady winds and have to cope with inverts, bowties and that kind of nonsense the split line doesn't work so well.

I've been able to get bowties out with the split line but it was a PITA. You can have all the benifits of the Navi w/o the split.

If anyone is in the market for splitline line sets I have a few.

Cheddarhead - 24-3-2011 at 05:52 AM

Thanks so much for the replys guys. The thru the bar safety is one of my favorite features this bar has to offer, so if I can have the best of both worlds then I'm definetely game. Now I just have to find time. I keep forgetting about the arcusers forum thats out there. There really is alot of great info there specific to arcs and their rigging. Thanks a ton Feyd for the illustration, that helps me more than you really know. A picture always says a thousand words!