jgorm - 26-6-2013 at 11:42 AM
Hey guys,
I am borrowing a 2M slingshot trainer on a bar, and bought a 3M beamer iii on here a while back. The slingshot is boring now and the 3m is only fun
if the winds are ripping. The past few times I've been out the winds were ~5-10mph and it would not drag me anywhere. The turns on the beamer are
slow and it feels like the kite has more drag than it should. I have the brakes WAY loose, like they sag 4-5' lower than the power lines and it
doesn't change how it flies if I point the handles towards the kite. I have good control of the kite and can spin it stationary, reverse launch,
never crash it, etc.
I want to get something bigger that I can learn to jump with and pull me around on my feet in 5-10mph winds. I was thinking about getting a 5M kite,
not sure which one, but the peter lynn voltage coming out looks pretty sweet. There is a older 6M hornet that I could pick up used. From what I've
read it's not a jumping kite. I don't want something unsafe, but I do want something that will scare me a bit. I'd prefer something that turns and
flies fast. I would rather buy something beyond my current skill set and work up to it on light wind days. At this point I'd rather fly on handles
than get a depower setup. what do you guys think?
The wife says I will have to wait a year before I get another kite after this one so I don't want to get the 6m hornet if its not what I'm looking
for.
abkayak - 26-6-2013 at 11:49 AM
i think you have your mind right...but dont sell the Hornet short...it would be a nice kite to go forward...imo
ChrisH - 26-6-2013 at 12:16 PM
Maybe something like a PL Twister in the 5 meter range?
John Holgate - 26-6-2013 at 04:03 PM
I had a 5m Hornet demo for a while...if you think the Beamer's slow, you'll hate the hornet. The 5m was very slow and not lifty at all. I think
you'd regret it in short order.
If your brakes are slack, then the Beamer will be very slow to turn and hard to re-launch from upside down. Put a bit of brake into the turn and it
will zip around much quicker. You should have just a little tension on the brake lines in normal flight -but not enough to deform the trailing edge
unless you start pulling the bottom of your handles towards you.
jgorm - 26-6-2013 at 05:07 PM
Thanks guys, especially John! I don't want another slow kite, I want a haul ass kite! My 2m trainer hauls ass, but has weak pull.
I can brake turn the beamer just fine. It looses a lot of power if I just brake turn with no power line input, but it turns just fine. It's slow to
move across the sky. I'm leaning towards trying out the new PL voltage in the 5M size.
I already posted this video of one of my first times flying the 3M, but you can see the 2m zip around the sky and the 3m is slow. Its a crappy cell
phone video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TviKCSZsiI&feature=share...
How do I get youtubes to show up on this site? I failed with all my attempts!
Bladerunner - 26-6-2013 at 06:12 PM
If jumping is your goal and your wind really is 5-10mph then you may want to go bigger than 5m?
Jumping with a 5m can be iffy. Enough power to lift you but not much to float you once you are up there. 6 or 6.5 may be a better size but a big step
up.
The bigger the kite gets the slower they turn .
Another rub is that it's hard to jump in winds under 10mph.
Lots to think about. Some of the best advice I can give is not to rush into this purchase. If at all possible, try before you buy.
jgorm - 26-6-2013 at 08:24 PM
I dont plan on catching tons of air by any means! I'm looking for something to get my off the ground a couple feet on a good gust, or let me swing
when I run. That is pretty much it. I've seen too many youtubes of guys getting 15' of air and wrecking hard. I don't plan on doing that, and will
probably let go and hit the kite killers if I get over 5' of air. The wind isn't always 5-10. Lots of times its blowing pretty good. If there is a
storm down south it will blow 20 easily. I like to fly at a big park that is about 300' from the beach were tons of people kite board. It's probably
the most popular beach in san diego to kite surf. The last few times I went out, the wind was low enough that there were no kite surfers out there.
Based on the weather reports, its usually 10-13 mph between 1 and 4pm. I'm not sure where I could try one out. The kite store that does demos only
has prism tensor kites.
This is the park I like to fly at. https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=32.62162,-117.1350...