Power Kite Forum

Psycho4 10m..... wow....

powerzone - 7-8-2008 at 07:13 PM

Pretty incredible machine.... i'm speechless, so this will be short.

Turning speed: Amazing. tested back-to-back with Psycho3 8m and the P4 10m is FASTER. sheeted out, the turns are Bow-like and pivotal but still power can be added when sheeted in. pull the bar in and it feels like a psycho3 10. push the bar away and it feels/turns like a pulse 7m.

bar pressure : very light, but more responsive than the pulse2.

backstall: none

jumps: different.... less direct than the Speed or Psycho3, but sheeted in, the Whole Kite is instantly powerful, so pop and float and whipped jumps are all good.

FDS: kite does not hover around like previous kites.. comes straight down. totally functional and safe.

Bar Setup: kinda clunky... heavy and metalic. i think i prefer the old carbon bar and old ch loop. the auto-untwist thing works marginally New and will probably get more difficult to swivel as sand/salt gets inside the mechanism. dont like the DD on the side of the loop, is difficult to put into the spreader bar if it is on the back-side. all in all a preferance thing i'm sure.

totally awesome kite... i'm yet amazed how FS does this stuff.

Genious.

lunchbox - 7-8-2008 at 09:41 PM

Hey PZ,

Read somewhere on foilzone that a couple of people were talking about wing tip tucks. Did you experience any of this?

Bladerunner - 8-8-2008 at 07:33 AM

So........ Bring on the Pass the Psycho plan !!! :evil:

This is me :cool:
1st in line :singing:

DenisLaMenace - 8-8-2008 at 07:52 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bladerunner
So........ Bring on the Pass the Psycho plan !!! :evil:

This is me :cool:
1st in line :singing:


me too ! me too !
Once in Canada, it can go up to East ???

Sounds like a awesome kite. Need to save $$ again

powerzone - 8-8-2008 at 08:06 AM

come to Nitinaht and demo all the sizes of p4 !

this kite won't leave Bellingham without me for less than $1600

i got the kite to dip the tips when i drove thekite to the extreme window edge and cranked the bar hard for a loop. the tip slacked a bit... i never felt it and it came back right away..... seems like if i bring the C in 1cm that would cure it for good, but i can't tell the difference and it does not bother me at all, so i'll just leave it and see if it gets worse or better.

leebrianh - 10-8-2008 at 06:53 PM

I finally had a chance to go out with P4 today. Good kite but one bad thing is stuck in my head. Tip tuck!

For Flysurfer riders, you know, when you launch a kite, it takes time to fill up and meanwhile wing tip flaps and you get off/on power? Ye, it was just like that. Tip tuck was causing that kind of power delivery. To avoid, I had to sheet in and out very "carefully".

Too much sheet out too fast = tip tuck = power loss. Then too much sheet in = power burst.

I came back and said "I like P3 better" Ok, maybe I am too harsh. Things I like about P4 compare to P3: Faster turn, better chicken loop, lighter bar pressure, shorter bridle, better bridle material.

But again, I miss smooth power deliver of P3 during sheet in/out.

SecondWind - 10-8-2008 at 07:00 PM

Brian,

Thanks for the honest feedback. Wondering if it just needs a tweek to the mixer or maybe some good bedding in??

What size was the kite?

Joe

leebrianh - 10-8-2008 at 07:01 PM

Oh by the way, my setting was -2cm C and -1cm B.

I am going to do some research on a different forum to see if I can cure it. I will keep you guys posted here.

powerzone - 10-8-2008 at 09:28 PM

if you got a 15m, then you need to adjust the mixer as well as alter the length of the Main Line Leader by 5cm to get rid of the TT

on the 10m, what i've done now is tie 1 overhand knot in each of the Steering Leaders between the black balls which in effect shortens them 5cm and accomplishes the same thing as lengthening the Main Leader. my mixer is still stock.

remember, the p4 is a far advanced and dynamic NewSchool kite unlike the P3.

hang in there brian, more tweaks and suggestions will surface..... but if you need to unload it, let me know.

leebrianh - 11-8-2008 at 05:50 AM

Thanks Powerzone. I am not giving up yet :yes: I am sure some setting change will fix this problem. I just have to play with it more.

Oh, by the way, I've got P4 10M.

powerzone - 15-8-2008 at 10:08 AM

got 2 days on the P4 10m.... most incredible kite as you get used to it.

we removed the infinity bar and put on a regular carbon bar, trimmer, chloop, etc just like the 06-07 gear. i like it alot more, the new bar is too heavy and clunky. like the light weight and simplicity of the older barsetups.

haven't seen the top end of that kite yet... perhaps 35+ mph on the water.... once the strap is pulled in, you can hardly feel the kite it is so depowered.

gotta do the mixer adjustment for sure... as well as shorten the steering leaders or lengthen the main leader.. TipTuck is nearly non-existant after this.


truly 2 kites in 1.... brilliant.

leebrianh - 15-8-2008 at 02:33 PM

So, your mixer remains -1cm C and -0.5cm B? Negative meaning those C and B points are closer to the bar that much, right?

I checked my mixer right after my last post here and it was -2cm C and 0cm B :o

So, now my mixer is set to factory, all even.

One thing I did opposite to what you did, Powerzone:

During first flight, I felt a lot of backstall. When I came back home I measured all 4 lines from the bar (when it's fully powered) and center lines were too long so I shortened them by 3 cm.

Can't wait to go out 2nd time.

Baluk - 15-8-2008 at 07:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bladerunner
So........ Bring on the Pass the Psycho plan !!! :evil:

This is me :cool:
1st in line :singing:


I've been trying for a long time! just ask tridude!

leebrianh - 19-8-2008 at 06:03 AM

ok, second day out with P4 10M yesterday.

First thing first, Tip-tuck. It's not as annoying as before but it's still there, when I depower. I think two things helped to reduce tip-tuck:

1. mixer back to factory setting
2. I am getting better at P4 control
(3. bed-in process??)

Anyway, I am still not happy with it but since it's improved, I am going to play with mixer more.

Relaunch: People in other forum said they could do Pulse2-like relaunch, meaning just pulling one back line is enough. It never worked for me so I did reverse-launch by pulling both back lines. It goes up backwards fine but when I release one line, it doesn't rotate as fast as I am used to. No big deal though

Bar set up: I initially thought the same thing as Powerzone did, too bulky, too many stuff there and even thinking about changing to old setup (except chicken loop). Yesterday, it started to make sense why FS designed that way. Auto un-twist feature works just fine by pulling the bar all the way. I am going to spray some SailKote to make it smooth though.

I was flying with "medium" bar pressure setting and didn't even think about it in first session but yesterday, I felt like my arms are tired so changed it to "soft" setting. To be honest with you, I didn't feel the difference during normal ride. Don't get me wrong, it's still light bar pressure compare to other kites. I tried Ozone 07 Edge 11M, right after P4 10M, and felt like same bar pressure.

Oh, one thing I noticed yesterday was it pulls left all the time. I need to compare control line length and if they are same, then bridle check up.

So, I am still tuning my P4. Like it but not love it yet.

Bladerunner - 19-8-2008 at 08:36 AM

I'll have to remember to kiss my 7m Pulse when I get home tonight. She is still the sweet heart of my flying dreams ! ;-)

P.S. What ever happened to Tridude ? Anyone know ?

DenisLaMenace - 19-8-2008 at 09:20 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bladerunner
I'll have to remember to kiss my 7m Pulse when I get home tonight. She is still the sweet heart of my flying dreams ! ;-)

P.S. What ever happened to Tridude ? Anyone know ?


I really like the way I had not tuning to do with my Pulse.

Sounds like a lot of tweaking needed to make the P4 a nice toy. That wont help to convert some tubes to foils.

Tridude was converted to Best Bularoo LEI, so may be that's why we dont hear about him anymore.

So I wonder now what will be my next toy. From other feedback I have, I am not sure if I invest $$$$ for the P4. I might give a try for a Cabrinha Switchblade IDS 12m.

PHREERIDER - 19-8-2008 at 10:01 AM

i tried to hook up with him(tridude) when i went for a ride on Sullivan's island(north of charleston) in mid june no call back. great ride though. i think he's local at folly beach(south of Charleston).

anyway, i am very interest in the P4 review. seems to make me want a P3 (from the review stand point). I want to fly a FS. Tridude was the only flyer who had one reasonably close to south east US.

might get a chance on the HQ demo/JIBE acampbell is hosting, if i am lucky. a least would like to see one. get to fly one... that would be ground work for deal maker.

domdino - 19-8-2008 at 10:10 AM

I'm getting a 12m to demo this weekend so will give it a write up and might pass it on to ONE other very responsible person after i've tried it as i need to send it back to Mike by Sept. 7th!! Who thinks they are responsible enough?? :)

I agree, the tuning thing has always been a problem for a lot of flysurfer guys, people just don't want to have to fiddle around with fairly complicated settings, they just want to get out and ride and have fun - untuned flysurfers can be piggish :(

BeamerBob - 19-8-2008 at 11:02 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by goldendmd
i tried to hook up with him(tridude) when i went for a ride on Sullivan's island(north of charleston) in mid june no call back. great ride though. i think he's local at folly beach(south of Charleston).


Tridude mentioned this and he apparently copied your phone number down wrong. He tried to call you but the number was wrong.

KiteProject - 22-8-2008 at 10:59 AM

I have a lot of fun kiting days to look forward to when I am done with my Pulse 10 and Pulse2 6m, both are amazing kites especially the Pu2 6m which has impressed the heck out of me. By the time I grow out of my Pulses, the prices of Pscyho4s and Speed2s would also come down. So, kudos to Flysurfer and their innovative products. :thumbup:

leebrianh - 5-9-2008 at 07:08 PM

Went out 3rd time today. Not kitesurfing but buggying. Thanks to STACKflyer, I was able to change setting on the fly and that really helped.

Stated with +1cm C, +0.5cm B and all four lines same length. Experienced some tip-tucking and a little overflying.

At the end, setting was -2cm C, -1cm B and center lines 1 cm longer than control lines.

Now I "like" it. Slight tip tuck but it doesn't bother me any more. Very strange kite. The more I fly it, the more I like it.

I think it needs to be powered up plenty. My riding style has been small kite + big board. It feels like P4 likes big kite + small board combination, which I can enjoy due to awesome depower of P4.

I am going to change things a little bit more to see if I "love" it next time.

Edit: In my last post, I reported left pull. I took all 4 lines and measured them. From longest to shortest, there was about 1.5cm different and I corrected them. Today, it flew well balanced. Either that fixed the problem or some lines (such as pulley lines) were not in right position before. Whatever it was, now it's gone :thumbup:

SecondWind - 5-9-2008 at 07:12 PM

Thanks for the update Brian - I have not flown a P4 yet.

Joe

domdino - 6-9-2008 at 07:33 AM

Had a good 4 hour session on the 12m yesterday... definitely a nice kite, the tip tucking is there but it never bothered me - i can see it might give me more problems in high wind if it was jellyfishing and catching gusts....

Very easy to fly, very smooth, definitely not as fast as i was expecting and certainly not as fast as the nemesis HP as ted was telling me :D goes faster when depowered but the tip tuck is more more noticeable then, when fully powered hardly tip tucked at all.

Smooth power delivery, light bar pressure, didn't seem to have a very good bottom end compared to their other kites, less than the pulse2 even... to be honest i think it only turns marginally faster than the pulse2 when it's fully powered but the turning speed never bothered me... jumps are different but very easy to pull and felt very good under the kite - i don't know how people accidentally kiteloop these things, i guess they've just been used to really slow turners... It felt more like a peter lynn than a flysurfer but without the bar pressure in the way it turned to me for some reason

Nice kite, looks beautiful in the sky, flysurfer have a very good lineup of kites now but the turning speed is propaganda IMHO. Don't get me wrong, it's good and is the best turning on any flysurfer i've tried so far, but still no match for the modern tubes in that department... relaunch was very very easy as usual, easier than psycho3 for definite...

I flew it in starting at 20knots and then going down to 15knots, in 20knots i was worried as on my old psychos i would be hauling ass but this thing was very gentle, and the depower is without a doubt the best i've seen on any kite i've ever used... that is where this shines i think, the depower is incredible...

Can post more pics if desired...