Adjusting lines

Hello everyone!

First: this looks like a great forum. Already found a lot of usefull information. Hope u guys can help me with this one too.

Second: As english is not my first language, I hope I use all the right words to describe parts of my kite. If something is lost in translation, please let me know

I flew a lot of kites when I was younger but only 2 line kites. I had an NPW5 and flew with parakite, Peter Lynn Peel, Speedwing Pro, Flexifoil stackers, anything i could get my hands on. I then quit flying kites because I decided to invest all my money on beer (hooray )

Now a bit older and wiser I decided to take up kiting again. I bought a Peter Lynn Pepper II 3.0 a few weeks ago and so far so good. I think it's a bit small but with enough wind it's great fun.

Now my question In the bag my kite came in I found a lot of little information booklets. Most of it I already knew, (you never forget the larkshead knot (thats the good name right?)), but some of it is new to me. It gives some info which says I now and then have to check if my lines are still equally long and if my Brake lines (good word again?) are not too long or too short.

I already check both my steering lines and my brake lines and they are still equal ( difference is less then 1 cm, i figured that's not really important). But, how do I know if my brake lines are good compared to my steeringlines? I think everything works ok, but maybe it could work better? Then again, don't try to fix what ain't broken right?

Long story for short question. Hope someone can help me out on this. Thanks!

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Originally posted by SjaakSwart Hello everyone! As english is not my first language, I hope I use all the right words to describe parts of my kite. If something is lost in translation, please let me know

Dude, your English is at least as good as some of us that only know English. Glad to have you on the forum and don't sweat about the language. You're coming through loud and clear.

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take all your lines off, hook them onto a groundstake and walk backwards. They should all be equal length, if not you will have to adjust. If its only a fraction you can do the adjust ment on the handles by moving the knots forward or back etc

I didn't try that yet! If they are all the same size the brakelines are for sure the right size? Do you check after every session? The problem is they can stretch right?

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Your brake lines should hang slack with a bit of an arch when your hands / handles are in your normal flying position. If they are too tight your kite will not fly right. It will stall out and or spin. Not going straight over head and sitting nicely. If they are too loose then pulling in on the bottom of the handles won't affect the back edge. You will have trouble backing the kite down and will lose the use of brakes for turns. I fly with the lines between my top 2 fingers. My middle finger is sort of neutral and I tweak my brakes with the little ones. As you probably know you can move the lines up and down at the handles or bridle attachment by moving the knots.

Imo opinion everything works fine. If I pull in on the brakelines the kite goes down. The kite flies perfect and steers faster when i apply a little brake. Problem is I don't have any kite to compare it with. I do have the feeling my npw was more stable when all the way up in the zenith. But maybe that is just the difference between these two kites?

I also have the steering lines between my top two fingers. I'm not exactly sure what u mean with tweaking the breaks with your little fingers.

I did not know about the knots. Do u mean moving the larkshead knot that connects my lines to my handles? If so, I will give that a try next time.

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Dude, your English is at least as good as some of us that only know English. Glad to have you on the forum and don't sweat about the language. You're coming through loud and clear.

Thank you, that is very kind to say

And everybody thanks for the very usefull help so far!

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whats your normal language the Sjaakswart? NPW's fly different to foils, they require much more brake. the secret to setting up a NPW is to set the brakes till the tip/nose of the kite stops folding and flapping. If its setup wright you should be able to fly it backwards with no problems

I'm from the Netherlands so dutch is my native language. I like different cultures and languages, therefore I always try to find foreign websites for information about pretty much anything Helps me practise my languages. Works a charm! I speak dutch, german and english almost fluently, can make myself understood in french and I try to catch up with Spanish. It's hard though, they didnt teach me at school and it's very different compared to the other languages (well, maybe a bit like french..) Argh! I'm off-topic again! :S

Anyway.. I flew the npw as a 2-liner. So I have absolutely no idea about how it flies with 4 lines. I sold it too.. To go to the pub with my mates.. :sniff:

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Goeie more van Afrikakaner hier my Hollandse vriend

Goedemorgen

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It sounds like you are on the right track. Line stretch isn't too common. I mostly check mine if something seems different or if I have put them through some huge loading. Yes, I was suggesting to move the larks head up and down on the handle or bridle line for small adjustments. Sorry I think tweak is probably not a good word. I mean I use my little finger to apply the brakes lightly when turning and stalling the kite out. A 3m kite will fly is some very light winds but not producing much power. It will perform better and better as the winds you fly in and your control increase. I am not familiar with the Pepper but I think you have a pretty good kite for learning. I believe it is designed to be stable and easy to use. Not exactly a high performance kite but a good one to get going again. If you ever feel you have outgrown it. You should be able to sell it pretty easy !

Ok, next time I'll be flying my kite I will try all the things you suggested. Thanks!

I already flew my kite in less then 2 Bft (3mph?) up till 5-6 BFT(20+mph). With 2Bft i had to walk backwards to keep my kite in the air while at 6 Bft i could make a continious skid at my local beach (fun!). Allthough I'm still learning a lot from this kite, and I know it will keep learning me stuff for a lot more sessions in the future, I'm sort of looking for a bigger kite for the days with really light winds. Walking backwards with a powerkite to keep it in the air looks, well.. sort of childish

I was thinking about a Peter Lynn Twister, but really still all options are open. Do you have any advice on what should be my next kite?

And don't worry I will not fly it before I'm 99% sure I can handle it. And then with really light winds.. Without a harness.. With the ambulance waiting..

I'm not planning to sell my Pepper, or any kite I will own in the future.. I'm really sad i sold my NPW. I think they are more valuable then the money you will get for it 2nd hand, becaue of the good feelings attached to it.