Due to high winds at the DZ Saturday I had a chance to fly my new PL Hornet 3.0. This is my first time with a four line kite and I was a little let down.

According to AWAS when we started flying the winds were between 8-11MPH with gusts to 14. I was surprised that the kite kept stalling when the winds were around 8-10. It seemed like it wouldn't inflate all the way and was really sluggish. I checked the brake lines and while they were attached to the second knot it still looked like there was enough slack not to pull the tail down. The kite pulled good just no speed. I tried some braked turns and they did help for a faster turn but still not what I was expecting. We pulled out the Symphony 2 line 1.7 and it zipped around without any issues. I was not expecting the Hornet to be this sluggish and felt let down. I expected some performance issues but not this much of a lag.

Then the winds picked up and the kite seemed to come alive. While it was still slower than the Symphony it really did speed up and was everything I expected it to be. AWAS said the winds were 15 with gusts to 25. The kite was pulling like a horse and was letting us scud and butt slide all over the place. :wee: Then the winds picked up to a steady 20 with gusts to 30, the strain was insane keeping control while the kite was in the power zone. Most of the time I had it at zenith walking backwards to get more room. Then a very fast dash/drag/stumble downwind. I had to use the kite killers once and while the kite did flag out and stall it then did a semi invert thing caught some wind and almost drug me. I am still not sure how it did it but to say that it scared the crap out of me was a understatement. Maybe it was just to much wind for a 3 meter.

I had the kite killers attached to the last knot on the end of the handle brake line. Should I just attach it to the bottom line near the handle instead? From this one day it seems that the best speed for me and this kite is around 15MPH with gusts to about 23. Any more than that and it gets pretty insane. I was more than ready to put it up and was really thankful for the helmet.

Any suggestions about the sluggish response or is this normal?

Kites about 2m and under don't act like power kites IMHO. They are zippy as get out + produce power in spurts. At about 3m kites slow and start producing prolonged power like larger kites. I think that explains part of what you felt?

When the wind was strong would the kite sit above your head or at the edge of the window ? Is it possible you have turbulant wind ? What was upwind of you? Was the wind speed up and down?

All these will effect a 3m much more than a 1.5

Quote:

Originally posted by Bladerunner Kites about 2m and under don't act like power kites IMHO. They are zippy as get out + produce power in spurts. At about 3m kites slow and start producing prolonged power like larger kites. I think that explains part of what you felt? Yep that fits perfectly. When the wind was strong would the kite sit above your head or at the edge of the window ? Is it possible you have turbulant wind ? What was upwind of you? Was the wind speed up and down? We had a aircraft hanger to the side and upwind of us. I tried to get far enough over that we wouldnt get any turbulance but know that we still had a tad. Winds are always up and down but for once they seemed to hold at least 8mph even when they dropped. When I put the kite at zenith to walk backwards it seemed to stay mostly at top but a few times it wanted to hang halfway between the zenith and the power zone. All these will effect a 3m much more than a 1.5

Check this vid from about 3.00 to 4.00 or so - flying the Hornet in very light winds - not enough to drag me anywhere (probably well under 10mph) see if it flys like yours did. In light winds, get it on it's side as fast as possible to get it going across the window to fully inflate it. Down turns are better in light winds because your using gravity plus the wind to force air into the kite. Upturns will probably just stall the kite and turn it into a shopping bag!

At 2:54 is how my kite responded when we first started. The only difference was that I was having to give it a full arm length to turn it when the video is only giving it the length of the rope bettween the handles. 3:30 is how it handled when the wind picked up and then I only had to give it as much input as the video shows. I am starting to wonder just how much of this is due to this being my first time flying a four line.

The wind will be messed up for 7 to 10 times the distance downwind as an object is high.

Wind flows around obsticles like water is a stream .

You had a combination of dirty + light wind working against you it seems?

I agree with blade- but also think you had to much brake on. in light wids you want the brakes loose to allow for te kite to fly a "little faster" breaks will really kill a kite in weak wind imho. on your handles you want to hook up like this in light wind:

+------------*(this knot on top)-------*-----------------------------------Kite
+
+
+
+
+
+ --*(kite killer)---------*-------*(this knot on brake)-----------------Kite


hope my "schematic helps:eureka:

John H. thanks for showing the socks , lines and handles drive my kid crazy and I needed some way to reduce the frustration factor this should help.

Remember that 3m becomes our high wind kite. It will fly in some amazing low wind but it won't perform exactly as should until there is enough wind. Another part of what you are feeling is the reason I have 15 and 18m kites in my bag. We all want more power as we can handle it.

Then more airtime ! :Ange09:

get the little blighter in a good 15-25mph and it'll go like the clappers...me Hq beamer 3 does.. also got a Pansh 4.7 and that pulls like a goodun in the wind you were flying in first 5-15mph But it will fly slower, as Bladerunner say's make the 3 your high wind kite and get a large kite for most other times Pansh do some really good deals at the moment

I was able to take it out for a while this afternoon. I added a knot right next to the handle on the bottom lines to attach the kite killers. Then I attached the brakes to the knot on the very end of the bottom handle line. Winds were decent but I don't know how fast. The kite handled a little better or maybe I just knew what to expect. Anyways it flew fine and the only major issue I had was my arms wearing out to fast. I had problems with it yanking the crap out of me when I had it at the zenith but I attribute that to a strong upper wind. Overall I am happy with it especially now that I am getting used to it. The video helped with setup and made a major difference in take down time.

I will need a bigger kite this summer when our winds are almost nothing but right now they are fast enough that a bigger kite would be a safety issue for me.

Omni- If you added a knot on the brake line, i would recommend adding a knot in the same place on the power line- you will be suprised how much line a knot can take up also i am assuming you are doing a figure 8 knot. if not do a search on one and learn to use it
Scott