ok, newbie question… which I think I know the answer to but want to confirm. Went out today in winds that should have been around 7-10 mph. Closest park is set down from the street, so I'm thinking this may be my issue, but I thought maybe once the kite was up I'd be ok.

So as i'm flying, sometimes I'd be right in what I thought was the middle of the wind window and the wind would die down and the kite would stall and then one side would fold over on itself and the kite would fall to the ground.

Just wanted to see if this was fairly normal when losing wind?
It kept happening. The kite would soar… it would pull for a little bit, then the wind would die off sometimes it would suddenly go into that complete stall and fold.

Yesterday when I was flying in a level field, i had pretty light winds but didn't experience anything like that.

And then of course as I drove off after packing it up, i drive by buildings with flags on them and the flags are blowing like it was steady 20+mph winds.

So yeah, i figure it was just because I was down in a bowl but wanted to check with the seasoned vets!

You probably had trees or buildings and other land features obstructing the wind. Any large object will block and chop and swirl the wind up, leaving you with turbulence or shadows in the wind where the wind appears still. It was probably the location you were in, not the kite or the wind. The flags are standing up because they are higher off the ground and above most of the ground turbulence caused by buildings and trees.

The information above is 100% correct...Sometimes the houses, shrubs, fences etc that are lower are messing with the kite when it's flying lower to the ground. The wing tip folding in on itself is typical when that occurs...You can fly the kite higher in the sky or leave yourself enough room so when it happens you can downturn the kite to pick up some speed then re-direct it to the center of the window and try to climb back up....

You can also pull back and forth ( just a bit...kinda like little tiny punches very quickly (6") ) on your handles. This will shake the kite a bit and maybe help the fold in wing to unfold and keep the kite going....Don't get frustrated...this is all part of the learning process...
You will become a much better pilot flying in conditions like this....Then when you go to the beach and experience "CLEAN WIND" you're going to laugh....but if there is a storm or gusts on the beach you will know how to fly from your experience/skills when others will pack it up for the day...Keep practicing and as always members on here can always
help you out.

Ok, cool. Exactly what I thought but wanted to make sure.
Cross that place off my list!!! :P
Thanks!

Yup, crap wind

You will become a much better pilot flying in conditions like this....Then when you go to the beach and experience "CLEAN WIND" you're going to laugh....but if there is a storm or gusts on the beach you will know how to fly from your experience/skills when others will pack it up for the day...Keep practicing and as always members on here can always

____________________________
solitaire champ

The other thing to try in lulls and the kite starts to fold/stall is take a few steps back to create a bit of apparent wind and turn the kite, you sometimes get just enough to prevent a total stall / collapse and keep the kite moving even if you have to do the backward step, like said above keeping the kite in the air in tricky low wind conditions is good practice for honing your skills.

7 times the distance from the obstacle as the obstacle is tall is a general rule of thumb for single line kites... slightly farther for controlled kites. If a house is 30 feet tall, you need to be at least 200 feet from it before you start to have ok wind again. The farther the better. Also if your wind comes, then dies, then comes again... you are likely near a weather front and at those times the wind will shift different directions...making the session not a whole lot of fun at all.

I had a similar problem. Yesterday I took my new HQ Matrixx 2 9m kite out to my usual kite surfing location. The launch site is behind some trees that causes a lot of swirling and turbulence. Yesterday was a fairly gusty day with the wind averaging 20 to 25 mph but occasionally gusting up to 30 and lulling down to 18 mph. I successfully side launched the kite deflated and let it inflate as it flew up, which worked perfectly with minimal pull. I had the depower pulled in about half way as this is what I do with my Peter Lynn Charger kites when launching. Once the kite filled up, it started bouncing all over the place, overflying, drifting, and was quite the handfull. My Peter Lynn Chargers do the same thing and I'v learned to simply ignore it and let them do their thing. So I collected my board, jumped in the water and drifted out about 20 feet, and then took my eyes off the kite to put the board on my feet. The next thing I know, the kite has folded in half, and simply fell right out of the sky, while twirling round and round on the lines. Needless to say, I was not able to relaunch the kite and so I swam back to shore and hauled it in. I've never had my Peter Lynn Chargers do this! What can I do in these situations where the launching site has such turbulent air? I think the kite overflew, the lines went slack, and then the kite folded up... but I'm not sure as I was putting the board on my feet and didn't actually see it fold.

If launching in junk wind you simply have to be constantly mindful of the kite. Actively piloting it and offsetting anything the turbulence induces until you get far enough out from whatever is causing the turbulence. In an over flight situation as you described, sheeting a little would have offset it. If really agressive over flight redirecting would be the next thing I would do. But of course this is only going to work if you see the kite start to overfly or if you are expirienced enough to feel it through the harness and recognize the lines going slack. The Charger is very good at avoiding overflight.

So does sheeting in to power up the Matrixx make it more stable in the turbulence and gusts? Perhaps I shouldn't have had the kite trimmed and sheeted out...

Sheeting in will power up or stall a kite depending on wind speed over the surface of the wing. In a case of overflight sheeting in to induce stall before you get a front end collapse will cause the kite to drift back into the edge of the window.

The Matrixx 2 in our expirience isnt prone to overflight unless you have it trimmed out and in occasional gusty conditions. It will surge forward in a gust as gusts will cause the window to expand. With the amount of depow in the bar throw its rare that I feel a need to trim much.

If you are flying in gusty be sure not to let the kite sit at 12:00. In the event that a gust hits and conditions when you sheet in actually generate lift you want to avoid being lofted. Keep the kite at 2 or 10:00 so you get pulled sideways and not straight up. :-)

Its a great kite.:D

Next time I will not have any trim and will be quick on the bar to sheet in when it overflies. When the kite went down, I managed to snag one of the bridle lines on a rock. Unfortunately, the kite must have tugged a little hard and snapped the bridle line. Upon inspection, it appears that the bridle lines appear to be self-sacrificial to prevent damage to the kite canopy and in that respect it worked very nicely. So I figured there must be replacements bridle lines out there since they are designed to protect the canopy and break. I've been searching around trying to find a bridle line diagram as well as a place to purchase bridle lines from, but haven't been successful in either department. Where can I purchase bridle lines?

Powerzone probably. He can make Biddle lines. Chris on here is the hq guy. He can get them but it might take longer than Powerzone.

Contact HQ USA for the direct replacement segment. What size is the kite? The Matrixx comes with a diagram from its inspection at the factory. You may be able to determine which segment from that. If you don't have it, let me know and I may be able to track a diagram down.