Power Kite Forum

Twister 2 5.6m impressions + a question !

OllieN - 12-8-2009 at 11:29 AM

Woooooooohoooo it came today the peter Lynn twister 2 5.6m. Unwrapped it frantically bursting to get my first glimse at "the beast . Looking outside was a windspeed which varied from 5-9 mph which I thought was a great windspeed for my first . 3...2...1. My 115 pound body was dragged forward managing to stay some what on my feet followed by a jump which again was a first for me . I lined up, sent the kite accross the window and ran in the opposet direction and backwards and jumped ....and what occured was something whi h I did not expect .. My body flew up as my dad says" atleast 3 feet ollie " . An ear to ear grinn came next :) . Certainly an upgrade on my super 10 flexifoil .

Now for my question . I tried a break line turn by leaning the left handle forward to tighten the break line and pulled on it to turn left but I found be ause of the power or something I could not do it . It was so hard tilting the handle forward it sEemed impossible. Any tips On this and how I can improve ?

And also I found that sometimes when there was less wind around 5-6mph the tips would fold in when turning. ! Again do you have any tips ?

BUY THIS KITE!

Off to fly again now ! Thanks everyone
:wee:

furbowski - 12-8-2009 at 01:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by OllieN
{...} Certainly an upgrade on my super 10 flexifoil .

Now for my question . I tried a break line turn by leaning the left handle forward to tighten the break line and pulled on it to turn left but I found be ause of the power or something I could not do it . It was so hard tilting the handle forward it sEemed impossible. Any tips On this and how I can improve ?

And also I found that sometimes when there was less wind around 5-6mph the tips would fold in when turning. ! Again do you have any tips ?

BUY THIS KITE!

Off to fly again now ! Thanks everyone
:wee:


yeah, the twister sounds like an excellent kite!

if you are coming from two lines to four lines, you might need to play with your hand position around the powers a bit to get the right balance / ability to pull on the brake. the power lines usually come out between the index and ring fingers. sometimes i'll slide my hand down below the powers a bit to help land a bigger kite in good winds.

pushing the handle forward? somehow doesn't make sense, when I want brake i swing / pull the bottom of the handle towards me...

wing tip fold is something that goes away with skills and better wind...

but i've not flown the twister, the 5.6 has a good following here by now, somebody who knows the kite well should be by soon...

OllieN - 12-8-2009 at 01:51 PM

Ah thank you . Now as I said about the break turning, I do exactly as you have said I just didn't have the word to explain it . Thank you . It just feels soo hard to swing the bottom towards me.

OllieN - 12-8-2009 at 02:16 PM

Keep the advice Comming guys and gals . Gotta be prepared for tomorrow where my arm sockets will be given another test

awindofchange - 12-8-2009 at 02:45 PM

I would check to see that you have properly tuned the lines for your kite. Do this by launching the kite up overhead and then pulling on the brake lines (rotating the handles so that the bottom lines become tight).

The way I usually tune the brake lines for myself is:

Normal flying, the brake lines should be fairly slack and sagging. Depending on the type and style of kite, the amount of slack in the brake lines may change but with nearly every fixed line power kite, the brake lines will appear to be extremely loose compared to the main flying lines (top lines). Handle position and grip are also very important. Most 4 line power kites are designed so that your index finger is above the top line of the kite and the rest of your grip is below. The main flying line runs between your index and middle finger. The angle you hold your handles during flying will vary from one pilot to the next as well (handle position). I normally fly with the bottom of the handles pointing quite a bit towards the kite. I adjust the brake lines so that when I pull the handles perpendicular to the ground, the kite will stall or slow to a crawl. If I pull the handles back more so that they are pointing slightly towards my body the kite should start to reverse flight and land. The amount I pull back should be comfortable and not awkward to do and landing the kite should be fairly easy. If I find that I have to pull back a ton and really crank the brake lines hard to land the kite, I will shorten the brake lines (overall distance) by connecting them to another knot either on the leaders of the handles (closer to the handles) or on the lower bridles (if the lower bridles are so equipped with multiple knot adjustments, move the adjustment closer to the kite). If the lower bridles do not have adjustment knots already installed, do NOT add any knots or adjust the bridles. The knots in the leaders of the handles is usually easiest, just add in a couple extra knots to the long leader lines and attach your flying lines accordingly. That way if you need to adjust, just land the kite, move to the next knot and relaunch.

Everyone seems to have their own preference on how they fly and how they hold their handles so one adjustment setting may work great for you but will not work for everyone. By launching the kite up with different adjustments, you will get a good idea on what is most comfortable (and safe) for you. Try many different settings to find out which one you like best.

With proper adjustment of your lines / handles, brake turns and overall control of the kite will be at its best. This will also help keep the kite in control and limit the amount of overflying and lack of power in the turns.

Don't forget that over time your top lines WILL stretch a bit which will TIGHTEN up the brake lines without you knowing or realizing it. Especially if you are flying in stronger wind conditions. If you find that your kite is putting tons and tons of power through the middle of the window but doesn't seem to be able to get much speed or seems to stall out or even lack upwind ability, re-adjust your brake lines to see if the main lines have stretched out on you. Another problem with bottom lines being to tight is that the kite becomes very twitchy and seems to oversteer constantly with very little input. Check your line settings and see if you need to re-adjust and the kite will come to life once again, just like when it was new. :)

Hope that helps.

Hope this helps.

Drewculous - 12-8-2009 at 03:42 PM

i think comming from the two line, the actual movement may be a little difficult for you (applying the brakes)... i know when i stepped up to the twister from 2 liners, it was a crazy jump (no pun intended) but at best i could fly for 20 mins before my arms were just burning goo.... even to this day, if i gotta bring the twister down i high winds, it can be kinda hard on the wrists applying that much brake...practice makes it all easier... i have found that brake turning on this kite tends to dump lots of power, so i usually rely on more "drive-line-turning" It keeps the kite powered up for good jumps, and fast boarding.

Get that kite out in some 10+ winds and you'll see how fun it can be... no tip folding, better jumps, faster response... just be ready for some sore arms!

edk442 - 12-8-2009 at 04:44 PM

i agree with everything awindofchange and drewculous have said.