been out twice now...my questions!!

Firstly the seemingly old Q of tangled lines. I have figure 8-ed the lines around my handles but the brake and main lines are always mega twisted, which results in 20 or 30 mins of twisting the handles round and round and round and....

I've read about parapacking and may give it a go one day, but was thinking surely i could just unwind, then disconnect one of the lines from the kite itself and untwist far quicker?

also, i was flying in fairly gentle winds but trying to land my kite was near impossible. And when i staked the kite down it was still trying to fly all over the place aqnd wouldnt stay still, which meant it got even more tangled. Am i right in thinking i need to shorten the brake lines? If so, how?!

Thanks

Quote:

Originally posted by k4te Firstly the seemingly old Q of tangled lines. I have figure 8-ed the lines around my handles but the brake and main lines are always mega twisted, which results in 20 or 30 mins of twisting the handles round and round and round and.... I've read about parapacking and may give it a go one day, but was thinking surely i could just unwind, then disconnect one of the lines from the kite itself and untwist far quicker? also, i was flying in fairly gentle winds but trying to land my kite was near impossible. And when i staked the kite down it was still trying to fly all over the place aqnd wouldnt stay still, which meant it got even more tangled. Am i right in thinking i need to shorten the brake lines? If so, how?! Thanks

My suggestion for the top part with having to untwist those lines is make sure you unwrap the lines the same way you wrapped them. And also, when that is done, I like to just put tension on the lines and pull 'em tight, and shake them, etc... They can sometimes look tangled when they really aren't so by twisting them you just starting the tangle instead of undoing the tangle. Just double check on those things .

PS. I parapack every time, and it's awesome. I HIGHLY recommend it.

hiya... glad you're having a go, sounds like it might have been kinda frustrating, but it sounds like you like it and want to stick with it!

tangled lines... well, my solution isn't for everybody. I fold my lines inside my kite after I've folded the bridles inside, then unroll the kite enough to expose those lines and walk them out when I'm ready to fly. works on sandy beaches with lots of loose handfuls ready to weigh down the kite. only works if I don't disturb the lines in between flights.

i'm not a big fan of the figure eight, but you do need to exactly invert the motion of winding in when you are winding out or you will have problems.

if you are having trouble landing AND you are having trouble keeping the kite on the ground when staked then you most likely have brake lines that are too loose. now that you've done a few takeoffs, you can adjust them on the ground. tension up the powers until it's almost ready to take off, then make sure you still have just enough tension on the brakes to keep the kite on the ground. You should be able (assuming wind of 8 mph+ and 4m+ kite) to stand the power bridle completely off the ground while just barely holding it down with the brakes, and sit the kite down on the ground by pulling a bit harder on the brakes. That will be alright for getting going, as you get better with using the brakes you'll tighten them up.

take your time with the lines next time, don't be too eager to get it off the ground so quickly. it takes a bit of patience, esp. at the beginning, to set up and pack up well.

what kite and size is it btw? kites 3-4m and smaller tend not to be happy sitting at the stake... flap the tips around and do surprise helicopters and stuff, esp if the wind is strong and gusty.