Jovver - 29-8-2009 at 01:55 PM
Well it was about time that I got this thing in the air. I've owned it for about 3 weeks now and haven't had a chance to fly this amazing kite.
Well first things first. I am the proud owner of a 2005 Slingshot Fuel 15m. It is a high aspect ratio, traditional 4 line C kite with the option of
5th line safety. This kite is HUGE and has one of the best color schemes I have seen on this kite, and it was too good of a deal to pass up.
Unfortunately, the bar was a little worn down and pretty heavily used, and even though the kite had a 5th line installed, the bar was only a four
line. (Did not know this was the case based on the seller's description, and didn't even think to ask) Anyways, I found myself another good deal for
a 20 inch 2006 Slingshot Profire bar with above the bar clam cleat and 5th line safety installed that I like much better. The seller also included
extra lines for the 5th line because he said they wear down quickly.
Now for flight characteristics. This may be redundant for all of you experienced LEI riders on here, but this is my first LEI kite so I didn’t really
know what to expect. Setting up this kite is no problem, except for one thing, it takes a good amount of time to pump up and if it is not fully
inflated, it flies like s*@#. I was very cautious about inflating the kite because it felt like there was a lot of pressure in the bladders, but when
I tried to fly, it spread out into the struts more and collapsed easily. No problem, just had to bring it down and pump it up more. It just made me
a little nervous because I thought there was a leak. So once it was inflated nicely it took off no problem and was very stable IMO.
Now the juicy stuff. This kite pulls like none other and is extremely lifty. The seller recommended that for a first flight that I take it out in no
more than 15mph winds. I now see why. We had 15 gusting to 25mph winds today and I thought what the heck, I’m a bigger guy than most (6’ 5” @ 265
lbs), so it might not be that bad. We also don’t get winds like this very often during the summer months and I was dying to take this kite out.
Needless to say, it really scared the crap out of me. My only other significant experience with any depower is with my 10m Blaze II, and everyone
knows that it’s a really good looking kite, but it flies like a turd on strings. I briefly flew kitejumper’s 12.5 m Psycho and bigben’s 7m Montana.
So, I really only had the Fuel in the air for maybe 20 mins total today. In that time, I was easily lifted right off the ground to about 1.5 ft and
just hung in the air for about 10 seconds. After that I got scared because I have still never intentionally jumped on a kite before and am still
nervous about that feeling. I completely forgot all about redirecting and all that, I basically froze. Luckily I wasn’t high at all, and landing was
no problem. Just the entire feeling was shocking. The one thing that I did notice about this kite is that it wants to overfly a lot. That’s all it
really wants to do. Granted this first flight was in gusty inland conditions and I don’t have any experience with LEI’s so I wasn’t riding on the
brakes much to keep it from overflying like I would my Blaze. What I really have come to appreciate is the fact that It keeps its shape extremely
well, and the 5th line saftety is a life saver. Every time it overflew and fell, I deployed the safety so it wouldn’t suddenly catch the air in the
middle of the power zone and rip me across the field. It worked perfectly every time. Even when it was launching and became too much to handle, I
dumped the safety and everything was fine. The other noticeably different characteristic is speed and response. This Fuel is extremely twitchy and
responsive. Very fast through the window and up to zenith and turning is so easy. Once you pull on one side, you better be ready to compensate on
the other or it will go and take you with it. It’s really a nice change compared to the Blaze II, where you pull one side, then 5 seconds later it’s
like oh okay you want to turn! Then you have to anticipate when you want to turn a great deal ahead of time. One thing to mention is that there are
2 pig tails to attach the rear lines and the closer to the trailing edge you are the faster the kite will respond. These lines have 2 knots so you
have a little bit of freedom with tuning the power for different wind conditions. I had it set on the closer line to the trailing edge on the longest
setting, so all lines were equal and I guess it had a bit faster turning response.
So overall, I absolutely love this kite, and my first LEI experience was a blast, it just scares me a bit. I will have to take it out in lower winds,
but I have heard that you need at least 10mph to fly properly, so I will have to pick me battles wisely. As for the overall quality and control of
this kite, I absolutely love it and can’t wait to get more time on it. I think once I have a little more experience, the winds I experienced today
will really be ideal. Anyways, that’s most of it for now, hope you guys enjoyed the read and thanks for taking a look. Comments and suggestions are
always welcome.
Here are some pics for everyone to enjoy:
2005 Slingshot Fuel 15m:
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Just so you can see a size reference...
Jovver - 29-8-2009 at 01:56 PM
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Left 3/4 Shot:
Jovver - 29-8-2009 at 01:57 PM
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Right Side:
Jovver - 29-8-2009 at 01:57 PM
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Back Side:
Jovver - 29-8-2009 at 01:58 PM
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trancein1 - 30-8-2009 at 07:41 AM
Nice!!
Holding the Fuel in the wind...
Jovver - 24-10-2009 at 06:36 PM
As promised here are some more pics of my new favorite kite, and I might as well add a mini review. After a couple more sessions with this kite in
7~15mph winds I have found a new favorite kite. The Fuel develops great power, as said before, and is amazingly quick to turn. It also develops a
much different feel than a depower foil. The kite feels so light in the air, but still develops more power. The depower on this kite is great, and
the power boost is extreme. Little hops are so simple to do now, and I can't wait to learn bigger jumps on it. The one thing that I do notice is bar
pressure, a term that really escaped my conceptual grasp until I felt it for myself. Keeping the bar in while the kite wants to lift is fairly
difficult, because I'm not used to it. With more time on the kite I will gain more control and soon enough I will be getting some nice jumps. On a
note that's not performance related, I absolutely love the color scheme. It is surprising that the colors are quite dull when the kite is not under
the sun, but when you get some light shining through the canopy, the colors really pop. Until next time, enjoy the pics...
P.S.- This 15m left such a good impression on me that I picked up an 11m at an awesome price. I will post on that in a new thread.
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In Flight:
Jovver - 24-10-2009 at 06:38 PM
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Attempting a reverse launch...
Jovver - 24-10-2009 at 06:40 PM
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Awesome C-shaped Profile...
Jovver - 24-10-2009 at 06:47 PM
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Feeling the power...
Jovver - 24-10-2009 at 06:50 PM
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Harness and Bar:
Jovver - 24-10-2009 at 06:55 PM
Good shot of my Mystic Force Shield seat harness and the Slingshot bar. The kite is really stable up at the zenith.
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Another aerial shot:
Jovver - 24-10-2009 at 06:56 PM
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