I recently purchased a used Flexifoil Blade III 4.9m to replace and upgrade my aging Profoil 4.5m. My Profoil was my main ATB kite but it was getting
old so I wanted something equal if not better to replace it. I found a decent deal on a Blade on ebay and promptly took it out for it's maiden
flight. The previous owner said it was only flown once and it did show it with a fresh crispy feel and nice clean material. I went out easy in winds
averaging 8-12knts, flying with handles. I have to say I was really disappointed when I found the Blade backing up very easy and really never climing
up to the zenith unless I got the random gust up to 15. I had the brakes really loose and just tried to fly more on the front lines to see if this
would help without any luck. It seems to me the AOA is set-up more in a powered up position (non-adjustable on a Blade III I assume?). Maybe I'm too
used to the way my Profoil flys and should expect a Blade not to fly like my Profile in the lower winds I'm used to.
Has anyone else ever had this issue or have any advice for this new Blade owner?
I like to tinker so I'm willing to try adding an adjustable bridle to see if changing the pitch would help with this model. I really have great luck
with my other Flexifoil kites maybe this one is just a little out of wack.
Let me know what y'all think,
Thanks,
Daveacampbell - 27-3-2010 at 07:35 AM
Huh. Nothing wrong with the ProFoil but the Blade should kick its butt and it should be fine in light winds. Def try an AoA kit. I am out of them
right now but I know Dino at Dakitez has someB-Roc - 27-3-2010 at 09:03 AM
How clean and consistent were the winds? If the kite flew fine in the gusts then maybe there just wasn't enough consistent wind to get it going.
Whenever a kite can't get to the zenith, its usually a brake tension or wind issue (assuming the bridle is OK). I had an 8.5 BIII and in light winds
that kite would perform as you describe and it took a lot of pumping to get it to the zenith. Once there is was usually OK as it flew well on
apparent wind.
If you want to check to make sure its the brakes and not the bridle then I would take it out in light winds with only the power lines attached (two
line set up). If the kite launches no problem then no matter how loose your brakes looked they were still too tight. If the kite stuggles on two
lines then something is amiss with the bridle. That kite should not be struggling in clean 8-12 knot winds.
If you go out with two lines either go with someone who can help you land the kite or attach a killer to one of the powers so you can flag it by
dropping the handles or fly it way out the edge of the window and then slowly into the ground.
My guess is its a brake tension issue. Blades are two line bias kites. You don't need the rear lines any tighter than necessary to land and reverse
launch the kite.acampbell - 27-3-2010 at 11:14 AM
B-roc has a real good point. Now that you mention it, the ProFoil did favor some brake tension so that may be what you are used to. It could be that
what you think is loose for a Blade is not. Remember they can trail behind in an arc, and the weight and drag still add some brake tension.wind-dave - 28-3-2010 at 08:39 PM
B-Roc - I was flying in the usual winds here. Holding 8-12knts then dropping down to 5 occasionally. I had the brakes all the way loose and it
really was having trouble getting up to the top. My profoil would be zipping right on up to zenith in the same conditions.
I'll give it a go this week with a two line set-up and see what happens. The manual suggests hooking the brake bridles directly up to the power when
I do this.
acambell - Thanks for the heads up on the bridle kit. I'll definitely look into it more after this week after I do some more testing.
So far I've only flown it static, maybe getting some appartent wind into the equation will show me more how it flys. My Panch Ace 6m was a different
beast once I had it moving on my board.
Thanks for the advice fellas.B-Roc - 29-3-2010 at 09:34 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by wind-dave
I had the brakes all the way loose and it really was having trouble getting up to the top. .
I'm assuming by that satement you mean "as loose as they can be given the current knots on your brake leaders". Still doesn't mean they are as loose
as they need to be. You may need to add some knots lower down on the kite end brake leader to lengthen the brake line length. Your brake lines are
the same length as your powers when not connected, correct?
5 knots is light wind. Blades take a bit to get going, IMO, but once going they go and go.
Your profoil has a lower AoA and therefore presents more surface to the wind. Higher AoA kites can take off but then struggle when there's not enough
wind to keep them going to the edge. I think that may be what you are experiencing.wind-dave - 29-3-2010 at 02:03 PM
When I first put the kite up the brakes were so loose I couldn't land the kite so I started shortening the lines (moving the knots) until I felt like
I had enough brake to land it. I'll adjust the other way after work tonight and see if that helps.wind-dave - 30-3-2010 at 07:43 AM
I flew it again yesterday and I'm still not happy with the performance of my Blade. Maybe I'm expecting too much from it but my Profile kicks it's
butt right now. The Blade wouldn't stay up when the Profile was providing me with enough power to get a few runs in on the landboard.
After reading a few posts about other Blade owners getting a AAA kit for bridle stretch problems that sounds like what I need to improve it's
performance. I guess it might have come from the factory with this issue since it's only been up less than 6 times.
I'll get with Dino when NABX is over and get a bridle kit ordered.tridude - 30-3-2010 at 08:01 AM
take and post pics of you leader/line attachments at the kite and on your handles..................one last thing prior to
pics.........................remove the rear/brake lines and see if she flies better...........if she flies better in 2 line mode remove and check
line lengths..................front and rear (power/brakes) should be the same length...............damn you can tell Ive been off FBs for
awhile...........................:puzzled::puzzled::o:owind-dave - 30-3-2010 at 08:58 AM
Will do tridude...
I did fly it without brakes yesterday (2 line mode). I left the brake bridles attached to the power lines once and then just left them hanging down
attached to nothing. Still no love.
