Noob question:
Can I put a third line on a big buzz for easier starting when it falls down on its face ?? And if yes somebody please explain how??
Thanks a bunch!!markite - 3-3-2011 at 08:07 AM
I just had a quick look to see what the kite looked like online - it's a simple two line set up on a foil. You should be able to relaunch this kite
from just about any position - not 100%, but most by either jerking both lines to get the kite to pop open and relaunch, or pull one line a few feet
to get the kite to flag out sideways, then release the one line and pull both to get it to relaunch
To put a 3rd line on you would need to sew bridle tabs along the trailing edge, make a bridle and then run that line down to .... ahhh it comes with
straps. So you don't have anywhere for that line to attach unless you went to a bar and then it's a bit more complicated.
For the cost of the kite I'd practice a lot more ground handling. As you gain more experience flying the number of times you need to relaunch will
drop down dramatically to once or twice. Just take it as part of the learning curve doing the walk to re-set the kite and fairly soon you won't need
to do that walk.
Things that might help now:
- when you set up your kite, unfold it and put sand or snow or weight the trailing edge and unroll your lines and it'll be ready to launch.
- if it falls and twists up, try dramatically yanking both lines or reaching up and pulling one line to get the kite to open up and relaunch
- if you need to walk to the kite, stake out one handle to keep the kite from blowing away.krumly - 3-3-2011 at 08:32 AM
I'm pretty much with markite. But if you're a tinkerer, you could add a bridle pair to the trailing edge and put it on 4-line handles. Then you could
reverse launch and turn it. I wouldn't bother with a bar and 3 lines. Most folks at that point would just buy a 4-line kite all ready to go. I have
an Ozone Imp 1 meter. It is 2 line, and I can always get it back into the air doing as markite describes in his first paragraph.
krumlyindigo_wolf - 3-3-2011 at 08:52 AM
Probably possible, but return on investment may be a bit dubious.
It would require sewing a dacron reinforcement strip along the trailing edge and adding one or more attachment tabs for a brake line. If your sewing
skills aren't up to snuff, things could get ugly.
Before you go that route, you might consider working on your ground skills a bit an see if that eases some of the pain.
The common wisdom is that two line kites are a pain because they can't be relaunched in a LE (front end) down crash. I generally bite my tongue when
those conversations come up.
However....
The Buzz, Big Buzz (as well as the Flexifoil Sting 1.2, 1.7 and similar) are fairly small kites. For the purposes of relaunching, this actually works
in their favor. The more wind there is, the easier it is.
Jeff Howard of ProKiteSurf makes a kite called the Sensei Trainer that is billed as the first relaunchable two line trainer. It has been around for a
bit, but I have never found any documentation on what is supposed to make it so easy to relaunch (although, knowing Jeff's reputation, I have no doubt
it does what he says).
Here's a video of it:
OK, back to the the (Big)Buzz/small Stings.... because of their small sizes it doesn't take a lot of air for them to fully inflate. Likewise, their
small size means little or no pull and the ability to haul them around with a sharp tug of one line or another.
When one of these small foils crash, any air pressure (from the wind) blowing on the outside of the canopy forces air out of the sail. The kite will
either be nose down or downwind, so its ability to re-inflate is greatly hampered. You basically have a flapping piece of nylon, but compared to
larger kites it's a relatively small and manageable piece of nylon.
If you hold one line steadily tensioned and feed out slack to the other line, the kite will eventually shift into a position 90 degrees from the
normal launch position. You might find yourself standing sideways to give as much slack as you can to the one side.
In one continuous move, haul back on the slackened line, turning your body so you are facing forward again. The kite may or may not come up off
the ground at this point, but this is incidental (although it does make it easier to reorient the kite when it is even partially airborne). The key
thing is that you are trying to turn the kite so that the air inlets are facing into the wind. There may be one or more twists in the line, but as
long as the kite inflates and relaunchs, you can fly the twist out once you are fully airborne.
OK... now the caveats...
You should only be doing this on groomed/maintained fields without debris or things your kite/lines
can snag on.
There is little or no socially redeeming value to learning how to relaunch smaller two line foils.
It won't impress women or put you on the fast track at work.
Unless you are a hardcore traction/boost junkie, you will find yourself performing strange experients with smaller foils (stalls/hovers, touch
'n go's, precision landings.... gasp... maybe even tandem or team flying.... things normally done with two line framed stunt kites).
People might think you a tad odd.
