j0fer - 16-5-2011 at 07:56 AM
Well I've had a great week or two of flying/learning. So far I've only been pulled onto my face once, which is less than I expected.
This weekend saw some 14-18mph winds...that was a fun battle though.
Here are more of my (probably useless) n00b observations, which I haven't found a lot of here and I think could be helpful.
1. I don't know whether it's relevant only to the Prism or other kites as well: Holding moderate brakes, the kite can stay aloft though the airfoil is
not filled. Even in decent wind, with some finesse you can keep the kite directly out in front of you, a few feet off the ground, right in the power
zone. Good kite control practice. This also allowed for powering down the kite when a lull allowed the kite to luff right down into the power zone.
CONTROL METHOD NOTE: this would be difficult to do with a control bar.
2. The kite is an airfoil for a reason. I'm not sure what qualifies as 'nukin winds' yet...but with 17 mph wind or so your kite can be floating lazily
in front of you...in the power zone...but it is NOT flying (powered up). If the airfoil isn't filled then you're just holding an expanse of ripstop
nylon connected to some strings. With the start of forward motion, very quickly the airfoil will become sufficiently ram-air filled to assume its
designed shape and begin to function as the power engine it is designed to be. The transition from 'fabric in the wind' to a functioning traction kite
can be very abrupt, and the speed and pull of the kite go from 0 to 100 very, very quickly. This should not also be unexpectedly. You need to be fully
aware of, and know by instinct at what level of forward motion or speed *your* kite will make this transition. Noticing this, I worked on launching
the kite and milking it through the power zone all the way to overhead and back down without it ever powering up until I chose to let it in a safe
area of the window.
3. You still need to be ready to activate your safety measures quickly, and unexpectedly. Playing around as mentioned above, I had the kite pull the
handles out of my hands (intentionally holding them with only a moderate-hard grip) twice. Both times, by the time the handles were out of my hands, I
was doing the 'running-to-catch-up-with-yourself' thing. We're talking a fraction of a second.
SIDE NOTE: even when do you drop to kite killers you still have (in this case) 4.2 sq/m worth of loose fabric in the wind pulling on you.
4. One of the times I dropped to killers...it was quite a yank...and as it happened, all of a sudden I had a brake line flapping around my face. I
immediately assumed that the kite might not power down and started reaching for a kite killer strap to let one of the handles go completely, while
still running to not fall down. It did power down...but I learned - you can't always assume your safety plan is going to work. Have several thought
out and practiced. (The shock of dropping to the killers pulled the single overhand knot down and off the end of the brake line at the bridle. I may
change them all to double-overhand stoppers.)
5. If I had been strapped into a harness when I needed to eject! eject! eject!, instead of the nanosecond it took to drop the handles, I would have
had to reach down and activate a quick release. I have no doubts at all that I would have been pulled onto my onion pretty hard. I was wearing my
pads, elbows and knees, and I was glad even though I didn't fall. When harness time comes...I think it's going to be a whole different ballgame of
what you can screw around with and what risks it brings if you're strapped in.
Which got me thinking: what if activating your quick release could be as simple and quick as dropping the handles? Maybe like a dead-man switch in the
form of a small trigger on one handle?
You let go of the handles and your QR releases, letting you drop to kite killers. Or maybe the reverse, you pull the trigger to release the QR. So
dropping to kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s would involve Squeeze/Let Go Hmmmm.....
(surely someone has thought of all this before)
PHREERIDER - 16-5-2011 at 09:42 AM
nice go , jO
self discovery! educating the masses.
exploiting the "choked dumb fabric bag" ...there is a threshold wind speed across the TOP of the kite that hasn't shaped yet and become effective.
thats the brake control, and for the most part the air is washing around the unit.
our reflexes advance the more we see, do and feel. the flight path is (should be) unfolding in the mind ahead of reality. So KNOWING whats coming
for balance and reaction is a learned process. those who are not "ahead" of the rig, are profoundly surprised esp. the new flier.
handles v. harnessed . again a reflex NEEDED transition, filled with practiced. balance points go from shoulders to hips and legs. timing for
reaction is also learned for different conditions and gear. the same applies about knowing whats going to happen with time to react and adjust.
the release. when control is lost. not really about speed. just the point of recovery has been passed. the "just let go" mantra should be coupled
with a safe leashing device. usually if you get jacked(beyond your control) its over before action arrives.
TIME, practice , enough to KNOW whats coming.
KNOWING the gear, small steps , progress into more wind it all builds from the knowledge base.
if the base is weak, going to a big unit too soon, in too much breeze only gives bigger more disappointing surprises.
NICE Discovery! you are on the right track
furbowski - 16-5-2011 at 09:43 AM
you're doing great.... Not useless at all, I reckon others starting out will read your post with care and learn from it!
and yep you are figuring out the limitations of kite killers and quick releases. Not to mention use of the brakes...
a couple observations:
on 2) the more power you are dealing with, the smaller the safe area of the window gets. The better your skills are, the more wind / kite you can
handle, but the less you fly in the power zone. This especially applies to static flying, if you end up progressing to buggy / board / blades, you'll
find you are playing a different ball game.
on 4) you need a tail on the overhand knot and it (and the larS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s head) needs to be snug and tight, with these you won't need a
figure-eight or a double overhand knot. With no tail, the knot can come undone very easily. I used to do a lot of rock climbing before discovering
kites and there we learn to leave a minimum two or three inch tail in the 9-11mm rope we use there (at least as long as 4-5x the rope diameter, 10x
for absolutely bombproof but then there is a bit too much of extra line flapping about up there).
The problem with bigger knots and extra line is more tangles on launch / kite collapse in flight. Whatever you do, you'll likely develop a habit of
checking the bridle and making sure all the knots and larS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s heads are tight. If it happens to one of the powers you'll get the death
spiral and a big untangle / untwist job as well. Also make sure your KK attachment to the brakes is solid, there is a small risk of having one KK
break or come loose, which can also give you a death spiral.
In addition, soon you may find that you can go to killers and recover the kite before it hits the ground by pulling back up the killers to the
handles. In 1 and 2 you're developing the skills to do this safely. The bigger your kite / stronger the wind the harder it is to control the kite in
the power zone with this kind of brake use.
In 5) yep you are finding out why harnesses are dangerous for noobs. However, as you get more hours you will find that you recognize the QR moments
with an increasing amount of time to do something about it, and this is the skill that makes harnesses somewhat safe... Not the equipment, your
skills. And yep it is a whole different ballgame. BTW, once you start rolling on buggy / board it's like going back to square one and learning the QR
moments all over again.
And your last bit... Well, lots of people have played with solutions, and there are a few... But none are perfect. The only absolutely safe
technique (for the flyer, not the kite or bystanders) is to go with no killers at all so that you only have to let go to be completely free of the
kite. Of course this is only viable if you have lots of room downwind, are willing to put your kite at a bit of risk, and have no bystanders downwind
of you. Not for everybody. KK use for experienced flyers is a matter of personal opinion and taste. There are a good number of us (myself included)
who don't use killers much. :evil:
Nuking winds and small kites is when I get mine out. Everybody I teach, however, learns to use KKs. If the time comes for you to consider ditching
them, you'll know -- only you.
tight lines!