Power Kite Forum

Beamer V worth the upgrade over the IV?

rtz - 31-10-2011 at 06:25 PM

Who has flight time with the Beamer V? Anyone also have a lot of time on the IV's?

I was wondering just how much improvement there is on the V.

Anyone got anything to say about the V's?

(OT: Did I use the word "there" in the right context? PM me if I did/did not.)

BeamerBob - 31-10-2011 at 07:29 PM

It is a tad faster and quicker handling. It adds a touch of power with a little brake input. It is an advancement over the IV. You can still hand it to a complete novice thought and they can handle it.

MidwestSunset - 2-11-2011 at 04:41 PM

I'm a complete noob so take this for what it's worth: I was able to fly my Beamer V 4.0m for the first time yesterday in 8~12 mph winds and it was awesome! Within about 20 minutes I had just about mastered the controls, zooming around the window, hovering it just feet above the ground, and was even able to do reverse launches. I had the brake lines attached at the middle knot and the power was perfect for me to learn with, I'm about 200 lbs and although I wasn't looking to jump it was certainly trying to get me in the air. I was able to get about 1-1/2 hours flight time last night and can't wait to get it out again, I can't comment on the IV's but I love my V!

Bigbear97e - 2-11-2011 at 05:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MidwestSunset
I'm a complete noob so take this for what it's worth: I was able to fly my Beamer V 4.0m for the first time yesterday in 8~12 mph winds and it was awesome! Within about 20 minutes I had just about mastered the controls, zooming around the window, hovering it just feet above the ground, and was even able to do reverse launches. I had the brake lines attached at the middle knot and the power was perfect for me to learn with, I'm about 200 lbs and although I wasn't looking to jump it was certainly trying to get me in the air. I was able to get about 1-1/2 hours flight time last night and can't wait to get it out again, I can't comment on the IV's but I love my V!


Sounds like your addicted already .... welcome to PKF

BigMikesKites - 2-11-2011 at 05:59 PM

The Beamer V is an improvement over the IV in many ways. It is a kite I would recommend. If I had a Beamer ver IV, I wouldn't ditch it for a V however. But I wouldn't hesitate to get a V in a different size.

flash - 3-11-2011 at 08:08 AM

second everyone on here, the IV is still a good kite, but if you have the cashola.... get an upgrade. The V likes a little bit more brake input if you want to take the kite 'up a notch' and fly faster etc.... but like they said already, it is still like the IV in the sense that you can hand it to a noob and they will fly just fine. beauty of it is that you can tune the crap out of it and really get it dialed in, but without any tuning it still will fly like the tank that it is.

The technical bits.... The aspect ratio and bridaling is tweaked a little but still nearly the same. It was enough of a tweaking tho that it has allowed the kite to move a step closer to an intermediate user kite, while at the same time retaining the simplicity of a beginner kite. Sail patterns changed of course, but really.... doesn't matter once it's covered in playa dust :) If you can put the two versions side by side you will need to tune the brakes (move the larkshead up or down a knot) on the V and be prepared that even when flying off the tops (drive lines) if you want real performance from the kite apply a touch of brakes to bring that kite back into the sweet spot of the powerzone. I noticed that on the V the sweet spot for 'set and forget' riding is a little bit bigger and faster whereas the IV likes to take it closer to the edge of the window.

rtz - 30-11-2011 at 10:13 PM

Here's my Beamer V 2m on my Beamer IV 3m showing the curve:



Also noticed that stiff edge material isn't used anymore: