kiteyakker - 9-12-2011 at 07:29 PM
Well this could probably have gone in the snowkiting forum but i figured i'd get more responses here. I just got back from kiting under the light of
the moon on some good ol frozen Minnesota water. I was on skis and there was little if any snow. Wind was light, less than 10 mph but hey it was
ice so didn't need nor want much more. I like this kite, it is very quick and seems to have a lot of grunt, but one thing i have found is that it
really, REALLY wants to go upwind, acutally a bit more than i would like. It seems to have a tendency to fly right to the edge of the window. I tried
adjusting the trim strap in a bit as i originally had it sheeted all the way out for max power in the light wind. I hoped that this would help it move
back into the window a bit more but it didn't seem to make any difference. This kite will be awesome for getting back upwind but im not to sure about
just plain cruising. Anyone else experience this characteristic with theirs? Is there something i could set differently? This is an 11 meter if that
makes any difference. Maybe it will behave differently once i get on actual snow...
Houston AirHead - 9-12-2011 at 07:33 PM
your on ice man , you would fly up wind with a bed sheet...
g00fba11 - 9-12-2011 at 07:36 PM
Wow.... you got enough ice on the lakes to kite up there already????
I am just east of the twin cities and we are no where close yet..... and only 4 inches of snow left.....
Sorry this was off topic......
kiteyakker - 9-12-2011 at 07:50 PM
Be glad you got snow g00f, we have nothing up here, but we have had lots of cold, it's barely above zero as i type this.
I haven't been on such glare ice before so didn't know if this is a common thing, i guess i figured as long as i could hold an edge it wouldn't
matter what kind of surface i was on.
Feyd - 10-12-2011 at 05:05 AM
You guys are killin me. We don't have any snow or ice yet even north of here.
And I love moonlight flyin, seriously it's the best.
Feyd - 10-12-2011 at 05:11 AM
Is your ice like this?
cheezycheese - 10-12-2011 at 05:46 AM
Feyd, what do those big ruts in the ice come from..?
kiteyakker - 10-12-2011 at 06:42 AM
No the ice isn't quite that smooth or clear, its a bit rough in places, but its solid and I've got 3-4 hundred acres to play on. I'd prefer it was
covered with snow, they are forecasting a "dry" winter for us. Good enuf for now.
Feyd - 10-12-2011 at 01:30 PM
Those ruts are from snow that was on top, run over with a snowmobile, rained on then refrozen.
I hope we get a dry winter. I just went and rode on my Coyotes with a 10m Charger and had a ball. I kinda got my fix but it's not the same. I'm
thinking of darkening Rude Boy's door if we don't get some ice soon.
:dunno:
shaggs2riches - 10-12-2011 at 08:49 PM
Just curious from your post, was the kite going so far to the edge that you were losing line tension and pressure in the kite if you didn't cut
upwind????? Did pulling the bar in tight help hold it deeper into the window??? I can't wait to take my 9m on its maiden voyage. One short test
flight in light winds just didn't cut it for me last weekend.
kiteyakker - 11-12-2011 at 07:09 AM
Shaggs, that is exactly what was happening. Gonna give it another go today. I tried the bar in pretty much all positions, didnt seem to make a lot of
difference. I want snow!
shaggs2riches - 11-12-2011 at 03:33 PM
I went out this afternoon for a couple hours and noodled with my 9m frenzy in some real light winds. My windmeter was showing 13km/h when I arrived to
the field. I wanted to see how low of winds I could get it to launch. Not only did it launch easily, but with a bit of trim, I could ride the atb just
as long as I continuously looped the kite. If I was flying a 13m I bet I could have parked it once I was up to speed. Static, I could zip the kite
quickly from one end of the window to the other. I let it float to zenith and with little input it sat there motionlessly as if hung there by a
string. I can't wait for 18mph+ winds and snow. This kite is so stable!!! I found diving it straight down from zenith, pull in the bar and crank it
across the powerzone, produced the best results to keep it deep in the window. Just like my 12m speed 2, if you were more relaxed on the dive; it,
would move quickly to the edge of the window losing power.
kiteyakker - 12-12-2011 at 08:38 PM
Went back out on the ice again yesterday. Winds were a bit better, a little more consistent, but still fairly light. Another annoying trait i
discovered is that this Frenzy doens't like to stay parked at the zenith, it has a tendency to overfly unless you keep it moving around. This is
definately a switch from the other 2 Frenzies i've owned. I had the kite sheeted in slightly as well as all the way out and it didn't seem to matter.
It did fly better but still folded at the edge of the window a few times. I was able to park it and go several times and it made impressive power
for the amount of wind, but it still seemed like i had to really run hard upwind to do this. I still have not kited on snow, but so far i can't say
that i am real impressed with this kite, other than it being quite fast and turning much quicker than previous versions.
shaggs2riches - 12-12-2011 at 11:49 PM
You make me really anxious to get a really good session in on my kite. (not that I wasn't already) I really wonder how my kite will handle in a well
powered situation??? All the reports on this kite have been mainly positive, pointing to a really stable easy flying machine. I did notice one overfly
situation, but that was when the wind lulled enough to cause the kite to surge forward. Maybe it will grow on you the more you fly it. Time will tell.
kitedelight - 13-12-2011 at 04:05 PM
if it were used it might be your front lines had stretched, but if its new that shouldn't be a problem at all. I guess some kites don't like going
downwind all that much, but going in a straight line is not asking much.
not owning a frenzy, take this for what it is.
In certain light wind/surface conditions, my psycho requires certain edging to build up the apparent wind before I can back down and go in a straight
line.
So, when originally diving the kite to get started, I need to give it a solid edge to build up the right apparent wind speed, and the turns out to be
pretty decently upwind. Then, once enough apparent wind is build up the power kicks in and I can reposition the kite where I want. I used to try
and simply pull in the bar (psycho's backstall easy so its workable), but now I generally just move it like Shaggs mentioned. So, if I am going to
the right, I'll swing it up 11, then dive it *straight* down deeper into the window, pull in the bar (probably 1/3 to 1/2 way depending on the wind),
and then turn it. The kite *should* stay put deeper in the window...at this point do not edge against the kite as hard and move your edging closer to
a straight line. But, if I put it too far back in the window for the wind, I'll lower my speed to much past that threshold my kite likes, and I'll
have to build speed up edging at that 'magic' edging angle again. This isn't a problem in most conditions, only certain light wind conditions. Try
that out and see how it works.
kiteyakker - 14-12-2011 at 08:50 PM
I'll give that technique a try. I can't wait to give kite a go in real snowkiting conditions and some better wind, so far it's just been light,
shiftly winds under 10mph, so i wasn't exactly lit up out there. I just have high expectations of this kite and so far they haven't exactly been met.
kitedelight - 15-12-2011 at 11:28 AM
ya, I wouldn't have too high expectations for that range..you'll probably have a different kite on your hands in better winds.
shaggs2riches - 16-12-2011 at 06:13 PM
I got out in some typical 18mph winds with my 9m on the atb. My site wasn't that big, so no real park n ride. I actually got scared a couple times
cause it started to pull when I was at the edge of the field and I was about to change directions. Winds had many holes in which the kite would fall
right out of the sky, then re-open as it fell into the middle of the powerzone. Not much fun when you are just trying to play a little and don't have
the room. I did notice what you were talking about, the kite moved quick to the edge of the window. I didn't want to dive the kite hard from zenith,
as the little space I was worried of not stopping in time. One thing for sure is that winter boots with good grip suck when you are trying to skid.
They caused me to run lots towards the kite in fear of supermanning onto my face. My feet hurt from this. All the factors that were playing out,
including the fact that my skills are really rusty from not riding a good session since the summer, caused me to pack up and wait for a better
location, and winds. No need to get hurt, I just wasn't feeling it today. I've taken some video that I'll try to chop up a bit to show how crappy the
winds were, and how the kite was behaving. I do have faith that it will be great when I can let the trim all the way out and play in a big open field
on the snow. Just trying to share what I'm experiencing with my kite, to see if we get similar results.