lad - 18-12-2011 at 04:27 PM
Noticed this mod by Beamerbob for a 19m V
flicker pic - mod -barely seen - on Venom in lower left
A line (or two?) connecting the power line tips, and loosely attached to the middle, under the LE.
Said to keep the arc tips from flaring-out in a lull.
Seems practical, but I never seen it before.
Is this useful for all the larger arcs?
Any drawbacks? (launching, inversions, tacos)
How is the center attachment made?
Nothing I like seeing less than the ole sagging caterpillar spiral of death during a lull!
markite - 18-12-2011 at 04:39 PM
there were a few people playing around with a limiter line on arcs to try and increase turning speed and power by limiting the amount the kites would
open up at times. yes it does hold the kite closed and reduces the lulls you get once in a while as the kite opens but it also reduces the gust
absorption ability and some issues to overcome with flagging the kite.
newer generation kites have adjusted profiles for more power and they don't open up and helix/twist as much in turning loosing power - they can still
open up and float or stall etc but overall some of the advantages that people wanted with a limiter line have been worked into the profile of the kite
so they now deliver more power and turn faster.
BeamerBob - 18-12-2011 at 04:46 PM
That mod was done by tridude before I got it. Tridude sold it to me. It might've been somewhat effective but I'm not sure I'd go to the trouble and
I didn't like the impact it had on the appearance of the kite, but I never flew the kite without the mod in place.
tridude - 18-12-2011 at 04:47 PM
that was the mod I did on the V1................I liked it for turning speed and less jelly motion in the sail. I made mine adjustable on the tips
with leader lines/knots. The main line ran thru a metal ring that was attached to the middle internal strap...............................that kite
had a sudo bridal mod that I removed and replaced with the flare line...............best I can remember...........darn chemo!
Feyd - 19-12-2011 at 05:56 AM
We played with that a bit about 4 yrs ago. There was MAYBE some increase in turn speed but I didn't notice it enough to know just how much. It did
limit the kite's ability to flat out and loose shape when you hit air pockets but that abitlity to flatten out sometimes allows me grap airflow that I
may not have accessed if the profile was still in it's powered form.
Mark is right about the loss in gust handling. I didn't dig that at all. Sure, it can be a little unnerving when you hit a pocket of dead air and
the Arc goes all floppy on ya but that stuff is manageable with practice.
You'll hAnd ave to burn a hole through the kite and strap for the middle anchor point. I've heard of people tearing the rib at that point in a crash
with this mod but I never did.We had a small 8m S Arc that had been trimmed down to 6m that we tried a bunch of other mods on. I can't say I've seen
anything that beats an Arc's flying quality in it's designed state.
PHREERIDER - 19-12-2011 at 07:03 AM
had one for a while on a V16. not sure there is much benefit there. the drag alone was enough to take away any enhancement.
without EXACT length(whatever that is?) of the tip link, the top skin actually may flatten a bit under load distorting the profile and stealing the
power from proper profile shape. which may allow the kit to fly faster but with less power. not a fan .
stock is best (VI modded to VII is actually stock application of NEW not different)