Power Kite Forum

Aurora reviews

Bladerunner - 3-11-2012 at 02:55 PM

1st off , thanks Mac' for putting this together.

Kite was at the post today. I picked it up and it felt at least as heavy or more than the 14m Eskimo I just picked up there. Not sure the weight and tossed the package. Maybe Mac' knows from his bill ? Not crazy heavy or anything.

Brought it home and opened it down in the Gym due to rainy season. Snapped some photos. Filled it and gave it a general once over.

Open the package. Nothing that resembles instructions. Kite is in classic Pansh bag but also a much larger basic bag . I suspect for quick pack up ? No funky smell like Mac' described but I think I could pick up a hangover of the smell on his. I think the white fabric may be the issue. My black and red are both what I was expecting . That slick stuff the newer Pansh kites have. The kite looks every bit as nice as I expected. What a joy to pick my own colour scheme .

It is clear that they have been looking at Flysurfer. NOT Flysurfers superior bridle systems but lots of other little nods. Or are they patent infringements ? Break away segments between bridle and kite + spares . Flysurfers are LB rated and different colours but still :thumbup: . The 5th line flags to only 3 points . B, C and Z. I wonder if these breakaways will end up week links? Hence the spares. They have a velcro flap back centre that I think is an attempt at a blow out valve ? The dual air inlet look almost the same as Flysurfer without the mesh over the top section. No jet flaps, of course .

The zippers sure had me stuck for a minute. I was actually looking at and touching the TINY flapper of the zipper and wondering what it was? The zippers are odd. Even in an odd spot a bit up from the tips and inside? Sort of where you would expect them on an arc? I have to think they won't like sand being so small? Folding the kite I found I needed to open the dirt outs to finish off . + had to choose a folding method that pushed the air the the wing tips. It held air and got pressure against a tiny coleman matteress pump :thumbup:.Seemed to lose air a tiny bit fast but I don't think it is fair to judge that yet.

On to the bridle. Nice and coloured bridle lines. The way they are sewn and sort of glued seems a bit odd but still decent quality. ( We'll let BK be judge of that ! ) . The pulleys ? If I keep this kite , they will need changed soon. I don't know a ton about pulleys but these don't inspire confidence ? The bridle plan itself is about as simple as you get. Nothing to add to turning speed or shape shift that I see but I know too little about bridle layouts to claim it's a bad plan. ( thinking Powerzone mod' here ? )

I think that covers my 1st impressions. The kite is mostly what I expected. Wellll .... those zippers ???? :puzzled: Now I'll try and attach some pictures.


I will have this kite at Seaside Nov. 10 long weekend . As soon as I have tried it I invite everybody else interested to give it a go + a review .

SUNP0052.JPG - 144kB

Bladerunner - 3-11-2012 at 02:56 PM

another

SUNP0054.JPG - 136kB

Bladerunner - 3-11-2012 at 02:58 PM

the zippers

That is a lighter to show scale

SUNP0049.JPG - 146kB

Bladerunner - 3-11-2012 at 02:59 PM

pulleys

SUNP0053.JPG - 148kB

Bar?

crazyherb - 3-11-2012 at 02:59 PM

Nice looking kite!!
What bar are you planning on using for it?

Steve

Bladerunner - 3-11-2012 at 03:00 PM

Blow out?

SUNP0055.JPG - 142kB

Bladerunner - 3-11-2012 at 03:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by crazyherb
Nice looking kite!!
What bar are you planning on using for it?

Steve


I have put together a Frankin'bar. 50cm Cab' bar. OR trim strap and a PL leash. Created my own fifth line with stoppers , rings, and line I had kicking around so cost of bar ? Nothing ?? :thumbup:

I will have it on 25m lines instead of the 20m they suggest. 'cause that's the best complete lineset I had in the shed. :rolleyes:

macboy - 4-11-2012 at 01:24 AM

Wow that was fast. Good on you! She was 3.6kg with packaging.

sand flea - 4-11-2012 at 03:32 PM

Thank you for the excellent review Ken.
The ability to get custom colors and in such little time is amazing!
Never have I heard of custom colors arriving so quickly.
Great color choice too.

I can hardly wait to see you light that baby up!


See ya at Sunset
Chris
C1

flyguy0101 - 5-11-2012 at 06:21 AM

flew one this weekend- alright here is a little more info on the 15m, we recieved ours in the us last week and i had a chance to fly it on saturday in light winds on a PL 07 bar, i disconnected the 5th line bridle set and flew it on my regular 4 lines with the left rear being the flag out (not sure if it actually works since did not have enough wind to try it) initial thoughts- not bad was unable to get a real feel for the depower since was flying static and in order to launch had to have the trim strap all the way out to even get it to launch once in the air was alright turned like a pig and reminded me of my montana 2, had a tendency to collapse, invert, or jellyfish every time it got to the edge of the window- again only flew it static in shifty light winds. issues about build- deflate zippers are hard to find and are on the bottom skin so somewhat of a pain when packing up, as well velcro blowout is also on the bottom skin. pulleys are very cheap- if get it flying well will change. lastly is the "closed cell" it appears that the intake vents are great for inflating but do not appear to have any way to act as one way vents so unless kite is moving pressure is not held in the kite
sorry for the ramble its early
Scott

Bladerunner - 5-11-2012 at 07:12 AM

I am real glad I won't be alone for the virgin flight of this one. I had a feeling it is going to be quirky .

I predict it will turn slow turning, have poor depower and stall / overfly ? The bridle plan is so basic. The inlets are so similar to Flysurfers I thought mine weren't holding well because I couldn't create enough internal pressure with my little pump ? The velcro blow out and dirt outs are sure to leak some air.

I hadn't considered going 4 line. Now if I have issues with my Frankin'bar I can go to my 07 or Navi' to eliminate myself from the siruation. :cool2:

mdpminc - 5-11-2012 at 12:55 PM

Got mine today, BLACK with OCEAN BLUE tips looks great.
Fabric is all Flux (silicone or some other water repellent coated ripstop)
Overall quality and assembly is best i've seen from Pansh so far. (pulleys, zippers and blow-out can always be replaced with better units)

Weight of 3.7kg is exactly the same as Speed3-15m Standard fabric so not a bad news at this point.

I am setting it up on Flysurfer bar I got from powerzone with OR below the bar trim CL and 5x 27m lines.

As a backup I will have my larger JN foil bar with 4x25m winter set-up (brake/landing line to leash) and Ocean Rodeo SLE bar 4x23m from the Rise if need arrises

Upcoming weekend looks great at Long Point (Lake Erie) straight-on shore South 15-18knts, air temp 14C and water still at 12C

Will try to take some pics and have some more comments.

bigkid - 5-11-2012 at 01:59 PM

did anyone order the kite, black with green tips? I think that would be the color I would pick, but the other colors are nice to. hard to pick from all those color choices, hard enough to pick the kite and size.

Aurora 15m, 1st tester session

mdpminc - 12-11-2012 at 10:03 AM

Comments after a first test session.
Although wind died down completely (had a great 6h water session just prior to that) and with wind almost undetectable at ground level, I decided to take it out anyways (sorry no pics yet).
Figured that if things go wrong, may as well be in no wind.
Opened the kite, connected 20m coloured Pansh lines to a 70cm frankenbar with 4-lines and landing/brake strap (left 5th line alone).
Upon first attempt to fill it with air by tugging on the front lines, I broke a bridle connection when it got cought on some beach debris, little connection lines worked as they supposed to, broke off without damage to the kite or bridle line, big + for Pansh for that.
After 4th or 5th tug (remember zero ground wind) kite started to fill up and actually took off without too much drama.
After 4 moves across the window, kite was filled, wow! that was quick in no wind.
btw, kite looked great in the air, narrow and sleek wing

After adjusting the trim lines, kite flew very well with no tip collapse at wind edge.
Very stable at zenith, almost a PL Venom stability.
It seems the geometry is very efficient, in highier winds it will most likely overfly if one does not watch the rear line tension.
After a couple of passes across the powerzone with fully powered up I did 10 to 15ft skuds in the mid-pack sand. Impressed again. It should be a nice low wind machine for sure, but more tests needed as I could not test depower levels in these marginal winds.

I will consider using a larger bar then one 70cm I used.
Turning speed was fast enough considering the conditions.
From experience any of the large PLs, even ground inflated would not take off in this wind.

Landing and take-off no problem, to land, pull on the land strap, kite went down as fast as or as slow as you want it.
Note, if you go too fast tips will collapse inward, but that is normal with most foils of this size.

Intake valves work great, no visible air loss when parked on the ground for several minutes.

Take off, pulled on the main lines and up it went, again no drama.

Packing up was bit of a pain initially, but after I found all zippers and opened all velcro tabs, it was manageable.

Cannot wait to test in winds ~10knts to see how it behaves than.

Overall, very impressed (so far), truly not what I was expecting.

to do continued.......

stetson05 - 12-11-2012 at 07:30 PM

funny, I woke up today wondering about this promised review. You aren't helping my resolve to not get a new kite.

Bladerunner - 28-11-2012 at 07:35 AM

I met up with John from Powerzone and he had a look at the Aurora.

He noticed a few things that can be improved but one I think is pretty important.

"A" main line gathers most of the power. Most kite companies make that section of bridle from much higher lb. rated line. Pansh is just using standard bridle line at that point. This will be a weak point . If you plan on jumping with these kites changing that bit to at least 600lb test might be a good idea.

John installed a WAC on mine. Sadly he didn't get to fly it.

cheezycheese - 28-11-2012 at 07:43 AM

"WAC"...??? :puzzled:

wac

mdpminc - 28-11-2012 at 07:47 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by cheezycheese
"WAC"...??? :puzzled:


@BR could you please give some details, ie lenght, picture,


Example from Flysurfer Titan

wactit.gif - 72kB

Bladerunner - 28-11-2012 at 07:48 AM

Flysurfer thing.

An adjustable line from B,C pulley looping A ???? I am not the king of bridles.

Changes bar pressure and I think helps with over fly. John is away so we haven't talked it out.

Bladerunner - 28-11-2012 at 06:28 PM

John dropped the kite off at Ron's and I will get it this weekend so have not seen the mod'.

I am prrrretttty ssssure your PDF shows a double WAC ? I think what John installed will be more like the one in this link http://www.flysurfer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/psycho4_...

I only know enough about bridles to scare myself! I will look at what he has done and message you. I suggest you hold off until John gets back and I or you can ask him a few questions.

The thing I think needs attention MOST if you plan to jump is beefing up "A" main ! :yes: ? :puzzled:

Bladerunner - 3-4-2013 at 05:27 PM

Well .....

I got the Aurora flying and not flying too bad. But NOT FOR LONG !

The 1st time I ever had it out I found a pulley stuck from the sand. This was the 1st time back to the beach. I put it together and got it to fly . Winds were low and my friend with a 15m Speed 3 deluxe wasn't getting much of a ride either. He was having a little less trouble turning but things looked pretty even ? Even with a 70cm bar I was having to reach up and assist turns with the OS handle. Maybe a bit more than the speed but it was to be expected. When powered it turned well on the big bar.

The problems started when I left the kite out for a while and then went back to fly it again . When I launched it remained clammed up. Wind was stronger now and when I managed to coax it open I was extremely powered. Put it down but the friend with the Speed was just ready to hit the water. Not sure the Aurora has anything near the depower of the Speed?

Next day I look at the kite and see that all 4 pulleys are jammed. The lines ran smooth over them so I thought hey ? BIG mistake. Kite did clam then snap then flip and left me in a touchy spot. Thanks TDMC for the hand ! Seems these pulleys will jam with just sand blowing on them from the beach . Now I must decide if I want to spend even more time + money trying to make a silk purse out of this sows ear ! :duh:

The WAC mod seems to have helped with the nose tuck situation. I have it set at about 10 inch span.

SO ... If you are going to buy this kite plan on : changing the pulleys, changing A main to 600lb, adding a WAC limiter.

mdpminc - 4-4-2013 at 07:15 AM

As far as snow kiting went, it worked well for me.
I am using a 70cm bar with custom depower set-up and trim under the bar with 4x 25m lines, safety on the brake strap.

I removed WAC as it did not work for me, it is back to stock with exception of 600lbs A-mains upgrade.
It flies very stable and turning fast enough for such large kite.
Its sweet spot for me is 8-12knts in winter, on water don't know yet...

Ultra low wind session

Bladerunner - 1-7-2013 at 08:30 AM

I finally got around to putting new pulleys on the Aurora and test it.

My local park is too small and this kite ( + my poor knot tying skills ) has caused me issues so a test fly is all I could do. Now that things are rolling smoothly it is a very well behaved kite. Slow to turn but very forgiving as you make up for it. The closed cells certainly help keep the shape as you get it moving again. I can't wait to take this thing out with some space and see what it does now.

When I look at the pulleys that come with the kite I am shocked that I am the only one having issues with sand jamming them ? They really are junk ! I had 1 jam the 1st time that the kite saw the beach. All 4 jam when I let the kite sit for an hour or so on the beach .

I am pretty sure that the limiter that John installed between A and B stack is really doing the job ? When I launched I was almost certain it was going to go over but between back line tension and the tensioner all was fine.