Power Kite Forum

5.5m Reactor 2013

rtz - 14-6-2013 at 09:28 PM

Amazing kite. Just got it in today. Took it out to hook up the lines. Wind was blowing 4-7 mph. Was just going to static fly it. Flew real nice. Got the buggy out. Managed to go 12mph. Could have most likely gone even faster in a bigger riding area.

HUGE wind window with this kite. I couldn't believe how wide it was in such light wind.

Unreal upwind. At times felt like I was going directly upwind. I started at the down wind area of the field and went straight to the up wind area.

Had a moment during a lull when the kite just stayed motionless in one spot. For an amount of time too. It didn't drop; it didn't go up. Just stayed. Never had that happen before with any kite.

First thing I noticed about this kite was how light it felt. Also the simple bag is refreshing. Those complex, over the top bags are cool and all. $200 bags too I bet. But those bags aren't free either. If this is a $20 bag; that's fine as long as it keeps the kite cost down. Plus it's real easy getting the kite in it because the end is square and not round. This kite folds up real small too.

Two weird things that tripped me out. One is the pigtail for the powerlines on the kite. Like a piece of rope. Like a piece of strop line. Just wasn't expecting that. The other thing is how long the line coming off the powerlines is. Standing; I can touch an 8' ceiling. That's how high I can raise the pigtail in the air with the kite flat on the ground.

Our 1-4 mph is too off/on and the lulls are too great in those conditions. 4-7 mph often has some bigger gusts in it that this size can handle. Look real close at the new wind graph for these kites. Notice the solid block and it's position for the 8.6 and 10.8. Also the solid block size for the 5.5 and 6.8. Interesting.

I just weighed it on my digital scale.

5.5 Reactor: 2lbs, 8.2oz
5 Flow: 2lbs exactly.












http://peterlynn.com/products/bridled-foil-kites/reactor/spe...

Their line up is looking real nice:

3shot - 15-6-2013 at 06:27 AM

Awesome! Looking forward to a vid if you can. Prolly no comparison between the two, but I'd like your opinion on buggy riding with that 5m Flow vs. that new Reactor. I know my Flow's limits. Curious how your Reactor compares now.
(hoping to give your 6.9 a spin tomorrow :D :thumbup: )

rtz - 15-6-2013 at 09:02 PM

I thought my gopro was recording today; but apparently it was not..

Here's some overhead footage of it from a camera on another kite:

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10201555519034...

3shot - 16-6-2013 at 06:16 AM

Well poo.
Not a member of Facebook.

bigkid - 16-6-2013 at 10:22 AM

the flow compared to the new reactor? guess you can say they are both kites, after that you can add, nothing. VW bug verses Corvette.
the flow is kind of OK to learn to buggy with, after you got a bit of skills in the buggy, the reactor will be your go to kite for a quite a while.

3shot - 16-6-2013 at 11:21 AM

Quote: Originally posted by bigkid  
guess you can say they are both kites


And they are different colors :lol: :lol:

BeamerBob - 16-6-2013 at 02:50 PM

This is Donnie flying (I think) an Ozone Method. My Reactor II was a bit larger and he was trying out a bar which he said he didn't like so much. No problems with the RII 3.5 though.

soliver - 19-6-2013 at 05:21 PM

Hey RTZ, I'm not on FB either, can you post it where those of us who are not facebookers can view it too :)

I'd love to see it in action

rtz - 19-6-2013 at 06:54 PM

The camera was on someone elses kite so I don't have the original footage. He had it on a "lifting platform" or sled kite and I was flying under it.

3shot - 27-6-2013 at 04:27 PM

For the buggy, how does it handle brake inputs. Does it work good upwind in the "sine wave" motion by using some brake? Or is it power line biased? And, does this new Reactor prefer to just flat out run at the edge of the window?

rtz - 28-6-2013 at 01:50 PM

For brake line steering it seems just fine. I tend to push/pull more than use the brakes to sine it in light wind but that may just be me. I haven't had it out yet in the upper end of it's wind range. I have yet to experience just how fast it is. Here is a short video clip of a very light wind day. Some lulls in the wind and minimal wind throughout. Never once got a powerful gust of wind:

BigMikesKites - 28-6-2013 at 01:52 PM

i love the kite...and i've seen it go almost directly into the wind without slowing much

3shot - 28-6-2013 at 03:37 PM

Thanks for the vid rtz! Not much media out here yet on the new Reactors. Looks like it will sine just fine. I love my 5m Flow, but it's not very aggressive (as I knew it would not be)for smaller field buggy runs IMHO. For riding, I was looking into the Rage 4.7 or this new 5.5m Reactor for the next 5m-ish buggy nitch.

soliver - 30-6-2013 at 08:27 PM

Quote: Originally posted by 3shot  
Thanks for the vid rtz! Not much media out here yet on the new Reactors. Looks like it will sine just fine. I love my 5m Flow, but it's not very aggressive (as I knew it would not be)for smaller field buggy runs IMHO. For riding, I was looking into the Rage 4.7 or this new 5.5m Reactor for the next 5m-ish buggy nitch.


Hey Jason,... I'm loving my 5.5m RII and can tell its going to become my go to buggy engine (when the wind shows back up around these parts). I have NO experience with the Rage, but can def speak for the Reactor. I may be wrong but I think Rage might be more of an all-arounder, where I can certainly speak to the buggy ability of the Reactor.

If you haven't ridden yet with your 6.9m RII, when you do, you'll figure out how awesome it is, esp upwind.

Point is,... Get a Reactor :smilegrin:

3shot - 1-7-2013 at 03:58 AM

Sadly. I've only had 1 day there where the wind was SW. That was the first time I flew the Reactor static. I tried Reactor last weekend but the wind was more out of the south and dirty at the one end of the field. Only had like one or two successful downwinders. And with a small field, it's over before it starts if you can't jibe. It was fun though. Especially up on two wheels :o :o
Can't wait to stretch her legs one good time :thumbup:

soliver - 1-7-2013 at 07:34 PM

GO TO THE BEACH MAN!

rtz - 19-7-2013 at 12:21 PM

Had the 5.5 out yesterday. Wind on a handheld meter was a somewhat steady(for around here) 6 to 7 mph. Was doing a consistent 20 mph. At some point; took a gust. Maybe it was 10 mph? I did 32.2 mph as measured on the GPS. Didn't feel overpowered. Just finally got some wind to the kite. It will be interesting to see how much wind I can hold down with this kite.