acampbell - 24-2-2007 at 12:22 PM
Hey Gang
Anyone have any tuning/ setup tips for the Peter Lynn Gorilla II?
A freind of mine bought one recently and hs it set up with PL Zero 7 control bar and kline set. He is having trouble getting into the window. I
can''t be more specific as I have not seen the problem
He is a PASA certified kiteboarding instructor, so no noob, but his experience is on all LEI's, I think and not twinskins. Mine is less twinskins and
none with the GII.
If anyone knows of any gotchas with the kite or specific tips, that would be great. Thanks
domdino - 24-2-2007 at 01:56 PM
What size bar did he get & what size guerilla is it?
They are REALLY easy to set up - only thing that makes a difference is the length of the lines and the length of depowerable thingy, so just play with
the line lengths until it feels right - if theres back stall you need more front, if it doesn't turn properly, you need more back...
Also make sure it's fully inflated before you take off or it will not go anywhere! (unless its really windy)
acampbell - 24-2-2007 at 04:07 PM
Thanks domdina
It's a 50 cm bar and I think the 18m GII I'm trying to get more info but I think he's out on the water now. We'll play with it tomorrow with your
suggestions.
domdino - 24-2-2007 at 04:19 PM
50cm bar is short for an 18m guerilla II!!! You need the 60cm really... it will turn very slowly on the 50...
acampbell - 24-2-2007 at 05:25 PM
yeah, he got the kite elswhere and I'm not sure about te size, but I can set him up with a larger bar if need be. thanks for the tips.
action jackson - 24-2-2007 at 05:37 PM
The 50cm bar will work fine with the 18m g2. I just spent 2 1/2 hrs on mine today in the waves...................aj
domdino - 24-2-2007 at 06:41 PM
well mine is MUCHO better on a 60cm bar than a 50cm bar is all 
bigkahuna - 27-2-2007 at 08:45 PM
If I recall correctly, the GII's were shipped with extra long front pigtails (the ones that go to the leading edge). If the kite seems to hang a bit
too deep, try shortening the fronts. On my kites of that vintage, with all my lines even, all my kites had to have their front pigtails shortened 3-5
inches. Experiment with it as yours may be different.
Also, ditto on the bar length. 60cm or longer is the go.
A search of the Yahoo Arcusers forum should find tons of posts on how to trim the GII, including some mods that may improve the kite's performance.
acampbell - 28-2-2007 at 04:49 AM
Thanks all. I have since found out that winds for him were light at about 10 mph, so I suspect that would have much to do with it. At least under
inflation if not bottom wind speed.
awindofchange - 28-2-2007 at 04:28 PM
I have a basic initial setup for the Peter Lynn twin skin kites that I use every time I set one up for one of our customers. The final setup is more
than likely to change as every end user has a different style of flying but at least this gives an initial setting to go by.
First thing is that all the Peter Lynn's like as much inflation as possible before launching, an under inflated kite will fly like a wet sponge and be
hard to control. The kite relies on internal pressure to keep its form and control. When you first launch let the kite sit on the edge of the window
with small amounts of rear line tension until the kite completely fills. If the wind is super light, you can try to flip the kite back and forth
through the power to get the kite to fill up. Basically, if the kite will inflate it will fly. That is not to mean that if it is flying you can surf
or will have power. We have actually filled the kite with a battery operated leaf blower and flown then in winds below 5 mph. It will stay in the
air as long as you fly it aggressively but there is no real power for boarding or buggying.
Basic characteristics of the Peter Lynn's:
You are correct in that the front pig tails on the Peter Lynn's are extra long. This is done so that you can adapt other bars to the kite. Peter
Lynn kites will fly off of the front lines with very little if any tension on the rears. For maximum performance you will want the rear lines very
loose or even sagging. The new Scorpions seem to like a bit more rear line tension than the previous twin skins. Your Guerilla II will want to have
very lose rear lines. The more speed the kite has, the more power it will produce. When the kite is flying slow it will produce very little power
even when you sheet it in. This is quite different than standard LEI's and you will have to get use to that idea to get maximum performance from the
kite. Only sheet in for power and only if you have enough speed in the kite to create it. Peter Lynn's also have a huge amount of depower. If your
chicken line is too short you will not be able to benefit from this. Get a chicken line that is as long as you can possibly have, sheeting lengths of
10" or even more will give you the best depower and the best performance. The best way to fly these kites is to fly them like you are mad at them.
Sheet in hard and crank the bar to turn, sheet out as soon as you finish your turn so that the kite can accelerate as quickly as possible. The more
aggressive you get with the kite, the more it likes it and the more performance you will get.
Ok - now for the setup. All four flying lines should be exactly equal in length. For a standard Peter Lynn Bar, you will probably need to add an
additional knot on the front leaders approximately 6 to 8 inches closer to the kite and attach your front flying lines to that knot. To properly set
the kite up you need winds that are at least strong enough to fill the kite without major amounts of assistance. I would estimate a minimum of 8-10
mph winds. While flying the kite back and forth at the full power setting and the bar completely depowered (away from you) the kite should fly back
and forth very slowly but without stalling. If the kite stalls or will not fly it may be because of too light of wind or your front lines are too
long (rear lines are too short). Move the front lines closer to the kite and try again (move or add another knot on the front pigtails). You will
want the kite to just barely stall out or just barely begin to move backwards when you are at full power on the adjuster strap and the bar is fully
sheeted in (closest to your body). If the rear lines are too tight the kite will "hang" back in the window and you won't be able to get it to
accelerate to produce the power. You will also not be able to get the awesome upwind that these kites are known for.
Once you get the setting set, you can then adjust it one way or the other until it fits your flying style. Most of the time you are only going to
have to change it 1" up or down. Again, just set it to where you like it best and your done.
The Guerilla II's are kind of unique in their design and do have the tendency to stall a lot more in the lighter winds than the other ARC's. This
stalling tendency is a little frustrating if you find you are flying in lighter winds most of the time. The only way to compensate for the stalling
is to constantly fly the kite very aggressive. The Peter Lynn kites all excel in the upper wind ranges. When you fly the Guerilla in the stronger
winds the stalling goes away and is no longer an issue.
Hope this helps you out and gives some others some good ideas on the way to set up the Peter Lynn kites. They are incredibly awesome kites and
something I think everyone should at least try out.
acampbell - 1-3-2007 at 06:30 AM
Kent
Thanks for the extensive and thoughtful tips. Good karma for you since my friend recently bought the GII from your shop!
awindofchange - 1-3-2007 at 01:06 PM
Angus,
Just glad to help. The Peter Lynn's are really awesome kites. Unfortunately they are the minority of the power kite group and most people don't know
how to properly set them up. This usually means they are set up wrong and they don't produce the power/performance that they are capable of.
The most amazing thing about these kites is that even when they are set up totally wrong they still fly and fly pretty darn good! They'll stay up in
the air and never come down. Good thing for the kite, bad thing for the inexperienced because they assume that because the kite is flying it must be
set up right and just doesn't compare (performance wise) to others on the market.
Set up right they totally rock!!!!! (as others who know them will strongly testify).
BTW, we will have the new Peter Lynn Scorpions out at NABX for people to play with. This kite is like a Ferrari F1 supercar on steroids, pull in the
bar and it is like hitting Nos with a dual turbo - tighten up the cheeks for this ride!!!! I just GPS'd 65.4 mph the other day at Ivanpah on the
Scorp 13 and was still getting the kite tuned in!!! WHAT A RUSH!!!
krumly - 3-3-2007 at 10:40 PM
Kent (or others) -
The intro to Peter Lynn twin-skin set-up is great. Do you have any specific advice for unhooked launching a G2 (9m in particular)? My bar is set-up
with 14" travel in throw in the depower line + 8" adjustment in the depower strap. I also typically have my front lines connected to knots on the
pigtails 4" closer to the kite than the stock end knots. Thanks,
krumly
kitesurfer - 19-12-2007 at 11:05 AM
this guy is a PASA instructor and he can't launch/fly a Peter Lynn kite!
awindofchange - 19-12-2007 at 03:32 PM
Not surprised really Kitesurfer. Most PASA instructors are restricted to using LEI kites only and I don't know as of yet that they have been
authorized to teach on a PL. Maybe this has changed recently but I don't know for sure.
The Twinskin kites have a totally different technique for launching or landing than a typical LEI kite so if they have not yet been instructed on how
to do it then they of course would not know. If you try to launch a twinskin like an LEI then you are opening a nightmare that could be very
dangerous. Once you learn the proper way to launch and land the twinskins you find that it is super simple and very safe.
Launching the smaller sizes is usually a bit more technical than the larger sizes because you are in much stronger winds and thing happen really fast.
I always recommend launching the smaller sizes unhooked. Set your power adjuster at max depower and stand much more upwind than you normally would
stand. Launch fast so that the kite does not slide/roll back down to the center of the window. Drive the kite hard low and to the edge of the window
as quickly as possible and then hook in. If anything feels/goes wrong just drop the bar to the leash and re-set to try again. If you start to get
"clapping" on the kite then you either don't have enough inflation or you have too much front line tension, back the power adjuster off a little so
you have more back line tension and the clapping will stop (this is when the wing tips flap in and the kite collapses).
Krumly, if you have not yet done so you may want to move your front pigtails up another 4 inches towards the kite. I found that 8 inches seemed to
work best with the GII's - line lenght/stretch may change that but give it a try and see if that helps. There is also a mod that we use to do that
helped with the G's. Cut a 3/4" or 1" dowel down to about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches long so you have two pieces. Reach up into the kite from the
inflation zipper and pull out the two leading edge black webbing straps so you can work on them. Pinch the first strap around one of the dowels and
tie a piece of q-power around the strap and the dowel so that the dowel will stay put and the strap is pulled shorter by the diameter of the dowel.
Tie it securely so it will not pull out or will not fall out. Do the same with the second strap and the second dowel. Shove the straps back up
inside the kite and fly.
This simple mod gives the kite improved forward speed and upwind performance. It also helps reduce the stalling of the kite in the lighter winds. It
pulls the kite together in the center and gives a more direct feel to the wing tips and steering. The nice thing about this mod is that if you don't
like it you can just pull it back out and the kite is back to factory.
Hope that helps anyone who is interested. Kinda fun digging up these older posts, thanks kitesurfer!
acampbell - 19-12-2007 at 04:28 PM
Yeah, all the kiteboarders on our beach, including instructors, kind of scratch their heads when I drive by in the bug under my Scorpion. They all
fly LEI/ Bows.
Thanks Kent for making that point and adding to the tips.
krumly - 20-12-2007 at 08:30 PM
Thanks for the additional info on launching the GII's, Kent. My last post was in March, coming off our end of season wicked winter winds, and now I'm
gonna break it back out again for some highwind kite skiing.
I did get my depower line up to about 15-1/2" throw, but any more and I'm hanging on by my fingertips. Moving the knots up even more on the pigtails
- got it.
krumly