bloah - 5-9-2007 at 06:31 PM
After flying my 3m trainer for a month I have decided that I need to move on for the real kite which happened to my crossfire 6.3.
First Impressions
The bag looked #@%$#!ty and it was just like that, one month later it fall apart. Handless looked and still are in amazing shape. Kite was smelling
really good and the quality on it looked great.
First Flight
the wind turned out to be strong that day around 20 mph. But I still went for it knowing that it is out of my skill level and that it could be
dangerous. Unpacked the kite, lunched it, it flew right to the zenith. Made a first accidental jump after lunching it and imidiately I got a wide
smile on my face. I managed to control the kite but 20 minutes later I packed up.
Flying
Flyes great in low winds. Flew it at 4 mph and by doing figure 8 it stayed up.
10 mph is perfect for recreational flying, scuds are great but not enough power good jumps.
14 mphs is when you can start getting some descent air.
20 mph+ the pendulum jumps are amazing and are really floaty.
25+ beaware of lofting. Ones a serious gust hit and i got loften up 20 ft up the air with a hard landing.
Advantages
- if you flown before and have experience, good, but not great starting point for begginers.
- Stable, very stable at the edges
- great pull even in low winds
- great lift, massive pendulum jumps and floaty landings.
- good lines, handles and sail
Disadvantages
- overflies zenith. Sometimes really annoying
- narrow wind range on board. I would say 12-16mph.
- awful quallity rucksack
- not the fastest kite
- dirt outs are not as helpful. Easier to flip kite upside down to get out of sand.
- kite killers broke the first time. So +20$ for a new pair
Conclusion
All in all, the kite is great for jumping in higher winds, but watch out for the gusts. Great on the board but the wind range is small and often you
will get overpowered, specially with gusts. Good kite for people who already have some experience with kites.
acampbell - 6-9-2007 at 04:56 AM
We are about to get a first look at the Crossfire II this weekend. It is said to have adjustable bridles (change AoA), which should widen th useable
wind range considerably. Nice to be able to turn down the lift for the buggy.
B-Roc - 6-9-2007 at 05:17 AM
Glad to hear there is a CF II coming out.
I wondered about that when they came out with a Beamer III and Montana II and Apex I but no CF update??
Good to hear they are tweaking that kite and making it even better.
acampbell - 6-9-2007 at 05:27 AM
Plus a complete replacement for the Beamer TSR, I am told, called the Scout.
Will let you know what we see.
BeamerBob - 6-9-2007 at 05:28 AM
So this adjustable bridle would basically be to remove lift for buggying? For just static flying, I imagine there would not be so much benefit with
the adjustable bridle unless you were trying to tame the kite down because the wind is too high (get out a smaller kite instead). I guess you could
adjust it to speed it up through the window but it will be interesting to see how different the lifty setting on the CF II compares with the CF I in
stock configuration. I guess I will know in a few days.
tridude - 6-9-2007 at 05:59 AM
Yes that correct BB. Although lift is always achieveable in the right condtions (static), or in the case of the buggy, apparent wind, it is
drastically reduced. The trade off being the kite is alot faster thru the window with lift (drag) minimized, and stability increased. Ive seen how
Flexi did their mod, and it does work. Anxious to see the HQ design! Two days and a wake up!
BeamerBob - 6-9-2007 at 06:08 AM
So if you set it to reduce lift you increase speed through the window? Where did I see that diagram explaining the trade offs of the different
settings on the AAA?
tridude - 6-9-2007 at 06:32 AM
Man thats way too difficult. Next time in the car, roll down your window, and stick your hand out. Hand paralell to the ground. Feel the air pass
over and under your hand, fairly uniform, with some lift in the palm, low drag/lift= speed/decreased AOA. Now tweek your hand at a 45 degree angle
(your pinky down and index finger up). Feel the pressure/drag= lift--increased AOA! As silly as that sounds that helped me alot when I first started
on depower!