Been waiting for one for quite a while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gzlLUFw5AY

Nice vid, thats a fast kite :/...

Nice! Quite a big change from the XC's it looks like. What's that flap in the front? Man, Ozone makes a nice kite. I likey.

Nice

So THAT'S what the strap across the rear lines is for! Can it be retro fit to other bars?

Looks really cool. A couple questions for anyone familiar with this kite:
1) Has anyone figured out if the kite has a trim strap / clam cleat on it? Seems like a pretty big thing to leave out, if they have.
2) What are those back line adjustments for? It seems like they would too hard to use while flying.

Still I love Ozone kites, maybe time to upgrade my '05 Frenzies (7m & 12m), but they are still flying strong...

Quote:

"So THAT'S what the strap across the rear lines is for! Can it be retro fit to other bars?"

You can also use it for landing when you don't want to deploy the chicken loop safety, and for reverse launching. I think that type of brake strap only works on depower foils. But yeah, that XT looks pretty and very well constructed.

It does indeed look like that ozone left off the trim strap. Not sure how else you would adjust the angle of attack, unless they went back to changing knots like on the original Access. Seems like a step backward.

The back line adjusters can be changed while flying, I have them on my frenzy FYX as well. Mine seems to fly pretty well in the factory position, although I did shorten them slightly and it seemed to make the kite respond a bit quicker.

I was curious about the course mesh over the front of the cells, is that just to keep out snow? I can see where it would help, getting snow inside the kite can be a pain. Then again wouldn't it make it harder to shake snow back out once it gets inside???

hmmm... might be my next kite... (my wife's snowkite )

Quote:

Originally posted by macboy What's that flap in the front?

If you mean at about 0:32, I believe those are the "You Only Hurt The Ones You Love" vents.

From the Ozone Literature
"We have also added four unique “pressure release valves” to the under surface to allow the internal volume of air to be released when the kite is smacked into the ground."

Can we get an "Amen"?

ATB,
Sam

Quote:

1) Has anyone figured out if the kite has a trim strap / clam cleat on it? Seems like a pretty big thing to leave out, if they have. 2) What are those back line adjustments for? It seems like they would too hard to use while flying.

Pretty sure Ozone are saying there's so much depower throw in the bar, you don't need the trim strap anymore. And after a half hour with a 6m xt in lightish winds, it does feel it has more depower than the xc. Never liked the cam cleat anyway.

The back line trimmers are just that - set 'em up for the wind before you fly. It would be pretty tricky to adjust them on the fly. Same as what's on the turbo bar. Perhaps they go a little way to making up for the removal of the cam cleat. The biggest difference I've noticed is how fast the XT's turn compared to the XC's. Far more responsive kite. They've managed to fix my only two complaints about the XC (slow turning and cam cleat)

Looking good... can't wait for snow... with the Ozone Access.

look at 1:05. there is quite some delay before the kite reacts on the steering impulse. whats the reason? is this normal behaviour for bridled softkites? my lynn scorpion turns immediately (bit its also small - only 7 sqm..)
how large is the kite in the video?

I don't know how much you can tell from a video of a guy static flying the kite. As far as I'm concerned, depower kites are engines. If static flying was my mission I'd stick to FB's for sure. So I'm not sure how much you can tell about turning speed, etc. from the kite just sitting there floating. I'd call this vid more of a sneak peak at the kite and some of the new features.

Personally I like having the trim strap there and it seems to me like if the bar throw is the same for the XC and the XT, that you are going to have finer control with the XC. Although do note that I have a nice quiver of the XC's so I have a vested interest in hoping that the XT isn't too much of an improvement!

The "blow outs" seem like a great idea. Especially on a kite geared at a beginner. I don't slam my kites anymore, but definitely had a few good slams when I was starting out.

I think that eliminating the trim strap for beginner purposes makes some sense also because its one less thing to think about. And I wonder if that as well as cost had anything to do with eliminating the clam cleat.

yes, you are right. might also be, that the kite just turns slow in this special situation (totallyy depowered and exactly at the zenit)

i personally dont care about the missing clam-cleat, as long as one can buy "kite-only" and a bar seperately.