This weekend we were at Fort Clinch State Park in Fernandina Beach, FL for an overnight camping trip with friends. I passed on the buggy for this trip 'cause it's not a great site for that, but I took some kites so the kids and I could fly. We had a lot of fun today with a smooth 10-12mph the entire time.

I took the Scorp 10 to play with and it turned out to blast, but it was an odd experience getting it going. I had enough wind to launch and did that easily enough. Once it was in the air I could see the ribs against the front skin so I tugged the front lines 'til they disappeared. The kite became controllable, but the power just would not increase nor would the kite gain altitude. I could fly it slowly back and forth about 30 degrees about the horizon but no higher. I figured the kite would crash before any thing fun happened. It was maddening. I couldn't figure out what was going on.

Then for no reason I can explain the kite changed. The power ramped up and the kite could now easily gain altitude. I then had a marvelous session of scudding and jumping. They've been moving sand near the fort so there was this broad area of soft sand to play in. All in all very nice.

So what happened to push the kite up to full performance? I figure it must have finally reached 100% inflation, but why did it take so long? What triggered it? I didn't readjust anything between the molasses-like flying and the good stuff. Whatever it was I want to know how to do it on purpose next time so I don't have to wait so long. :-)

Philip

I watch the front edge of my phantom - it puckers first so if the wind is lulling or I'm just launching I know no to expect too much until that pucker goes away (aka - the kite is fully inflated). I'd bet that's the case.

I REALLY notice this on my Access which is an pen cell foil. The end three or four cells are not "open" - they fill through baffles inside the kite. It's like an on/off switch with that kite....as soon as the wingtips "pop" full the power comes on.

Very neat. Shows how the actual profile of the kite is so important.

it took so long because the winds were light for the 10m... you would have noticed proper inflation quicker with a laaarger size.... pl arcs are higher wind kites, they simply need more air to act right... they are great kites, though... certainly my preference

you can avoid any frustration by using an battery driven preinflator. you can built it very cheap this way:

Quote:

The blower is a recycling of crap found in the cellar: an 120 mm long tube with 130 mm in diameter; an 120 mm 12 V PC-chassis fan with 1.86 Watts mounted to the tube with cable-ties; a foam donut to seal the tube to the fan; a 10 AA-accumulator-housing fitted to the tube with velcro straps; a switch to turn it on/off ... and ready is the blower ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw9G52HCPxo

or you can buy for example a coleman quickpump:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG4Hf6WNpTc

also check that the sock inside the front vent isnt twisted or under an internal strap

Fort Clinch thread

We had an issue at Fort Clinch regarding buggies. We were told that for safety, we needed to go to the public beach where there were more people ironically. I exchanged emails with the head ranger to no avail. Kites are fine but buggies are brakeless vehicles that travel over 70 mph around kids and fishermen. I agree that you were a little low on wind and preinflation.

Yes at Ft. Clinch they had a problem with the kites too at the time. They stated it was State Park Policy in FLA, yet at Anastasia Park we are made to feel most welcome, buggies and all, if we stay clear of the most crowded sections.

You are correct Angus, I now remember one of us asked him about us just flying kites without buggies or boards and he replied "yes, regular kites are fine". I guess he meant diamond kites with a long tail. lol

Ditto on the 180 attitude at Anastasia just down the road. World class beach and a smile from the ranger.

sometimes as arcs will stall after launch mostly for lack of internal pressure and the distortion of the canopy. the profile at the LE lacks shape. several hard pulls on the main will eventually correct it. in some case if the rig is wet it takes even longer. less air will require more work to make it fly. stalling will require same action until profile shapes up.

10m in 10mph? not really worth it. this thing needs a ton of air. like 25mph just to start.

full throttle for this will be around 35-40mph. at this point my friend your wait will be over

"Anastasia Park" - the beach down from St. Augustine that lets cars drive on it?

I know exactly what you are talking about with the 10 Scorpion - it's very unique to the Scorpions and especially on the smaller sizes like 10's and 13's and even on the 16 certain days but not quite to the same degree as the 10 and 13's.
even with all of the experience in twinskin flying it happens and max pre-inflation is the only thing that helps with this. It even happens more often in some kites more than others - we have had 10's and 13s experiencing that characteristic time after time where some other owners don't see this.
First you need to massage the intake ports so they are a little more open to getting air in. Unlike other models the kite will launch partially filled and then sit hovering 15 feet off the ground and will not get any more air inside. You need to be really careful now playing with yanking the front lines to try and induce some leading edge inflation and climbing but not so much that you'll clamshell the kite. Watch it won't shoot up and then with a soft leading edge it will collapse.
Sounds like your kite was almost full and as soon as it tops up and smooths out the shape and gets the full pressure it's full on. You will need to watch the kite the last few seconds of inflation to watch it's stability and then you'll feel the power surge.
After a while you just develop a sense for the kites and when to push or pull etc. It's usually really gusty days that are the hardest - when they hang and won't climb air actually gets pushed out of the kites even though they hang out front in fairly decent wind.

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Originally posted by lad "Anastasia Park" - the beach down from St. Augustine that lets cars drive on it?

I don't know about cars on the beach. I doubt it.
5 miles south of St Augustine
http://www.floridastateparks.org/anastasia/default.cfm

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Originally posted by PHREERIDER 10m in 10mph? not really worth it. this thing needs a ton of air. like 25mph just to start. full throttle for this will be around 35-40mph. at this point my friend your wait will be over

For moving on the water I would certainly want more air, but for buggying this combination of wind speed/kite size/pilot weight is great. Had there been a buggy under me it would have been a great session.

At zenith I had steady pressure of about 40 lbs, yet in the power zone, sheeted in, I could have ripped myself out of a bug. That's just right for 3-wheeled adventure.

Philip

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Originally posted by acampbell I don't know about cars on the beach. I doubt it. 5 miles south of St Augustine http://www.floridastateparks.org/anastasia/default.cfm

There are no cars on the beach at Anastasia State Park save for a few life guard trucks in the summer. 15 years ago they allowed cars, but no more. It's much better this way.

A few miles south outside the park drive-on access is available, but I prefer other vehicles on the beach.

Philip

Hi Phillip,

Nice kite, the 10m Scorp (thanks, Markite!) . I fly mine a lot at 15mph and have a blast. I have had the same situation occur and most of the fixes are covered here. The only thing I did not see mentioned was adding a ~2" extention to the brake lines. If you haven't done this already, it helps keep the kite speed up and the kite from back-stalling.

Mel

Mmmm, forgot about the pigtails. Make them with knots at 2, 4, and 6" and experiment. I think 4 & 6" were most common.

Thanks for all the tips. I'll have to give it few more flights to learn the indicators.

Philip

Quote:

Originally posted by pbc Quote: Originally posted by PHREERIDER 10m in 10mph? not really worth it. this thing needs a ton of air. like 25mph just to start. full throttle for this will be around 35-40mph. at this point my friend your wait will be over For moving on the water I would certainly want more air, but for buggying this combination of wind speed/kite size/pilot weight is great. Had there been a buggy under me it would have been a great session. At zenith I had steady pressure of about 40 lbs, yet in the power zone, sheeted in, I could have ripped myself out of a bug. That's just right for 3-wheeled adventure. Philip

i did fail to add the buggy factor/weight factor into the equation. i tend to be water focused and "full throttle" is always on my mind. that's a great rig keep working with it, and in a buggy that will have a huge range.