Yes vid time, awesome!

Well i got to go out and fly it! kinda. first no wind. then it would come and go. then it just got scary gusty packed it up. will post vid after i get done with family event.

Alright here is the vid of me trying to fly the neo2 11m (aka tank) around today. Wind did not cooperate much at all. kept trying to fall outa the sky and the next second wanted to pull me like i was connected to a dump truck. Forecast called for 10mph max for the day, well we got no wind to start with then light and poppy then downright strong with large gusts. Checked ikitesurf for Ukiah and looks like i was fighting 12-13mph (not steady) with 16-18 mph gusts, bagged it right after the first mean gust and went for my hydra 350. Only to watch it snatch my kid into the air for i quick but scary for a parent hop.




i guess i feel a lil disappointed i never felt like i was in charge of it but i guess i got to work at it and with some help from the wind gods i will get it. Ive got a few questions on flying with a depower bar (new to me)
i get how its supposed to work pull in = more power faster turn let out =try to stay on the ground and hard to steer and pretty much falls outa the sky, do i need to adjust or was the wind just piss poor?
This kite does not feel like it was meant to fly static at all feels like i should be on some thing that moves.
Reverse launch? tried the strap the connects the 2 steering lines but id be damned if it even twitched off the ground, again maybe wind was just not with me.

Piss-poor wind blows all the theory out the windows ... looks like you've got total crap there

yup, piss poor wind. If the wind is constant, but poor then you're best bet to keep it in the sky is to use gravity to speed the kite down towards the gound at the edge of the window then turn it in towards the power zone and fly it across the middle of the window to the top of the other side of the window then down, and repeat. Generally when people fly figure eights they use the edge of the window to climb the kite, which is great if there's wind and you're trying not to get too much power, but if there's no wind the edge of the window can't sustain the kite. So what you basically need to do is to fly the 'standard' figure eight 'backwards'. Jsut don't do this if the wind is in consistent or strong as you'll be flying a big kite thru the middle of the power zone

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Originally posted by highazakite i get how its supposed to work pull in = more power faster turn let out =try to stay on the ground and hard to steer and pretty much falls outa the sky, do i need to adjust or was the wind just piss poor?

Pretty much but "pull in= more power" only happens in motion (see below). In light winds in fact, letting out the bar might give you more power, since it will speed up he kite rather than stall it. Kind of bass-ackwards.

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This kite does not feel like it was meant to fly static at all feels like i should be on some thing that moves.

EXACTLY. Going to de-power gives you a gearbox (center strap) and a throttle (bar). Flying it static is like driving it around the parking lot in 1st gear - you won't derive the benefit. Like an auto, put it in the wrong gear (strap out) and hit the gas (bar in), it will stall if going too slow.

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Reverse launch? tried the strap the connects the 2 steering lines but id be damned if it even twitched off the ground, again maybe wind was just not with me.

If the Neo will fly at all, then it will reverse launch, so I suspect flakey winds, as others have confirmed.

I flew the 11m Neo 2 in steady 6-8 mph winds the other day- the workable low end for the Neo 1 - but with the added weight of the fifth line, it needs two more, like 7-8 to 10, I think. But it reversed launched fine in a puff after it fell and rolled in a lull

Thanks for the wisdom all.
I need to figure out how to properly use the trim strap, from the skimpy description in manual pulled in=more power, out=less. With how it would gust i did not want to have the kite fully powered and catch a gust and throw me on my first try. But i imagine in low winds i want it more pulled in yes ? i think the wind was not helping out any to give me a good feel of how it affected the turning and falling out of the sky.

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but with the added weight of the fifth line, it needs two more, like 7-8 to 10, I think. But it reversed launched fine in a puff after it fell and rolled in a lull

No kidding! im not sure what they where thinking. from the looks of it they added another entire bridle just for safety, looks like they could have just piggy backed onto the original bridle in the correct places. but like it is now its got 2 entire bridles on it. But i guess if you get hammered for your lack of safety on the previous model you tend to over compensate the next time round, i bet the neo3 will improve this a lil bit.
Again thanks for the input guys i learn allot from all who try to help.

Was at work,
Every flag on was hanging drearily from its pole.
The sun has been out for 3 days now, the fields are getting solid.
All the fruit trees are in full bloom.
Im pulling tire's off the hundred thousandth gar ive changed the oil on.
It happened all at once.. the flags popped to attention.. a mix of pink and white petals flew like snow across the ground. The wind had come, not some crappy gust and its gone back to another gust, it was firm and unwavering.
The tires flew back on (i know this is the last job in my box for the day and if get it done before they have more work for me im outa there!)
topped off the oil as i stripped off my work shirt threw the paper work in the done basket and i was leaving a cloud of dust off the lot before they knew what hit them.

Got the the field just as some hazy clouds filled the sky but the wind is still going 7-9 mph solid.
un rolled the neo2 and untangled the bridles again, set up and yarded it into the sky. It slowly fluttered about as it filled up, by the time i was done going from the center to the edge it was full. Started out almost completely de-powered. This run was nothing like the first try i was in charge of it, well as much as one can be in charge of a dump truck in the sky. I flew it all over the place for about an hour, had to take a couple of breaks to rest but was a good time to test the safety system, worked just as it should both tips folded back and it went to the ground.
over all a good time, cant wait for my wetsuit so i can get out on the water.



Now for the noob questions.
Maybe its cuz i have a belly or because ive got short arms but i have a hard time keeping both hands on the bar unless i have it fully pulled in. Can i adjust it without loosing throw? If i can i don,t see how yet.

Second the safety bridles going out the the tips seem to be tangled with the control bridles each time i unroll it. Should i leave bar lines hooked up instead to try and keep it together or is it better to take them off every time like i do?

With the exception of arcs, most people leave the lines on depower foils.

Kite looked very smooth. Nice downloops. Have you deployed the safety yet and if so, how did it work and how quickly did it take to get it flying again?

the trimmer strap question ... yes in lighter winds have the strap in. this will cause the kite to fly faster, but at the same time it will make the steering have much less response. Start with the strap all the way in and slowly let it back out to get the happy medium of steering and speed to keep the kite in the air.

Not sure on the neo 2 because I have still not flown mine yet, but it more than likely has a series of knots where the power lines connect to the bar leaders. You can make adjustments there also for lighter and heavier winds. Most commonly use it in the center knot though. These knots do the same thing as pulling the strap all the way in or out, but then with the strap now you have a fresh new length to pull. if that makes sense. Basically if you are on the center knot and you pull the strap all the way in you can switch to the next knot closer to the bar and put the strap all the way back out and you should be in about the same flying position. You would only do this if you were on the center knot with the strap all the way in and you needed more.

Tangled question ... leave it all connected. The only reason why some people disconnect them is if they use the bar on multiple kites. Your not doing this at this point so just leave it connected. If you feel you must disconnect make sure you secure the bridles, don't just throw them all together. Not sure if the neo 2 has the velcro keepers to hold the bridles together or not, but if not make a larks head knot on one of the bridles and put the connection points for the main lines and brake lines into that larkshead to secure them. Then do the same on the other side.
But if you keep everything connected you shouldn't have a problem ... and one more tip don't put the bar inside the kite with all the bridles when you pack up. Keep the bar on the outside of the kite away from all the bridles. I found with the neo 1 it was easiest to fold the kite in half. Then put your bar at the tips and roll towards the center pushing all the air out of the zipper. I think Angus gave me that advise.

Thank you for the tips dakitez.
Any suggestions on not quite being able to let the bar all the way out due to short arms/belly that sticks out some ?

mgatc yea did feel really smooth, down loops took so room but had balanced power throughout the loop. Yes i did use the safety about 5 times just to try it out and know how it works. All but once it folded in half and went straight down, no flipping or tangles, one time i had it sideways to nose down and it flipped a few rolls before coming down i thought it had tangled but after some just sitting on the ground after hooking back in it righted itself and jumped to the sky. adds to the confidence factor for taking t to the water

Another question/ guidance im looking for is reverse launch, out of the 7 time i tried only got it to do it once .should i let the trim strap out to rev launch or leave it in?
Again thanks for the input all
back to work for me

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Originally posted by highazakite Another question/ guidance im looking for is reverse launch, out of the 7 time i tried only got it to do it once .should i let the trim strap out to rev launch or leave it in?

Sounds as if the winds were too light. The position of the trim strap has no effect. In these conditions you must choke up on the backlines. Let go of the bar and grab the lines beyond the black reverse launch strap and pull. The lighter the wind, the further up the lines you'll need to pull. Hope that helps.

Chris

Further up the lines it is, thanks ill try it.
Any one else with short arms and a belly know how to deal with reaching the bar with both hands, or is it just supposed to be a one hand deal ?

Okay couple of things about the Neo2 I've had mine for a couple of months now. I love it because its a big powerful cruiser of a kite. I've had great success with it both snowkiting, in my buggy, and I'm taking it out on thw water this weekend. To answer the question on packing up the bar and lines, the best way I have found is to wrap not only the lines but the part of the bridle that has the pulleys on to the bar. The pulleys are what usually foul the bridle when un-packing the kite. If they are on the bar they don't have a chance to pass through the bridle lines.

I'm not sure about Dakitez advice it doesn't sound right to me, though I may try it sometime. I only pull the depower line (clamcleat line) in shorting the frontline's when I feel overpowered in strong winds. The kite should fly faster but it won't have much power unless your in strong winds and may overfly up over the zenith and flip over the leading edge. It's not fun to untangle the lines after that.

To reverse launch I have found that pulling landing strap is helpful getting it up in the air. I then quickly grab the brake line in the direction I want it to turn (farther out than the landing strap) which turns the kite out of leading edge down.

Hope that's helpful

The sheeting/depower line alters the Angle of Attack, I assume on the Neo too, so in light winds you don't want the kite angled hard into the wind and creating too much drag - and stalling.

Frat thank you. That is an excellent idea on the pulleys as i know that is what i have to pull out of the 5 or so different bridles they fell through.
im also kinda glad you said you have used it for bugging as the description omitted buggies as a possibility. I was trying to figure out how it could be that it wasn't suitable for a buggy.
pkf community officially rocks!

kami, the only reason i have it sheeted in is because im a noob that does not want to get yarded down field. When i sheet it out it pulls way harder than i can hold onto static. My wetsuit gets here tomorrow i hope, the water is just below 50 deg f =10c, way to cold for me even if i have my insulating layer. So i have it sheeted in to try it out before im in the water trying to figure it all out.

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Originally posted by highazakite kami, the only reason i have it sheeted in is because im a noob that does not want to get yarded down field. When i sheet it out it pulls way harder than i can hold onto static. ...

Flying any engine that is generating enough power even for buggying is much easier in (or on) your vehicle. It's sooo much easier to steer toward the kite when the load spikes to let a little pressure off. In the process you get a burst of speed while you steer the kite toward the edge of the window then you cut back up wind with all that momentum you just acquired. Much easier, more fun, an--once you get the hang of it--a lot safer.

Philip

Since hitting the water is your goal I'd recommend getting a lesson or two. Also, check out the local vibe at what ever beaches you'll be going to. There's a lot of beaches these days that have banned kitesurfing and that's made a lot of kiters protective of there beaches. If you go out there without knowing what you're doing or what the local rules are you might not receive a real warm welcome. Just food for thought.

Yea closest beach that even has somewhat of a kitesurfing crowd is bodega bay 2+ hours away. They have lessons there as well. I plan to give it a try on my local lake to get water starts down before i spend all of the high priced lesson time figuring it out. Lessons are going to happen. I took a 2 day course for my motorcycle after a year of riding it and i gained allot more from the training because i knew what i the areas i needed to ask about.
also plan on waiting for summer as well.