Hey, there

For anyone who's interested, I saw this setup on an Ebay auction for Radsails. I decided to make one myself to see how it works. The verdict... Pretty damned GOOD!! By far, the best bar setup for foils I've ever used! Almost matches the controlability of handles, yet extremely easy to use.

Essentially, it uses a simple pulley system to allow both the power and brake line to be used to facilitate turning, as well as allowing full control when landing or reverse launching.

When you pull back on the power line on one side of the bar, the brake line on that side is pulled back even further in relation to the power line. Simultaneously, the brakes on the far side loosened. (the same as how you'd turn using handles)

Grabbing the adjustable strap with one hand (or through a depowering chicken loop) allows you to slow, land, or reverse launch while still maintaining steering control.

I tried this setup on my 6m Radsail, 5.5 Razor, and 7.5. Io - all with great results. The turning was very sharp and responsive. I could even piroette (spin on its own axis)

Boarding was a fun with it. Great for beginners because it's so simple to operate. But by far the most exciting thing, was when I tried buggying.

To facilitate this I added an extension onto the main chicken loop so that the bar rested beyond the confines of the #@%$#!pit, but was still easily within reach. this allowed me to use the bar fully without it being blocked by the buggy frame. (big problem when using bars with buggies).

The nice thing about this setup was that it allowed me to control the kite one-handed during most of the run, which meant that I could sit with my body facing forward (instead of twisted to one side with one arm across my body) and my other hand was free to brace (or scratch my nose, or pour a nice cup of tea, or...) Anyways, it felt way more balanced. I only had to reach over with the other hand if wanted to apply both brakes, generally all I had to do in a turn, was pull either the top (upturn) or the bottom (downturn) of the handle, and as I turned the buggy, I simply transferred the bar from one hand to the other. Very easy.

Well instead of trying to describe it to you I made a cheesy little diagram on Word to show you how to put it together.

I used:

18" Ozone bar, but a 15" bar would've even been O.K. (yes, even for 7.5m Advance Io) with a depowering chicken loop. (A cheap 2-line bar, with an adjustable strap added to the center would also be fine)

a smooth metal or ceramic ring (about an inch or less in diameter - and solid, not coiled like a keyring) or a small double pulley.

Two small single pulleys

Around 1.5 to 2 ft. of leader for each power line (most bars will already have that on them.

Around 4 ft of leader for each brake line (enough so that they go just past the power line leaders when the power lines are extended out.

Enough strap to connect the bar to the ring (Have the ring about 10" from the bar)

When setting up, make sure to connect the two small pulleys to the powerline leaders at roughly the same distance away from the bar as the metal ring (about 10"). Also when threading the brake leaders through the metal ring, thread them through on opposite sides of the ring (so that they don't rub against each other.

That's about it. Simple and cheap, but pretty damned effective.

Attachment: X-Bar.mht (47kB)
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Bucky,

Could you also post an actual picture for us?

Thanks,

Joe V

Next time I'm out flying, I'll bring my camera. See if I can get some action shots as well. Probably this weekend.

I made a four line setup on a depower bar for my Bego recently and tested it out for the first time last week. It isn't really a depower setup but rather pulling in the bar allows you to control how much break is applied. After spending a while through trial an error I got everyting set up so that the kite flew quite well. I was impressed. The setup looks complicated but it was really quite easy to build. There are 4 pulleys with the main lines going to the center and the flying lines to the outside. I still need to fine tune it a bit more and trim some extra lengths of line and remove a few extra knots, but here is a link to a pic-

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=123637876&size=l


I also have a diagram of the setup if anyone is interested. Please note this is not my own creation, I got a copyof the diagram from a member of the flexiforum.

Well I've tried practically all the other bar setups for 4-line power kites that I've seen on the web, and for the most part, they all fit into 2 categories. Those that primarily steer with power lines while having the brake lines to the center, or those that primarily steer with the brake lines, while having the power lines to the center. My setup, is the only one I've found so far that FULLY uses both the brake and power lines to steer (just like with handles). Consequently, no other setup I've found is as quick turning and nimble. In strong winds, it's actually MORE agile than handles, because you don't have to rely on wrist strength to apply strong brake on one side.

It's also by far, the safest, and most convenient for landing. Just let go of the bar! I've had the kite in a nose dive pointed straight down. I let go... The kite stops, turns over, and lands itself in launching position. Simply reel in the handle and you're ready to go.

It requires minimal tweeking to get it to work perfectly. I've even found a way to adjust the amount of turn, (for those who actually said it was TOO sensitive)

Well here's the picture of my 24" bar setup

The green goes to the power lines:

The blue goes to the brake lines:

Sliding the pulleys (red) further forward on the power lines, decreases the amount of sensitivity. Maximum sensitivity is achieved when pulleys are set parallel with the center ring/s

Try this out. It's easy