Hey guys,

I tried my (not so) new Apex 7.5 today. But I think the way it is configured it's backwards.
First...Red side of the bar is on the right.
When I leave (push) the bar away, the kite is fully powered, and when I pull the bar close to me kite loses power.
As this was my first flight with a depower, the questions:

This is wrong right ?
If it is wrong, is this because of the way the lines and bar are configured ?
How can I fix it ?

Regards,
Fernando

Red side of bar on right is correct if they are talking red on the port side of the kite. Are the back lines hooked up to the ends of the bar and the power lines to the middle; if they are not, that would make your depower work backwards. Not sure what else could do that.
Hope that is helpful.
S

Most have the red on the left & blue on the right. It's personal preference. It is good to have all of your kites the same to avoid confusion or mishaps.
If flying in light winds, the kite will stall if the bar is pulled all the way in provided it's sheeted out. Do you feel the kite powered when bar is pulled slightly? If so I would say it's fine.

Red isn't causing you the issues.

Front lines from the kite to centre strap . Back lines to outside of bar.

Depower is a relative term and applies when the kite is at the edge of the window + in motion most. You are really changing the Angle Of Attack.

Speed equals power. Pulling in the bar ( power up ) changes the AOA and creates power at the edge but slows the kites speed in the window . Effectively depowering the kite by dropping it's speed.

I prefer to think Front lines , Back lines. Fly on the front lines . Introduce back lines to turn + slow the kite + boost!

Quote:

Originally posted by Scudley Are the back lines hooked up to the ends of the bar and the power lines to the middle; if they are not, that would make your depower work backwards.

Scudley has it - check the line connections. Bar colours don't have to follow sailing conventions (red=port=left, starboard=green=right). Walk your lines from the kite to the bar. The top bridle lines should be connected to the power lines that attach to the trim adjuster line that goes through the bar to your chicken loop. The bottom left bridal lines should be connected to the left brake line that attaches to the left end of the bar. Bottom right bridal ->right brake line -> right end of bar

I found the manual with the lines config.
I will open it tomorrow and check how lines are configured.

Fernando

Depending what knot the power lines are on and possibly what adjustments have been made to the brake lines, you can have the kite set to stall when the bar is fully pulled toward you. This is not neccessarily a bad thing , in high/gusty wind conditions I use this on all my Apex's to allow killing the power when the kite over flys the wind window and also for hot launching straight down wind , I can fly it semi stalled to the edge. (It gives added control, not for use in out of control situations)

If its a first gen Apex 7.5 (blue/white) it will act like that until it has enough wind to fly in (@ 10 kts) then it will fly more or less normally. BTW red is left (port) and blue is right (starboard) on the bar. Play with the center line knots, most like the second (middle) and adjust depower strap to suit.

Yeah this is common bass-ackwards behavior in a depower kite in light wind, especially with new riders. Bladerunner had it right but let me elaborate. Once you dertmine that the lines are rigged right as others have said, here is what is going on....

Think of a stick shift car. Now think of your center strap as the transmission and your bar as your throttle. If you start out in say 3rd or 4th gear and hit the gas you are going to stall the engine. You can't use high gear until you are moving. So start with your center strap pulled in short (low gear). Don't hit the gas ( pull the bar in) until you are moving more.
What is happening to you and many others in your position is that you get the kite flying a bit, pull on the bar to power up and the kite chokes, stalls and looses power. Push the bar out (depower, right, heh,heh) and the darn thing speeds up and actually produces some power. WTF you say.

Another problem is that it is harder to see all of this when flying static since by the time kite speed is up enough to demonstrate all of this, you are at the other edge of the window. But if you get the kite in motion on a board, in a buggy or on skiis then all will be right with the world and de-power will behave as advertised. Again like the stick shift, as you pick up speed, you will want to drop in to lower gear (let the strap out). Then as you pull in the bar you wil indeed feel the surge of power and speed, and letting go or backing off will power down.

As for the colors, yeah, red on left or port is the centuries old tradition and many new bars will display the words "wrong way" on the bar if it backwards. So rig that way for no other reason than to keep from messing someone up if you hand them your rig. That said, I have heaerd that some kite schools have taught "red-on-right" but I do not know WTF is up with that.

Angus has such a great way of explaining thing ! Right on with what I was suggesting. I am willing to bet that your issues are simply the quirky nature of depower foils flying static and in low wind.

Front lines / back lines . 1st gear to fifth. Either is a better way of looking at it than " depower ". It is that word that confuses the situation.

I like to stand next to a beginer and have them equate each move I make with the depower bar to them adding brake input hooked in on handles. Showing how bar out is like flying off the top lines on handles. Turns are really just break turns. Pulling the bar in is like adding brake on both back edges. When they have immitated these moves 1st on handles they seem to grasp what they are doing with the bar faster.

Red is port on kite. If you are facing the kite, you will notice that the port side of the kite is on your right. So the red line in your right hand is correct, (my lines red in left hand, too) .
S

Quote:

Originally posted by Scudley Red is port on kite. If you are facing the kite, you will notice that the port side of the kite is on your right. So the red line in your right hand is correct, (my lines red in left hand, too) . S

Sounds like two things at odds. You say "So the red line in your right hand is correct"... but then say "(my lines in left hand, too)" Not sure what you mean.

Every factory pre-rigged kite or line set I have seen thus far puts the red on the left as you face the kite and does not ask that you change perspective if you stand at the kite and face the bar.

Traditionally. "port' and "starboard" are used instead of left and right so there is no confusion regardless of whether the observer is facing fore or aft on a vessel. But we do not change this orientation with a kite. At least not on purpose. ;-)

Don't want to over-think this but do not want to confuse the guy either.

Putting on the Nomex now...

I think Dirtslide's Blade VIP came red on the kites left and that was on the leaders of the kite. My comment about my handles was, that like almost everyone else I have flown with, the red lines go to my left hand. I seem to recall that my bullets came the same way and my changing to red on my left.
S

Quote:

Originally posted by Scudley Red is port on kite. If you are facing the kite, you will notice that the port side of the kite is on your right. So the red line in your right hand is correct, (my lines red in left hand, too) . S

Sorry what? The kite itself doesn't have a perspective. It has a direction, but the perspective depends on whether you are looking at the top skin, or the bottom skin.

On a ship it is usually presumed that you are standing upright, so if you are facing in the direction that the ship is moving then port is on your left.

With a kite you are usually upright on the ground, while the kite can be moving in any different direction around you. Most people however will be looking at the bottom skin while flying the kite (unless you like luffing the kite a lot), so when the kite is moving upwards, from the fliers perspective the left of the kite is the same side as their left. Why bother even talking about the left of the kite, it is just confusing.

I agree.

Red line/side of bar goes in your left hand, attaches to the left side of the kite and whem you pull it it makes the kite go to your left.

Easy as.