hey, I finally made up my mind and got my 7M montana and thought I would try to to fly it first without strapping myself in. I was out in about 10-15 mph winds and I can launch fine and even reverse launch but I can't get it to stay up very long. Kite goes up and then falls before it get all the way to the zenith,. I was able to get it there a few times but only for a minute or two before it would slowly come down to the ground. My harness should be here this weekend but I wanted to get a little familiar with the kite before I tried it with the harness. Also, in the video that came with it they show how to use the bar to power and depower (pretty easy to understand) when you're hooked in but what do the straps do? . The video shows how to power and depower with these too. Are they for when you aren't hooked to the harness or do they do something different?

The video is nice but it would be great if it had words instead of just video and music. Thanks again for all the help guys.

Looks like you are having the same problem as I am. From what I see, the problem is that when you power it up (pull the bar all the way down to chicken loop, which is same as flying without harness), break line kicks in and the kite starts sinking to the ground.

I will play with it today to see if it can be fixed with minor adjustment and I will keep it posted here.

Anybody having the same problem and fixed it somehow? - Brian

The Montana/Frenzy style kites are depowerable systems that are designed to be used in a harness. Flying these kites without hooking in can be difficult and cause some strange behavior in the kites.

A little bit of understanding on the kites:
The bar slides along the chicken line of the kite. This changes the profile of the kite and will increase power as the bar is slid towards your body and decrease power as the bar slides away from your body. This is different than simple angle of attack (AoA) on a fixed bridle kite. When you slide the bar in, it pulls on both the trailing edge of the kite as well as the B & C risers (center bridle attachment points). This changes the airfoil shape of the kite dynamically as you sheet in and out on the bar. Oversheeting the bar in (close to you) will cause the kite to flare and you will lose power and the kite will begin to reverse and drop, this is similar to pulling in the brake lines on a fixed bridle foil. Undersheeting the bar (furthest away from you) causes the kite to "flag out" and lose its shape which will dump the wind out of the kite and lose power. Think of this like holding a bed sheet in the wind and letting it flap. By controlling the amount of sheet in and out on the bar, you can find the sweet spot of the kite where it will be powered up properly for you to fly. This ability of the kite to completely sheet out or oversheet in is the reason the Montana/Frenzy kites have such a huge wind range. It is also the reason they do not produce quite the same power output as a fixed bridled foil of the same size. By depowering the kite fully, you are able to take a larger kite out in winds that would normally be way overpowering. Nice thing about this is that when you do power up the kite you get to experience the full size of the kite and big air's are very possible. Think of it like taking a 7 meter blade out in 20-25 mph winds but the ability to automatically size it down to a 3 meter when you want to.

Ok, now on to the depower strap:
The depower strap is the adjustment that is located on the front flying lines that are hooked into the center of the bar. The adjustment strap is usually located right above the chicken loop line and starts where the sheeting of the bar ends. This adjustment changes the angle of attack of the kite just like pulling in the brake lines on a fixed bridled foil. Pulling the power adjustment completely in (so it is at its closest or shortest adjustment point) will pull the leading edge of the kite forward and depower the kite at its maximum amount. Now when you sheet in the bar, you should not be able to get full power out of the kite and oversheeting will be very difficult to do. Letting the power adjustment completely out (furthest or longest setting) will fully power up the kite and oversheeting will be possible but depower will be limited. Usually the power adjustment strap is pre-set for the current wind conditions and power is controlled through sliding the bar. If you find that you dont have enough power when you sheet in you can power up the kite more with the power adjustment strap. If too much power, depower the kite the same way.

Ok, to put it all together:
Normally, it is poor safety habits to hook into a harness on a fixed bridled kite. I always suggest learning to fly the kite fully before hooking into it. BUT-with the release of new depowerable kite systems such as the Montana & Frenzy (and others that are popping up on the market), hooking into the kite is part of the overall design and you lose a lot of the control and safety of the kite by not hooking into a harness. Without hooking in, you can not depower the kite like it is designed. You will also have a very difficult time getting the kite to fly properly and turning will be very difficult to do as well. Launching the kite without the depower means that you might be launching the kite fully powered which can be very dangerous.

Wether you are hooked in or not, always depower the kite before launching by pulling the depower strap in to its shortest point. Once the kite is in the air then you can adjust the powerstrap to fit the conditions. Pulling in the leading edge of the kite will also help it launch and fully inflate the quickest. If you want to fly without hooking in at all then you may find that the best way is to fully depower the kite and then pull the center line in about 2-3 inches and hold it with one of your hands. The amount of chicken line you pull in will vary depending on the conditions. You may still need to give the center lines a good tug to get the kite to launch but it should be flyable. You will only want to do this in the lighter winds and I still recomend hooking in to get the full safety and control from these types of kites.

Most of all, do NOT be afraid to use the safety releases. The cost of an emergency room visit will be tons more than the cost of several sizes of kites....and a lot less painful!

Kite safe, practice in light winds first then move up from there.

Hope this information helps!

Wow, thanks for taking the time to write all of that, especially the part on the straps. It really helps. I was loosing mind with this stuff. Like you said I have tried it pulling the chicken line and was able to fly it a little better, almost got my butt drug across the field the first time I pulled it. I'm just going to wait for the harness. We've had some good gusty 20mph winds lately so I've been having fun with the 2.5 beamer. Thanks again

Scott

Ok, I found my problem. First, this is an email from HQ:

"the first think that you should doublecheck is if there is a difference in length between the fornt and backlines. Are the grey powerlines a bit longer (due to more pull on that lines) that can cause the problem. I suggest than to switch the lines, so that the longer lines are used as backlines.

There is an easy check on the bar. The middle knot on the pulley should end up in the same high as the knot on the brakeleader lines. Therfore pull the ball in front of the chickenloop right up to the bar, and open the adjuster completly to full power position (don't pullt it through). "

Sure enough, my grey lines are bit longer than color lines so I switched them. Grey (longer) line goes to backline and color (short) line goes to center. I also checked my bar and brakeleader lines (out lines) were a bit short as well.

So, I adjusted them as HQ recommended above. I tested in very light wind today and it seemed to fix the problem. Hope tomorrow wind is better so I can put it to the real test. Will keep you posted. - Brian

Yep, that was the problem. Now, all 4 lines are same length when the kite is powered up (bar is all the way toward you) and it flies beautifully. Hope this helps. - Brian

Thanks Brian, I'll check that out next time I can get out. All week it's been 20 + mph winds and now it's raining and it's supposed to rain all weekend,