Hi all,

I finally had some time yesterday to take out my kite. It's been about 12 months since its last trip out! It's a 4 metre Peter Lynn.

I got the kite out and ready without much hassle, however it seemed to struggle when in the air. The conditions were perfect and it was 'eagre' to get in the air, but once it reached any kind of height it would try and force itself back down or spin to the right. This genrally happened when I turned to the right.

I checked the lines were okay (not twisted and thick lines at the top. There were no knots/twists on the kite either.

does anyone know why this may be happening? I'm no expert but have controlled it in those conditions well in the past...

Thanks

one of your lines is off somewhere if its turning on itself.... That happens to me with my Beamer sometimes where it just starts rotating in one direction.

Thanks for your note - the turning isn't the main issue however (Although it could be a symptom) . It seems to be losing power / height when the top of the window and then turning slightly?

Check all the line lengths are equal, sounds like the brake lines are shorter, especially the right.

Thanks for your help...will do!

The problems all point to your brake lines.

Check that all lines are equal in length.

Set your brakes to the longest point possible using the knots. They should end up with a slight arc in them when your handles are in neutral.

You maaay be holding the handles wrong and adding brake by accident ? Put your index finger above the top line on the handles.

I think that your kite may need some basic tuning. If it wants to sit on the ground and not launch, or bounces into the air and backs right down, the power lines are too long or the brake lines are too short (same thing really) if you have adjustment knots for the brake lines, make them longer by attaching to another knot or two out. If there are no adjustment knots for the brake then you can shorten the power ( top ) lines by making figure eight knots on the handle lines.Try about three inches from the end knot, making the power lines shorter in relation to the brakes. If the kite now overflys the zenith, then you've made them too short and need to adjust again. A couple of launches and adjustments and you will arrive at what works for you. Good luck!

As Ted has said, your kite needs to be adjusted. If you don't have them already, tie some extra 'adjustment' knots into the leaders of your handles. Make each knot about 2 inches apart. Put in about 3 or 4 on the top leaders and the bottom leaders. The only technical point is to make sure that the knots on the left handle match up with the knots on the right handle exactly. If they are off by too much, it will cause your kite to drift one way or the other.

Once you get your knots tied into your handles, then you can start adjusting/tuning your kite for flight. If the kite is doing what you are describing, that generally means that the brake lines are too tight and the kite has very little or no forward drive. Take the attachment point on your top lines and move it into the next knot closer to your handle, basically shortening it by 2 inches. Try to fly again. If it is better but still twitchy to turn and is very slow forward then move the attachment point in to the next knot and try again. Keep doing this until you get your kite tuned in.

The way that I like to adjust is so that I have very good forward flight and lots of speed but can still stall the kite easily by pulling in the brake lines to a natural comfortable position. Then, if I pull in a little more, the kite will start to back up making it manageable to land the kite. If I pull just a little and the kite stalls and starts to back up, I shorten the top lines more.

Here's the reason you need to do this:
As you fly over time, your lines will creep, meaning the braid in the lines gets tighter and tighter. Lower quality lines will actually stretch as well. When flying in higher winds or with larger kites, your lines will creep/stretch even more. Because 90% of the pressure is on the top lines, those will creep/stretch more than the brake lines, eventually making those lines longer. As the top lines stretch out, it basically does the same thing as you pulling in the brake lines. Eventually the top lines will stretch enough that no matter how hard you pull the top lines, the bottom lines are still tighter causing the kite to stall or reverse and land back on the ground. Adjustable knots on the leaders makes it super simple to quickly adjust your lines for perfect flight.

Here's another thing about lines. Flying in stronger winds will effect the lines as well and you may need to adjust again. When flying in strong winds, the brake lines will have more pull/drag on them, again causing the sensation that you are actually pulling on the brake lines when you are not. The kite will fly slower and have tons of grunt power, but you will have very poor upwind ability. Even if your lines are not stretched out, you may need to adjust your top lines shorter in strong winds to get the same performance out of your kite. Just be careful when doing this because it will require you to apply more reverse pressure on the handles to land.

Hope that helps explain what is going on.

Perhaps the bridle is twisted around itself slightly somewhere?

Quote: Originally posted by Turtlejon

Perhaps the bridle is twisted around itself slightly somewhere?

I was counting on NNN having looked for that by his description of checking things out. If the problem persists with loose brakes this is most likely.

You can also try flying it just on the 2 front lines. This will prove your issue is with the brakes.