So I finally got a chance after 2 weeks of no wind to try out the now famous Pansh Ace 5.
I will not get into the quality issues because the handles and lines have been covered enough here. Everything except for the bridle seems to be very good quality. The bridle has multiple frays and the material it is made out of seems to attract the other lines so it turns to a Chevy Chase ball of lights no matter how careful you are in packing it up.

Quite a big kite compared to my bullet 2.5-made the bullet look like a toy kite. Winds were very light-2-5 mph which was fine for the shake down flight. Right to the zenith and no over flight. Took a great deal of input from the handles to make this truck turn. Once it did turn it easily pulled my 200 lb body for the whole flight across the window. It was too slow due to the winds to keep the skud going it was turn/skud/stop-turn/skud/stop. I even landed it and tried to add another brake knot to increase the quickness of the turns. It seemed to help but bigger winds will tell the tale.

The only strange moves it made was if you stopped moving it back and forth across the wind window it would drop from the sky even if there was a good breeze-it just would not pick up the wind and continue to fly. I had to wait for it to land then pull lines and backup it would go. It seemed there was enough wind to fly a 5.0 but the Ace wanted a break.

I did not have enough wind to comment on the lift factor. The few jumps I did get were forward jumps more then vertical. Again- more wind needed.

Overall I am happy with a $103 5.0 kite. It pulls great in very low winds and seems to have good lift potential. It seems to need some tweaking in the tuning dept. so there is a possible beast waiting to be unleashed!:flaming:

How's the Ace 5.0 working out? Did you have a chance to fly it in more adequate winds?

You know, I don't know if this would apply to the Ace, but someone on the RK forums had said the the turning performance was improved a bit on a Blaze 5.0 by using power rings (http://www.racekites.com/reviews/getReview.asp?reviewID=1438).

I was pretty impressed with the 5m Ace.

I just sent it off to Tridude so that he can test it out.

I'm willing to use it as a demo kite for us (Powerkiteforum members) to try out in the US. Just let me know if you want it next. It's just the kite - no lines or handles.

Just pay for the shipping to the next guy - maybe we'll call it the "Pass the Pansh" program

I'll start a new post on this,

Joe

I don't think it needs rings. [yet!] I have found that if you have several knots on both the brakes and powers that you can really change the characteristics of the kite. More than any other kite I have flown! I can make it have no lift or I still am finding more lift as I tweak it. The only problem with the extended lift is the kite is collapsing on me no matter how much I redirect it. I think i might be tweaking the settings too much so I am still trying to solve that issue.

It has CONSTANT pull in strong winds- I always wear a harness when I fly this kite static. I am thinking about trying a 3.5

Quick thoughts after 5 sessions on the Ace. Overall the kites build is good and performed nicely (flown in winds from 8 to 17 mph). Responds well to break inputs, alot of grunt, and held its shape at the windows edge. On the board, it pulled/sines, and works upwind nicely. It got me going easily at 10 to 12 mph (I weigh around 185 lbs). I was not able to get the pop and lift I was looking for so I can not recommend the kite as a "jumper". However, for cruising on a landboard or buggy, it will deliver. Factor that in with the price, and the Ace deserves a look. Bottom line, would I buy this kite? No due to the lack of lift, but again thats just me (I like lift)! Thanks Da V for letting me demo the Ace and Khooke enjoy! Fly hard and safe!

awesome - can't wait to have a go - thanks for passing it on tridude and thanks Da Vinch for sharing with the rest of us! I'll be on kite overload next week since I also have a new 2.5m Century on the way - thanks Pablo!

Depending on how the Ace goes I might be looking to get hold of the 7m or 8m... :-)

Price sure looks right on those larger Aces, Khooke. And demand must really be up for the 5.0m to drive it closer to the $200 US mark.

Hey, by the way. How is your 12.5 for flying static in low (<5 mph) winds? Too much of a bus to turn? It might do the trick for the low inland winds I have around my place, but since I don't have a buggy yet, I'd only be using it for static flying for a bit. What do you think?

Quote:

Originally posted by beachrights I don't think it needs rings. [yet!] I have found that if you have several knots on both the brakes and powers that you can really change the characteristics of the kite. More than any other kite I have flown! I can make it have no lift or I still am finding more lift as I tweak it. The only problem with the extended lift is the kite is collapsing on me no matter how much I redirect it. I think i might be tweaking the settings too much so I am still trying to solve that issue. It has CONSTANT pull in strong winds- I always wear a harness when I fly this kite static. I am thinking about trying a 3.5

I'm always a bit confused about how you end up changing the characteristics of a fixed bridle by simply adjusting your fly lines :?: When I tune one I set it at one spot on the front and then move the brakesuntil I find the sweet spot. Some of my kites like shorter ( more sensitive ) brakes and others longer. In all cases I end up flying primarily on the front lines and only using brake input to assist with turns and flying in reverse.

How do you end up effecting the AOA without messing with the bridle lines :?: :puzzled: :duh:

GulfSandEater - I've buggied a few times with the Blaze 12.5 at around 5mph... it produces surprising amounts of pull in winds even this low, but it takes a lot of work to keep it moving - in fact, it's exhausting... but worth every minute :-)

True, it does turn like a bus, and I'd be interesting in trying out power rings, bars and pulleys etc to see if it can be made to turn quicker. The main thing I had to learn was to start making it turn before I'm at the end of a run and getting ready to turn. If you don't you've already turned in the buggy and the kite is still heading in the other direction. It's slow and steady but very predictable, no surprises, which I think is a good thing when you're hanging on to this much canopy.

All in all I love it - I love it when the wind is down low so I can get this big thing out. Had a blast buggying with it at Bodega Bay last weekend on the beach on the inside of the bay, and got up some decent speed even though the wind was about 6-7mph. I was surprise how good it is at just holding it in place and cruising.

It's much better when the wind is close to 10mph, but it's definitely usable for buggying in lower winds too.

Several notes:
- Kite overall is good- not great. Slow to respond and the lift seems to difficult to find. You need the right settings and wind speed to make it lift better then any other kite. I shortened the power lines as much as I could on the bridle end and added 3 inches to the brakes and it was the best setting. Great control at the window edge.

-If you try to jump in winds less then 10mph the kite will collapse no matter how much you redirect. Not uncommon in other kites but from what I have experienced more so from this kite.

- In decent winds this kite becomes a killer- non stop power and easy 4-5 foot jumps with lofty landings. I have not had it drop me yet! Skuds are non stop if you can turn the kite fast enough to keep the drag going. I find it very hard to turn the kite fast enough to not stop while doing a long skud [50 feet plus]

- In strong winds keep this kite in the bag if you fly static! Way too much power to do anything but feel your forearms turn to fire! I actually had to let go once because I could not get back to my stakes to keep the beast on the ground. Skuds make you look like a snowplow with all the sand blasting away from your feet at 20 mph! You sort of "float" across the sand from the speed. I could see buggy users liking this kite!

I find parapacking is the only method to keep the bridle from turning into a tangled mess. Keep the lines connected and keep the bridle on one side of the bag and pack the flying lines on the other side of the bag- seems to work fine.

The strange thing is as quirky as this kite is it is still the first one out of my trunk of my car when I go flying! :puzzled:

Ok, I got my Ace last week and did not have to wait long. Over the last four days I have flown it three times in winds 7-12mph. Overall I must say I was really surprised. It has a ton of power and I actually jumped more than I really wanted to on my first flights.
I must say its not for a beginner though. After my first huge air I realized that someone new could easily get thrown around in anything faster than my 12mph winds.
The only negative I had, if the wind dies down, even for a second, the kite drops like a dead bird. Other than that, good buy for the money.