Hi all,

Just purchased my first Power Kite - a Beamer III 3.0. Just had two great days with it down here in Cornwall.

I seem to be having a bit of a problem with the kite occasionally spinning several times and twisting the lines, I know it is almost certainly Pilot error, but is there any way of correcting this in the air and reversing the spin after it's developed? the kite still wants to fly but I loose control and down she comes and I spend the next 1/2 hour sorting out the resultant tangle - all the time the tides coming in..... you get the picture!!:puzzled:

Any advice would be appreciated.

Astroman

Two ways to untwist in the air:

1) purposely fly a spin in the opposite dierection by initiating a sharp turn (handle and brake) and holding it.
2) Bring the kite overhead to the zenith, do a little dance on your feet and spin yourself under the kite.

Sorting it out on the ground is never fun, esp, when racing the tide!

Make sure your left and right brake lines are both on the same respective knot on the kite's brake bridles. Setting them uneven will cause a corkscrew every time.

Check the knots where the lines attach to the handle leaders. Sometimes a line can get wrapped around a knot or kite killer attachment knot and effectively shorten the line. I've spent a lot of time looking for problems in the bridle only to find it was right in front of me at the handles all the time.

Thanks Angus,

Both brake lines are on the same, no 3, knot, but I'll check the others, I didn't realise that such a small difference in line length would make such a difference.

I'll try your method of initiating a sharp turn, I did try to put an opposite turn on but nothing seemed to happen, perhaps I wasn't being forceful enough? I also assumed that the twist in the lines was preventing the control input getting to the kite so perhaps gave up too soon and assumed all was lost.

As for the dance, the number of turns the kite did on one occasion, I would have been very dizzy!!! but I'll certainly try it for one of my lesser spins.

The kite will fly fine with a few twists in the lines. But if you have that many twists, I suspect something else is amiss.

Keep playing with it and you will find it.

Quote:

Originally posted by astroman Hi all, Just purchased my first Power Kite - a Beamer III 3.0. Just had two great days with it down here in Cornwall. I seem to be having a bit of a problem with the kite occasionally spinning several times and twisting the lines, I know it is almost certainly Pilot error, but is there any way of correcting this in the air and reversing the spin after it's developed? the kite still wants to fly but I loose control and down she comes and I spend the next 1/2 hour sorting out the resultant tangle - all the time the tides coming in..... you get the picture!!:puzzled: Any advice would be appreciated. Astroman

Hi Astroman

I've just bought the same kite last weekend, and been flying it on the beach in Llangennith, Wales. Funnily enough, I've had exactly the same problems!! At first I thought I was holding the handles too far forward so pulling on the brake slightly. However, even now it does seem to do it every now and then.

My first kite was the beamer III 3 meter also. If your lines are set to the proper knots then the spins are most likely pilot erorr. But like anything you have to get used to the kite and how to control it. I am getting much better at controlling my kites now and when the spins happen you can get out of them just by doing what acampbell said. So don;t worry, its a good kite and as time goes by the only spins you will have are the ones you make happen on purpose.

You didn't say what level of wind you are flying in. If the wind is over 20 mph and you are trying to hold brakes and keep it from flying into the "power zone" it can take on a mind of its' own and start spinning. If you are in "normal" winds such as 8-12 mph, any spins you are getting are something you are doing or you have a line attached in a way that makes one or more lines too short. It has been noted that I tend to like to spin my kites in their place (4 lines are so cool for this). Your Beamer will spin in place if you pull the handle and dab the same brake at the same time as Angus said earlier. This will let you unwind some twists very quickly and it looks cool to boot. Let us know how it works out.

Also make sure you are keeping your upper arms aligned with your upper body. Don't wave your arms out to your side because this can give inputs to the kite that you didn't intend. The kite can only respond to pulls on the power lines or brake lines and can't tell any difference if you are sticking your handles way out to the side or not. So make it easier on yourself to keep up with what you are telling the kite and don't wave those arms!

one last thing, check with the kite overhead that you still have a little slack in the brake lines. when holding the handles the best way is to keep one finger over top of the power line and the other three below. This will help you to not put any pressure on the brake lines. This will help for everything but the candy cane shaped handles.

Thanks for all your replies to Astroman's (and my) problem.
Unfortunately the wind has disappeared until Friday, so we'll see what happens then!!