Hi - I'm sorry if this has been dealt with in another post but i can't find it.

i've just recently got into power kiting and have a 5.5 Bullet (yes, i was foolish to have bought such a big one as my first kite but i've started in very low winds and am careful) on a bar.

When i launch it, it steers to the right - does this mean that my left hand power line (red) is too long? This seemed the case later when I compared the line lengths. I've looked into the flexifoil guide to adjusting line lengths but that relies on the power lines being knotted at the end, whereas mine are just loops.

I've tried shortening the right hand line by tying another knot in the thick cord which connects the power lines to the bar but have only really had limited success.

Any advice on really fine tuning the line lengths?

Would handles allow faster steering?

thankyou!

You have pretty much identified the problem with your steering issues. You can rig the lines coming from the bar (called leader lines) by tying knots in them (the leader lines) closer to the bar. Of course you're limited by the length of the leader lines, and if you get all the way to the bar, then your red line has probably stretched to the point that it would break pretty soon (most leader lines that I have come across are about 18 inches long), and will need to be replaced anyways.

Flying with handles, in my opinion, gives a lot more manueverability to your kite flying experience. It also would make the difference in line length a bit easier to deal with. I prefer to fly with handles, and am currently learning to fly on a bar. If you are getting into kitesurfing, your use of a bar will pay off, but if you want to do land-based kiting with buggies, or mountainboards, the handles will give you more control.

As far as fine tuning your lines... I had to re-sleeve some line once, and the way I did it was by staking all four lines (through the loop in the line), walking the length of them, and keeping them all pulled tight. At the end of your lines you will be able to tell which ones are longer than others. By typing this I also realized that you could re-sleeve your line, also... but you would want to do all four of them.

Every frustrating moment you have now will pay off in future knowledge, hang in there. Be careful with that kite. I have taken it pretty slow, and wear a lot of pads, and have sustained no injuries. Have fun out there.

thanks for the advice dylan - i'll keep tinkering and think about getting some handles

I had a 4.5 Bullet and a 7m as well. I tried them both on a bar. The 7m liked a crossover bar very much. The 4.5 flew just awful.

I'm guessing your problems come from the touchy brakes on this kite . ( I've flown one on handles only ) . Are the pulleys running smooth ? Matched ? Have you tried loosening the brake on the side it turns ?

My 4.5 would go in to psycho spin mode on the bar all the time. I think you may get a lot more out of that 5.5 on handles ????

haha - yes 'psycho spin mode' is a very accurate description of what it was doing. When i changed the line lengths it did less of that but the steering was still practically non-existent.

The brakes do seem pretty sensitive - I'll give the loosening idea a go.

Is looking like handles will certainly come handy with this kite.

thanks

The 5.5 ( and 4.5 to a lesser degree ) has a nasty habit of lifting you and then sending you hard into the ground downwind. It most often happens when trying to use this kite for jumping. It can happen when riding as well. I have seen it do this to very experienced jumpers. It will only happen occasionally but when it does :wow:

This kite was designed for pulling if you want to jump it will be less than great + have that nasty slam you issue ! Be very ready for it.. This is one kite that letting go early is a very important safety measure. It's sort of a case of when , not if it will happen :!:

Please don't be put off. The 5.5 has an awsome wind range and is a great buggy engine. Good on the ATB as well accept it falls short at jumping.

Quote:

Originally posted by Bladerunner psycho spin mode

I had this same problem with the crossfire 6.3 today. I noticed the other day that the right brake line was sagging a little more than the left during flight but did not pay it that much attention as it was flying ok in the low winds. Today the winds were a little stronger and the bugger went into psycho spin mode with me. About did 3 super mans with it before I got it on the ground. Me and harddrive8 pulled the brake lines off and noticed the right line has stretched about 4-6 inches longer than the left.

Yup, sounds like your lines have stretched out unevenly. There are tons of posts on here describing how to equalize your lines.

Basically all four lines should be exactly even in length. As mentioned above, take your lines off the kite and handles/bar, stake one end with a screwdriver or kite stake, pull the other end tight to check that all four lines are even. If they are not even then you will have to re-adjust/trim/re-sleeve the longer lines down to the shortest ones.

Thanks for the help everyone - just took it out again after a bit of messing around with the lines and it worked much better. The 7mph winds we had here were perfect for my first real introduction to the Bullet.

I reckon the biggest problem was the brake lines being badly uneven (about 6 inches) - something I noticed but thought might not be too important as they are only brake lines.... how wrong i was.

Still have to turn the bar straight out in front of me to make it turn sometimes, I've just got some handles too so should make a bit of a difference.

Bladerunner - I've heeded your warning about the Bullet's unpredictability, was thiniking of getting a beamer 3.6 just to really learn the ropes, am I right in thinking that this would be a lot better for starting out?

Cheers

HMMMM,

The original owner of that 5.5 was a beginer. After he hurt himself bad on his 1st or 2nd day out he sold it cheap to Dirtslide. So learning on this kite has driven at least one person away from the sport. It is a real good kite !!! Respect it and you will Love it !!

What are your goals ? The Bullet is best designed as a buggy engine. If a person around here only had 1 kite they would likely get the most use out of this size.

Do you have gusty winds ? Always size the kite for the gusts. Not the average speed.

A smaller kite might speed up your learning curve a bit. Of course it will be that bit safer as well. Think about what you want to do with the kites and that will help to decide what to go for next ! Now you have some skill a higher performance 3m might be the ticket ???