I'm thinking that the standard power kite seems to have either 65 ft lines or 80 ft lines....at least as far as I can tell from looking at my kites and some of the ones that the local crew fly.

So what I'm wondering is if it makes sense to go with a little shorter lines for flying in small or tight spots? And if so, how short?

I know the longer lines give more room to recover from mistakes and offer more area to work the kite in, especially good for light winds. So of course the shorter lines would result in quicker kite response but again perhaps allow for flying in small areas where the regular lines wouldn't fit. Is that right?

What's your experience with line lengths and what would you recommend?

thanks,
Erin

The shorter the line the quicker/faster the kite reacts. As far as recommending a length, it really depends on the kite. Give Ricky a shout, I know he has some 20m line, and may be able to come up with some 15m lengths.

There's a lot of ppl flying on shorter lines, 15 or 18m lines. I tend to fly on longer lines (30m & 25m) since I enjoy flying the kite around a big window and not just going fast in a straight line If you have small lines you don't really have much room to fly or work the kite, it's more about sticking it on the edge of the window and crusing.

Good point that space is also a consideration. I don't have a problem with that on the beach, but have flown on 2m lines in a parking lot :bigok: I've thought about experimenting with much longer lines too, but just for fun! I'd love to feel a 60m kite loop :wee:

Arkay, you gonna try 60m lines out on the Venom?

There was a discussion on short lines last year. Forget the exact time frame. Shortly after that, I had Kent make me up a 25 ft Q-Powerline set. The break strength is high enough that you can fly most kites on it. The line doesn't need to be sleeved and is easy enough to resize yourself.

I can fly a small/medium FB foil or NPW surrounded by large SLKs at a festival.

It's kind of a neat lineset to have/play with when you want something different.

It also improves your reflex speed. If you happen to live with cats, that could make a large difference as to who gets the toast as it flies out of the toaster... and avoids the whole singed whiskers (the cat's not mine) smell issue. :shocked2:

ATB,
Sam

Quote:

Originally posted by indigo_wolf . Shortly after that, I had Kent make me up a 25 ft Q-Powerline set. The break strength is high enough that you can fly most kites on it. The line doesn't need to be sleeved and is easy enough to resize yourself. I can fly a small/medium FB foil or NPW surrounded by large SLKs at a festival. It's kind of a neat lineset to have/play with when you want something different. ATB, Sam

So would you leave a set of handles on this short lineset and then toss it on whatever small'ish kite you felt like using on a given day?

everything from 2 to 7m is on 15m lines, 8m to 10m is on 17m and the 11 to 16 is on 18-20m

with a big kite on short lines you can carve upwind faster, but you're living on the O-Power mode all the time.

honestly, if you pickup a NPW for your light wind arsenal, a short set and a long set will have you totally set. I'm not a fan of anything longer than 25m in length. partially because we all have to share the field, but as at SOBB or NABX or anywhere with space than go 30m to increase the low-end a bit. on long lines you also can work the kite a bit more in the light winds. this is why sometimes you see some kites fall from the sky and some stay in the air. Its because their still up in the good wind.

i only have 4 handles and 4 line sets, and i transfer from kite to kite depending on the wind. this is were a sand bag comes in handy when changing lines from kite kite.
also i like to remove the lines/handles from each kite after use. so when you wind up and get to the end. i larkshead P-Line to B-Line and than put them on the handle so they will be ready to go for the next outing.

ill explain over the weekend. its looking good so far for wind, and its windy now so its time to play.

Thanks Rip, great explanation, that is really helpful!

Quote:

Originally posted by ripsessionkites 11 to 16 is on 18-20m

What you can't turn a 16m kite on 15m lines?

I fly nasa wings with no lines or on lines from 10 feet all the way to 100 feet and many in between lenghts. Line lenght does not matter with a nasa wing.

Susan (npw goddess)

I think I got 25m on my 5m, which I feel is too long - it's too slow. I got 20m with the Core and that feels good. And I got 15m on the Cult which I think is too short, but we'll see ...

Quote:

Originally posted by airin So would you leave a set of handles on this short lineset and then toss it on whatever small'ish kite you felt like using on a given day?

Honestly, the short Q-Powerline set is just on a flat winder (either Laser Pro or Crazy 8). I only have the one set so the smaller sans handle size makes it easy to just grab and stick in what ever bag is eying the door. I just do the swap at both the kite and handle sides.

From a peak efficiency, speed is everything perspective it's slower, but I spend enough time running or wearing out tires chasing trains that the opportunity to do anything slowly is a rare slice of Zen.

On the other hand, the lineset could just be male and too commitment-phobic to form a long standing relationship with just one set of handles. :wink2:

ATB,
Sam

Quote:

Originally posted by indigo_wolf On the other hand, the lineset could just be male and too commitment-phobic to form a long standing relationship with just one set of handles. :wink2: ATB, Sam

Honestly, that had me laughing out loud!

I am currently running 20m Q-power on pretty much anything, but I have a 15m and 18m set as well. I like the 18's on 3-5m kites- I just feel like the kite tells me what it's doing more than me giving an input and waiting for a response.

Quote:

Originally posted by arkay Quote: Originally posted by ripsessionkites 11 to 16 is on 18-20m What you can't turn a 16m kite on 15m lines?

good question my fearless friend. I never tried them on 15m lines since I had a set of 18m sitting around and figured that was okay. i dont think there is much difference in performance from 15 vs 18m. I fly all Vapors on standard Large handles until my Longhorns arrive.

im still 50/50 on the may event right now, but my kites will be down there for anyone to use. so grab the 16m and give it a try.


@airin, if you need some winders ... i have dozens sitting around doing nothing. its probably better in your hands than my son using them as throwing stars.