I've seen a few posts here and in other forums about adding an adjustable AOA kit to fixed bridle kites. I have a Flexi Rage 4.7 and was wondering what I might gain from adding this kit. I only fly this kite on a bar and the brake lines are always loose.

Pic and text from product page on www.coastalwindsports.com

This is the same angle-of-attack (AoA) adjustment system as found on the Blade IV and Blurr kites. It lets you adjust the kite's AoA by moving the adjusters larkshead knot up and down a row of preset knots. Increasing the AoA slows the kite and ads more grunt and lift; reducing it lowers lift, speeds up the kite and can improve up-wind work.

The AoA is controlled by the A, B, and C bridle lines, so I don't believe the brakes have a direct impact on how effective the AoA works. Confirm with your retailer though to be sure.

Note: Last time I heard, the AoA kit comes with leaders for the brake lins so you don't have to re-trim the lines each time you add the AoA kit.

ATB,
Sam

i bought one to put on my rage, but never did... i changed kites before i had the chance... if i can find it, i will sell it to you for $20 shipped if you like

If jeanjockey passes on it, I will take it.

ATB,
Sam

u2u sent

I say do it... it does good things for the rage, and will expand the wind range considerably. You can probably even tweak the 4.7 to go almost straight up wind

Dude , my 4.7 rage rocks w/t he AAA kit on it . You can fly it in winds you normally wouldn't. Also gives good upwind performance.

Quote:

Originally posted by indigo_wolf Note: Last time I heard, the AoA kit comes with leaders for the brake lins so you don't have to re-trim the lines each time you add the AoA kit. ATB, Sam

You will put it on and leave it, you have to undo all A,B,C lines to install, and yes it has brake leaders. It is not something you will want to remove.

me gots if needed. I'm not sure if they have them yet at the US distributor, but I had a few shipped over before the Nylon curtain came down over the Atlantic.

Angus ,I might just have to get another one of those ,I would like to try it on a different kite that has the same kind of bridling A,B,C,D. Are they on your site?

Quote:

Originally posted by Weldngod You will put it on and leave it, you have to undo all A,B,C lines to install, and yes it has brake leaders. It is not something you will want to remove.

Sorry.... you're right about leaving it on.... my brain is swiss cheese from less sleep than normal. The highlight was meant to be the brake leaders. A while back someone posted that they installed the AoA and didn't know what the extra leaders (brake) were, so I assume they had to unnecessarily adjust the brakes after installing the AoA kite.

ATB,
Sam

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell me gots if needed. I'm not sure if they have them yet at the US distributor, but I had a few shipped over before the Nylon curtain came down over the Atlantic.

Could you hold a set for me, until the Climax lines come in? I am probably going to add a couple of things to the order so they can all ship at once.

@WG
AoA Kit can be found here on the Coastal Wind Sports site.

ATB,
Sam

thanks Sam

I didn't need to use the brake leaders at all

Remember that these work on kites with three separate distinct A-B-C rows of bridles. This kit will not work on kites with cascaded bridles such as those found on most Peter Lynn foils.

My Blade II has cascading bridles . I couldn't use my kit AOA on that kite. The lesson. Make sure your bridle set will accept the kit. Not all kites do.

Thanks Ken I'll add that note to my site.

Looks like it was standard on the Blade IV's and could be retrofitted to the Blade III's (with it being more effective on the larger ones).

"The Triple A System comes as standard on the Blade IV series of kites, and is an optional upgrade for the Rage kites. It will also fit any kite that has a ‘split-secondary’ bridle system, such as the large Blade III’s and many other manufacturer’s kites (it has not been extensively tested other manufacturer’s kites so Flexifoil cannot guarantee the performance of the modification)."

ATB,
Sam

re:buggying
Do you guys with AAA bridled kites actually use/adjust often?
i have a few kites with (OEM) AAA and played with the different AoA initially but put them back to factory "normal" or low Angle of Attack, and haven't touched them since (quite a while ago). i normally use my depowers trimmed for low AoA as well in most all wind conditions (except when skiing [higher drag] where i actually use trim strap accordingly).
i guess if i didn't have plenty diff sizes of ripstop available i might use the AAA more often. i tend to ride underpowered (or sized for gusts).
Paul