can someone please explain a de-power kite to me? thanks

Oh goodness

You are more than likely about to get an information overload from people's replies... I'll try to make this as simple as I can...

The most common depower setup consists of a 4 or 5-line kite (the 5th line is used on special systems for safety and relaunching) with a through-the-bar depower bar. This means that there is a thick line, called a depower line, that passes through a hole in the center of the bar, so it can move freely up and down. The front lines are attached to the depower line, which is in turn attached to you via a harness, which takes almost all of the pull of the kite. The rear lines are attached to leaders coming off of the ends of the bar. The way depower works is relatively simple... by pulling the bar in towards you, you put tension on the rear lines, and slightly manipulate the shape of the kite, increasing the "angle of attack" - all that means is, more area of kite or more crucial areas are opened up to take more wind, thus increasing the power. This is the easiest and most at-hand way of controlling power output. At the same time, power can also be regulated via a trim strap or clam cleat either above or below the bar. By pulling in or letting out the trim strap or clam cleat, tension is either added or relieved from the front lines; it also changes the angle of attack. This setting is usually not messed with as much as the bar is. Fixed bridle kites can be made to depower, but it's complicated, and requires a lot of modification to the bridles. Does this sort of answer your question? I'm sure a picture/diagram would help.

i kind of understand it a little better now, so you have your front lines attached to the bar.. and when you pull the bar into it pulls them tighter opening the kite up more to the wind? and the pushing out would drop the power correct? and thanks for the explanation

Yep! By moving the bar up or down, it manipulates the REAR lines - the front lines are attached to the depower line, which then passes freely through the center of the bar and attaches to your harness. This means that when you pull in on the bar, the front lines will not be affected. To adjust the power more specifically, tension can be added or removed from the FRONT lines by a strap or a special pulley thing with teeth in it called a clam cleat; pulling it in flattens out the nose of the kite, shedding off some power. Releasing some tension opens up the kite more, powering it up. Essentially there are two methods to depower your kite. Think of it this way: On a mountain bike, you have gears... usually there's two sets... one is like 1-3 that you set at the start of the trip for the overall terrain, and the other is 1-7, which you constantly adjust for small changes. Same with a kite. The front line sheeting system (trim strap/clam cleat) is like the 1-3 gears on a bike. You set it for the overall conditions, and don't really mess with it. The bar sheeting which manipulates the rear lines is like the 1-7. You move that around constantly to control the kite.

Here's a diagram of an old Best Waroo bar. It may help you out, or it may confuse your further :wee:

http://kitesurfingschool.org/WarooBar.jpg

Because you can never have enough pretty pictures...

How a depower kite works

Or words....

The Depower Flying Guide

when you are trying to wrap your head around a concept.

ATB,
Sam

woww that picture really cleared things up thanks. now as far as controlling the kite. it seems like you would have less control for turning?

if comparing to fixed bridle, you do have less control. The way I understand it (correct me if I'm wrong) is that you have more direct feedback with a fixed bridle. Having the ability to separately manipulate the braking on each side of the kite also aids in flight. The more complex bridles and inclusion of multiple pullies seems to have increased depower control. The real benefit of depower comes when things are in motion. Adding the ability to sheet in and out makes for the ability to fly in a wider wind range. If you are more into flying static, you would get more enjoyment from fixed bridles IMO.