I just bought the HQ crossfire II 10.0 and I am still waiting for it to arrive. Ihope to get it today or tomorrow I will put up a review as soon as i get to fly it.

You might want wifi service arranged in case you don't come back down after launch! That's a serious amount of lifty ripstop.

My is sitting in an bag since I won it at last WBB event.....
10m FB ...... it scares me to try it.....
.....

My 10.8m Reactor II is a gentle giant in the right winds. You can start out in the buggy sliding completely sideways if you like then straighten it out after you're moving. It has that much torque. The CF II is going to be WAY more lifty with more explosive power too. That being said, I'd love to fly one in about an 8-10 mph steady wind.

Speaking from personal experience with the 10m model both overpowered and in light breezes, I will tell you that there is nothing to fear. Just make sure you are properly geared up ( harness, pads, head gear, etc) exercise your quick release system / kite killers and lean on the brake lines to keep the speed down as you approach the edge of the window or you'll be chasing luffs the whole session.

The 10m exhibits the raw power of a freight train on a short leash when it's in the power window and requires attention to detail and finesse at the edge. When it does luff, it typically recovers right in the middle of the power and will thump you about. Avoid this entirely by letting it fall and reset your gear where YOU are in control rather than take the chance of letting the kite have it's head and launch you. Once you are comfortable with how it flys on the edge, then you can cut it loose and "go for a ride on the tail of an angry dragon".

Your first flight needs to be in very smooth winds no greater than 6-8mph. Gusts will frustrate and loft you to dangerous heights quickly. This thing will begin to launch easily at that wind speed but will seem to stall and struggle to inflate if you hold it nose up. It likes to have lots of frontal flow to properly inflate the canopy before it will come to life so I try to get it to heel over left or right and head for the edge of the window low to the ground and lean on the brake lines to keep the speed down. As the pull drops off, I send it up the edge of the window to zenith, again leaning on the brake the whole way. Once it's top side, have fun and be aware that it likes to fly well out past 90 degrees and luff.

Use your gear and your head.

Good on ya.

My best ride on one of these was @ Elmer's a couple weeks ago in the pitch black with glossy smooth 5-6 mph evening air. Chem-lites in the dirt outs, a strobe beacon on the back of the buggy and a few lights on the shoreline to navigate by.

Effortlessly slicing through the night sky on the whisper of a dream. That's where this thing shines for me.

By the way, sorry to hijack your thread, I'm out.

Ditto what greasehopper said. All very good advice. I fly a Crossfire 8 and though I've parted with many other big kites (including my smaller Crossfires) I can't seem to let this one go. It's my go to low wind high torque kite. Spent a great afternoon buggying behind it in the midwest last week in 10-12mph winds.

-Bill

Greasehopper thanks for a great description of how my old , but new to me 10m Panch Blaze flys. I've been narrowing down how I fly it and I'm right at your description of how to fly the Crossfire. I can just about do chinups on the brakes , hows the brake pressure compare on the Crossfire.

{DISCLAIMER}
I'll couch all of this on the premise that I very seldom fly my Crossfires on the aggressive bridle setting as I use these almost exclusively as a buggy engine. Actual mileage may vary...
{DISCLAIMER END}

With the Crossfire II, it's not so much the brake line pressure, which is not THAT much different from anything else I've flown, but rather the need for constant tending.

On Pansh, I'm not overly fond of my 8m Ace for several reasons but excessive brake line pressure is one of them. I suspect it's fundamentally related to bridling but I've just not taken the time to look at it seriously.

Remember the old airplane adage of a little flaps and you are wheels up, a bit more and you are climbing, a bit more and your insurance premiums better be all paid and up to date because you are comin' down in a hurry. (Stall)

All that translates to the typical racy wing set up where you lean on the brakes a bit and you pick up a bit of pull (Stage 1). You lean a bit more, dragging the wing back further in the window and pick up a bit more pull but you increase side load at the same time ( Stage 2 and a wash, in terms of building buggy ground speed ). You lean a bit more and effectively stall the wing (Stage 3). And then, of course, there's the "Oh Shibit" position...

In static flight, through the window, I let it run full tilt boogie, no brakes and anticipate sending it right back into the power or it WILL over shoot the window and luff. Around the edge, the brake lines are usually solid Stage 2 for a feeling of control without loading the wing into a stall.

Regardless of the wind speed, unless I'm in super smooth air, I'm usually somewhere between Stage 1 and Stage 2 while on the move.

In terms of a buggy engine, I fly a 3m Crossfire II as well and the two are day and night difference but, there are some clear parallels in flight characteristics. Both are incredibly smooth, fast and grunty until you get into bumpy air. The 3m gets all it's grunt from acceleration and for a given wind condition, out pulls my 5m Beamer IV like it's cool... for a half second or so. Then ya gotta fly back in and get some more air to play with. On scale, the 10m is exactly the same way but far slower due to it mass and substantially lower wind range. Both want, need, can't stay aloft without substantial frontal air pressure to maintain their shape. If they stall, they fall. I mean, at speed, if the 3m stalls for a 10th of a second due to accelerating past the window edge on a gust, it bowties and wads itself up. The 10m is the same way, just more forgiving in terms of reaction time.

THAT's why I lean on the brakes with these near the window edge. ;-)

so I have flown this kite a couple times now and i came to the conclusion that it is totally awesome. the first time i flew it was in 5 mph winds and was a bit of a pain to get in the air but once the cells inflate the kite stays in the air. I am not used to buggy with such a big kite in such light wind so I have not yet been able to buggy more than a few feet. the second time i flew it was amazing, its incredible how much difference there is in 7 or 8 mph wind i was able to get a jump or two in, I did not go high but the kite is very floaty and didnt have a problem with stalling since the kite flys alot slower than the smaller versions and was able to redirect easily. i am hoping to get the kite out in 9 or 10 mph wind so i can see what all i can do with it

NICE !!! Have fun with it and gear up when you get comfortable enough to buggy.

Just so ya know, with it parked at zenith in clean winds around 15 mph, if I balance the brakes properly this monster will lift my 250 lbs arse 3 to 8 feet cleanly and set me back down gently about 5 to 15 feet UPWIND. However, if I miss read the balance... "Plop" like a sack-o-taters.

All this to say, that sort of apparent wind is very easy to achieve in a buggy and an OBE with this thing can be a mind boggling and spectacular event that seldom ends well.

what setting is that under

Low angle of attack / buggy setting.

I used for jumping and this kite is pretty powerfull i crash a lot of times but i tried in the dunes ...you dont need almost wind .
I have a couple of videos jumping with light winds

Take a look at this video .....from 2009 in the dunes ...with a 6.5 crossfire 2 with 9 MPH wind ...and i am 163 pound
very powerfull
http://youtu.be/wpD2dabndnE

the slow setting produces alot of floaty lift but the fast setting is great for light wind buggying and is also alot more stable
i was buggying in 5mph

I cant wait to try the fast setting in 10mph it is going to be epic

today the wind is 10 to 15 i cant wait to get out and ride with this beast

Quote:

Originally posted by shortlineflyer today the wind is 10 to 15 i cant wait to get out and ride with this beast

12-15 was the sweet spot for my Blade IV 6.5m. I flew it once in 20 but I was in constant survival mode with the kite flying me at will. I'm not sure I'd want hold of a CFII 10m in those winds. :puzzled: Be careful out there.