the other day i was flying my crossfire II 10m in roughly 10mph winds. when i tried going upwind though i couldnt. the kite pulls me and the buggy in a side slide and i cant go upwind at all. is there anything i can do to help me get up wind better

Put on more weight and muscle or put up a smaller kite

With my 10.8 Reactor I must keep my speed down or I can not hold a line. At 10mph wind this happens with very little added speed. You are flying at a point you must keep your speed down or trade down in size. Not leaving a lot of room for gusts at that point !

Quote:

Originally posted by shortlineflyer the other day i was flying my crossfire II 10m in roughly 10mph winds. when i tried going upwind though i couldnt. the kite pulls me and the buggy in a side slide and i cant go upwind at all. is there anything i can do to help me get up wind better

Apologies if you have already ticked this off the checklist....

Is the DTS set in the Base or Expert position?

In the Base position, you get more lift. In the Expert position, you get less side pull, the kite flies closer to the edge of the wind window and more tending of the brake input is required.

It's a big honkin' kite so side pull is going to be there to some degree depending on wind conditions.... still, something worth checking off the list to minimize the behaviour.

Instructions for DTS adjustment can be found here.

Err...ummm... just for the sake of full disclosure, I have never flown a Crossfire I/II.... however, I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

ATB,
Sam

Yep, I'm guessing you are at the useful edge of high wind for that kite. I'd be putting up the 10.8 RII and getting out the 8.6 or a Phantom 18m.

i wish i wad those kites especially the phantom
i have been wanting a phantom for a while.

ive found the best 10mph kite to be in the 7m size or so... 10m kites have a small windrange, unfortunately... sounds like you were simply overpowered

With the Crossfire II, as you get up enough forward speed to start working back up wind and send it out the edge, the best and worst of that kite start to show up in spades. It tends to race out past the edge and luff on the slightest gust. Unless the winds are very smooth, you've got monitor and adjust brake line tension very carefully to hold it just inside the edge. That sets up a tough scenario, gotta have speed to work it up wind but that same speed makes it twitchy out on the edge were it needs to be to work up wind.

Starting out, I did well to cut 5 to 7 degrees up wind without luffing it in the low angle of attack position (expert) and had no luck at all in the lifty position (base). As a rule, in chunky air my most productive upwind method is to build up some ground speed, nurse the kite up high on the edge and nose the buggy upwind until I scrub off the speed. If it luffs, I can usually turn down wind and catch it. But, if there's a big gust while in that position, ya better have some gear on because it's skywalker time...

That's the bad part of this kite and it's learning curve, it makes you take chances just to do "average" things. The other side of that is, when you get it sorted, it's an E-ticket ride every time out.