So I traded my 6.8m Viper S for Smeagol's 5.5m Reactor II... I've been wanting a Reactor II and this seemed like a good opportunity to get one. Hopefully in the fall I can replace the viper (being it was my low wind engine) with something else in the 6 to 8m size,... We shall see!!

Anyhow, I've only ever flown an RII once before for all of about 10 minutes. Angus brought his 8.6m to the beach when we were on JI last October.

Any recommendations on how this one flies,... Brake input? General recommendations etc. etc., what are your experiences with the RII?

This would look soooooo good next to that 5.5 RII
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=25609

:evil:

Quote: Originally posted by 3shot

This would look soooooo good next to that 5.5 RII http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=25609 :evil:

Oi vey!!!! That is exactly something that I want!!!!!!'

Poop

So I can't tell you how all of the RII's flew, but I can tell you that particular RII flies like a dream. But then again I was the original owner of that kite.

The 5.5m is probably the most versatile of the RII line up. Decent low wind (i flew it down to 6mph wind speed), and upper wind range to 20mph. Very stable, forgiving.

The brake inputs are not twitchy at all. But tap the brakes and you can actually watch the kite puff up a little and give you that need boost of speed. u2u me if you have any other questions about the kite.

Oh, did Smeagol send the sock along?

Quote: Originally posted by soliver

So I traded my 6.8m Viper S for Smeagol's 5.5m Reactor II... I've been wanting a Reactor II and this seemed like a good opportunity to get one. Hopefully in the fall I can replace the viper (being it was my low wind engine) with something else in the 6 to 8m size,... We shall see!! Anyhow, I've only ever flown an RII once before for all of about 10 minutes. Angus brought his 8.6m to the beach when we were on JI last October. Any recommendations on how this one flies,... Brake input? General recommendations etc. etc., what are your experiences with the RII?

At launch and low speeds, it is easy to choke a Reactor II. I t will be clearly evident by visible puckering on the bottom skin around the bridle attachment points, indicating a stall. The best way to recover from this is to completely slack the brakes and get the kite on one wingtip so that it can move sideways through the window to develop forward speed. At this point it will surge and quickly power up. Once moving in the bug, you can experiment freely with brake tension to trim the kite.

This differs greatly from the original Reactor, which I used to be able to recommend to a relative novice. The R II will frustrate a novice that does not understand this characteristic.

Once moving with the R II, hold on tight, as you will be in for a ride. It will point upwind very well, but for that you will want to be hooked in, provided you are in stable and predictable winds.

Thanks Angus,... If I had thought it through and been attentive, I might have had this kite @ JIBE.

That's great stuff to know about this kite... I also have the 5m Core, so if I have trouble I can pull out the Core and not get frustrated about losing a day.

Thanks to you also CSA ,...Mike told me this was originally yours.

Atlanta is typically gusty, how does RII handle the gusts?

Heck no, I kept the sock, that was the best part!

I hated to see the RII go, but it was a semi redundant overlap size in my FB collection and it was for a good cause (Viper S) so I went for it.

Hope it works out great for you soliver, it's a really nice wing.. be sure to do more than I did with it - static flying for 30 min, haha.

-Mike

Quote: Originally posted by csa_deadon

So I can't tell you how all of the RII's flew, but I can tell you that particular RII flies like a dream. But then again I was the original owner of that kite. The 5.5m is probably the most versatile of the RII line up. Decent low wind (i flew it down to 6mph wind speed), and upper wind range to 20mph. Very stable, forgiving. The brake inputs are not twitchy at all. But tap the brakes and you can actually watch the kite puff up a little and give you that need boost of speed. u2u me if you have any other questions about the kite. Oh, did Smeagol send the sock along? Quote: Originally posted by soliver   So I traded my 6.8m Viper S for Smeagol's 5.5m Reactor II... I've been wanting a Reactor II and this seemed like a good opportunity to get one. Hopefully in the fall I can replace the viper (being it was my low wind engine) with something else in the 6 to 8m size,... We shall see!! Anyhow, I've only ever flown an RII once before for all of about 10 minutes. Angus brought his 8.6m to the beach when we were on JI last October. Any recommendations on how this one flies,... Brake input? General recommendations etc. etc., what are your experiences with the RII?

SOCK????

Quote: Originally posted by soliver

SOCK????

Sean's line and handle bags. He has some well heeled laundry. Wow, I even groaned when I typed that. Angus mentioned that trailing edge pucker. As you fly these kites and in bigger wind (I rode reactor 2's a lot last season) your powers will stretch to the point the kite won't even fly any more. I add 5" extensions at the brake bridle after this happens, or even straight from the bag, and they really come alive. I don't like any more brake tension than it takes to use my brakes to guide the kite with these (no trailing edge crease,) but others will disagree with me on that one, lol.

I've been flying Reactors for the past couple of years, and concur with Angus on the pucker factor. I take the time to tune the kite for my flying style then they are predictable and stable kites that give a good indication of approaching stall. The 6.9m that I got a first flight on at JIBE was the first one that I've had that did not require tuning right out of the bag. The first rip upwind to south end of the beach about pulled my arms off as I was not hooked in! I did a lot of cruising and am very pleased with it and the other two reactors I own. I might try Heliboy's extension idea as I do get
the trailing edge crease at times, though I'm not sure that it is holding the kite back very much. There is always the trade off of turning speed / ultimate straight pull. If you enjoy a fast turning kite, you will need the brakes.

Going from a Viper S to a Reactor II shouldn't be a big deal, I didn't have much problem. but I have been Flying PKD for a year now and the other day I dusted off the Reactor II 4.4, launched and quickly found out that I forgot how to fly the Reactor II, if it wasn't a Christmas present I would consider letting it go. curious why you made that trade? If I didn't have access to PKD I would go back to my Vipers (if I could get them back from my son ) they served me well, however the one time at Sunset Beach I did need a bigger kite than the 6.8 and that is when I was introduced to the 6.7 Century II a little smaller kite but huge power!

Quote: Originally posted by MDK

Going from a Viper S to a Reactor II shouldn't be a big deal, I didn't have much problem. but I have been Flying PKD for a year now and the other day I dusted off the Reactor II 4.4, launched and quickly found out that I forgot how to fly the Reactor II, if it wasn't a Christmas present I would consider letting it go. curious why you made that trade? If I didn't have access to PKD I would go back to my Vipers (if I could get them back from my son ) they served me well, however the one time at Sunset Beach I did need a bigger kite than the 6.8 and that is when I was introduced to the 6.7 Century II a little smaller kite but huge power!

I really liked I the Viper S, but I've been wanting to move up a notch,... Not to say that the Viper S can't get you moving, but from what I understand, the RII's have even more umph and power with less wind. More efficiency from what I understand. Plus, I just REALLY wanted one,... I look at them as sort of Peter Lynn's non-race kite epitome of the buggy engine. (ie, not a Vapor, but a rocket in the buggy seat anyway).

I flew the 5.5m RII for the first time today and it really is quite a powerhouse. The initial wind was a little too light and shifty. But about 20 minutes before I had to go, it picked up a little and stayed reasonably the same direction. The forecast said 10 mph, but it probably didn't get over 7 mph. With some well placed down loops I really got moving pretty well. It flew pretty stable and had tons of pull. In fact, I kept having to correct with by front wheel as it kept pulling my back end sideways, but this might have been more a result of the surface I was riding Ono rather than the kite.

I really enjoyed it, and never really felt like I was not in control of it. All in all, I would have to say its a pretty awesome kite!!! :D

I understand the "Really Wanted One" part. can't argue with that I have a few of those too.

Awesome! Glad to hear you're liking it.

Well good deal then. The RII and my Blurr sound like they are very similar. Have fun, it looks like your RII is in really nice shape to boot.

Well good deal then. The RII and my Blurr sound like they are very similar. Have fun, it looks like your RII is in really nice shape to boot.

Quote: Originally posted by AnnieO

Well good deal then. The RII and my Blurr sound like they are very similar. Have fun, it looks like your RII is in really nice shape to boot.

It most certainly is,... As I told Mike when I got it, the thing is pristine,... Looks like its barely been used.

Now I just need to save up for a bigger one :D

I had a nice little static session with the RII on my lunch break today.

I'm really used to flying my Vipers and Cores, and it seems to me that both of those like a lot of brake input, especially with turns,... What I am noticing with the RII is that it does not seem to favor brake input like the others. The more you utilize the brakes, the less it wants to fly... Pulls like a beast though. I have a session planned for Saturday afternoon and am really looking forward to it.

The RII is a front line bias kite... It is easy to stall out with too much brake input. It took me a long time to like mine. I even had it up for sale.

Where they really start to perform is at the upper end of their wind range. No more stalling, just more power. The other thing you can check is the bridle for stretch. The longer lines of a,b & c rows should be all the same length. I took mine apart and swapped positions to make them the same again.

Ron

Mine is practically unused,...I'm pretty sure that stretched bridal s would not be an issue at this point.

But thanks for the input... At what point would I need to anticipate stretched bridals?

The bridles do set in pretty quick... Just lay out the kite and hold together the secondary bridles of an a,b,c row and look at where they attach to the primary bridles. They should all be the same.