Hey, I've been flying my Montana 7 for a couple of weeks now. One problem I'm having is that it goes up to the Zenith and sometimes overflys. Then it balls up, falls through the window and reinflates and almost kills me. Is this a wind problem or something I can correct? I know sometimes it goes up and without overflying collapses and I can see the wind being the problem in this situation but what about overflyiing?

Also, I haven't been on my board with it yet but I'm confused about how to keep the kite in the window so I can board. The kite usually just wants to go to the zenith and stay there. Is there an easy way to get it to stay in the power or do I just have to work the kite more?

And what do front stall and back stall mean? The guide lists line adjustments to increase or decrease back stall but I''m not even sure what that term even means. Thanks

Scott..
I'm not really familar with the Montana..have flown the 5m version once and it seemed like a pretty easy and stable kite overall. Leebrianh may be able to help you more with the adjustment stuff as he has one as well. If he doesn't chime in you should send him a u2u or email.

The only things I can suggest is try cleaner winds free of some obstructions and consistant winds as well. Flying that big of a kite in dirty winds will do like you're saying, collapse and then grab you suddenly. Not a good scenerio. Best bet is that if it balls up, fully depower the kite or let the kite killers do their work. If you feel a gust coming depower it then as well..that way it won't shoot up and lift you suddenly. My crossfire did similar things in dirty winds, but in consistant winds it's SWEET! I noticed the overflying bit as well, and I think that tends to happen quite often on my crossfire when there just isn't enough wind to really be out and about. It tends to want to fly past me to grab winds, then balls up.

As for your boarding.. you should definitely practice the kite control off the board first, then add the board. By this I mean sending the kite from the 12 o'clock position down to the 3 o'clock position while walking or running in the direction that you're sending the kite to impersonate riding a board. You have to continue sending the kite back and forth to continue momentum.
You don't have to use the 12 to 3 all the time though. For instance on a high wind day you'll probably go from 12 to 2 or even 1, then back up to 12 and back down again. On low wind days you may have to send the kite further down past 3..like 4 or close to 5 to build up and keep momentum going.

So yes, you have to work the kite continuously to keep moving. Like I said earlier..in high wind conditions it's less working the kite because you're not making as large of power strokes going from 12-2 or so. In lower winds you've really gotta keep at it though.

When you add the board to the combination, start off by putting the kite into the neutral zone and then step into the board (make sure the board is angled about 30-45 degrees off the direction of the wind). If you head directly into the wind you're going to end up overflying the kite or out running the kite eventually loosing momentum and causing the kite to collapse. If you angle the board at a 90 from the wind you're likely to get yanked off the board or fall on your face once you start (trust me, I know from experience). I typically start off aimed more towards down wind then not, just to start off and then almost immediately end up riding the wind like you do sailing..across it almost at a 90.

A good example of what I'm talking about can be seen at this site...
http://www.kiteatb.co.uk/basics/starting_to_board

Hope this helps some and sorry I couldn't help with the adjustment stuff.
~Joe

Thanks Joe, I'm guessing it's just the winds giving me problems. I need to find some cleaner places or cleaner days. I got pretty used to riding my board with my 2.5 Beamer but haven't had the nerve to try on the Montana yet. I was thinking about it one afternoon and all of the sudden I got my first 3-4 foot air. Landed on my feet but at the time more scary than cool.

As for working the kite, you gave me what I needed to know. I was dipping the kite down too much in too much wind and almost getting pllued off my feet onto my face. The kite was either straight up and almost pulling me off the ground orat 3-4 o'clock and almost dragging me. I need to wait for a nice smooth 8-10 mph day.

Had a similar instance with my crossfire..had to be the best day of flying, but still pretty freaky when you suddenly get lifted even if you do land okay. Even pulled an accidental 180 on my board when a gust hit.:D While I felt like a pro pulling 6' airs and doing a 180, I would have to agree.. a bit more control is nice. For myself I'm trying out the wing warp to add depower to the crossfire so that I can control it a bit better when gust hit..have it hooked up, just waiting for a windy day to test it out.

With winter coming I'm sure the gust are only going to get worse. Since you have a depowerable kite use that to your advantage...if you sheet out when you feel the gust starting or mid through the gust you should be able to continue the momentum and flying just as you were before. If you don't accomadate for the change by sheeting the kite, you're going to do like you
said earlier and get tossed.

Larger kites are definitely a different breed. My little devil 4.5m is really forgiving and even in high wind days it doesn't seem to have near the amount of grunt my crossfire 6.3m does. Didn't honestly think that there would be that significant difference between the two sizes or styles of kite. What little did I know. While the little devil is still a really fun kite and I can also landboard with it, the crossfire definitely brings another character to the sport. Can only imagine what the montana 7 does comparably.
~Joe

Scott, Sounds like your middle lines are too short. There is a quick check. Check the line length. All four lines should be same length. See if any of the lines are stratched. Also check the bar. Side line knots (outside lines) should be same height as middle knot on middle line (grey lines - it has 3 knots) when it's powered. Basically. all four lines from the kite all the way to the bar should be in same length.

I had opposite problem of middle lines being stratched a little bit. After swapping middle lines with side lines (HQ said they have same strength) and some adjustment, it flies beautifully now. Hope this helps and if you still have any questions, just let me know. - Brian

Thanks guys. I've tried switching lines but I think I'm going to try flying on the different settings. Right now I'm on the middle knot for the center lines or what the manual calls standard. I'll try it on the other knots next time I'm out.