Alright so I received my first kite today, the HQ Scout III 4m, and I was anxious to set it up and start flying it immediately. Well when I started to fly the kite, it seemed to want to fly to the left. Even while holding the bar completely still. The only thing i can think of would be a twisted line or an improper setup. If anyone has a sugestion on how i can troubleshoot the problem, I ask for your assistance. Any and all help will be much appreciated!:D

A couple things to check:

1) Make sure that all the flying lines and bridle lines are clear and go straight to the kite. Make sure that one or more of the lines are not twisted or wrapped around a knot or any of the other lines. The bridle lines should go straight and clear from the attachment points to the sail and not hang up on anything. Flying lines need to be straight and not wrapped around each other. None of the lines should be wrapped around the bar or knots or anything.

2) Make sure that all the flying lines are equal in length. Lay the kite out on the ground with the lines fully extended. Drive a screwdriver or something else solid into the ground between the bridle lines of the kite and then loop each of the flying line loops (sleeving material at the very end of each flying line) around the screwdriver so they are all attached at the exact same point. Usually it is best to disconnect them from the bridle of the kite and attach them to the screwdriver (or kite stake) and then stick it firmly into the ground. Then go to the bar end of the kite and disconnect each line from the bar at the sleeving. Then pull all four lines so they have the same tension on them. All four lines should stretch out to the exact same length of each other (or within 1/4" or so). If one of them is more than an inch longer than the others then that line will need to be equalized to match. One longer line will cause the kite to constantly drift to one side.

If that doesn't do it. Check the bridle lines and see if one side has stretched out more than the other. You can do this by collapsing the kite in the center so that you can line up each leg of the bridle with the same leg on the other side of the kite. Stretch them out fully and see if they are the same length.

Try those things and let us know what you find.

Hope that helps!

Oh...and congrats on the kite! The Scout is a fun one to fly.

Hello, awindofchance! Thank you so much for the advice! Turns out my left line was a little bit longer. About 5 inches longer. Many thanks to you sir!:D

Yup, that will do it for sure.

There are a couple ways to fix that. On the bar you have long leaders coming off. Easiest fix is to just tie an extra knot on the leader that is 5 inches shorter than the normal one and connect your long line to that knot.

Best fix is to re-equalize your lines so they are all the same length. If you need help on doing this then let me know.