So today I had a chance to try out the Phantom 12m with the Naish Smartloop bar.

this was the first time I've ever flown an ARC so coming from flysurfers it was a little bit different then I expected.

wind was blowing about 10-15mph

inflating the kite was easy.
getting the lines layed out and ready was easy as well.

now for launching. I only had the down wind wingtip weighted so I kept having trouble with the flagged tip folding under. after about a half hour of screwing around with it though I finally got it figured out.

once I got the phantom launched it didn't really take off like a rocket. instead it sat hovering about 5ft off the ground for a little while while it inflated a bit more. the tips clapped a couple times and it fell back to the ground. I managed to get the kite back up again. repeated this about 3 times before it finally took off up to zenith.

now that the kite is fully inflated all I can say is WOW talk about smooth power and the auto zenith definitely works as promised. the kite is much faster then I had expected and handles the gusts very nicely. I will say that I don't think I'll ever take this kite out on water unless it is water I can stand up in. this kite really really likes to twist once it hits the ground. I would image with some patience you could get it back up again but I'm not clear on how that would be possible yet.

now for the bar. the Naish Smartloop bar uses a below the bar sheeting cleat which I honestly am quite disappointed with. the sheeting line doesn't like to lock into the cleat and the 4th line safety is right next to where the cam cleat is so you end up getting your hands tangled up in the safety line just trying to adjust the sheeting.

on top of this I found that the line once locked in doesn't like to stay locked in after tension has been taken off of the main lines. so say for instance you crash your kite and the lines go slack. i could see the originally sheeted in line becoming fully sheeted out (full power) causing a very dangerous hot launch situation.

in addition it feels very ackward to be adjusting trim at the harness instead of up in front of me. I found I had to divert my focus from the kite to the trimmer and even then it seemed very finicky and not very precise since once you lock in a setting as soon as you power the kite back up it slips a little bit until it is truely locked in.

anyway I'm not sure how other below the bar trim systems work in comparison but I'm definitely debating converting this bar to an old school double pull trim strap if things don't get better in the next couple flights.

finally. I found that the 4th line safety gets stuck at the bar where the stopper knot tries to pass through the bar. this probably wouldn't be a problem if I was being dragged but it was just something I found a bit disappointing. also when resetting the safety the sleeve for the 4th line where it connects to the safety is too big to pass through the swivel nicely so you have to fiddle with it for awhile before it will finally pass back through again.


So in summary:

the Phantom is an awesome kite that once launched it blew away my expectations and the naish bar has a very nice release system and nice feel but the safety line and trimming cleat need to have some of the bugs worked out.

the laUNCHES WILL IMPROVE, ONCE IT HOVERS A COUPLE OF DEEP PULLS ON THE MAIN BREAKS THE STALL.

THE CLEAT THING, BELOW THE BAR TRIM JUST NEVER REALLY SUPER EFFECT ON THE GO . SET IT AND LEAVE IT ALONE..


PULL /PULL.... EASY... SET IT WHEN YOU START AND THATS ABOUT IT

LEASH TO A FRONT MAIN FOR FLAG OUT DROP

THE REAL IDEA IS ONE LAUNCH, TRIM IT (MAYBE )

.........................DON'T DROP THE KIT !>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

3-4HOURS LATER , UNHOOK DROP IT

YOU CAN REVERSE STALL LAND FOR EASY AND NICE IF THE TRIM IS SET UP FOR THAT

ABOUT 8-10HOURS HOOKED IN AND IT WILL BE MORE EVERYTIME

GLAD YOU LIKE THE PHANTOM

yeah I agree it definitely seems like it would be a rare occasion for the kite to actually hit the ground.

since it was the maiden flight for me on my first arc and trying out a brand new bar I wanted to try the safety a few times to see how well it worked. I'm glad I did too, I'm gonna see about having the sleeves taken off the ends of the main lines and have loops spliced so that there isn't any sleeving material to catch on the swivel anymore. it seems to be fine when triggering the safety but trying to reset the 4th line safety back into the swivel is a tight fit with the poorly sewn bulky sleeve on the end of the line.

below the bar trim is nice and clean but its definitely not all that I thought it was cracked up to be. I'm hoping once the depower line gets a little worn it should start to lock in a bit better.... if not then I'll probably convert it to a pull/pull setup.

For your launches, you stated that you sanded the downwind tip. This would not be the best. What you will want to do is sand the UPWIND tip of the kite as it lays out on the ground (Upwind tip would be the one that is closest to you, downwind tip would be the one that is laying furthest from you).

As for launching tips, one thing that I have found to help is to sand the upwind tip fairly good, make sure that no wind can get under the kite or it will start flapping around. Also, fold over the upwind tip so that the sand is on the backside of the kite. That way when you pull to launch, the tip will flip over, dumping the sand off easily. This helps keep the kite from sliding back towards the center of the window when you launch.

Place a couple of handfuls of sand along the trailing edge of the kite to help keep the kite from flapping. Then fold over the downwind tip about a foot or so, lay the rod sleeve so that it is laying about 50% on and off of the trailing edge of the kite and sand that tip heavily. When your ready to launch, stand off wind at the appx angle for the current winds, give a good tug on the downwind tip so that the heavily sanded tip pops up in the air, step back quickly as the kite snaps up to the C-shape and the upwind tip will pop over, dumping the remaining sand as the kite heads towards the edge of the window.

It is very important to get the kite as full as possible before launching. The Phantoms & Scorpions are much less forgiving when they are not full than the Venom's, Bomba's, Synergy's etc.. In light winds you can do a hot launch through the center of the window, this helps when there is very light wind and it is difficult to get the kite to fill. Use caution whenever doing a hot launch and remember where your safety's are.

Try a couple different techniques until you find one that works best for your area/style.

Be safe, practice and you'll find that the PL's are super easy to self launch and land.

P.S. If you find the kite has crashed and bowtied, pull both lines on the same side of the kite so it flags out flat. Work it a little and the wind should untwist the kite back to normal. Then let the line out and the kite should taco. Tug hard on the front lines and it should pop open and then fly it hard off of the water.

Quote:

Originally posted by awindofchange For your launches, you stated that you sanded the downwind tip. This would not be the best. What you will want to do is sand the UPWIND tip of the kite as it lays out on the ground (Upwind tip would be the one that is closest to you, downwind tip would be the one that is laying furthest from you). As for launching tips, one thing that I have found to help is to sand the upwind tip fairly good, make sure that no wind can get under the kite or it will start flapping around. Also, fold over the upwind tip so that the sand is on the backside of the kite. That way when you pull to launch, the tip will flip over, dumping the sand off easily. This helps keep the kite from sliding back towards the center of the window when you launch. Place a couple of handfuls of sand along the trailing edge of the kite to help keep the kite from flapping. Then fold over the downwind tip about a foot or so, lay the rod sleeve so that it is laying about 50% on and off of the trailing edge of the kite and sand that tip heavily. When your ready to launch, stand off wind at the appx angle for the current winds, give a good tug on the downwind tip so that the heavily sanded tip pops up in the air, step back quickly as the kite snaps up to the C-shape and the upwind tip will pop over, dumping the remaining sand as the kite heads towards the edge of the window. It is very important to get the kite as full as possible before launching. The Phantoms & Scorpions are much less forgiving when they are not full than the Venom's, Bomba's, Synergy's etc.. In light winds you can do a hot launch through the center of the window, this helps when there is very light wind and it is difficult to get the kite to fill. Use caution whenever doing a hot launch and remember where your safety's are. Try a couple different techniques until you find one that works best for your area/style. Be safe, practice and you'll find that the PL's are super easy to self launch and land. P.S. If you find the kite has crashed and bowtied, pull both lines on the same side of the kite so it flags out flat. Work it a little and the wind should untwist the kite back to normal. Then let the line out and the kite should taco. Tug hard on the front lines and it should pop open and then fly it hard off of the water.

Wow thanks for the tips! I actually meant to say I weighted the upwind tip not the downwind. my mistake. Also, I was using 10lb neoprene ankle weights since I was in a grassy field so there was no sand available to try and weight the kite down. next time I'll try a weight on the upwind tip and then maybe a couple on the trailing edge.

the one thing I'm still unsure how to do is when the downwind lines end up under the kite how do you get the lines back on top of the kite again? this is the part that I think I would have big problems with in the water unless there is some kind of trick to it.

on a different note. does anybody know of a good/cheap battery operated blower I could use for easier/faster pre-inflation in light winds?

launching is the hardest part of a PL kite... but after a few successful launches in a row, it's no problem at all.

I use a battery powered leaf blower for light wind days sometimes...makes it quick and easy. The Scorpions and newer ones have velcro tabs (launch assistants) to make sure the lines do not gobehind.

I love my Arcs... have a pair of Scorpions (10, 16) and a pair of Phantoms (15, 18).

I sewed a velcro "Launch Assistant" near the zip on my 9 m GII and it helps with the downwind rear line. Only took 5 minutes to put it on.

krumly

The part you mentioned about the stall during your launch happened to me the first time I launched my venom - took me a while to figure out - PHREERIDER mentioned this - grab the middle power lines (where your pull/pull strap will be - I don't like clam cleats either) and pull back towards you - the kite will move into position and fully inflate - when relaunching a fully inflated kite I will pull on these lines until the kite pulls back the lines and I then let go.

Here's a neat trick I found out for purposely stalling the kite in lower winds (12 to 15mph), by grabbing the floats on either side of the bar - that is if the bar has floats (which I'm sure it must) - push them down sharply - this will shorten the back lines and the kite will go into a stall - if you carefully release after the kite is hovering above the ground it will just stay there - good if you need to adjust something on the kite or bar with somebody helping (they can catch and hold it while its hovering and help collapse it slightly to give the lines slack to do whatever you need to do).

Quote:

Originally posted by krumly I sewed a velcro "Launch Assistant" near the zip on my 9 m GII and it helps with the downwind rear line. Only took 5 minutes to put it on. krumly

what is a "launch assistant?" I'm very curious about what it is and what it does. please elaborate!

velcro tabs at the inflate zips............keeps the downwind lines on top of the kite prior to launch. Your Phanny has a single inflate zip?

here's a pic. Note the tab at the left end of the zipper. It is like a velcro clip to hold the lines on top of the sail while it sits on the ground. When you launch, the lines pull free out of the clip.

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell here's a pic. Note the tab at the left end of the zipper. It is like a velcro clip to hold the lines on top of the sail while it sits on the ground. When you launch, the lines pull free out of the clip.

ah ha! wow I should just have powerzone ad those to all my arcs

Quote:

Originally posted by nwsurfwakeskate Quote: Originally posted by acampbell here's a pic. Note the tab at the left end of the zipper. It is like a velcro clip to hold the lines on top of the sail while it sits on the ground. When you launch, the lines pull free out of the clip. ah ha! wow I should just have powerzone ad those to all my arcs

Your 10m venom and synergy already have them................aj