Kite Tuning/ Tweaking

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INTHELOOP
INTHELOOP
QLD
1855 posts
QLD, 1855 posts
16 Jun 2010 9:33pm
Tweaking a good high performance toy,doesnt matter if its a car, bike or kite, is good fun and makes it even better and suits your individual needs..

How do you fine tune your kite? Any advice or special tricks ?

gruezi
gruezi
WA
3464 posts
WA, 3464 posts
16 Jun 2010 7:58pm
I actually find all the "tuning" settings superfluous. Put it on fast and never mess with it; because I am lazy and only want to set the lines once same goes for launching and landing. No thinking for me, just plug and play..........and boy do I need some wind.
Windchaser
Windchaser
QLD
72 posts
QLD, 72 posts
16 Jun 2010 10:11pm
You only have to go back and look at the vids from the early 2000's. Kiters were boosting just as big and in some cases bigger,upwind riding,carving the waves,pulling tricks etc. exactly as we do today. New kite designs etc. are all about keeping the industry bouncing along - and so it should. I guarantee you if my early north kites were still in good nick and lasted like a good set of golf clubs - I would still be riding them _ and have saved thousands of dollars because I wouldn't have had to buy new kites - I'm still using golf clubs I bought 20yrs ago and they still deliver - wish I had kites that lasted 20 yrs

Forget about tuning...those are just gimmicky things added for marketing- run your kite flat out -all the time
tgladman
tgladman
WA
500 posts
WA, 500 posts
16 Jun 2010 8:14pm
gruezi that profile pic is incredible. i liked how i heard obama say on the radio today that "the time to embrace a clean energy future is now"
is he serious? now that the gulf is full of oil he says this? true?
its sad that it has taken a tragedy like this to make the world seriously question oil tycoons. innovative people have had solutions to our addictions to fos fuel 4 a long time.
but oh the money. will it ever change? i think not?
GalahOnTheBay
GalahOnTheBay
NSW
4188 posts
NSW, 4188 posts
16 Jun 2010 11:31pm
gruezi said...

I actually find all the "tuning" settings superfluous. Put it on fast and never mess with it; because I am lazy and only want to set the lines once same goes for launching and landing. No thinking for me, just plug and play..........and boy do I need some wind.


Aside from working out out what setting you like when you first get the kite (fast, slow, depower, grunt), I would have to agree - find what you like then always set it up the same way.
KIT33R
KIT33R
NSW
1716 posts
NSW, 1716 posts
17 Jun 2010 8:58am
Modern kites are far better than their predecessors. Faster, lighter, less bar pressure, easier relaunch, more depower, better material. My biggest kite in 2004 was a 15m, now it's a 10m. The kites I've flown lately fly well straight out of the box. Sure, if the option presents set up for turning speed and choose a kite for specific needs.

Some boost bigger than others. Some are ideal for wake style, some for waves.

Tune for unhooking, if that's what you do, but if there are too many options it's easy to get confused and end up with an inferior set up.

Once you've set your attachment points to the kite the trim strap is the only thing that needs to be played with which you should be set on the fly.
colinwill78
colinwill78
VIC
1395 posts
VIC, 1395 posts
17 Jun 2010 10:03am
If you are unsure what tuning you will like, try using inside attachment points on the LHS of the kite and outside attachment points on the RHS at different lengths. This will allow you to try several combinations at the same time without having to land the kite to change.
Let us know how you get on with this.
wishy
wishy
WA
1501 posts
WA, 1501 posts
17 Jun 2010 11:33am
I pulled some trim on once to see what it does. I couldn't boost as high. Haven't pulled the trim on since.
KIT33R
KIT33R
NSW
1716 posts
NSW, 1716 posts
17 Jun 2010 2:00pm
wishy said...

I pulled some trim on once to see what it does. I couldn't boost as high. Haven't pulled the trim on since.


I can only assume you're making a joke.
ascole
ascole
QLD
107 posts
QLD, 107 posts
17 Jun 2010 2:28pm
Tuning is very important to how the kite flies. Lines stretch over time so you should check your line lengths every now and again to see what's going on.

Bridled kites tend to feel a lot different with just a small adjustment in line lengths so if your back lines are too long, the kite might feel a bit slow to turn or might just be a bit sloppy. If your kite has different pigtail lengths, try them out....you will see that only a couple of cm's makes a massive difference to the way the kite flies.

If you want a kite to be more responsive and give you more power, try shortening the back lines.

How I set my kite up depends on the wind strength and what I want to do in the session. I generally like my kite set up so that I am slightly oversheeted all the way in. This makes for big jumps and nice floaty hangtime. To unhook, I need to pull on a bit of trim or the kite will stall on unhooking.

Guys that are unhooking all the time will generally want the kite setup so that all lines are the same length when the kite is unhooked (sheeted all the way in.) This saves even touching the trim strap.

If you've been flying a kite for a couple of months, it is almost sure to be out of tune in some way....you have evolved with the kite, and you probably like it just the way it is. But if it feels sluggish or gets overpowered easily, doesn't quite jump like it used to or something else that makes you start looking around for a new kite to demo, then chances are you need to muck around with your line lengths a bit to get it flying right again.

ruffryder61
ruffryder61
QLD
470 posts
QLD, 470 posts
18 Jun 2010 2:49pm
ascole said...

Tuning is very important to how the kite flies. Lines stretch over time so you should check your line lengths every now and again to see what's going on.

Bridled kites tend to feel a lot different with just a small adjustment in line lengths so if your back lines are too long, the kite might feel a bit slow to turn or might just be a bit sloppy. If your kite has different pigtail lengths, try them out....you will see that only a couple of cm's makes a massive difference to the way the kite flies.

If you want a kite to be more responsive and give you more power, try shortening the back lines.

you 100% right, especially kite trimming is vital when unhooking or teaching in lighter winds.

a lot of people dont know how to tune/trim their kite properly and dont get the best perfromance out of it because of that.

its not rocket science to shorten or lengthen some lines, play with connection points for bridals.

this is something that every instructor should show his stundent during the lessons.



How I set my kite up depends on the wind strength and what I want to do in the session. I generally like my kite set up so that I am slightly oversheeted all the way in. This makes for big jumps and nice floaty hangtime. To unhook, I need to pull on a bit of trim or the kite will stall on unhooking.

Guys that are unhooking all the time will generally want the kite setup so that all lines are the same length when the kite is unhooked (sheeted all the way in.) This saves even touching the trim strap.

If you've been flying a kite for a couple of months, it is almost sure to be out of tune in some way....you have evolved with the kite, and you probably like it just the way it is. But if it feels sluggish or gets overpowered easily, doesn't quite jump like it used to or something else that makes you start looking around for a new kite to demo, then chances are you need to muck around with your line lengths a bit to get it flying right again.




colinwill78
colinwill78
VIC
1395 posts
VIC, 1395 posts
18 Jun 2010 10:56pm
ruffryder61 said...

ascole said...

Tuning is very important to how the kite flies. Lines stretch over time so you should check your line lengths every now and again to see what's going on.

Bridled kites tend to feel a lot different with just a small adjustment in line lengths so if your back lines are too long, the kite might feel a bit slow to turn or might just be a bit sloppy. If your kite has different pigtail lengths, try them out....you will see that only a couple of cm's makes a massive difference to the way the kite flies.

If you want a kite to be more responsive and give you more power, try shortening the back lines.

you 100% right, especially kite trimming is vital when unhooking or teaching in lighter winds.

a lot of people dont know how to tune/trim their kite properly and dont get the best perfromance out of it because of that.

its not rocket science to shorten or lengthen some lines, play with connection points for bridals.

this is something that every instructor should show his stundent during the lessons.



How I set my kite up depends on the wind strength and what I want to do in the session. I generally like my kite set up so that I am slightly oversheeted all the way in. This makes for big jumps and nice floaty hangtime. To unhook, I need to pull on a bit of trim or the kite will stall on unhooking.

Guys that are unhooking all the time will generally want the kite setup so that all lines are the same length when the kite is unhooked (sheeted all the way in.) This saves even touching the trim strap.

If you've been flying a kite for a couple of months, it is almost sure to be out of tune in some way....you have evolved with the kite, and you probably like it just the way it is. But if it feels sluggish or gets overpowered easily, doesn't quite jump like it used to or something else that makes you start looking around for a new kite to demo, then chances are you need to muck around with your line lengths a bit to get it flying right again.







Torch
Torch
WA
521 posts
WA, 521 posts
18 Jun 2010 10:37pm
my girlfriend tried to mess around and tune my kite once, man I miss her
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