QLD
17 posts
Today I had some fun with my 12m Naish Alliance..
I just wanted to let Alliance owners know what's possible as I hadn't heard of anyone trying it before..
The winds were about 12/13 knots and not strong enough to do anything with the kite.. I decided to try and fly the kite with the 5th line detached.. With the shift bar and lines that come with the kite (5th line detached), the kite flew quite bent and didn't hold its shape well in the turns.. It did have some decent power to it though..
So I was curious if the strange kite structure was being caused by the middle/front line which breaks out into a V only a few meters from the kite and attaches to the LE of the kite...
So I grabbed my normal 08 1:1 Naish bar that I use with my 08 Helix and Boxer SLE with 27m lines.. If this worked, I could use the Alliance in lighter winds and get some more use out of it...
Ironically, the kite flew better this way.. Massive power, but yet still had super depower, and the kite just flew perfect.. Pretty much just like the Helix, but with a lot more grunt to it.. Relaunching the kite was just as easy as the Helix and Boxer..
So not too sure why we have a 5th line on this kite (maybe some people feel safer this way)... Personal opinion is that it can fly much better without it and is still safe and you'll be flying in 12 to 13 knots rather than waiting for 17 knots...
Hope this is helpful to someone..
Aloha for now
Gary
ACT
1258 posts
I'm not sure about the setup of the alliance 5th line, but on most 5 line kites it has a dual purpose.
1 Safety: it acts as a fully flagging safety line. It also aids in easier relaunch.
2 Stability: it helps with the structure of the kite under load, like a bridle.
You were flying the kite in marginal conditions, so the kite did not have to much pressure on it. It would be interesting to see how the kite performs in this setup in 20 knots.
As long as you understand the consequences of removing the 5th, then experimentation is interesting, if not its dangerous.
QLD
17 posts
Good point..
I'm hoping the winds are going to be in the 20 knot range this week/weekend..
I'll let you know what I find then... I have a feeling it'll behave very much like the Helix, so we'll see...
I'll let everyone know what I find out...
I pulled "very slightly" on the fifth line today when flying normally and it had a huge effect on the kite.. So we'll see what happens in more substantial winds..
Aloha for now
Gary
WA
2485 posts
i flew my old torch like that on a pulley bar in like 18 knots... naish kites definitly need the support because otherwise they just taco bell on you and start flopping around like a wet rag
QLD
17 posts
I had the chance to test the Alliance today in good winds.. Winds were 20 knots with gusts to 25 knots..
The kite flew great.. It was getting to its top end though.. Even depowered I could feel the grunt to the point of getting a bit over powered.. The Helix would have done great in the same winds and not felt over powered..
The Alliance does have the same smooth gust resistant flying feeling as the Helix, which is awesome...
The problem was landing the kite in high winds.. I tried dropping it to the side and grabbing the upper leading edge line to land the kite.. I can do this with my SLE boxer, but haven't tried it with the Alliance or my Helix.. The kite flew back up to zenith faster and stronger than anything I've seen.. After trying this a few times, I gave up and then tried the flagging line... The kite laid flat, but still flew up in the air even though it was flagged out... Not an easy kite to land.. Fifth line lands it without a problem...
Other findings would be that the kite does relaunch well in deep water.. It was similar to the other sigma kites that I've flown...
I think the fifth line would have been great for landing, but definitely not needed for flying the kite or relaunching.. I'll probably keep flying this kite without the fifth line for that added power and the ability to use my 27m lines on my 1:1 bar...
Hope everyone is getting some good winds...
Aloha for now
Gary
VIC
760 posts
If it's making that huge a difference to the power then it sounds like the 5th line is way too tight. The way i've tuned mine is that the 5th only really comes under tension from the Y-splitter up when it's fully powered up. It's really there to hold the centre of kite in position under heavy load (like gusts or unhooked).
All kites will behave very differently depending on how their tuned, so it's great to hear your playing around with it and getting it to fly how you like it. Personally i like having the 5th line there as a flagout 'drop-the-bar-oops-i-farked-that-trick' safety.
NSW
4188 posts
^^^^^ what they said.
While playing with your setup bear in mind some kites use the 5th line to flatten the canopy out all the time while flying, and need the 5th to be tight, where as others use it only to stabilise the canopy for gusts etc.
Once you work out which use works best for you then you are set.
