10 knots ish. Depower right out. This is prac. in light winds & in a safe area I.E nothing but soft sand down wind. The Charger is stable & has great relaunch. For riding you will need 15 knot + consistant at least, if over 75Kg probably more.

bm said...

Also pump it hard (8psi) especially in light winds.

off topic but does this mean in lighter winds you dont pump a kite up as hard?

Also, how much wind would I need to self launch it? Would like to practice this as I will not have someone with me all the time and usually zero kiters around.......

Hi Skyrapist, I had a 9m Charger last season....i think you need around 12 knots to self launch a Charger (you need to walk towards them to get them on their back), if its too light try a reverse launch. Especially in light wind make sure you keep your stopper ball pulled in slightly (the 2011 Naish bar has a fixed ball fitted ) to stop the kite from being over depowered to a point that can cause a Hindenburg.

Bigwavedave can provide a bit more of your wisdom regarding trimming a kite correctly please.

bm said...

Bigwavedave can provide a bit more of your wisdom regarding trimming a kite correctly please.

Your kite should be trimmed (by using the 'depower' adjustment) so that oversheeting the kite is not possible.

Oversheeting is evident when the kite stalls (flies backwards) especially at the window's edge.

Many people think that making this adjustment is depowering your kite, when, in fact, all you are changing is the distance from the chicken loop of maximum power. (It is not until you pull in the depower more than this setting that you are actually depowering the kite.)

Easiest way is to park the kite at 45 degrees and pull the bar all the way in. If the kite stalls (and it is likely to in light winds) adjust the 'depower' until it stops stalling.

This is a good way to trim most brands of kite. Mat Pendle (wipika, takoon and GK designer) had this method on a video somewhere and I teach it to all my students along with an explanation of WHY it is necessary.

However, a large percentage of experienced kiters still don't quite understand trimming and ride without adjusting it.

Trimming correctly places your bar at a comfortable distance and usually corrects bad stance habits like poo stance.

I hope this helps.

So, had another lesson on Saturday (with my kite and a better instructor..) and am begging to understand what you are talking about and it makes perfect sense if you can understand how the kite works. Went for a practice on Sunday in 15-20knts and very gusty conditions at the beach (kingscliff), kite was dropping out of the air at about 45° at the edge of the window on my left and was a little bit unresponsive. I'm guessing this was due to me being a newb.... Im thinking i probably wasnt turning the bar back enough combined with maybe choking the kite a bit, could be a little bit due to line setup and trimming but mainly me. As it didnt happen on my right side as much.
Did see some guys out that ripped! I was a bit jelous.....

Cheers guys,