Friday, August 21, 2009

Fixed Bridle vs. Depowerable Bridle

One of the most common questions about power kiting is what is the difference between the different types of power kites. Snow and water kiting uses kites that are quite large in size while kite buggying will use a kite nearly half or even smaller in size. So I have put together a basic blog on the differences between the different types of power kites. This was an anser to a post on one of the online kite forums. Hopefully it will help clarify these differences and help educate anyone else who may have the same question.
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What the heck is a fixed bridle and why would you depower a power kite?

For a little bit more clarification.....and because you are most likely a beginner (which is very welcome on here) and also because there are tons of lurkers on here who have not yet asked the excellent questions that you are asking, I will go into a bit more detail on this one.

First lets explain what a Bridle is. The "bridle" of a kite is the line or network of lines that run from the sail of the kite or skin to the point where you attach your flying lines to. This can be a very complex network of lines that "V" off into several other lines which eventually attach to the kite....OR, it can be a very simple one or two lines that runs from the edge of the kite to your flying lines. Basically any line or lines that are permanently attached to the kite that you hook up your flying lines (or control lines) to is considered a bridle. There are many different types of bridles on the planet, for this purpose we will only be discussing the two most common bridles used in power kites which generalizes the kites into two classifications. This would be the "Fixed Bridle" and the "Depowerable".

A "Fixed Bridle" is basically what it says. The bridle is "Fixed" or permanently attached to the kite and is set up in such a way that it should not ever be changed. In most cases it is not recommended to change or adjust a Fixed Bridle. A Fixed Bridle is usually set up from the factory to give the optimum performance of a sail shape. By altering the bridle you will alter the shape of the sail which will usually negatively affect the performance and/or stability of the kite. To put it in simple terms, a "Fixed Bridle" kite is one that the bridle of the kite is permanent and the physical length and settings of the bridle cannot be changed during flight. With multiple bridles (dual or quad), you have the ability to change the angle of attack of the overall kite wing, but the actual shape of the bridle and sail is in a fixed position.

The other type of bridle setup that is discussed is a "Depowerable" bridle (also referred to as a "Depowerable Kite"). The easiest way to classify this type of bridle is an "Active Bridle System" that can be changed on demand from the pilot during flight. This type of bridle starts out similar to the "Fixed Bridle" in that the majority of bridle lines are still attached directly to the sail, but this type of bridle will usually be quite a bit more complex and usually incorporates additional pieces such as guide lines and pulley's to make the bridle active and adjustable during flight. With this type of bridle, the pilot will have the ability to change the physical shape/curvature of the sail as well as change the overall angle of attack during flight and pretty much "on demand". The most common setup would be with using a free floating control bar that can be pushed/pulled to change the curvature of the kite (through the active bridle) while you fly. The basic operation is that when you pull the bar towards you, you don't change the angle of attack of the sail but instead pull in the trailing edge of the kite (bottom) as well as the middle of the kite while the leading edge stays constant - basic terms, your changing the actual curvature of the sail while the kite is flying in the air. This is done at a ratio that will allow the kite to increase or decrease power while still maintaining stability and control. Think of it as having a large bed sheet and holding it in the wind. If you hold onto the very top of the sheet and let the rest of it hang loose, the bottom of the sheet will be picked up by the wind and it will just flap away in the wind with very little power. Now have someone else grab onto the bottom of the sheet and start to walk back towards you, pulling the sheet so it catches the wind. The Sheet will billow up and start to produce power. This would be similar to what is being done on a depowerable kite while you pull the bar towards you. You are "cupping" the kite in the wind to create more power. When you let the bar out, you spill the wind off the sail and the kite becomes "Depowered". Because of the overall design of depowerable kites, they generally produce less power per size than a fixed bridled kite. Remember that the curvature of a fixed bridled kite is set at maximum power all the time. A Depowerable kite needs to be adjusted by the pilot to find the optimum power setting for the current winds. Also, because a depowerable kite needs to be able to stay flying and maintain stability when not set at the optimum setting, extra design and material must be used to keep the kite inflated and flying at settings that are far from optimum (when the kite is depowered). This comes at a cost of overall performance. Because of this factor, depowerable kites are usually quite a bit larger in size than fixed bridle kites to produce the same power, Depowerable kites are usually slower and not as agile as Fixed Bridle kites because of their larger sizes and increased mass in the air.

To put it in a nutshell and in simplest form. Fixed bridle kites have the bridles that are in one "Fixed" position and (in most cases) should not be changed. Depowerable kites have an active bridle that can be altered on demand from the pilot during flight.

Fixed bridle kites will produce a lot more power per size and be more efficient. Depowerable kites will produce less power per size but will have more wind range that they can be flown in because they can dump the wind and power as it increases.

Fixed bridle kites are set in the power they deliver in a given wind/speed. Depowerable kites can give bursts of power on demand by powering the kite up in excessive wind conditions. (Think getting big air on your board at any time!)

I hope this helps everyone understand the differences between fixed bridled kites and depowerable kites a little better.

Happy Winds!
Kent

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Old School vs. New Pilots & New Kites

So, I have been having a little trouble getting my wonderful Wife out on the flying field with me to enjoy this awesome sport of kite flying (ok, I am obsessed). It’s not really her fault though, most of the difficulty comes from our young ones that not only demand constant attention but love to get into everything they shouldn’t and/or disappear the second you turn your head. But chasing the kids all over the park isn’t the whole problem, I honestly feel that some of the problem is today’s kites.

Today’s kites are not bad, in fact they are pretty darn awesome compared to the kites of yester-year. Not only are they now designed using ultra high tech computers with 3D cad programs but they are built with space age carbon fiber & graphite, and lightweight high tech poly molecular sail materials such as Icarex and ripstop nylon....all for prices that are a fraction of what you use to have to spend to buy a professional competition quality stunt kite from the “Old School” days. But I feel the problem that we (the kite flyers) and the industry have created is that today’s kites are designed to compete against each other on which one can roll up the easiest or which kite can do the latest comete or multi lazy susan’s or jacob’s ladders. If a kite of today isn’t capable of doing all of the latest high end tricks (that most pilots have trouble doing anyways) then it is “black flagged” or said to be not a good purchase. This type of new school trick flying usually means the kite needs to be able to pitch (flip) onto its back in a moments notice and/or that the kite spins (rotates) quick with the simplest of tugs. All flight characteristics that a new pilot just learning to fly can get very frustrated with as it usually ends up with the kite flipping out of control, line snags or tangles from excessive spins and/or lawn darting into the ground unexpectedly.

I feel that the kites of today become rather intimidating to any new pilot, especially if they see someone doing those awesome tricks with perfection and then get handed the lines. Today’s kites can be hard to control for a new pilot, especially the high aspect ratio kites that are designed to trick very easily. Even I feel a little intimidated taking back one of my own kites after someone with much higher skills has just performed at the level the kite actually was designed for (yes, the kites I am currently flying are much more trick capable than the pilot is - hopefully that will change more over time). It is inspiring to watch what today’s kites are capable of doing and makes me work harder at mastering a trick...but I feel we may be heading off topic. This blog is about my Wife’s flying and progression, not my own. LOL


So, I had the chance to fly a friends Top Of The Line, North Shore Radical (NSR) a while back while it was on loan to another friend to take some pictures of it. This is a custom colored NSR that had been re-framed in specially wrapped Revolution Carbon Rods (extra strong). Surprisingly, this kite had very little if any air time on it at all and was in fantastic condition....for being nearly 15 some-odd years old. The NSR was a monster of a kite when it was first introduced. It was designed for competition and had a very aggressive sail design that produced quite an impressive amount of pull when the sail got loaded up. Another fun characteristic of this kite was that it produces a very low, Harley type thunder sound as it flies through the window. Old school kites all have one thing in common - they are FUN TO FLY!!! With some aggressive flying you could snap off perfectly sharp 90 degree turns and loud thundering figure 8's - this kite loved to be flown aggressivly. The flight characteristics are a somewhat slow, smooth and very solid feel through the lines, super stable, not “pitchy” at all, in fact this particular kite is rather difficult to trick with and is about impossible to do any of today’s new school tricks on. It can axle (with some work) and side slide, snap stalls are solid and perfectly square....but that’s about it folks! LOL.

There was a bunch of us at the flying field all taking (very long) turns putting the NSR through its paces. Everyone who had a turn on it had a huge smile on their face and didn’t want to put the kite down. Another thing I noticed was that as the NSR flew, a large crowd of “non” kite flyers gathered or stopped and stared as the kite thundered through the air. Now we fly at this park every Friday night and tonight was no different but we have never had a crowd of people watching any of the kites fly like they were during the NSR flight time. The noise was attracting them, as was the leaning back on the lines as the pilot controlled the power of the kite while it flew...it was FUN to fly...and not only was it fun to fly but it LOOKED like a lot of fun as well! No work, no complicated routines, no resetting the kite after a failed trick...just solid power, thundering noise and kite flying fun!

I was somewhat perplexed. Here there were over $2,000.00 dollars worth of high end stunt kites laying on the ground including a Quantum Pro, Widow Maker Custom, Deep Space, Mojo, Zephyr and one or two other high end stunt kites as well as some larger foil power kites....and everyone (including myself) was waiting to take a trip down the old school lane and fly this really cool NSR. It was an awesome night. Now to bring this blog back on track, I ended up making a deal with my fellow flying buddy and purchased this NSR from him because I felt that it would be the perfect kite to help get my beautiful Wife out flying more with me....and I was right.

After some work of luck, we ended up on a school playground with a grassy field next to the play area for the kids. The wind was perfect for the most part but a little light at times. I set the kite up, ran out the lines and with some hesitation by my wife, I ended up taking the maiden flight (not that I minded at all, in fact I was wanting to fly the kite the minute I got it out of the truck). The kite went up without a hitch and what made it even more awesome is that the school buildings off to the far right were shaped in such a way that the thundering sound of the NSR echoed through the empty playground which really enhanced the experience. My Wife had a huge grin on her face from the nose and with a chuckle said “That’s a pretty cool kite!”. After a couple passes, I landed the kite and (reluctantly) handed the handles over to my Wife who was apprehensive to say the least. “I don’t want to break it.....Maybe you should just fly...etc...etc... With some reassurance (persistence?) she finally took the handles and put the kite in the air. At first the wind was at a low and we got a tangle. I quickly straightened out the kite and got it reset as the wind picked back up. Another good launch and the kite shot to the air and she started to pass the kite back and forth high in the sky. The kite thundered softly as it moved back and forth and it wasn’t long before my Wife was rocking it through the center of the window, enjoying the pull, control and the echoing thunder of the kite. The grin on her face was enough to tell me that this was a good choice.

We spent a good hour or so flying and had a wonderful time together - with her using up the majority of the flying time (which was perfect and right in line with my evil plans - LOL). When asked, she said that she would love to fly again soon, which made me very happy to hear.

So I began to ponder over the last couple weeks and this super fun NSR. Has the kite industry been obsessed with a self destructing desire to only produce the best kite ever that practically tricks by itself - and has this desire to do the latest and greatest tricks somewhat shoved the “fun” factor off to the side? For the experienced pilot maybe not so much, but for a new pilot looking to just have some simple no-stress fun flying a kite....I think so. I wonder if the manufactures of today could (or would be daring enough) to make a basic “fun” kite similar to the flight characteristics of the NSR and be successful (profitable) with it. With the cost of building product overseas and today’s designing techniques, I can’t see how it would be over expensive or much of a risk. I strongly feel that we need a kite like this to help get more people involved in this awesome activity. We have some very awesome high end trick kites that can do pretty much any trick you can think of....but we don’t really have any kites available today that are just simple to control, easy to learn and down right fun to fly. New Tech tried to tackle this hurdle with the BLK - which stood for “Big Loud Kite” - it was a disappointment to say the least....but (I feel) not because of the public but because they chose to build the kite out of such poor materials (IMHO). The frame was a very thin flexible fiberglass frame which flexed and bowed under marginal winds. To compensate they added in a fourth leg of the bridle...which was at the wrong length and totally worthless out of the bag and the shop (or customer) had to manually re-tie and cut the bridle leg to length so it would work. The bridle itself was heavy and out of adjustment. Even after fixing all those things (on a brand new kite out of the bag) the kite still flew rather poorly and only started to make any noise at all when the winds were over 12 mph. Very disappointing to the customer and sales were rather disappointing to the shops. The kite was eventually discontinued. I was depressed with the poor design and flaws of the BLK and still feel strongly that if a kite was produced today that centered around “fun” instead of tricks that it would be a huge success. Just make sure that it is built with today’s quality and materials, fly’s correctly out of the bag, can fly in lighter winds (4-5 mph and up), and retains that “Old School” style, noise and arm-tugging feel.

Now I seriously doubt that I would ever give up my high end kites and only settle with the NSR to fly but neither would I toss the NSR to the side and never fly it again. There are some days when the old school kites such as the spin off, Hawaiian, Trick Tails, the NSR (and many others) are exactly what I want to fly, to forget about the stress of the work week, traffic, and other daily problems, or to take a needed break from mastering or learning a new trick ---- just have an exciting time flying that is nothing but pure enjoyable FUN!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009







The Soul from Flying Wings is the latest high end sport kite designed for competition free-style performances and true precision.

Constructed completely from 100% light weight Icarex material with durable mylar and dacron reinforcements and framed in hand wrapped Dynamic Carbon Fiber rods, the Soul is a kite that can compete with the best of kites on the market and will allow you to grow with your abilities.



We had the opportunity to Demo one of the Flying Wings Soul's at our local field, allowing all of the pilots in our area discover this awesome kite. We sent our demo kite home with one of the pilots who didn't get a chance to fly it during our local fun fly and here is a copy of the review that was submitted to us from him after he had the chance to fly.


Flying Wings Soul

Highlights:

The Flying Wings Soul flew much better than expected. Fills sail nicely. Capable performer. Surprising high and low wind range performance.

To be completely honest, I wasn't expecting to like the Soul very much based on comments I'd heard from others. However, it won me over. When I showed up at the field I anticipated flying it for a half hour or so then pulling out one of my other kites (nirvana, deep space, quantum pro, etc) but instead I found myself with the Soul for the rest of the evening, well into the night (at our lit field). At each turn I was pleasantly surprised with the Soul.

My first flying impressions were rather ambivalent towards the kite, but this wouldn't last long. In the first 15 minutes I moved the bridle setting on the upper outhaul using the factory knots to the setting which leaned the nose of the kite farthest away. The kite also comes with two sets of outer standoffs, one shorter than the other. The longer of the two matching the inner standoffs. When I got the kite the shorter ones were installed but I quickly moved to the longer pair.

The reasons for my adjustments were because the kite felt a bit loose in the air. It fluttered about without much feedback through the lines, with a behaviour which I describe as bouncing off the air. It would tug at the lines one second then no pull the next. The bad news is Las Vegas has perpetually bumpy winds which can bring out the worst in a kite. The great news for the Soul though is that with the adjustments mentioned the attitude of the kite totally changed, able to deal with the bumpy winds gracefully.

Once finding the proper adjustment for wind conditions the Soul's sail filled nicely, providing a solid feel on the end of the lines. The bump and bounce went away and it became easy to tell what the kite was communicating. There was a nice, even steady pull on the lines. The Soul will fly clean straight lines, and turn promptly when asked without any over steer. In addition to flying well, the kite stalls well also. Snap stalls were precise and controllable, and side slides smooth and stable. In terms of precision, the kite is very predictable.

The Soul, for a kite with a full eight foot wingspan, fly's freestyle very well. It would fly to the limits of my capabilities without much trouble. Backspins, jacobs ladders, flic flacs, 540's, slot machines, rollups, and clean half axels were all easily there. With a bit more time on the kite, I feel cometes and wap-do-waps as well. Both are tricks I managed with the kite, just very dirty. However both are tricks I still need plenty of practice on. One basic function the Soul performs very well, which leads to many other tricks, is that it transitions very well into a fade. I'd go so far as to say it's a strong point of this kite. Since so many tricks require you to fade the kite somewhere in the trick, it's an important one to get (it) right and the Soul does it particularly well.

The Soul also sits in the turtle position where it's easily recoverable. Many kites out there can get themselves into a turtle which at least given my capabilities, exhibit a behaviour which to me seems like a bored cat. Once a bored cat turns away from looking at you, it may be possible through an aggressive overture to regain its attention but it quickly returns to ignoring you. Kites like this float back to the ground in the turtle position before I can regain flight. I'm pleased to say the Soul is not one of these kites. The nose sits just deep enough to provide a great level of control in the turtle. Utilizing the shorter standoffs, for the first time ever I managed a rising turtle. A manoeuvre which the shorter standoffs seem to be supplied specifically to enable. After having moved to the longer standoff, while not able to get a rising turtle, control in the turtle position was still easy and predictable. I've flown more expensive freestyle kites from bigger name companies whose kites don't turtle as well.

When the wind picked up the Soul gained some forward speed, but the amount of pull remained reasonable, positive, but not overpowering. The frame felt sturdy, without any appreciable flexing. On the other end of the spectrum the Soul stayed aloft into ultralight territory, remaining trickable in what I would guess to be 3-5mph.

The effort Flying Wings has put forth with the Soul is evident in its construction details. All the usual snag points have been covered including the upper and lower leading edges, nose and standoff connectors on the back of the sail are all smooth. The nose is particularly smooth in the example I flew. Tip wraps were still occasionally an issue, not because of the snag points but rather the shape of the kite itself keeps the wingtip pointed away from you on the ground instead of pointing straight at you. It doesn't mean you'll have to walk to the kite to clear it, but you might spend a little more time clearing it than on some other kites. Another nice touch in terms of construction detail is on one particular section of the bridle, there's a piece of clear tubing. It appears to be in place to eliminate wear on the lower spreader from the bridle rubbing on it. The Soul also comes with double yoyo stoppers on each side, which also prefer to point towards the rear of the kite, freeing the leading edge for tip drags or reducing the possibility of shearing off a stopper in an aggressive ground recovery. I'd like to have seen a more positive method for tensioning the leading edges than the old tie it yourself method. The nocks have a knot recess in them and would be nice if they were used. Instead the instructions say to just make it all taut and put an end cap over things. I tied my own knots and fit them into the nocks. The leading edges are sewn with a straight seam instead of a multistitch zig zag or serpentine stitch like most other kites. I don't know if this would be an issue over the long run, but it's different enough from the norm to be mentioned. Flying Wings is known for poor standoff connectors at the sail and the Soul is no different. Otherwise the construction is well done, including extra Mylar and Dacron reinforcement under the nose.

Overall I was very impressed with the Flying Wings Soul. It gets into and holds a fade as well as any kite I've flown. It was more entertaining and capable than expected and a quite fun to fly. More time with the Flying Wings Soul is something I'm looking forward to.

Darren M. Las Vegas, Nevada
June 2009
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Thank you Darren for writing this review for us. I hope it helps anyone looking to get one of these excellent kites.

Till next time...
Happy Winds!
Kent

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Buggy Basics - Upwind Turn

So my next blog centers on buggy basics 101. Well, this may be better in advanced riding techniques than buggy basics 101 but I like the catchy name so we’ll stick with that. Downwind turns are easy to do and most everyone can do them without much help, it just takes a bit of practice and seat time in the buggy. The upwind turn is a little more difficult and technique plays much more importance...so....here is my explanation of how to do it.

BUT...before we spin into the upwind turn, a good friend of mine Carl a.k.a. “Popeye the Welder” mentioned that walking through the upwind turn a couple times on foot will help you understand what is happening during the upwind turn and may help you get this trick under control and more consistent ... so grab your kite, walk through the turn a couple times - pretending to be in your buggy and if you feel comfortable, buggy it out. :) So....how do you do it??? Read on.

Speed is the key to the upwind turn.

In an upwind turn, there is a point where you will be facing directly away from the kite. This is when your buggy is turning away from the kite pointing dead into the wind as it crosses over to the new heading. If you don't have enough speed or if your kite is down to low in the window you will have an ejection. The ejection will be the kite ripping you backwards out of the buggy, usually bringing the buggy over on top of you while the kite does a fantastic power loop down through the window, dragging you backwards across the ground....kind of fun if you are into pain and don't like your skin where it is at. :)

The trick is to plan your turn well ahead before you begin it. As you start the upwind turn and before you change your heading, drop the kite down into the power to build up speed, shoot the kite out to the edge of the window as you start your turn upwind. The speed in which you turn upwind should match the speed of the kite heading out on the edge of the window. The kite will pull you around and begin the upwind turn for you - remember your going to shoot the kite out and past the normal edge of the window, using the buggy to keep the kite under power. Higher aspect ratio kites help with this as they can get out on the edge of the window further than the lower aspect ratio kites. Once you start passing the point that your kite stops accelerating then you need to start raising the kite to the apex while continuing your turn (normally at this point you would be frantically down-turning the kite to get it back in the wind window), don't down turn, instead use the buggy speed to keep the kite inflated and bring the kite overhead to the apex as you turn the buggy away from the kite. If your kite will fly in 5-6 mph winds, then having the buggy travel in an upwind turn at 5-6 mph will keep the kite flying even though the kite is not directly in the wind window - this is why speed is important for the turn to work. You don't want a ton of "Hail Mary" speed where your going to go balls out, just enough speed so that the buggy can complete the full turn without any power from the kite. If you turn to sharp your rear wheels will spin out and you will stop - not good. If you turn to wide (slow) then you will head upwind and stop - ejection. The speed should be constant and comfortable depending on the wind and your buggy speed. Faster speed, wider turn. Slower speed, quicker turn.

Now, when you get to the apex of the upwind turn, things start to get very hairy. The problem is that your kite will be heading overhead (and behind you), your arms will be extended out to the opposite side (direction you traveled from) than where the kite is going to go (and where your arms will need to be in the direction you want to go) and you will be putting a twist in the lines (you didn't loop the kite, you looped the buggy). This all happens at the time you are facing away from the kite - directly pointing into the wind. Here's a trick that works for me, as you start bringing the kite up overhead in your turn, bring your arms up over your head with it. Once you hit the apex of the turn you will need to flip your torso around to point into the new direction you are going to be heading and continue to turn the buggy around to match your torso. Once you flip (and after you regain your bearing and where the kite is) start to drop the kite down into the power in the new direction and it will pull you around to complete the turn.

If done properly, your skin will still be attached to your knees and elbows, the buggy will still have rubber side down with you on top of it (not the other way around), your kite will be flying with a twist in the lines but under control and you will have gained anywhere from 5 to 30+ feet upwind.

You can practice this without committing to it if the wind conditions are right. Just head out on a reach and gain a little speed, drop the kite on the edge and crank the buggy upwind hard while the kite is under power. Slowly bring the kite to apex just to get the feel. Once you star to slow down then turn the buggy back downwind on your normal reach and take off again. Do this a couple times and pay attention to how far upwind you can turn and where the kite is going. Once you get use to this and you feel comfortable with your speed and area, complete the upwind turn instead of turning back downwind, just remember to flip your torso around.

That’s about the best I can explain it...hope it is understandable.

If you have any suggestions on other buggy tips or things you would like to learn, let me know and I will try to “blog” them up here for everyone.

Till next time....

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Ok, this is my first post on our newly set up Blog and it originates from a topic discussion on one of the kite forums online. The topic was about line drag and the noise some lines make....specifically Q-Powerline. This Blog post helps explain whats actually happening to your lines and why they sing when you fly. The topic was saying that Q-Powerlines have more resistance because they vibrate so loudly. This post was to help clarify that common misbelief amoung kite flyers.

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Topic Post...

Q-Power line sings quite loudly compared to other lines.

The line itself doesn't cause that much drag. The sine wave caused by the vibration as air rushes around and over the lines is what causes the most drag. Your lines aren't just restricting wind from the diameter of the line but more from the entire sine wave the line is creating. The more the line vibrates, the larger the sine wave - thus the more restriction (and disruption of air flow) the lines will create. This is the same reason that a single strand of wire will cause more wind resistance than a 6" diameter pipe. The air flows smoothly over the pipe (kind of the same way it flows over your kite) but gets very disrupted and distorted from the vibrations caused by the wire. Most of the time your lines will be causing more parasitic drag through the air than your entire kite does because of the distortion of air from the lines compared to the smooth flow of air over the kite or wing.

All lines vibrate. :) Can't help it, they are thin, long and flexible. As air hits the lines they WILL vibrate!

The frequency that your lines vibrate will determine just how much resistance the lines will give. Lower frequencies produce a very large sine wave and are much larger and more disruptive than higher frequencies that produce a very tiny sine wave. Even though you can't hear any audible vibrations from your lines - they are still vibrating. If you can't hear your lines singing to you, then the vibration is in the sub-sonic frequency range and causes tremendous line drag and resistance. As the power of the kite increases, the frequency that the lines are vibrating at also increases causing your lines to start singing more audibly when they are stretched very tightly.

Q-Powerlines are designed to load up the braid of the lines faster which means that your Q-Powerlines will start singing at a very high pitch very quickly in lower winds (as compared to other flying lines). This high pitch vibration is a much higher frequency than what is obtainable by other lines and allows Q-Powerline to have much less resistance and parasitic drag than any other line on the market. Q-Powerline is the only known company that has actually wind tunnel tested their lines against hundreds of other lines and proven that their lines have less parasitic drag (military contract requirements).

Q-Powerline can be a bit loud at times and will sing much louder and start to sing quicker than other line. Some people take this as adding more drag or reaching the breaking strain of the line faster but that is very far from the truth. It actually gives much much less drag as explained above but, because the line is vibrating at a much higher frequency, it actually helps maintain the rated breaking strain of the lines more than a line that is vibrating at a much lower frequency (think of a line that is constantly being pounded on by huge whipping yanks compared to a line that is only being tugged on in very small inputs).

So, Q-power is more audible than other lines but has less parasitic drag overall and higher strength when under load. :)

Sorry to drag on about this.... (pun intended) Just some useless information for everyone to share next time your sitting around with your buddies waiting for the wind to blow. I need to get out of this office and fly!!!!!!


End Post
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So, there goes my first Blog post. Hopefully more will be coming soon. Let me know if you have any questions or comments and maybe we can even open up a new topic about them.

Happy Winds!