rrd obsession won't sit still

[vmg]

Picked up a 2010 9m rrd obsession and I'm really stuggling with it, just flying it in a field in about 12kts constant with average inland gusts.

Firstly the wing flaps about in the air and jerks the bar like nothing I have seen before, its enough to snap the bar right out of my hands and the kite makes a horrible noise, really doesnt sound like its doing it any good.

It is forever stalling and flying backwards into the window whenever you try and hold it at one point, this is again in plenty of wind and I'm not doing anything daft like over sheeting, when it starts flying backwards the back lines are slack and if I let go of the bar it won't even pull it to the stopper. It seems to hit a point in the window then shoots it back out. It does this constantly if you dont fly it from side to side when its at the edge of the window.

Not only does it backstall but it inverters, I think thats the right term? The kite basically falls forward and the wind gets behind the back of the kite. I figured out what was consistantly causing this and basically if I had the kite at about 45 and a gust came it would push the kite windward then drop it out of the sky. I would say the gusts were no more than 5-7kts more than the constant wind. Again I find I need to keep the kite sineing slightly to stop this from happening.

I played around with it for about half an hour on two occations and havnt really got anywhere with it, I don't see how I can trim out one problem without making another problem worse.

[peet]

What you describe doesn't sound good...
Have you flown any other kites in this same field?

Flying in fields is generally a bad idea, especially if there are sizable trees/houses upwind or downwind of you. There can be lots of turbulence, which could quite easily cause what you describe.
If you have a bank of 20m high trees, you wanna be 200m at least away from them - even at this distance the wind will still be pretty sketchy.

Try it on the beach with onshore/cross-on conditions before you make any conclusions.

[BillyGoatGruff]

the 2010 Obsession is a super stable kite. Could be:

- Turbulent winds
- Bridals may be damaged, stretched. Deflate the kite and lay it in half and check they are both the same lengths.
-Check the bridal inserts are both factory set up. Someone may have put new inserts in and not doen it right
- Pump the obsession really hard. So on the last pump you really but a bit of muscle into it. sounds like you definitely under-inflated the kite f the tips are shakey.
-Open all the one pump clips up and see if that improves
-You could have a small leak. Pump kite up and leave for a few hours and check the pressure.

[PVITfrumBYRAM]

I would normally say take a video so we can see but that just wouldn't be the safest thing to do at the start. I've not had Obsessions backstall on me but I have not flown a 2010 in a long time. My 2009 5m acts a little crazy sometimes but that's usually due to 20-40 mph winds. The 20s being somewhere in wind shadow in my location. Is it possible that the leader lines on the both wingtips were hung up on the very tip of the leading edge? Sometimes if the kite is folded up a certain way, the little wing tip flap can find itself sticking up, thereby allowing the leader line to get wrapped on the ends of the leading edge. Check this. Also check your line lengths.

RRDs are usually a bit heavier on the front lines, hence their tendency to just fall from the sky in certain conditions. For it to want to back stall so much seems really odd.

"I figured out what was consistantly causing this and basically if I had the kite at about 45 and a gust came it would push the kite windward then drop it out of the sky."

I honestly think 12 knots is not sufficient wind for a 9 meter. Will it fly? Yes. Will it fly well? No. When flying in 12 knots was the kite out of control, or just sporadic and noisy? When the gusts came through was the kite seemingly more controllable? At 12 knots I'm usually on a 12 meter minimum, could fly my 10.5 but it would drop a bunch. My 13.5 usually performs the best at this speed. I wouldn't drop down to a 9 meter until around 17 or 18knots. I would do as Peet and Billy said. If the kite is acting all crazy, it is likely the bridal. Usually when I see kites behave in this manner, it is somebody borrowing equipment from a buddy who jerry-rigged the crap out some broken bridals. Take some pics if you still have problems. PS< is the bar RRD? Have you tested the Quick Release?

[vmg]

What you describe doesn't sound good...
Have you flown any other kites in this same field?
Flying in fields is generally a bad idea, especially if there are sizable trees/houses upwind or downwind of you. There can be lots of turbulence, which could quite easily cause what you describe.
If you have a bank of 20m high trees, you wanna be 200m at least away from them - even at this distance the wind will still be pretty sketchy.

I figured it was turbulence after the first time out, though nothing major upwind the fields are far from flat round where I live. I took it to a different location, where I have flown a naish helix on the rrd bar which flew really nice and it exhibited the same problems.

Try it on the beach with onshore/cross-on conditions before you make any conclusions.

If it is really just susceptable to turbulence it would be a shame as im a long way from the coast, probably only get to go a 3 or 4 times a year so it needs to be good enough to snow kite during the winter.

-Check the bridal inserts are both factory set up. Someone may have put new inserts in and not doen it right
- Pump the obsession really hard. So on the last pump you really but a bit of muscle into it. sounds like you definitely under-inflated the kite f the tips are shakey.
-Open all the one pump clips up and see if that improves
-You could have a small leak. Pump kite up and leave for a few hours and check the pressure.

As far as I can tell the bridal is completely stock, though I havnt measured it or anything, just looks identical to pictures I have seen.
I pumped it up hard, always do, no leaks or at least nothing that makes a noticable difference as its still rock hard after 5 hours. I didn't close the clips as I figured they were only used on the water.

Is it possible that the leader lines on the both wingtips were hung up on the very tip of the leading edge?

No, I self launched it so got a good look at everything.

I honestly think 12 knots is not sufficient wind for a 9 meter. Will it fly? Yes. Will it fly well? No. When flying in 12 knots was the kite out of control, or just sporadic and noisy? When the gusts came through was the kite seemingly more controllable?

Just sporadic, the noise wasnt flapping at trailing edge as I have seen some kites do, it was just occasionally snapping the bar up then going slack which caused a loud cracking sound when it happened. If I flew the kite hard it was incredibly responsive, and really powerful, enough to jump and hang for a few seconds, definately enough to be bombing it on a surfboard. The gusts didnt make too noticable of a difference, the wind could be blowing hard for a moment 15-18kts, and it would still backstall if I tried to park it, the only thing different was when it did decide to change direction it came back out of the window that much faster which wasnt too comfortable.

If the kite is acting all crazy, it is likely the bridal. Usually when I see kites behave in this manner, it is somebody borrowing equipment from a buddy who jerry-rigged the crap out some broken bridals. Take some pics if you still have problems. PS< is the bar RRD? Have you tested the Quick Release?

The bar is the rrd global bar that came with the kite, quick release works fine as does the bar and lines with other kites.

I will get some photos of the bridal, thanks for the imput guys.

[UKSurf]

I had a 2010 obsession 9m. Yes this kite will fly backward in the window if over sheeted. Check your power lines are not stretched this can make it worse.