Tuning help Sonic 11m

[Adventure Logs]

I'm having some major issues now with my Sonic 11m and am looking for some help in sorting it out. I absolutely love my Sonic 18m which made me decide to buy the 11 and use it as my one kite quiver on my motorcycle trip from the USA to Argentina this fall. Kite came out of the bag with this issue but I hoped that it would break in and fix itself. The kite now has about 10 hours on it or so and it's just getting worse.

The problem is when the kite is dived hard or flown fast, the wing tips(from just past the last air inlets) start to collapse and will sometimes tuck as if they lose air pressure. This problem has been getting worse and had some pretty scary moments with it this last weekend in some overpowered conditions. Looking up at the kite, the left(red side) does have a tendency to collapse/tuck more, especially redirecting after a higher jump.

I'm including pics of my mixer. I'll admit that I really have no experience messing with the mixers so I'm not even sure if I'm measuring them right or how to really adjust it. What I did to measure it was put both the center and steering line on a nail and kept slight tension on it. Is that correct? Any suggestions? Cheers

[Kamikuza]

What I do . . .



You don't need to align the ELCs but it pays to notice if they're not lining up, and then tune that out at the bar . . . I do the line tune-up right up to the bottom of the mixer because OCD.

Line up A and Z.
Check C against A & Z. Adjust if necessary.
Check B against A, Z & C. Adjust if necessary.

I pull on the lines to get as much slack out as possible. I secure each line with the loop around the "post" so it's easy to adjust A to Z. Check C first because adjusting it also adjust B by half.

So that's a mixer test. I set to zero and hope for the best, I've not mastered tuning for other conditions . . . wait for foilholio

[Mossy 757]

The red side looks out of tune based on the last picture you posted. I won't claim to know how to correct the kite since I'm not an expert, but this video by Armin gives a good overview of how/what you're changing when you adjust your mixer.

https://vimeo.com/9488886

[foilholio]

If it's like that from new I would ask flysurfer for help. You need to align A and Z at the bridle end while holding/tensioning the front and rear lines, I just stand on them. Shortening B and C will make it more stable. Which is weird because they are already shortened in your pic, you will just need to do it more.

[Mossy 757]

they are already shortened in your pic, you will just need to do it more.

I agree that it's weird that on both sides it looks like you should be tuned for less collapse/more stable/less lift mode. It's possible there's a defect somewhere else in the kite above the mixer, so as a default recommendation you could always measure the individual bridle lines that are adjacent to where you notice the tip collapse and see if something is out of spec. You can find the 11m line plan here: http://flysurfer.com/download/4684/ I like to print it out and then use a pencil to write in the line lengths for every single measurement so I can keep a record of where I am before I start making tweaks. It's labor intensive but a lot more fun if you're drinking and listening to loud blues/rock.

Did you buy the kite brand new or second hand?

**note**

On the Flysurfer line plan, length = what you measure when it's attached to the kite. Cutting = how long you would cut a new piece of line to replace an existing one. The differential in those measurements accounts for extra material used in the knots connecting the line to the bridle.

Also, see pages 32 and 33 of this document: http://flysurfer.com/files/dlm_uploads/ ... 015-11.pdf

It's for the speed5, but it's all the same for a Sonic.

[Nem0]

I'm having some major issues now with my Sonic 11m and am looking for some help in sorting it out. I absolutely love my Sonic 18m

1st. I would check the bar. Use the bar from the 18m with the 11m and the opposite way.

2nd. Check the automatic drainage system if they are realy closed.

3rd. Try to have a look into the intakes, if there is something inside wrong which block the free flow of the air.

4th. There is no other way to check the length of each line!

[windrider1]

Your red bridle lines do not look correct they should look like the green. A and Z is supposed to be about the same length and B and C the same length. However A and Z is supposed to be a little longer than B and C. Atleast that's how mines was but I will double check tomorrow . Mines did not come all lined up ABCD like in the video and it flew perfectly. Interesting thing to check is if the bad side is the side with the mini 5th line. I think there may be an issue where if these kites are released under heavy load they stretch the bridles on that side. All these high aspect kites suffer from the occasional tip collapse and its not pleasant when ure at the top of their windrange. but otherwise the kites are superb.

[foilholio]

Also measure your pulley lines and make sure they are not longer than spec for some weird reason.

[Adventure Logs]

How are you Sonic owners jumping these wings? Are you doing the traditional, jump-release some bar to speed up kite, power up at apex, release a little on the glide down, and power again for landing, or more of the non-lotus speed 4 way of pulling in and holding it through most/all of the jump? Perhaps I'm jumping these incorrectly.

Reason I'm asking is I've noticed that I'm constantly getting the wing tangles when I release the bar pressure during the glide/landing. This problem increases greatly if the kite is wet after a drop etc. When the kite is wet, it has a tendency to basically ball up when I release bar pressure during the glide/landing.

I've been out of the country so I havn't had the space/time to do a mixer/bridle length check but will be back next week and plan on doing all my kites. Just trying to guess what could be the problem. I have some crappy videos I'm going to quickly cut up later that hopefully shows this in action.

[Nem0]

I have some crappy videos I'm going to quickly cut up later that hopefully shows this in action.

I'm very excited to see your clips!
I jump the same way as with my Bandit V before!
maybe bring it a bit earlier forward...