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Is my kite a lefty?!

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Postby Guest » Wed Aug 07, 2002 8:02 pm

I have an older naish ar3.5 that has been 4-lined. When conditions are slightly underpowered it flies just fine. Im just learning so this is usually the situation when im out. When the wind comes up and i depower the kite (hangs more on the front lines) it slowly starts to dive to the left side of the window, and no pulling of the bar will bring it back - untill i slack off the depower. My lines used to be all equal, but now I have shortened the front, right line several inches thinking this would solve the problem. It didnt!
This is very frustrating and preventing me from going out in stronger winds. Do i just have a BAD KITE??
thanks.

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Fabe
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Postby Fabe » Wed Aug 07, 2002 8:33 pm

Hi,
I use two AR 3,5s for two years now and I don´t have any problems.
Check the following points:

Steering lines attached to the back of the kite.
Center(Depower) lines attached to the front.
All lines of equal length.
Both tips of the kite rolled in tigh and equaly.
All four attachment points on the kite of same length.
LE and struts firmly inflated.

Don´t understand me wrong. Did you have kite-lessons? That is really important. In fact, the more I think of it, the more it seems to me you attach the lines the wrong way.

Hope the points help you.

Fabe

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Postby Guest » Wed Aug 07, 2002 9:14 pm

Check your line lengths to make sure they are perfectly equal in length from bar to kite. I do this by connecting them to a nail I have driven in a fence post. This allows me to stretch my lines out in my lawn and pull on them.

It is critical that your front lines be perfectly equal. This is more important than the back lines. Get those front lines equal before trying to work on the rear. Once you have done that, you can begin to figure out where the real problem is.

Dwight

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Postby Guest » Wed Aug 07, 2002 10:44 pm

Hi guys, thanks for the info. I did that nail on the fencepost thing and thought things were nicely balanced. Please understand: my lines USED to be all the same length but now ive shortened the front right line a bit to try and get the kite to come back to noon. I think you may be onto something about the tips not being rolled in the same. Id better check that. I swear this problem sounds like a no brainer but everyone who tries my kite cant figure it out.
Youre right i havent had a lesson but i have had some good advice from the other bros at the lake. no one would ever let me launch with my steer/sheeting lines mixed up! There are exactly zero people doing lessons where im at.

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Postby Royce » Thu Aug 08, 2002 2:45 pm

Dude. even the best ballanced kite will go oneway or another. To me if it flies well with little wind but the windier it gets the worse it flies it is something to do with drag. If your kite is old or has had repairs it may just be a lefty especially if you have checked your lines. The problem with converted 2 line small size kites is that they have a small power window so if your setup is incorrect they won't fly. So next time you depower your kite look at the back lines. If they are loose whats the point of pushing the bar further away? Nothing really. The kite is riding on the front lines. If it goes one way consistently past a certain point in the depower settings then t has to do with your front lines or there is something diferent with one side of your kite ie the way the wingtips are rolled. Good luck. Let us know if you sort it out.
R

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Postby Guest » Thu Aug 08, 2002 3:03 pm

Dood... It may be the kite panel layout. I had a Naish AR3.5 a way back that would only go to the right on 2 or 4 lines. Looked fine though. Screwed me up for a high wind kite on a trip too. Took ages to get any service from Naish in the end...

Solution? Don't buy Naish again.

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Postby murdoc » Thu Aug 08, 2002 3:47 pm

try to shorten the line even more.
keep on until the kite stays where it is.
in the smaller sizes it's hard to keep an ar3.5 in the zenit for long.
i have the 9m converted to 4 lines and in gusty conditions it's a hard thing to get into my bindings because the kite won't stay up ...


what are we talking about when you say powered up?
which kite size and how much wind?

greetz

murdoc


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