What do Race Kites suck at?

[WildDuke]

Toby,

I spent a couple of hours on an Airush 17m Varial XR a couple of weekends ago. It was good fun, however I totally couldn't time my jumps. I'd load n pop and then what would feel like an eternity, wait for the kite to move. I know you advise the smallest bar and slowest settings for your Airstyle, but my kite was setup with the fastest turning speed on the kite and the longest bar and it was still unbelievably slow. I couldn't get much height but I hung and hung and hung. I couldn't time the redirection of the kite to ride away either. I need more time under the kite! Adapting to a bigger slower kite is harder than I thought!

[davesails7]

thing is ive always believed from info from others that the dyno being a race kite is built light so hasnt got the usual protection around the LE for self launch and self landing.
as i self launch and self land 99% of the time can i assume that maybe i should indeed avoid the dyno's

I woried about the Dyno's durability when I first got it because it is so light, but it has been great for me. I've been riding it for a year now, average probably 2 times a week.

I almost always self launch and land because I'm the only one out when it is light. Even with all the self launches, there's no worn spots on the kites or any popped bladders. We do have sand beaches though.

Reverse launch is the only way to self launch the race kites in light winds because they are so long and skinny. I can reverse launch the Dyno in less wind than I can ride by walking backwards as I pull the rear lines.

[BiteMe]

thing is ive always believed from info from others that the dyno being a race kite is built light so hasnt got the usual protection around the LE for self launch and self landing.
as i self launch and self land 99% of the time can i assume that maybe i should indeed avoid the dyno's

I woried about the Dyno's durability when I first got it because it is so light, but it has been great for me. I've been riding it for a year now, average probably 2 times a week.

I almost always self launch and land because I'm the only one out when it is light. Even with all the self launches, there's no worn spots on the kites or any popped bladders. We do have sand beaches though.

Reverse launch is the only way to self launch the race kites in light winds because they are so long and skinny. I can reverse launch the Dyno in less wind than I can ride by walking backwards as I pull the rear lines.

Dave - How do you self land the Dyno? With the high Y front lines of the North kites seems like it would be very difficult to self land. I have all my kites set up with the safety on the front line. So I can use that to pull the kite around as it's landing at the edge of the window. Can't do that with the North. Also is it possible to do the slide launch with the Dyno?

[plummet]

going down wind
going slow,
turning fast
relaunching

[PGH]

i think if i got one for the super low end ie mowing the lawn on a tt/skim i'd rig it with a 5th line anyway..wouldnt need another bar and line set then...self land my vegas by flying to the edge of the window until the tip is on the ground...then pull in lots of 5th line ..the kite will drop onto its LE 99% of the time (the 1% it doesnt just release to 5th line safety).

[Billy B.]

I just want to say I love my race kites, I have always had two quivers of kites though, for some years it was ozone edges, with instinct sports then c-4s. Now it's North dynos and other north kites.

just like boards, kites have strong and weak points. Race kites and directionals is a blast.

Race kites slide turn unless you choke them out over sheeting to stall them and turn them inside the wing tip to pivot.

Aspect ratio has always been a personal choice, now whe have labelled kites as, wave, race, wake, etc.. Just because a kite says race on it doesn't mean that all it's for..

[davesails7]

I ride with a 5th line so self landing is no problem. I self land just like PGH says. The 5th line also helps with water realuanch.

The slide launch doesn't really work with the Dyno. It's so long and I'm always riding it in light wind that it doesn't want to roll up on its edge. Reverse launch works much better.

[jedi1]

The edge is a race kite. Not good for waves but I like it for freestyle, in the larger sizes. It's a slow turner and that makes it nice for unhooking. Why do people think it sucks for freestyle?

Does it slack at all?

[ced1]

Think it also depends on riding style and different kites. Been riding the 7m and 9m fury Peter Lynn kites in waves and have enjoyed them, The 9m could turn faster and with more pivot. But the 7m does what I want it to do.
But each to their own.
In the bigger sizes they don't work for me in waves.

No problem with relaunching…

Ced

[Don Monnot]

The first time I flew an AirRush VX Race 15m I took to it immediately. No problem for me timing jumps and landings. I guess it's all in what your flying style is like. I thought it seemed to turn faster than my 16m Cab Switchblade (2008), but maybe it was how each kite was set up, or maybe most newer kites turn better than older ones. Dunno. What I do know is that I love my VXR. As mentioned, hang time is amazing, which gives me lots of time to really screw up my landings

Don