Low Wind and Indoor Quad Flying

by Ron Despojado

It seems we always need to push the envelope of flying. Our more comfortable flying situations are outside in the sunshine with the wind blowing a glass smooth 8-12 mph. Unfortunately, not everyone can live in Southern California (Sorry, I had to gloat for a second). But in those extreme times when the wind is barely a whisper how can we enjoy our favorite pastime of kite flying?

Manufacturers are now dedicating models to low and no-wind situations. These are typically one of their models outfitted with a lightweight sail and lightweight frame. The key word here, as with anything aerodynamic, is efficiency. However, the kite is only less than half the equation, if there is no wind pressure on the sail there will be no lift. We still need to know the technique.

In light winds we are always finding ourselves backing up to get tension on the lines of our kite. With all quads, but specifically in the case of framed quads, we also have the ability to control the Angle of Attack (AOA) by pitching the top of the kite into the wind. By top of the kite, I mean not just the actual leading edge, but whatever side of the kite is facing up, either the leading edge, trailing edge, or one of the sides. With the kite in the "up" position the handles are rotated back towards oneself; in the upside down position, the control handles are rotated forward toward the kite; in either of the right side or left side up the opposite hand is pulled back and the "kite side" hand (i.e.- kite facing right=right hand) towards the kite, sometimes called the "bow and arrow" position.

Still, we need to back up to get lift. On a very large kite field this should be no problem until you back up into picnickers, a tree, or the ocean. You will need to regain lost ground and hopefully get back to where you started. The best way to do this is to get as much lift as possible with the kite to the top of the window, then fly the kite in one of two ways. The first method is to put the kite in an upside position and with as much reverse control on the kite as possible, walk forward slowly. Though you may have the kite in an upside down / reverse up orientation, gravity will force your kite to fall. You may find yourself repeating this cycle of "back up, upside down, walk forward" several times before you eventually reach your original starting point.

The other method is similar where the kite is flown to the top of the window. However, this time the kite is put in an orientation either to the right or left with the AOA in an extreme position, to almost where the kite is laying out flat. In this position the kite should also be moving to whichever direction it is facing. Again gravity is causing the kite to fall but the forward motion of the kite coupled with the floating due to its almost flat position will keep the kite afloat longer in order to again regain lost ground.

In a no-wind situation, such as indoor we never really need to gain lost ground because indoor flying typically means you are flying while walking backwards in a tight circle to make constant wind.

Now that we know how to regain lost ground, the next step is to fly the kite as only a quadline can. And as usual, forward, left and right are usually no problem. Flying in reverse needs a little more attention, since it has always been a very sensitive maneuver. The typical quadline control handles have a top and bottom leg where the flylines are attached. The further away the bottom attachment point is away from your hand the more pitch you can give the kite and therefore more response from a kite that has barely any wind on its surface to drive it. Hence the kite will respond more actively, however it will be easier to give too much reverse pitch because of it, so you will need to find your balance point again.

David Brittain was one of the early pioneers of indoor flying. If anyone can control a quadline, it is David. Some of the maneuvers Dave innovated included Up and Overs, where he would bring the kite to the very top of the window, then jerked the toplines sharply, causing the kite to fly down towards the direction he was standing while he ran to the side the kite was flying from- thus switching places and theoretical wind direction by 180 degrees; 3D work where he would fly the kite and then quickly place both handles in one hand and grab and pull the toplines with the other causing the kite to fly towards him. From here he would catch it and then throw it back away from him in some creative way, and continue to fly. These two moves necessitated the flylines to be no more than 20'.

With these techniques and others, coupled with a low/no-wind kite, there are even less reasons to wait for wind to fly our kites. Give it a try sometime and see if you can't keep from smiling once you've hit upon some successes.