Flying yesterday in about 20-25 mph wind with a Psycho, I was unable
to stall the kite in the centre of the wind during the gusts, although I
could do it very easily out at the edge of the window.
Is it me who needs to practice more (as if I need an excuse) or is it
virtually imposssible to snap stall in bigger winds, centre window like
I was trying to do?
-- Wherever you may be, let your wind blow free? Stu
Hi there..
it`s not really a thing of experience or skill that you can`t hold a
stall in the centre of the wind window.. it`s just very hard, you would
have to run forward to keep the kite from having to much pressure in the
sail to fly on... in the edge of the wind window, the wind kinda flows
by the kite, and it can stall. However when it`s in the centre, there`s
just way to much pressure in the sail, and it keep flying..
bye! :))
Okke.
I don't know of any kite flying sprinters, but those are the skills
needed to hold a snap stall in 25mph winds. With a Psycho I could
probably run fast enough, but my acceleration from the standing start
wouldn't make it. ;^)
"Stuart & Maria Gledhill"
20-25 mph wind is pretty heavy wind for a standard kite. I would
guess that even in the hands of a very gifted flier that the most that
could be done would be to get the kite to pause very, very briefly
before it would recover and fly off again. Its possible to stall a kite
in that kind of wind if you use a combination of vented kite and wind
screens. In most cases you will sacrifice performance in other areas,
though. The other thing I've noticed about flying a standard framed kite
in heavy wind is that though the frame bends and slows down the kite a
little by making it less efficient, unlike a heavy wind kite that has a
heavier and stiffer frame, it works against you when you snap stall it
because the frame is too rubbery and makes it harder to jolt the air out
of it. Too much give. I don't own one, but I flew a kite that had a
variable venting system on it called the "Speed Limit" that
might be able to do a stall without additional screens in that kind of
wind.
The Speed Limit can perform impressive snap stalls in winds that are
unmanageable with standard kites, but 25mph is seriously pushing its
upper wind range. Below that, at say 20mph, the Speed Limit's variable-
venting system has an advantage over full-on vented kites (IMHO), since
it has more "snap" and a crisper feel. I find that true vented
kites usually feel somewhat "mushy".
I'll go with a yes on that one! well almost... I have had success
stalling the Psycho with its small sail area and pull (compared to the
Stranger) centre window in big winds, but it is maintaining the stall I
find a problem. Practicing on a kite with more pull develops the muscles
and technique so that it becomes 'easy' when trying it on a smaller kite
- that's my view.
I think I have a good snap stall, keep practicing and then in a few
weeks or months realise that what I though was a good snap stall wasn't,
and I now do them snappier with more finesse... and so it goes on with
each flight, practice, practice, practice they become better. The Psycho
and Stranger do excellent spin stalls, which can be a more easy way to
stall in big winds.
There has been threads in the past about the coin-toss and also one
recently. This is something I have been practicing, so while I'm here,
these are the 'steps' I have gone through so far.
>From having the kite on both wing tips, giving a gentle flick to
one wing to lift it slightly off the ground then transferring the pull
immediately to the wing on the ground. Reducing that pull to stop it
rotating too far, and then balancing with pull on the wing in the air.
OK, transfer pull slightly from the wing in the air to the one on its
tip, and the kite will start to rotate as per a normal turn about the
wing standing on its tip, and the opposite to make it fall back down.
Balance that tip-stand.
Being able to do tip stands anywhere on the ground, nose pointing in
or out was my first big step. This took weeks and weeks.
Also practicing half-axles until I could do them! important step was
realising how to stop the rotation by 'choking' the axle, only giving
enough slack with the non-popping hand so the kite comes out of the axle
at 180 degrees - half-axle.
Next from a tip stand trying to do a coin-toss by gently popping the
wing in the air and slacking the wing on the ground. Excellent,
sometimes I had a good(?) coin toss.
Then the next step was realising that it was a lot more easy to
coin-toss from a starting position with the kite nose pointing TOWARDS
the centre of the wind window - the wind just seems to help it around.
Also taking the kite up into a tip stand and then gently continuing the
rotation so the nose is past vertical before popping the 'free' upper
wing - that helped.
After practicing that for a while and being able to just do a
coin-toss consistently, the next great step was getting a bit of
finesse. Giving some slack halfway through the coin-toss the kite
flattens out and the transition looks a lot smoother and more
deliberate, now that's cool.
Then practice, practice, practice, in both directions, over to the
other tip or straight into a take-off in a wide wind range rather than
just a gentle breeze - nice, still practicing.
Reverse coin toss; from the tip stand start to rotate the kite in the
opposite direction to a regular coin-toss so the upper wing is going
(falling) back down onto the ground before popping the wing on the
ground and slacking the upper wing. This seems more like a regular axle,
but from a tip stand with the nose pointing AWAY from window centre.
When I worked these out, axle take-offs became more easy, or axle
from take-off back down to a landing on both, or just one tip and then
coin-toss (wow).
That's it.... but without Dodd Gross "Flight School III"
and IV videos, I would have been no-where, they are excellent. I
especially like IV with the indoor/light wind technique. Also got other
good stuff from Prism's "Advanced way to Fly" and Flexifoil's
"Tricky Flickery". Flexi's "Psycho" video is a great
laugh, does anything axle faster? Sneeze holding this kite in a big wind
and it could axle!
For feeling, Flexifoil's "Stranger" video does it for me,
and Prism's "Trick show" - just love that bright American
weather and superb skill - also the free-flying bits in Dodd Gross's IV
video (must get the new all-in-one).
Looking forward to watching experts again at the UK Summer festivals
:-)
Have a great weekend. Alun J.
Hi, everyone.
I've just gotten into dual-line stunt kite flying, and I have a
question. I have a Premier Trick-n-Track Pro which comes with a
"Speed Brake", and I'm just starting to learn basic kite
tricks using Dodd Gross' "Flight School" and Prism's
"Advanced Way to Fly" videos. At this point, I'm pretty sure
that the tricks are all done with computer-generated graphics, but I'm
still going to try and get the Snap Stall down. So far, the only thing
that's 'snapped' is my pride, but that's a whole other issue.
My questions are pretty simple (at least to ask). Should I use the
speed brake to slow the kite down and give me a fighting chance to learn
some of these basic tricks, or should I leave the brake off? Will using
the brake end up fostering bad habits which I'll have to un-learn later
on? And will it interfere with the kite's ability to do things like a
snap stall?
Thanks for any help.
-- Ed Kashuba
It probably won't interfere with the snap stall but it might
interfere with other tricks. Any trick that uses the kites ability to
balance into or away from the wind, esp, while on it's back or front
would be affected as the speed brake will catch the wind. An example
would be a back flip. This trick is difficult to do as the speed brake
catches the wind.
Prism mentions in their video that low winds are where you want to
start learning tricks. They are correct. Flying the kite in it's lowest
wind range is ideal for learning tricks. Just enough to keep the kite in
the air and moving forward is great.
To be honest.... I think the success of the snap stall depends on two
things. First, the kite and the wind. The wind needs to be in the low
wind range of the kite. Second, the bridle. A more radical (lower)
setting makes for a quicker turn/snap.
I know how you feel. It's can be very frustrating getting those
tricks to work. But keep trying. Practice, practice, and practice. But
also remember to have fun!
I think putting the speed brake on the kite is likely to frustrate
you further, rather than help. I'm assuming it's the classic "wind
tamer" style speed brake, i.e. a mesh screen that is attached
between bridle and the flying lines. This will slow the kite down, but
is likely to change its handling characteristics significantly, for the
worse where most tricks are concerned. Plus you'll have to worry about
fouling up kite, lines, and wind screen when you try axel or flat-spin
based tricks.
Since most of the tricks you'll try to learn at first involve first
stalling the kite, you'd do better to learn tricks in lighter winds,
where stalling the kite is relatively easy. You'll soon discover why
most flyers, particularly trick flyers, are much happier with a smooth,
light wind than the ballistic winds most of us sought when we first
learned to fly.
Good luck and good winds.
- Ron G.
Hi Ed, T&T is a good kite. I have a sport version reframed with
Sky Shark rod, and I fly it a lot! The air brake is used in high wind to
slow down the kite. Although you can still do some of the tricks with
the air brake on, it won't help you to learn tricks! Set the bridle
heavier (lower the tow point) can make the snap stall easier, and may
help to get other tricks. Measure the dimemsion of the bridle first
because the factory setting mark will be faded out. I don't know what
kind of knot at the tow point on yours, but I changed the knot at the
tow point to Prussik knot because the orginal one was hard to adjust.
Lower the tow point to make the kite barely fly, then start adjusting it
higer in 1/8 increment.. Try to find a 'sweet point' you like so that
the kite can easy to stall and track well. Don't afraid to fool around
the bridle, but measure the factory setting first just in case. After
you can get the snap stall and get the feeling of stall, the other
tricks will come soon! Have fun!
DW
Hi Ed, shelve the speed break and save it for 15+ mph winds.
The snap stall is really a form of the combination turn. Practice
combination turns (if you don't know what they are see animations at
www.prismkites.com/new-site/animations.htm . Do them until they become
second nature. Then from the top of the window fly nose down toward the
ground (pull hard on both lines, drawing them in a bit toward your
body... to gain speed (and to allow a little slack after the move) and
just as you get about 10 ft above the ground, do a quick, hard, (meaning
over exagerated) combination turn. Hard enough to make the kite turn 180
degrees (nose up). Followed by a bit of slack afterwards and it will
cause a nice easy snap stall. After learning this (easy way) do the same
move while flying from one side of the wind window to the other. Again
(draw hands in a bit closer to your body as this allows you to reach out
and give slack after the move). Then snap a quick combination turn
(shorter this time since you'll only be turning 90 degrees) again so the
nose points up. followed by a bit of slack (generally given by walking
slowly toward the kite).
There you have it. The snap stall should be learned in proper order
with other maneuvers. (learn pull turns, push turns, combination turns
then the quick-snappy combination turns. The snap stall will then come
easy and fall into place where it belongs). Follow it by learning the
axel, then the axel to fade etc... etc... etc...
Ron
