TractionKiting.co.uk

Hey Mark!
Ye I meant to post actually. Angus was mentioning this to me. We didnt have a chance to modify the setup as the kite had to go back to our suppliers but its a bit off if you buy a kite, ready to fly, and you need to modify it to get the best out of it before you even unpack it!
You would have thought PL would make an adjustment somewhere so the pilot didnt need to mod it.

I think Angus is preparing a more detailed review of the kite as he had more time with it. I would have liked to have tried it on the water myself but it wasnt to be....

O.

hey mark!

review is on the way, want to have a wee chat with WD first about a couple things...

first thing i did before even unrolling the kite was to move the stopper ball down to reduce the throw, there are times i do like a fair bit of travel in the depower line but the stock was way to much for my liking for all round use... if i was loaded i would probs get 2 bars- 1 with long throw for waveriding/mental gusty wind and a short throw for freestyle

i now know the backstall problem was due to the rear lines being too short / front pigtails too long. was searching for other explanation cause i figured nobody would send out a demo that wasnt setup right!

your right, they certantly are more powerfull size per size and launch was a breeze...

stay tuned...


also pretty much finished putting together a wee vid from some footage owain took... riding is pretty awefull, from the very end of a long day on about my 6th consecutive session - wasnt really on the ball... should give an idea of what the kite looks like in flight though...

edit - http://kite-pics-scotland.com/videos/player/synergy.html

( O - can you embed flash content form any website on here or is it limited to youtube etc??? )

It is a pain when a kite needs to have adjustments done to the bar - so many are now set so you unpack and go. Even with the kook-proof knot, it seems VO misses some basic set-up things for the newbie or less informed arc flyer to accommodate.
I liked the vertical I was getting on jumps using my 16 scorpion on water but we've had such bad times launching the 10 in our gusty winter winds - so many bow ties etc (I think I know why) - the Synergies have been a lot better. i was hoping to get an 8m to take to NABX buggying, wasn't available yet so I took a 10m Scorp down to beat it about on the desert. I was surprised I managed 55.5 mph on the Scorpion and 58.8 on a 2.5 foil. I think the foil had more potential to go faster it was just far too twitchy at that speed to push it any more without serious injury. Had my link line wedged in my shirt and roller and kite was stuck in that direction - sliding sideways close to half a mile down the lake.
I was looking at your shots - love the atmosphere and rich feel of that darker shot at St. Andrews, very nice. I just posted my NABX pics here, you can watch as a slide show: http://flickr.com/photos/18783368@N00/s ... 634610439/
(Sorry that was a bit off topic)
Mark

will be the same as with the phantoms, the smaller sizes were much more liable to bow tying, simply because they are thinner.

one of the porbs a lot of people had launching the scrops was due to the fact that when the kites left the factory many had the vent trapped the wrong side of one of the straps which wasnt obvious unless you looked inside but stopped a lot of air entereing the kite...

i dont think the synergy is going to be very prone to bowtying for a couple of reasons, 1. its got more of an elliptical plan shape rather than rectangular so widder in the middle 2. its a heap more rigid and looks like it might be a little fatter

would say it could well be the most stable arc since the old s-arc

We never had any issues with the smaller Phantom and Venoms but the Scorpions are a totally different animal on the launch even when all intake vents are correct. The 10m is far worse but it's also compounded by the fact we are using it in higher and gustier winds.
On a launch they sit back at maybe 45 degrees and don't climb to the zenith as easily - yank the front lines to get them up and you have to watch the rear line tension that it won't shoot up, roll forward (on the under-inflated leading edge) and the centre collapses and you get a roll or bowtie.
I've watched my Scorpions and others landing and flying many, many hours. What I notice first off is the scallop that develops in the leading edge below the intake ports when there isn't full pressure. When you get the bit of a scallop, that looks like the centre of pressure is just below the intake ports pushing the leading edge inward. And if there is only partial inflation this scallop quickly expands, you get a flat spot on the leading edge, and then it pushes the LE down and under.
When fully inflated it's not really an issue but I do see subtle losses in pressure on tight turns and that little dent appears right away.
We've experimented with all variables of strap tension and bridle settings but not really any solutions discovered. Does this mean the intake ports should be a slightly different position on the Scorpions for the profile on that kite - just a couple of cm lower?

When buggying at NABX in high gusting winds I ran behind my buddies for a while watching the 9m Phantom vs a 10m Scorp. The Scorp surged and dropped back and a pulsing compared to the Phantom. I was used both back to back and the Phantom 9 gave a lot more confidence in the gusty conditions. Flew a 12m Synergy there in moderate winds and it was parked and flying so smooth - but that was a different wind day again.
So far the Synergies seem to overcome the twitchy launch issues we had on Scorpions.

perhaps peter lynns claims that the phantom was the perfect landboard kite were true then hehe (hence why i have gone back to them and dont intend to change)

perhaps peter lynns claims that the phantom was the perfect landboard kite were true then hehe (hence why i have gone back to them and dont intend to change)


the 9m phantom is a cracknig kite, they are way to slow and with poor feedback above that though... i think the venoms were a big improvement and from the short time i have had on the synergy i would say its better still, probably the best arc to date...

hey owain. can i thieve a go with your synergy on tiree? found a way to get one really cheap and am very tempted lol.

I only had it for a week, it was sent back to our supplier after Angus had a go.
Speak nice to Jock and he might let you try his

O.