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fworley
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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Tue Mar 04, 2014 5:05 pm

Craig wrote:
If you want to lose weight in light winds lose the top spreader completely.


I often fly this way, with Benson's and Blue Moon's. You'll lose some shape and rigidity but you'll gain a little float/lower wind range.

-Frazer
 
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pink
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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:00 pm

on straight leading edges kites, you don`t even lose the shape ;- ), but i often take the tail weight off too.
Prism Nexus, Chris Matheson - Midi Sandpiper, DIY Le Quartz, R-Sky Diablis, DIY Pink S.U.L
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fworley
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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:14 pm

pink wrote:
on straight leading edges kites, you don`t even lose the shape ;- ),

That's surprisingly few kites. Most kites have some curve.

Some of these modern trick machines have very short upper spreaders which pull the leading edges inwards.
Removing the spreader from those would change their shape, creating straighter leading edges.

-Frazer
 
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krijn
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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Wed Mar 05, 2014 7:50 am

so just use a piece of bridleline in stead of carbon?
 
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pink
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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:20 am

@krijn, too much hassle

i have diablis and in that setup she behave very well in light breeze.
i really like that kite,
thanks Craig;-).
Prism Nexus, Chris Matheson - Midi Sandpiper, DIY Le Quartz, R-Sky Diablis, DIY Pink S.U.L
CIM - Fireman, DIY SunDog Fighter

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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Mon May 05, 2014 4:40 pm

I still haven't swapped out the bridle for the new RT version.

Does it improve the precision any ? That's really the only fault for me - and missing 2pts as it falls back, but neither
is truly a fault with the kite - just more work required on my technique.

Tricks wise I'd quite happy with the kite - old bridle and all.

-Frazer
 
Jules
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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Tue May 06, 2014 12:14 am

Reading this thread I get the feeling of déjà vu when compared to reading the Nirvana threads back in the day. The number of bridle variations for that kite seemed endless...
When everyone is talking about modding a kite, it makes me wonder if the hype was beyond the boundary of expectation, or beyond the boundary of most people's competence?
I have a KRD Element, which I'm pretty happy with, it's quite different to most other kites I have. I had to get the bridle 'just right' with the help of Mike from Finland. Mine was completely out of kilter originally but once the bridle was correct, it became much more manageable. On the Element, I've found that just minor adjustments away from the optimum point affect it greatly, in a negative way. Anyway, the point is that I think Chris Goff kites really need to be in the hands of a pro - which I'm not! I mean, I know he will be able to fly a paper bag better than me, but he didn't develop these kites in the way he did for no reason. Once you get the inputs correct, radical kites produce radical results. The Element does tricks in such a different way it's crazy. It does yoyos so quickly that I can hardly move and run fast enough to roll it up yet, it will flat spin so slowly and gracefully that it looks like it's become a Cosmic ghost while it just slowly hangs in its turn.

The truth is that I don't get it out very often because I find the Element requires a good steady breeze (at least for us mortals) and I've read that the Superfly is similar in that respect. So, has anyone flown the two of these kites? Because, I'm sorely tempted to get one, but seaside constant breezes are like invisible Mammoths where I live - you don't see that many!

The Superfly does look quite a bit more traditional than the Element in its behaviour. This guy makes it look wonderful and graceful, too. Is this the UL?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYK7gxFsejU

In different wind conditions it doesn't look so wonderful though, even in the hands of the master!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOvdIypU9cc

Anyway, I'll look back for your comments on my thoughts.

Cheers!
 
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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Wed May 07, 2014 12:12 am

The Element and the Superfly are significantly different kites.

I've flown an Element on at least three different occasions and struggled to get very much out of it.

The Superfly is much more user friendly.

The RT bridle was developed by Chris for his kite. Following feedback from the early adopters, Tim has now decided to fit the RT as standard on the standard, I believe.

There was a lot of negative press on the German drachenforum about the SF in inland winds. This bemused Chris because most of the development was undertaken by Chris at his local flying spot which is surrounded by trees.

The SF is my go to kite now i've fitted the RT bridle as it makes the timing slightly less critical on most moves and improves the flat spin tricks.

It certainly flies differently to other kites and loves to sit on its back. Slack management is therefore pretty critical.

There are some tricks such as the flapjack I just can't do on the SF, as I haven't found a way of lifting the nose back up for the landing, at least not without banging the nose on the ground first.

I would certainly suggest you get one. I fly inland 99% of the time in a flying spot with pretty crappy wind and I really don't believe it handles it any worse than any on my other kites.

Hope this helps.
 
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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Wed May 07, 2014 12:55 pm

Either bridle works fine. As ever it comes down to the flyer.
 
Jules
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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Sun May 11, 2014 10:04 pm

Hi jaydub!

Thanks for your thoughts.
It's funny to read about 'slack management' being critical- you wouldn't sell that concept in too many companies!
After writing the above comments, I decided to get the Element out again to give it another flutter. The wind speed was about right, and my flying has come along a bit in the last year. I still really like the alternative feel of this kite - it's different. I feel that I need to spend more time to dial into it. I can't do a huge variety of tricks but I still enjoy seeing how the Element does things differently. I want to practice Crazy copters and I think the Element is a good kite for those. When starting out I definitely found that I could do certain tricks on certain kites much better than on others and I think I'll apply that while I'm trying to add a couple of tricks to my repertoire this year.
I really like the look of Cyniques and it would appear that the SF is in a league of its own in that category. Your comments confirm my feeling that the SF seems a bit more traditional than the Element.

Thanks again,
Jules
 
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bryan beasley
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Re: SuperFly [light tail weight] + chat about reverse turbo

Mon May 12, 2014 5:54 pm

The Element is one of very kites I've ever flown that will give you a crazy copter an inch of'v the ground. Sweet as.

Bryan.