Withdrawn, I'm going to give this kite another chance, maybe I was just having a bad week.

What is their custom weight?

What's wrong with the normal weight?!

Why didn't they give you the original weight?

Ummm yeah love this kite, flew it this weekend in near-standard conditions on 35m lines and was loving it more than any other kite, even the CTC STD, it makes me emotional how good the Ghost is... but I can understand flyers who get along better with a N WW.

You can? Really?

Denny

It's 14g of solder twisted around the spine, then heat shrink-wrapped in place.

The mod was made two owners ago, so I'm not sure where the original weight is at this point. It's possible the mod was made because the original weight had a tendency to slip out of the pocket, but that's just conjecture.

There's no way the weight could slip out as it should be in front of the spine, with the velcro folded over.

the original weight doesn't slip out, but it does sit to one side of the spine (or the other), pushing the spine off centre.
I can well imagine that 14g of solder wrapped around the spine doesn't have the same problem (or feature).

Stuart

Very diplomatic!

As stated by stu, the stock weight blows. It's a painted "fishing" weight on a nearly $500USD kite. Of the 3 I had, all were of slightly different weights (+- 1-2gr) and cause issues with the tail alignment/sail tension at the tail. I changed it over to the exact weight (14g) of wrapped solder neatly CA tacked (ends) and nicely shrink wrapped. Looks and functions perfect.
I did the same to my blue Std TC that Frazer has.

Had nothing to do with it "sliding" out of the pocket.




Was it required, obviously not. As a anal mechanical designer, was it acceptable? Not even close. Reminds me of the zip tied fuel line initially installed. Most b*tched about that as well.

Believe me, it doesn't hurt the function. If you want to pull it off, I'm sure a slight amount of twisting or a gentle nudge with a straight blade screw driven along the trailing edge will pop it free. I can even send the stock weight (provided I can find it) if it's that big a deal (PM me).


E.

Said blue (& black) kite tricks like a dream. I wouldn't dare tinker with it. So ... the tail weighting works just fine for me

-Frazer

My apologies for mis-stating this, I had misread the earlier thread where you discussed it.




It's not a big deal to me, but since I was putting the kite up for trade, it seemed important to mention it to future owners, to lessen the chance of surprise when it was discovered. It was not disclosed to me when I acquired the kite, but I was able to trace it's lineage through the two forums it had been sold/traded on previously. ITB, were you the original owner?

But given all the (stunned) reaction to my interest in trading this kite away, perhaps I should withdraw it from the trade forum and take another chance to try and connect with it.

No problem Jared. I just want to make sure the mis-information passes along from the previous owner wasn't continually passes along. I am the original owner, bought here from Craig.

To verify for anyone intersted, the modified weight is exactly what is supplied for weight from Thomas@ Kitehouse. It's just a revised version.

The kite wasn't modified for any other reason than my own personal attension to detail. For as GREAT a kite as it is (only sold due to the recent addition of my daughter), it just seemed to be a poor execution in design for a tail weight. From a functional standpoint, sure it works but when there are other cleaner/more practical solutions, I tend to revise to suite. I've flown enough stuff to take what I think is the better ideas from multiple manufacturers and incorporate them where I see fit. The solder was a cheap and easy solution and the heat shrink just cleans it up. Honestly I prefer weighted spine pins/OD weights similar to what BMK/R-Sky/Viper Kites uses (think Manga/Exile/Vendetta) but with the leech line setup, it wasn't practical.


Like I said, I can send you the stocker provided I can find it prior to your trade (assuming your here in the US). Easy enough to pass along.


As Frazer said, I don't feel it hurts a thing. Matter of fact, I've NEVER removed the weights from any of my CTC's including the Ghost. I think it's perfectly balanced the way it is.