Have a question regarding trim of a C kite with active 5th line (Hadlow 2011 but probably don't matter).
I wonder what consequence is
- if there is too and tension on the 5th and equally
- if the 5th is to loose.
I am thinking how that, all else equal, will affect the charateristics of the kite with regards to
upwind, power, slack, pop etc etc.
I am still trying to figure out how to trim my 5th.
Yesterday I had some difficulties keeping upwind compared to the other guys, and also suspect the 5th might be to loose ............. connection?
It is a bit loose until the kite is really well powered up, then it tightens. This is looser than factory standard setup
5ths on the hadlow come out too tight out of factory.
tigher:
Lose pop, Make you feel mega powered when you're not, makes the kite do more pivotal turns from the centre (turning around the 5th). and many many other **** things.
looser:
better pop, better slack, better power out of the turns, turns more in an arc and pivots off the wing better, better up wind as well (because the kite is sitting deeper you get better power.
on the hadlow 5th where the knot has been made on the kite's side you can see a whole bunch of excess past the knot, tie another knot right near the end of that line and ride on that setting. fixes it up perfect.
Thanks Charl.
That trick gives 2-3 cm more.
I have redone my 5th setup and moved it further up. When doing that I was told to make 5th and front lines equal length. By that I lengthened the 5th by maybe 10-12 cm !! Thus a lot more than yout suggestion.
This is why I wonder if it is to loose? And what that will do? It does not flap around and do get tightened when powered
that's too loose, every kite is different so just randomly making them all even wont work every time.
too loose and the kite will TACO on you when getting hit by sudden hard gusts etc. and it will flare a bit when coming out of a powered turn. it's not really ideal by any means. too tight and too loose both have negative effects. set it all up to how it came out of the factory, then make that mod i mentioned and see how it goes. I did it to a demo 9m and the kite flew pretty much perfectly.
Just measured lines on my bars.
I have 2 bars. One that I have used and one that is brand new.
On the used bar the frontlines were 5-6 cm longer than the 5th as they have stretched (on the new bar all 3 are equal length).
Making a new knot at the end of the 5th pigtail makes them even length again.
I guess they are okay when new but after a few rides need the adjustment. The kite/bar you tried probably also have been used before?
