Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 03:22:02 -1000 From: crowell@teleport.com (Carl Crowell) Message-Id: Organization: Kites By Carl Crowell Subject: Flat Stunt kites I had (and probibly still do...) a stunt kite made for me that was almost flat. It was also bridled way low. The kite, with the bridle set right, flew backwards. When you snapped the handles (hard tug) the kite would begin forward flight and as long as you kept the kite going forward it was fine. As soon as forward momentum was lost, (off wind stall, snap stall, quick turn etc..) it would fly backwards again. This was all before quadlines were comonplace and a kite going two directions was something special. Question? Is anyone out there still doing this? Might make for a unique dual line performance. carl ___________________________________________________ email: crowell@kite.com FTP: ftp.teleport.com/pub/users/crowell WWW: http://www.teleport.com/~crowell Kites By Carl Crowell - O.S.F.M. World Headquarters = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Thu, 16 Mar 1995 07:46:01 -1000 From: swann_m@a1filton.filton.bso.mts.dec.com (Mike Swann) Message-Id: <44949061305991_1462328@FILTON> Organization: Harvard University Office of Information Technology Subject: Re:flat stunt kites [This message is converted from WPS-PLUS to ASCII] I was interested to read about a flat kite flying backwards. I tried a couple of flat designs, but found they pulled out of the air too easily for me if I tried anything more than just a very gentle manouevre. In straight flight they were pretty fast because (I assume) of the low drag, which combined with the poor turning caused a lot of crashes. I never had one fly backwards, but I'm now prompted to respar them and try again. How flat was it Carl? mike -- SWANN_M@BSO.MTS.DEC.COM White Horse Kite Flyers = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Thu, 16 Mar 1995 04:56:22 -1000 From: jburka@Glue.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) Message-Id: <3k9jim$f1i@geog20.umd.edu> Organization: Project Glue, University of Maryland, College Park Subject: Re: Flat Stunt kites In article , Carl Crowell wrote: >I had (and probibly still do...) a stunt kite made for me that was almost >flat. It was also bridled way low. The kite, with the bridle set right, >flewbackwards. When you snapped the handles (hard tug) the kite would begin >forward flight and as long as you kept the kite going forward it was fine. >As soon as forward momentum was lost, (off wind stall, snap stall, quick turn >etc..) it would fly backwards again. This is vaguely reminiscient of an EFM that Ray Bordelon (designer of the EFM series) was flying at Wildwood in '93. He had tricked out the kite with a new bridle which caused the kite to fly much as you describe. With a pop of the lines he could either fly the kite normally or reverse it. I don't think the kite actually flew backward, but it could hover upside down. I saw him flying from a distance and was quite convinced that he had >2 flying lines (I was guessing three, based on the sorts of things he was doing with the kite) and was quite suprised to see only two lines upon closer examination. Rumor was that he was working out the bugs in the bridle modification and planned to market it. I've not heard anything about it since. Jeff -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | Pithy, insightful quote to be inserted | | | when one occurs to me. *If* one occurs | |jeffy@glue.umd.edu | to me. | = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Fri, 17 Mar 1995 12:47:35 -1000 From: mark@murder.demon.co.uk (Mark de Roussier) Message-Id: <795505655snx@murder.demon.co.uk> Organization: damage Subject: Re: Flat Stunt kites In article crowell@teleport.com (Carl Crowell) writes: > I had (and probibly still do...) a stunt kite made for me that was almost > flat. It was also bridled way low. The kite, with the bridle set right, flew > backwards. When you snapped the handles (hard tug) the kite would begin > forward flight and as long as you kept the kite going forward it was fine. As > soon as forward momentum was lost, (off wind stall, snap stall, quick turn > etc..) it would fly backwards again. > Well, the 'bridled low', 'needs a tug to start it' and 'keep it moving or else' aspects remind me of a speedwing, but I'd be *real* surprised if anyone had ever made a speedwing go 'trailing edge first' through the sky... -- Mark de Roussier ************************************ A nice man is a man of nasty ideas. Jonathon Swift. ************************************ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 13:23:13 -1000 From: mgraves@leadingedg.win.net (Michael Graves) Message-Id: <1732@leadingedg.win.net> Subject: Re: Flat Stunt kites In article <795505655snx@murder.demon.co.uk>, Mark de Roussier (mark@murder.demon.co.uk) writes: >In article crowell@teleport.com (Carl Crowell) writes: >> I had (and probibly still do...) a stunt kite made for me that was almost >> flat. It was also bridled way low. The kite, with the bridle set right, flew >> backwards. When you snapped the handles (hard tug) the kite would begin >> forward flight and as long as you kept the kite going forward it was fine. As >> soon as forward momentum was lost, (off wind stall, snap stall, quick turn >> etc..) it would fly backwards again. This reminds me of some experience I had with a ram air Accelerator >From Crowell's Sail Loft (no...not Carl Crowell:-) It was very reluctant to lift off until it formed an anhedral. Once it got moving it was a blur. Michael Graves = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Mon, 20 Mar 1995 01:22:05 -1000 From: andrewh@holly.harvard.edu (Andrew Hawken) Message-Id: <3kjogt$mp7@epsilon.qmw.ac.uk> Organization: Queen Mary & Westfield College, London, UK Subject: Re: Flat Stunt kites crowell@teleport.com (Carl Crowell) writes: > I had (and probibly still do...) a stunt kite made for me that was almost > flat. It was also bridled way low. The kite, with the bridle set right, flew > backwards. When you snapped the handles (hard tug) the kite would begin > forward flight and as long as you kept the kite going forward it was fine. As > soon as forward momentum was lost, (off wind stall, snap stall, quick turn > etc..) it would fly backwards again. > I was flying my Krypton-S (made from plans in SKII recently) near a chap flying a quad. I wanted to land the Krypton-S centre of wind window, and discovered that if I snap stalled it, and watched tension carefully, while shouting "You are a quad, fly backwards, think Quad" and such at it, that I could fly it backwards and land it neatly. The quad flyer was dumbfounded! :-) The secret is that the Krypton-S uses an S-profile, and is bridled at the leading edge only (like a flexi). However, if it looses its shape then strange things can happen. It will probably only go downwards like that, but is was impressive considering the 10mph+ wind! Andy -- ____________________________Andrew Hawken______________________________ "However many ways there may be of being alive, it is certain that there are vastly more ways of being dead" R Dawkins. Home : 0895 420110 QMW : 071 975 5542 AIIT : 0494 677045 Email : A.Hawken@QMW.AC.UK = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Tue, 21 Mar 1995 11:16:21 -1000 From: andrew@tug.com (Andrew Beattie) Message-Id: Organization: /usr/lib/news/organisation Subject: Re: Flat Stunt kites a.hawken@qmw.ac.uk writes: >I wanted to land the Krypton-S centre of wind window, >and discovered that if I snap stalled it, and watched tension carefully, >while shouting "You are a quad, fly backwards, think Quad" and such at >it, that I could fly it backwards and land it neatly. > >The secret is that the Krypton-S uses an S-profile, and is bridled at >the leading edge only (like a flexi). Are you sure that the S-profile is the secret? Go out and try it again with your Sputnik. Although there is nothing particularly "snappy" about anything you can do with a 10m Peel (at least, not with less than 30mph of wind...) it sounds familiar to a move that I regularly make. There is a stall position where the canopy stops moving forward, semi-deflates but still holds most of it's shape as you let it float down. Andrew -- New to rec.kites? START HERE! > To: www@kfs.org send an email message like this: > Subject: service > http://www.kfs.org/kites/welcome/index.html The proposal to split rec.kites is just a bad joke = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =