The Depower flying Guide

The Depower flying Guide

The advent of Depower kites in the market has been explosive, not too long ago the amazing Ozone Frenzy with its ability to alter the power in the same way as a LEI hit the shelves , aimed squarely at the emerging sport of snow kiting.

Since then, both Depowerable foils and snow kiting have taken off in a very big way! There are various different manufacturers out there pushing the limits of kite design, and some truly ingenious and whacky ideas floating around.

The Basics:

In essence though the same basic principle applies to every depower kite on the market, the depower is achieved by altering the angle of the kite to the wind whilst the kite is still flying. The difference is how this is realised, either through a pulley system or through a ring system on the kite itself.

Currently the vast majority of depower kites are controlled via a bar and a harness , the main lines of the kite attach directly to your harness via a quick release loop or "chicken loop" that runs through the centre of the bar , allowing the bar to slide up and down the mainline , this sliding section is known as the "depower throw " for example some kites have a bigger depower throw than others , this simply means the bar can travel further up and down the mainline before it stops at the trimmer or chicken loop at either end of the throw. This is no reflection of the depower range of the kite, more of how sensitive it is to bar motion. In addition to this bar movement there is also usually a "trim strap" or cleat attached above the bar, this allows even further effective movement of the bar, by shortening or lengthening the main lines whilst not affecting the depower throw at all, this means with a combination of the depower throw and the trimmer a hefty amount of adjustment is available to the rider, this accounts for the much larger wind range of depower kites as compared to fixed bridle foils.

IF you think of the kite as a solid rectangular sheet of plastic with lines attached at each corner. the top corner lines go to the chicken loop and the bottom corner lines to the end of the bar, as you push the bar away from you, you are lengthening the bottom lines in relation to the top lines and so the bottom edge of the kite/ rectangle can tilt away from you, and the opposite is true when you pull the bar in. The trim strap or cleat does exactly the same, but this can be combined with bar motion for much greater effect.

The idea is to use the trim strap on the kite to set the kite to an acceptable power level when the bar is in the middle of its depower throw, this way in gusts you can push the bar a little to loose power , and you can pull it in for jumps. The bar should feel springy and the lines taught in the middle of its throw for the kite to be working most effectively.

Design:

There are currently 2 competing design directions for depower kites , there are the classic foil shaped kites rigged with pulleys and/or rings to allow the canopy to tilt according to input from the bar, alternately there are "C " kites such as LEI's and Peter Lynn Twinskin Arcs , with the very pronounced "C" shape these kites use no pulleys or rings to tilt the canopy , the bar ends are connected directly to the trailing edge of the kite via the flying lines and the bar movement directly affects the kite angle. Each competing design has its own set of benefits and drawbacks.

Foil Kites are easy to set up and launch solo or assisted, they are also very safe to use as they can be stalled instantly and brought back to earth. Foil kites can at times feel detached and floppy at the bar due to the pulley system at the kite end, as a result there can be less feedback from the kite through the bar, foils are however size for size much more efficient and powerful than an equivalent sized C kite. A 9m foil would be roughly similar to a 12-14m C kite in terms of power. Foil kites as a general rule can get going in lighter winds.

C kites are more stable than their foil counterparts due to their shape, and tend to have a slightly easier time handling rough conditions. They are however much more difficult to launch and land especially if flying solo, LEIs and Arcs hold their shape once on the ground and so continue to produce a lot of pull once grounded. C Kites tend to feel more direct through the bar and feedback is usually very good. Due to their stable nature C kites tend to be flown at the top of their wind range for best performance, they are not the best light wind performers due to their larger size and weight of all that canopy in the sky.

Performance :

Performance wise, there is little in it between either the competing brands or designs. No brand or design offers a significant improvement over another at the moment , not one worth changing your quiver for anyway. The difference lies in the subtleties of the kite's behaviour, each kite has its own traits and the trick is finding one that best suits your flying style, you will not learn any quicker if you constantly buy the newest thing out there to get a foot higher , you wont jump any higher either !

If you like your kites fast and aggressive , look at kites like the Ozone Frenzy , Flysurfer Speed and the Peter Lynn Phantom , these kites fly and turn fast and attack the edge of the window , very good upwind they can be a bit of a handful though as aggressive kites tend to suffer on stability especially gust or turbulent conditions , the phantoms included.

If you prefer slower more grunty kites , look at kites like the Peter Lynn Venom or Vortex , Flysurfer Pulse , HQ Montana , Flexifoil Sabre , Flysurfer Cool or Rookie. These kites still fly fast but do not attack the edge of the window as much as the kites above , they also tend to be a little more forgiving and easier to handle in difficult conditions they are still equally capable in the lift and upwind department though.

That said both sets of kites will allow you to do all the latest tricks, and will all jump equally high provided you fly them in the right wind , some may need more than others to have the same effect.

Flying :

Depower kites require a slightly different technique to fixed power kites to get the most out of them, the best way to develop this is to spend as much time as possible getting to know your kite in varying conditions, the longer you spend on it the easier it will be to get it to do what you want.

First some basic rules that apply to all depower kites:

Powering up ( pulling the bar in) will increase the pull of the kite at the expense of speed , powering up slows the kite down in the sky. Depowering will speed the kite up in the window and reduce its pull.

In light winds , tempting as it may be to fully power up , this slows the kite and in low winds can result in a stall and the kite falling out the sky , the kite will actually produce more pull slightly depowered as its speed through the air generates lift (or pull to us ) As a general rule power up until the kite is on the verge of a stall then depower slightly this will be the optimal setting for light wind.

Fully depowered kites are at their least stable , always take care, if you have to depower your kite fully , you should probably be using a smaller one slightly powered up. Kites also loose responsiveness to steering impulses the more they are depowered, so you could find yourself hooked into with a huge kite that is barely controllable in a very stiff breeze, not ideal !

Powering up slightly when turning at the edge of the window can help with stability and can help to keep the power constant during turns, this will also increase the turning speed.

In order to jump, you will need to fly the kite to the zenith depowered and pull the bar in as it reaches the zenith to be hauled skywards, some kites are more picky with positioning than others , again get to know where your kite lifts and where it doesn't. On board you can build up power by turning into the wind and depowering , slowly building up the power on your run , then redirect and power up as you jump and redirect again in the air to come down and roll off in the direction you entered the jump.

These are "rules of thumb" and are not a definitive guide , you may find you have better result with a different technique , again this is why you should spend as much time as possible attached to you kite.

Like everything good, there is always a catch, depower kites are no exception:

There are several hazards involved with depower flying that do not exist for fixed bridle foils. As depower kites give so much more control over what is happening in the air it is possible to apply too much input or "instruction" to the kite and cause it to stall or collapse, this can be very frustrating at first. The basic laws of aerodynamics and common sense apply here. IF you power a kite up, its flying speed will decrease and the drag (or lift or pull to us) it produces will increase however by reducing the flying speed you are reducing the airflow over the wing and so as the kite slows, it becomes harder for it to maintain forward speed and lift, if this is done to an extreme the kite can even stop or stall in the window or even reverse! This is known as back stall and often happens when powering up too much or in light winds.

The opposite effect is called a front stall, this is when the kite is depowered to such an extreme that the airflow actually hits the top surface of the kite, this causes a violent tucking of the front of the kite and often results in the kite falling out of the sky like a ball of washing. This can be result of flying a kite fully depowered near the edge of the window in gusty conditions, it can also be caused by depowering too quickly and violently. This can be reduced by keeping the bar in slightly when at the edge of the window and whilst turning.

Gentle slow bar movements are much better than hard fast bar movements, huge muscles are counterproductive when it comes to depower kites, the more you fly it the more you can instinctively feel what is going on at the kite end. IT is impossible to say "this is what a front stall coming on feels like ". It is something you have to find out for yourself , only experience will tell you ," when I get that feeling through the bar the kite is about to tuck " and equally only experience will tell you " if I depower hard and fast here the kite will fall out the sky

Well, that's about it , I hope this helps anyone struggling to get to grips with depower kites and how they work , this is a combination of my experiences flying kites over the last two years in mostly gusty inland conditions. I learnt all of this the hard way, hopefully this guide will help speed up the learning curve of those making the same mistakes and having the same frustrations I did. The fastest and most efficient way to enjoyment and mastery of your new purchase is to spend as much time attached to it as possible; there is no substitute for experience.

By : Lofty