Pansh Help Setting Up Your Pansh

Help Setting Up Your Pansh

I've just been on the beach over lunchtime with a new 3.5m Ace and I thought I'd come back and let those that have cursed and got frustrated unpacking their new kite have a few helpful pointers.

Lines:

The lines have been wrapped by a very simple machine which simply rotates the handle end over end. If you unwind the lines in the same way, end over end then they come off without any tangles at all. If you hold the handle and try and strip the lines off you'll put in a hundred or so twists, maybe more.

I pegged the loops as I unwound, end over end, and when I had finished I was very happy to say that the main lines were the same length and the brakes were the same length give or take a few millimeters. There was a 2cm difference between the brakes and the main lines, but that is not a problem as the kite is still balanced on both sides.

Bridles:

Unroll your kite carefully and don't let it flap about. There is a chance of one of the bridles becoming detatched and then wrapping itself up. If that happens, good luck, you'll be a while. As I unrolled the kite I sanded the trailing edge so it wouldn't blow away.

The brake and the main line were gathered for the relevant side and then the black sleeves secured with a simple larks head to one of the bridle lines at the corresponding wing tip. Firmly hold both black sleeves as you undo the larks head.

The bridles should come apart easily and seperate into main bridle and brake bridle. Sometimes there might be a a twist to undo, or say the brake bridle has passed through a V leg of one of the main bridles. By holding them apart you should be able to see what need to go where to resove any minor tangles.

Attachment and Flight:

I had the lines laid out straight, red on the outside, green in the middle. I put the green onto the brake lines first, as these bridles lie beneath the main bridle. The red went onto the main bridle second making sure that I hadn't accidentally wrapped the bridle round the brakes while fiddling. I will suggest to Pansh they sleeve the ends of their bridles to correspond to sleeving on the lines, so it's more obvious which is which to a new flier.

Upto the other end of the lines I laid the handles with the bottoms pointing together. Remember I laid out the red main power lines on the outside and the green in the middle. Red sleeved lines to the red leaders on the handles. Green sleeved lines to the blue leaders on the handles. Handle ends are together and easy to stake out through the loops.

The kite is now setup. I made no other changes to line or handle leader length. A sharp tug on the handles and the 3.5m Ace rocketed to the zenith as I scudded a meter or two. Response to the brakes was good. I don't think I'll need to change them. Which was a huge surprise!

I was also able to hold both handles in one hand and have the kite stay at the zenith above me. This is something that usually takes me a bit of fiddling to achive with many kites. Out of the bag this is nothing less than amazing! Perhaps I've just been really lucky, I hope not, and pray this is something that will be fairly standard.

Conclusion and Observations:

The bridle material is now much stiffer and of a finer weave which makes it smoother than Pansh's earlier bridle lines. To my mind this is a great improvement as tangles shouldn't lock themselves together as happened in the past.

The flying lines are again another leap forward. Smoother and comparable with other budget lines you can buy from a reputable shop. As a test I looped the kite 3 times and I still had control because the lines slipped passed each other. This was hard after one rotation and near impossible after two rotations with the original lines I had supplied from Pansh with my Blazes. The sawing sound you get with crossed lines has also gone. I'm not planning on changing them unless I get some uneven stretching, but on first inspection I'm happy to give them a chance to stay.

The handles are still too narrow in diameter for my hands, but they seem as solid as other budget brands. The changes to reduce pull through and chaffing look good to me. Time will tell when I get the kite out in much stronger winds. I do prefer a firm grip though, because I get a better feel for what the kite is doing. Like the lines they will stay on the 3.5m or now, because when hooked into a harness through a strop line the diameter isn't an issue for comfort or steering.

Hopefully some folk will be saved a bit of frustration with their new kite. Especially the lines.

By : Custheyder