Peter Lynn Bomba 13M

Peter Lynn Bomba 13m

So one minute I'm quite happy tootling up and down the beach with my small but adequate quiver of fixed bridle kites, the next minute one of our happy band of kiters arrives with a shiny new bag wrapped around a 15m Phantom. Extolling the virtues of twin skins, he impresses us all with the ease of handling and the auto-zenith. So it was perhaps inevitable that more arcs would soon be cluttering up our beach.

First impressions:

One Ebay bargain later and I was the owner of a 13m Bomba, being the cautious sort I didn't want to be with something high AR like a Phantom. Unpacking it in the garden the only impression was the size of the beast, it seems to go on for miles. ASAP it was off to the beach for a maiden flight, nephew in tow to provide help, ballast or whatever.

First Flight.

Instruction DVD thoroughly memorised, we inflated the kite, attached the lines, attached safety to harness and I tentatively lifted the downwind tip, the wind caught it, forming the arc shape and the kite lifted along the edge of the window to the zenith. I hooked into my harness, pumped the centre lines a bit to fully inflate the canopy, then unsheeted the depower loop about half way, the wind was probably about 12 mph but I wasn't taking any chances. The next hour or two were spent flying the kite through the window, getting some impressive scuds and the occasional small jump. Such a relaxing way of flying after being used to fixed bridles. Want a drink? No problem let the kite auto-zenith and chug away. Brilliant.

Landing was equally straightforward, sheet the kite in, lower it at the edge of the window, unhook from harness, let go of bar and seconds later the kite is laid flat on the beach.

In Use.

Since that first flight, I reckon the Bomba has been used for 95% of my kiting, staying in the bag only when the wind is truly ballistic or conversely when it's sub-10 mph. On the landboard there is a world of difference between the Bomba and fixed bridles, it's so easy to lock the Bomba into position and cruise. Pull the bar in for a bit of boost or, if the wind gets too strong, sheet in the depower strap and carry on. Upwind performance is phenomenal, given the right conditions you can almost travel into the wind. I'm not exactly a trick guru but getting some air at the end of runs is so easy, simply redirect the kite to just past the zenith in the opposite to the direction you are travelling, pull down the bar and you've left the beach behind. However briefly. Keep the bar pulled down for a soft landing and be ready to start rolling again when the wheels touch the ground.

It's quite possible to fly the Bomba in what would otherwise be scary winds, my current record is 34 knots. I did endure one unintentional lofting on a day of nasty, gusty wind, the type which goes from zero to mental in seconds. Fully depowered, walking backwards up the beach, the next thing I'm looking down at the flotsam and jetsam becoming smaller. Generally however, the kites are gentle giants, with an exemplary safety leash system which will drop the kite from the zenith in strong winds quite easily, certainly without the kite-killer, death-spin sometimes associated with fixed bridle emergency landings.

Conclusion

Being widely thought of as a beginner's depower does the Bomba a disservice, it's certainly stable and easy to fly, given a reasonable amount of wind it's very grunty with a great deal of traction. Turning is slower than the Phantom but this only seems to be an issue in low wind, most of the time it can easily keep up with its slimmer stable mates.

By : terra