U-Turn Helium 2.2M

U-turn 2.2m Helium - Low-aspect kite.

I bought the Helium one week after I had bought a 4m Oxigen, as I didn’t want too much power that could do more damage to my collarbone, after breaking it when flying the 4m Oxigen kite.

First impressions

The kite came in a drawstring sack as ‘kite only’. U-turn supplies a RTF kit for £70. The kite comes fitted with power rings that join the power and brake bridles near the line connection points. Where the brakes actually hook onto the trailing edge end of the wingtips. The kite is reinforced at all the stress points and has internal webs and straps across the rib cross-vents and the across the innermost bridle points too. The bridle are all sewn on, It has Velcro dirt outs for removing sand/ grass from the wing tips. It also has a Velcro strip to hold the harness in place when you pack the kite away. I was impressed with the quality of the contraction and material on this kite. Stitching was straight and of a high quality, same as the higher end kites made by U- turn.

First Flight – how do they fly?

On the maiden flight, the Helium rocketed upwards with little effort in winds of between 5 –8 mph. no over flying, no pulling on the lines hard. Well impressed. It sat at the zenith very nicely. Turning speed was very good, fast, even given the low wind. Power was there, through the turns, and when landing in reverse, no problem at all, even in the last few feet to the ground. It was less aggressive on initial takeoff and can be held back easier on the brakes.

On its second flight at a beach, wind between 5- 16mph. It flow really well again, well controlled. Again flow brilliantly. When reverse landing again no problems. I played around with hovering it just above the ground in order to have my photo taken flying it. It was very easy to hover and control at all times.

Conclusion

I think the Helium is a really good kite to learn how to fly, the Power was smooth on the beach as well as inland, I was just static flying with the kite, on both occasions. But I do think that it could pull a buggy / board easily in higher winds. And I would say that this kite is an all rounder both inland and beach. I would recommend this kite to a beginner flyer. The price is really good, and you pay the same amount no matter where you buy it from.

Author : dreamcaster2005