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Ss Turbodiesel
Posted Fri Mar 10, 2006 10:06 am Post subject
Having just got back from a 2 week holiday in Barbados I thought I might share my views on the 10m TD that I took with me as it may be some help to those thinking of getting a bow style kite.Firstly, a quick word to the cynics. I have flown fuels for the past couple of years so a TD was likely to be the obvious choice. Therefore you may say that I have a leaning towards SS in any event. Secondly, I tried to disabuse myself of the notion that since I bought the kite it must be good. I earn enough to go and buy another bow if the TD turned out to be a shocker… Finally I am an intermediate rider. I can stay up wind, do jumps, grabs and rolls but no kite loops or handle pass insanity.
The conditions in Barbados were near on perfect. Consisent 20 knots with waves although the wind could at some stages be a little gusty.
On my first session I took out my 13m 2005 5th line fuel. The conditions were challenging as the wind was at first fairly gusty. The fuel’s range is not massive although the 5th line helped.
The next day I decided to give the TD a try. Out of the bag it is, so I was told by a local pro, pretty similar to the CB. I was told to pump the kite up as hard as I could as this would assist in the fight against inversions. The one pump is a very useful feature and the kite seems to be built solidly. The pig tails and bridal are not difficult to rig.
Turning to the bar… It is very simple with really very few features. The most important aspect is a stopper ball which sits above the bar. For those of you who don’t know the idea is that pilot slides the stopper ball up and down the line depending on how much available depower he/she wants. There is also an option to trim the kite beneath the bar with a cleat.
Anyway back to the flying. It was 12 meter weather with some fairly large waves. On the water I have to confess that I was not sold immediately. It does feel strange having so much movement, in terms of depower, on the bar. The kite flew quickly as you expect from a 10m.
What I did notice was that if you want the punch from the kite then you really have to sheet in. If you do that then the kite delivers good performance but not fuel style performance.
After a couple more sessions I really began to think that the kite was fantastic. This is mainly due to the amount of depower. If a gust hits you or your apparent wind picks up because you are on a wave then just push the bar away. That sounds like a slogan but was true. A friend who was out on the water with me said that I was able to sail on a consistent tack whereas he, on a fuel, was not since he was at the mercy of the gusts and apparent wind.
In short the kite gave me a great deal of confidence and my riding improved as a result.
In terms of wind range I used the 10m when others were out on 14m c kites. I was not expecting to be powered but couldn’t be bothered to go back to the hotel to get my bigger kites. I was surprised when I was perfectly powered.
So in summary:
(1) The kite’s depower is great and made me very confident and helped me to improve.
(2) The wind range is very good and makes a 2 kite quiver a possibility
(3) The kite is well built and the bar and stopper ball very good.
However, I don’t think that the kite will be for everyone. It took me a while to get used to it but I am very glad that I did. For now I will not be buying another C kite. I will say that I didn’t test the safety as there was no need and I haven’t flown any other bow so I cannot make comparisions. The kite did not invert and I didn’t notice any bar pressure problems. Finally please excuse the typos.
I hope this is useful,
Cheers,
James.
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7 Svar
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Fan det där kunde jag inte sagt bättre själv… är det nån som läst ovan som orkar sammanfatta i ett par ord?
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+ att det inte är på svenska
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Fantastiskt hur folk som är så aktiva på ett text-baserat medium (som ju ett web-forum är) är så otroligt rädda för att läsa en text längre än ett par rader. Ingen annan som tycker det är märkligt? 😉
/Kaj(Tech)
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Cortex wrote:Fantastiskt hur folk som är så aktiva på ett text-baserat medium (som ju ett web-forum är) är så otroligt rädda för att läsa en text längre än ett par rader. Ingen annan som tycker det är märkligt? 😉
/Kaj(Tech)
Nej, förvånad är jag inte, men jag är lite rörd dock att många fått en nyvunnen kärlek till Venom19.
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HugeO wrote:Fan det där kunde jag inte sagt bättre själv… är det nån som läst ovan som orkar sammanfatta i ett par ord?
En bra drake! -
läste på http://www.oceanrodeo.com/forum/ att en kille ville byta bort sin turbidiesel mot en ONE…
I have a 10m Turbo diesel and was going to get a 16m until I flew the One…I changed my order to 16 one and will probably sell my TD and get a smaller one Kite– any thoughts on quiver consisting of a 16m and a 9m one for a 160 lb. person
…men det finns säkert nån som hellre vill ha turbodiesel
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WAIT A SECOND. Is Hugo saying he thinks bow kites are OK??
Guess he´s a humble enough guy to change his views.
Definately a Hugo i ny förpackning.
TW
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