We make sure you know how to fly your new purchase before you leave the store. If you are a first-time flier, we give you a ground school right in the store. If you are ordering via phone, fax or e-mail, we will ship detailed instructions with your order. And we are always available to answer your questions.

How to Enjoy your Dual Line Stunt Kite

Copyright © by Jim Mayfield

Launching | Landing | Lines | Wind | Adjustments | Repair | Rewinding | Caution  - Main Page

If you are new to stunt kite flying please read and understand this material as well as the manufacturers instructions. This page includes things you'll discover on your own after many hours of flying. But if you take the time to read and understand it before and during those hours of flying you will definitely have more fun, and become a proficient flyer much faster.

Diagram 1 - Delta Wing Parts
(Diamond parts are Center spine, top spreader, bridle & tail)

Stand-offs are small spars that hold the wing in an efficient airfoil.

Assemble your kite at home, out of the wind, at least once so you know how to do it before you get out on a windy field. Assembling & disassembling your kite becomes easier with time & use. Proper assembly is all common sense.

If you are a Delta Wing owner, it is a good idea to also have a Diamond Stunt kite. Your family and friends will want to fly and you may not want to hand them your new or favorite Delta Wing. Diamonds are practically indestructible.

Most of this material can be applied to Quad-line kites, but the basic flight controls are written for dual line kites.

Most diamond shaped kites include and need a tail for stability. The long tail creates great visuals, but if you find that you don't want to deal with all of it, simply cut it down to about 20 feet. Or buy an extra tail and shorten it.

It is always easiest to fly (& especially learn to fly) when the wind is blowing between 8 to 12 mph, unless your kite is designed to fly in winds as low as 4 to 5 mph. Wind velocity and a kites wind range are discussed later.

CHOOSING YOUR FIELD & SETTING UP

When choosing your kite flying field, be aware that buildings, tall stands of trees or hilly terrain can create wind blocks, turbulence, dead air pockets and even strong down currents. Always fly in open unobstructed areas. And never fly in a thunderstorm or near power lines.

When you locate your field, pull up some grass and toss it into the air to determine the wind direction. All kites are flown with the wind blowing directly against your back. (Refer to diagram 2).

Look how the grass fell when you threw it into the air. Look at diagram 2 and assess your field. Set up your launch and flying area accordingly.

• If is very important to determine left & right lines. Develop a system, like Red Right, then mark a handle and the kite end of that line with red. Why? Imagine how confusing driving a car would be if you turned the wheel left to go right.
• Assemble your kite downwind. Before attaching your fly lines, pull on the Bridle Clip to see if the strings leading to the kite are free and not twisted around each other. Determine your launching technique, then walk back upwind while laying out your lines (100 and 150 ft. of line).
• Leave plenty of field behind you because all learning flyers back up as they fly.

Diagram 2 - The Wind Window

The Launch and the easiest learning is done in the "Power Zone". The Landing is done at the "Edges". A kite flies the fastest and pulls the hardest in the power zone. At either edge the kite slows down and will stall & fall. Once flying, explore the window and stay inside it. The lighter the wind, the smaller the window.

LAUNCHING
(use100 to 150 ft. of line)

• No twists (or wraps) in your line & equal line lengths are critical!

• Have a friend toss the kite up into the wind. Take a step back and you're off.

When self launching, the proper technique is. Hold your arms up & out at shoulder level or slightly higher. As you take a big step back, pull the handles down towards your knees and you're off!

• Lean the kite against a bike or a self launcher (fiberglass tripod). If your kite has stand-offs and the wind is light, lay the kite on its back. Walk back to your handles, red = right, gently pull handles to take the slack out of the line. Use self launching technique.
• Or - Stake your handles down - lean the kite back on taut lines. Walk back to your handles and use the self launching technique.

• When using this "staked down handle" method with a Diamond kite, put the kite on either top leading edge. Walk back and launch by pulling the line on the Up-side of the kite. Diagram 3.

Diagram 3 - Power Zone launch or landing of a Diamond

The Power Zone landing and launch of a Diamond kite is great fun.

Begin by flying fairly high and pull gently with your left hand to fly left and your right hand to fly right. Refer to Diagram 4. Up to a dozen spins in one direction usually has no effect on the flight and controllability of the kite. Count your loops so you can come back to untwisted lines. Most stunt kites need fairly strong winds in which to fly. If you are having no luck with your kite then you probably just need more wind, a kite made for lighter winds, or an adjustment (refer to Wind & Bridle Adjustments).

Equal line lengths are CRITICAL!

If your lines become unequal - take the time to even them up.

Diagram 4 - Basic Controls
(for dual line kites not quad-line)

These are the basics for all maneuvers. Get comfortable with
back & forth L & R turns. Hold a turn to do a loop and count
your loops to be able to come back to unwrapped lines.

Basic Maneuvers
Master these and move on to advanced tournament maneuvers,
Figure 8's, Axles, Wingtip stands & more.

Left Loop Add a right loop and you have a figure 8.	Ground pass Can you hold it from one edge to the other?	Wingtip turn Tighter than a loop. Pull with one hand & push with the other. Tighter still is the Pivot turn.
	Dive How low can you go? Be careful!

Every beginner makes 3 mistakes:

1. Too much arm movement. NEVER cross your hands! Keep your elbows in and pull gently to control the kite. Use gentle back and forth motion, not side to side. Smooth controlled movements with your hands will make you a better flyer.

2. Flying too far to the edge of the wind window and not being able to bring it back into the wind, so it stalls & falls. It's fun to fly at the edge of the wind but you need to know how to bring it back, unless your landing. Step backwards to increase air speed and pull with whichever hand you need to, to get it back
   into the wind. Left edge of the wind pull with your right hand. Right edge, pull with left hand.

3. Not pulling out of a high speed dive. When you begin your dive you must decide which hand to pull with to pull out of the dive. Confusion results in a spectacular (and damaging) crash.

• After a crash make sure that all the spars are still inside the plastic fittings and that they are fully in place.

If a strong wind comes up and you feel the need to take a time-out, either fly to the edge of the wind and land it, or hold your hands together and let the kite fly straight up, reducing the pull and speed. This gives you a chance to regain your composure.

LANDING YOUR KITE

Loop back to untwisted lines. Fly low to either "edge" of the wind until the kite stalls, take a step forward and it will land gently. For a perfect landing try to set it down so the kite is standing up facing you. You'll feel like a pro! (See tips on rewinding your line)

GOT ENOUGH WIND?

• If you're having no luck launching your kite, and you try it again and again. Face it! - you're trying to fly in wind that is not strong enough. You need a boomerang to pass the time, or an Ultralight kite designed for very light winds.

• There are some things you can do to improve your kites low wind performance. The term "low wind" means the low limits of a particular kites wind range. For some that's 3 mph & others it's 8. Know your kites wind range! 8 mph is when flags are being blown nearly straight out & trees in the distance are being visibly blown. Good kite flyers learn to read the wind.

LOW WIND ADJUSTMENTS

Flying any kite in the lowest limits of its wind range requires skill & finesse. Here are the top adjustment techniques.

1. Shorten your line and fly with around 100 feet or less.
2. Use 80# high performance line, or lighter.
3. Adjust the bridle string. Refer to diagram 5.

Diamond shaped kites generally have no adjustment and you are stuck with their wind range requirements, but you can still try #1 and #2 above.

DELTA WING BRIDLE ADJUSTMENT

Pay attention to the bridle clip position. Just as important as equal length flying lines, both clips must be evenly positioned on the bridle. Very uneven clip positions will result in an uncontrollable flight. The manufacturers factory position is almost always marked on the string. Slight adjustments can dramatically change the performance. To ensure even clip position, pull the clips straight down towards the bottom spreader and see if both clips are equal distances from that spar. Adjust accordingly. Once you've done that, pick the kite up by the clips. The center spine should hang roughly parallel with the ground. Some manufacturers have stopped using metal clips on the bridle. They have replaced it with a short piece of line for attaching your fly line to the bridle. If you kite has no metal clip, the adjustment concept is the same. For attaching fly line to the bridle, use the method shown in Diagram 6, or just attach your snap swivel to the short line. This method saves weight and is ideal for very light wind kites.

FLIGHT TUNING

• Moving bridle clip towards nose: > speeds the kite up, > improves light wind performance, > decreases the pull,> decreases the turn response (too far towards the nose and the kite will be sluggish and can stall or tumble after rapid acceleration or in turns).

• Moving bridle clip away from nose: > slows the kite down, > increases the pull, > increases the turn response (too much will cause the kite not to accelerate. If your kite won't gain altitude move clips toward nose).

Don't be afraid to experiment with different settings. Your personal flying style can dictate your bridle setting. It's an easy adjustment!

Diagram 5 - Bridle clip adjustment

Clip can easily be moved up and down this string to create different
flight characteristics. 1/8" to 1/4" is all it takes.

FLYING LINES
LINE LENGTH

All flyers used to use 150 ft. of line, but today most flyers use a maximum of 125 ft. Shorter line makes for a more responsive kite and much better in light winds. It is not uncommon to use 75 ft. or less for performing advanced tricks. Shorter line also lets you fly in tighter spaces. But if you have lots of wind and want a dramatic flying window covering a huge area, use 150 ft. line.

Strong gusting winds can break your lines and damage kites - so be careful. Do NOT fly a large ultralight kite in strong gusty winds. A 25 mph gust will snap your expensive kite into pieces.

LINE DESCRIPTION

• Dacron flying line is used on all Diamond kites and many small beginner Delta wings. It is reliable inexpensive line that stretches 15% which slows the kite down and allows you to develop timing and flying skills. Don't use Dacron on 6' wingspan or larger kites. It makes them sluggish and hard to control. You can dramatically upgrade your kites performance by using high performance line. Your choices range from inexpensive Recreational High Performance line & Sleeveless Spectra to Kevlar & Regular Spectra. New types of line are being developed constantly. Check with our staff for our complete selection and recommendations.
• Sleeveless Spectra stretches only 4 to 5%. It is inexpensive, easy to use and an excellent choice for light winds and 80# pulling kites.
• Standard Spectra & Kevlar are the strongest lines, with only 4% stretch. They are slippery & faster in the turns than any other line, which allows you better control in the lowest winds and after numerous turns or wraps. When flying with friends Spectra should only be crossed with Spectra because of the low melting point. Both Spectra & Kevlar require sleeving.
• A Sleeve is a 12" to 18" piece of braided Dacron line that the Kevlar or Spectra runs through. The knots are tied onto that section. Sleeving kits & bulk line are available if you want to measure, cut, sleeve and tie the line yourself. It is a good thing to know how to do. But even many purists buy pre-measured, pre-sleeved line.

  The reason for sleeving is that Spectra or Kevlar cannot be tied directly onto itself. The tightly crimped pressure can break the fibers and create a weak spot. A sleeve cushions the knot.

Diagram 6 - Knots
Knots for attaching flying lines to snap swivels

Simplest knot Loop 3 to 5 inches over & tie a simple overhand knot. Loop it through the end of the swivel.
	Use this knot if you are using no metal clips.

To be the quintessential kite flyer you will need:

• A stake, to stake down your handles so your kite won't blow away when you take a break, or when you are setting up your launch. Available at our store.
• A wind velocity gauge available at our store
• Sleeving Kit & Sleeving material available at our store
• Rip Stop tape or spare rip stop material available at our store.
• A kite bag for carrying kites and supplies, available at our store.
• A few rubber bands to keep your fly line neatly wrapped on your winder when it is stored in your bag.
• A lighter for cutting line.
• Snap swivels available from our store or any fishing supply store for easy connection of the flying lines to the bridle. Use 150# strength or more, so they are large enough to handle easily.
• Super glue. You will notice that certain parts of some kites are not glued as well as they could be. With super glue you can actually improve certain aspects of a kite.

• A Hack Saw with a 24 tooth blade cuts tubular fiberglass and carbon graphite spars best. Cutting tubular material requires cutting slowly with very light pressure. Slowly rotate the spar while you cut. Tubular spars have a tendency to splinter just as you are finishing the cut, so practice it and do it carefully. Lightly sand the ends with fine sandpaper. Many kite builders put super glue on the freshly cut ends.

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION...

Sometimes a stand-off comes out and flies onto the field. They are almost impossible to find in the grass. So paint them a bright color. Get a can of white paint and spray a very light coat of white on part of the stand-off, then get a can of fluorescent paint and spray another very light coat over the white. The fluorescent over the white makes it so bright that you will never lose it.

Those things that look like arrow knocks at the end of the leading edges that hold the sail tight are - arrow knocks. Have one or two of the size you need in case you break or loose one.

REPAIR

Keep the name, address and phone number of the manufacturer of your kite, in case you break or lose a part that we don't stock. The most often broken part is the Center Spine. It is an inexpensive part and is not a bad idea to purchase an extra when you get your kite. You may never need it but when you do, you'll be glad you have it. If you've lost or broken a solid fiberglass spar, use a wooden dowel to replace it while you're waiting for the replacement part. If your broken spar is tubular fiberglass or graphite, you can splice the spar with either wooden dowels from any hardware store, a solid fiberglass spar or a smaller diameter tubular spar. We may have just the size you're looking for in our spare parts. A splice should not be shorter than 8" - 10". It is not meant to be permanent, but keeps you flying until the replacement part comes.

Diagram 7 - Splicing Tubular spars

Make sure your finished length is the original length.

Insert the splice, super glue that in & let it dry. Apply glue to the other end of the splice and quickly slide the other broken half onto the splice and let it dry. Sand it off and fly.

When you crash your kite hard, the center spine can come through the nose piece. The best repair for that is to get a piece of nylon webbing (1 to 1 1/2" wide x 3 to 4" long) and simply fold it over the nose piece and sew it on. The stitching should run along either edge of the webbing parallel to the center spine. This is a solid permanent
repair. Find a seamstress for your kite repair sewing - see diagram 8.

Diagram 8 - Nose repair

TRAINS

    Attaching two or more kites together.

This requires train lines available at our store. Trains pull much harder than single kites. It is a magnificent display and a traffic stopper. If you enjoy flying kites -you owe it to yourself to try this.

REWINDING YOUR LINE
Do it right!
Or you'll get a headache next time you lay out your lines.

Once you've landed, never carry your handles and walk towards your kite. Drop your handles where you are.
Different types of handle systems require different methods of rewinding. If you have questions, please ask us.

• Straps and a figure 8 winder. You must use a figure 8 motion.
• Sky Claws - Attach the handles to the winder. Cradle one end in the crook of your elbow, with that hand hold the line out in front. With the other hand roll the winder as you walk towards your kite. Sky Claws are very fast and very neat.
• Plastic handles - Rewind one handle at a time.

Rubber bands come in handy to keep lines neatly in place after rewinding your lines on any system.

CAUTION

The speed of these kites and the tension of the strings can be very dangerous. If you see someone walking into your field of flight, warn them. You are responsible. Do not dive the kite at people. & careful! Do not fly near electrical wires or trees. Do not fly in the rain or thunder storm.

Launching | Landing | Lines | Wind | Adjustments | Repair | Rewinding | Caution - Main Page