Date: 3 May 93 19:42:23 GMT From: daveb@pogo.wv.tek.com (Dave Butler) Message-Id: <14763@pogo.wv.tek.com> Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Wilsonville, OR. Subject: "No Wind" Flying Last year I posted an article on how to fly in no wind, and since I recently saw someone ask about flying in low or no wind, I figured I'd update it and repost. Now remember, I ain't no expert, but I do fly in no winds, and enjoy doing it. I would guess that since I can do it, at least 90% of the people on rec.kites could also do it if they had a capable kite. This article will only deal with flying deltas in no wind, although some of this may be applicable to flexi's (and none of it will be applicable to Rev's). The first thing you will need is a proper kite. It will have to be rated down to at least 3 mph (2 mph is better). An ultra light turbojet, Skyburner (regular or ultra light), fire-dart rigged ultra light, or almost any of the more expensive stunters (Phantom, Scorpion, Big Brother, etc) will do. For no wind flying, set the bridle a little heavy (remember that even a 1/8" can make a distinct difference). The reason you want to set it heavy instead of light, is that you want it to grab more air. Set the bridle light in a no wind situation and the kite will make a pathetic little hop, come straight towards you and belly flop. The second thing to do is to take out the front spar; it will make the kite a tad lighter in the nose. If you have something rated down to 2 mph (or maybe even 3 mph), leave the front front spar in to see how it responds; if its too nose heavy, then take the spar out. Do not fly your kite in 3+ mph winds without your front spar in place, as that will warp the entire flight configuration of the kite. It's not likely to damage the kite (unless you get a 5+ mph gust), but it will make the kite fly poorly. Now get some 50 lb line (Get a 100' length and cut it into two 50' lengths); you will also need a sleeving tool. With a Phantom shadow or a Skyburner ultra-light, you may eventually be able to fly with longer 80 lb lines, but start with the shorter lighter lines as it will make it easier to learn. Also make yourself some ultra-light handles (simple webbing loops with a D-ring or cabinet door knobs with a loop). At this point you're ready to go out and try it. Get in position. Step back and give a long, quick jerk at the same time. Continue backing up and repeating the jerks to gain altitude. Always have tension on the lines; with many kites, if you lose tension you're dead meat in the air, and you won't be able to regain control. Try a "360" first. A "360" is when you fly the kite in a horizontal circle around yourself. Yes it can be done, and I believe that Dave Gomberg holds the record for the most "360's" at 100+ revolutions (it was done with a 6' flexi rigged ultra-light with 15' lines). To do a "360" to the right, turn the kite to the right, and once it is horizontal, keep more tension on the left. Run away from the kite and to the left. Remember to run forwards or sideways and don't just back up as you are going to have to run about 3+ miles an hour to keep your kite aloft. As you do this (if there is a .5 mph wind), you will notice that there are places in your "360" which will feel tighter than others. These will be the places to do your acrobatics. You will find that by adjusting you pace, you can reposition yourself all over a field, by just running a little harder towards the place you want to be. The second thing to do, is to learn to reclaim ground without running. It's not a problem to reclaim ground with a 2+ mph wind, as the kite should remain aloft all by itself, but when you are backing up to keep a kite aloft, eventually you will find you will run out of room. The way to compensate for this is to aim the kite directly away from you and, as it drops, walk forward with the wind. The secret to this one is determining proper tension. Too little tension and the kite will fall out of the sky; too much tension, and you don't reclaim any ground. The third dynamic movement is an "over the top." Bring the kite to vertical and start doing hard, quick tugs while backing up. The kite will shoot up with each tug. Eventually the kite will pass directly over your head. At that point, while keeping tension, change directions and walk forward. Remember the kite will be aimed at the ground, and you will have to react accordingly. While this is the most dramatic of the three moves, it is also the hardest to perfect. When you get decent at "no wind" flying, you'll start on ground work and flat stall spins (which are distinct from the stall spins where you stall the kite vertically in mid-air). I'm ok at ground work, but only passable at flat stall spins. By the way, if your kite doesn't have whiskers, then give it up; there is no way you will do any ground work. Ground work is necessary for launch among other things. The most most basic ground work movement is the belly launch. To do it place the kite face down and pointed away from you (if there is any wind (eg: .25 mph), then be sure to use it. Pull one wingtip slightly back, and thus pre bias the kite to turn in that direction. Tug sharply with both lines, but a little more one the side you have biased back. The kite will grab air, shoot up backwards an then turn towards the line you have pulled more. Once it is aimed parallel to the ground, spin it up and pull at the same time to gain altitude, or just start into a "360". This is a great way to get your kite airborne, as it is reasonably easy to gently belly land a kite in no wind. Try it a few times and you will get the idea. As to flat stall spins, the idea is to jerk the kite off vertical (keeping minimal tension on one line), to get the kite to spin face down. You're going to lose altitude, so be sure to start with a lot of it. One of the people around here that does the maneuver best is Mike Sterling (creator of the cyborg kite). He seems to over-jerk on one side of kite (ie: pull it out of the wind) and the kite tends to spiral down almost as if it were out of control. It is not quite out of control though (else it would just nose down and drop). Then Mike gives a recovery jerk, and its back in position and flying skywards. Light (2 to 5 mph) wind is also the only place you will be able to perfect some of the more "odd" moves. It really is a kick to be able to slip your delta kite horizontally sideways (helicopter). To do a helicopter, put your kite at the edge of the wind in an upright position. The kite has to be at just about neutral buoyancy (correct terminology?). It the kite still wants to climb, then either take it farther out of the window, or start walking forward to reduce wind. Now pull the downwind line of the kite slightly and the kite will start sliding into the window. At that point you will be doing a balancing act. Pull too hard with the down wind side and the kite will actually turn downwind, rather than sliding downwind. Your upwind hand will also be busy in this balancing act. Keeping sufficient tension on the upwind line will keep the kite from turning down wind, but too much tension will cause the helicoptering kite to simply shoot forward, ie: rise in the air Actually different kites will will demand different tensions. For instance the Prism Radian is essentially dragged with the downwind line and the upwind line is almost slack, while the Scorpion takes a bit of tensions from both hands). Another thing to note is that the wind's effects will get stronger as you get more toward the center of the window, and thus the kite will be more likely to simply climb straight up. To compensate for this, one should walk forward to reduce wind. There are two ways of walking forward. The easiest way is to walk forward and also in the same direction as the kite (eg: if the kite is sliding left, then walk forward and left). This allows you to keep the retain the same angle of attack into the wind; of course the kite will never get directly in front of you. A little more advanced method is to walk forward and keep adjusting to tension of the lines as the kite gets more towards center. It is easiest to start by perfecting the first method of walking forward and progress to the second. Another nice move is to drop the kite vertically at the edge of the wind (kite facing parallel to the ground and into the wind), touch one wingtip to the ground and then take off again. If the wind is just right (ie: very light), then the edge of the wind will be quite close to center, and it makes a for a very interesting move (a "kite's shouldn't be able to do that" kind of move). I don't know if I can really describe how it feels to fly a kite in no wind, but when I had my first really successful time at it, I described it as feeling like a "fucking magician!" It felt great to fly when I knew that I shouldn't be able to fly (it's also impressive to onlookers). By the way, yes you will get an aerobic workout, but that's just an added benefit. Later, Dave Butler Why does this magnificent applied science, which saves work and makes life easier, bring us so little happiness? The simple answer runs: Because we have not yet learned to make sensible use of it. Albert Einstein PS. If you're flying in a public park, remember that people aren't used to the concept of flying a kite in ALL directions or flying a kite without wind. You will likely attract a crowd, and you'll have to worry a bit more about safety. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Tue, 4 May 1993 00:00:10 GMT From: tanaka_be@swam1.enet.dec.com Message-Id: <9305032355.AA24439@enet-gw.pa.dec.com> Organization: Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard University Subject: No wind flying RE: No wind flying. Thanks for the tips, Dave. I have always had a problem trying to complete the over the top move you described. My kite just dies at the top. Is there any change in the level of hand position or something I might try? Do you walk or run forward? Or to the side? Thanks for any tips you can help me with. Bert Tanaka = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: 6 May 93 17:23:38 GMT From: daveb@pogo.wv.tek.com (Dave Butler) Message-Id: <14771@pogo.wv.tek.com> Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Wilsonville, OR. Subject: Re: "No Wind" Flying Bert Tanaka asks about stalling on the "over the top" move: > I have always had a problem trying to complete > the over the top move you described. My kite just dies at the top. > Is there any change in the level of hand position or something I might > try? Do you walk or run forward? Or to the side? Thanks for any tips > you can help me with. There are three things I have found which help this problem (no doubt there are more variables but these are the only ones I've fooled with): 1. Timing and Tension 2. Wind 3. Bridle Tuning Interestingly the symptoms are pretty much the same for a failure in any one of these three. In each case the kite almost reaches to peak of the arc, and then stalls, or shears off to the right or left. First let's talk about timing and tension. You always want tension on your kite as it goes over you. If you don't then the kite will lose all its forward momentum. Now usually when you want tension, you do a combination of backing up, and pulling with your arms. The problem though, is that when the kite is directly over you, there's no place to back up, so all you have is your arms. Even worse, the apex of the arc is where you have the least momentum anyway. Thus, When you get your kite to the top of the arc, you want to have timed yourself so that you have just completed a long tug, and your arms are fully extended again as the kite slides to the apex. This keep the kite under tension at that critical apex point. It allows you to walk swiftly forward and pull down at the same time. This makes the arc that the kite has to preform, shorter at those critical moments when it is directly above your head, and so allows you to pull nose the kite down much more quickly. If you have timed it so that the kite reaches overhead when your arms are in a down position, you will almost guarantee that some slack will occur in the lines as you walk forward. Remember, the only thing which is going to get your kite to nose down properly is that tension, and without proper tension, as I said before, the kite will just shear off to the right or left. It may if you're lucky, even go over the top, but it won't be directly over. If I'm still having trouble getting the kite over, then the second thing I have found to help "over the tops," is positioning the kite upwind before I start the maneuver (Note: I'm talking a .25 to .5 mph wind). Remember that if you do an "over the top" with the kite downwind (ie: the wind coming from behind you), you will climb to vertical easily enough, but then the wind will be pushing back on the kite at the critical apex point, where you have the least forward momentum or ability to get forward movement. The result again is that the wind makes to kite shear off to the right or left. Thus I start by doing a 360 to get into position, as this gives me some radial velocity and momentum, and I can use this to counteract the wind at the beginning of the move. I use my radial velocity to start the climb and then back up quickly while tugging the kite high in the air (I am effectively backing up and tugging the kite faster than the wind is blowing). Then just as the kite is getting to the critical point at the very top of the arc, and I am about to switch directions, the wind catches the kite in the ass, and pushes it over the top. For that matter I find that radial velocity from a 360, also helps when I start an "over the top" with my back to the wind. Third, and the least likely for me to adjust, is bridling. Remember that I set my kite a little heavy so that I can catch more air, and thus get it into the air. This does though cause some problems as the apex is the one area where it would be better to set the kite light, so as to get it to turn the corner at the top faster, and head down the other side. Thus if you set the kite too heavy, you will never get over the top, but if you set too light, you won't get the kite in the air (unless you're an Olympic runner). This means that you have to find the sweet spot on the bridle for no wind, which will allow you to both get into the air, and over the top. Now the good news is that some kites like Phantoms, Big Brothers and Stingers have a fairly broad bridle setting area, which allows you to go over the top. The bad news is that there are some kites which just can't do the maneuver, because by the time you set them back far enough to get them in the air decently, the bridle is set too far back to get over the top. Now I again want to repeat that I am no expert. I know people that are much better than I, and they could no doubt give some better answers. These are just things I figured out for myself, and have written up here since you asked. Good luck and tight lines. Later, Dave Butler Science, freedom, beauty, adventure: What more could you ask of life? Aviation combined all the elements I loved... I began to feel that I lived on a higher plane than the skeptics of the ground; one that was richer because of its very association with the elements of danger they dreaded, because it was freer of the earth to which they were bound. In flying I tasted the wine of the gods of which they could know nothing... Charles A. Lindbergh Jr.