Unhooked bar/linessetup for my ckite

[frankm1960]

I just saw this instruction video talking about how the bar should be setup for unhooked riding using a c-kite I believe.

In short it said the front and back lines should be set up so that when you pull the trim strap all the way in and unhook the lines should have equal tension.

Well today I flew my kite on the beach, pulled the trim all the way in and unhooked but I couldn't tell if the lines had equal tension or not. Kite stayed in the air ok so does that mean I have them setup ok? Or is this just a total feel thing and personal preference?

Just curious... does equal tension mean same thing as equal length by any chance?
I do know that my lines are NOT of equal length with the trim strap all the way in.

I tried searching this forum for answers but was not very successful.

I'd really like to get my head around this unhooked setup. Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

[KE]

Not exactly what I do....

I check my trim on the beach. this I do by unhooking and checking that my kite does not stall.
I usually set my line up so that I pull about 5 cm on the trim line.

[Toby]

no matter if C or bow...just put it up, and feel if you trimmed to to max power at the point of the depower way, where you want to have it.

Many people...many trims...e.g. my trim is, that when I sheet the bar fully in, I have max power. Just a bit more, and it would back stall. If I want to go unhooked, I need to pull the depower strap a bit in, to make it more stable against back stalling.

[pdkite]

good question. equal line length is the same as "equal tension" which should be at the kites full power.

for unhooking the best thing is to have your kite trimmed for full power.

trimming your c-kite to that is very simple:

with the bar pulled all the way down to the chicken loop, put the kite at 12. start with your depower strap let out completely. start pulling the strap in ("depower" or shortening front lines) until either your kite just is on the verrrrrrggggeee of backstalling or the wingtips start to point in at the back. now your kite is fully powered.

repeat this step unhooked with your kite at 12. shouldn't have to make any serious adjustments. maybe just a hair or so.

spend the 2 minutes after you launch to trim your kite. you really shouldn't have to adjust your trim while riding, unless the conditions change drastically. what the guys above me are saying, is if you feel overpowered, (you should switch to the right size kite or) you can pull in your depower strap. now this works to a degree on c-kites, but i'd say just stick it out and rig down a size or edge harder and harden the f*** up.


tips - for unhooked stuff you need to be powered. keep your board speed up (equals more pop) and just huck and go for it. you'll be crashing a lot, so just keep trying bud!

PS - bow kites suck