I have been practicing my heli loops recently but consistently have a problem where I pull the loop, but it does not provide much/any lift. When I land a jump without a heli loop, I get much softer landings (by the normal method of redirecting kite across 12 as I land).
Any ideas what I might be doing wrong? I think I am doing what all the tutorials say, basically send a (forward hand) loop as you are coming in to land and ride downwind. Usually when I jump I keep the kite on the opposite side of the window slightly so I can loop it through 12 while landing. The loops generally pull me slightly downwind and in the other direction, so I end up riding away the opposite direction that I started.
I am wondering if it might be my kite stalling, or bad technique? I have definitely felt some stall/loss of power when pulling loops before. I was also not jumping that high, maybe 5-8m, but I was jumping high enough that the kite ended up behind me during the descent.
Re: heli loop not providing lift
Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2020 8:14 pm
by SWO_kite
Loop position and timing will dictate the amount of lift and vector.
For me at least, I only really use a heli-loop for certain situations. Ideally they are great for fast falls from big jumps. But I've done big jumps without needing to perform a heli-loop. I also find them useful for big air transitions.
Just keep practicing, it's all muscle memory stuff. You'll start to notice when they're useful and when they're not needed.