Ozone Zephyr V6 boosting tips

[glfmkg]

Hi All,

I haven't been jumping for long... to be exact, 14 sessions but I can now consistently boost 4 to 6 meters jumps and land them using my airrush ultra 14m,12m or 9m without major problems (I know, not the ideal kite for boosting, but that's what I got). I'm 100kg or 220lb and yesterday I had my first session using my 17m Ozone Zephyr since I started jumping. I noticed a massive difference between the ultras approach and the zephyr. At the beginning I was getting good air, however had a heck o time landing them as I was going downwind quite fast and felt not in control; then I got a few 'perfect jumps' where I went straight up, lofty ride in the air and super soft landing... the problem is that I have no idea if I did something different - clearly I did, but not sure what!

Anyways I was hoping if you fly one these kites, if you have any tips on approach, speed and kite position that can help me making higher loftier and soft landing jumps. I love this kite due to the wind range, I was in the water yesterday with 12 knots and when I got out it was blowing 18/20 knots and I have never felt overpowered. Any advise using this kite would be appreciated!

I should mention that I had 27 meters lines and I normally run my other kites on 23m, not sure if this will have an effect other than making the kite slower. Would this be something to try? 23m with this big kite?

Thanks
G.

[GetHighOrDieTrying]

my guess is it's not the kite but your edging technique and timing. every kite is different and it's normal that you need a couple of sessions to get used to the model and find the specific sweet spot.

for a good jump you need a clean as possible pop. that gives you height and control in the air. it's also what i see most beginners/intermediates struggle with.

you say you drifted a lot downwind and felt out of control. i think you struggled to hold the edge and hence couldn't pop correctly. in that case you jump rather forward/downwind and not high. you also risk swinging under the kite which makes you feel out of control. try to improve your edge and pop together with overall timing. just before the jump you have to edge hard upwind, really lean into the edge of your board, pop off the water, stomp down with your back foot, lift your front foot high and jump into the wind (not downwind).

the 2nd ingredient is the timing of pop and kite, which is highly dependent on kite size, line length, water conditions etc. time the pop when the kite is above you at 12 or ideally still slightly in front of you. sheet in when you pop off the water. once in the air try to keep the kite slightly in front of you.if timing is off the kite is either too far in front of you and pulls you forward/downwind or the kite is behind you when you pop and holds you back. your really wanna hit that sweet spot. go easy in the beginning and focus on your technique over your actual height. ask a buddy to film a couple of your jumps and analyze them after your session.

enjoy the ride!

[glfmkg]

my guess is it's not the kite but your edging technique and timing. every kite is different and it's normal that you need a couple of sessions to get used to the model and find the specific sweet spot.

for a good jump you need a clean as possible pop. that gives you height and control in the air. it's also what i see most beginners/intermediates struggle with.

you say you drifted a lot downwind and felt out of control. i think you struggled to hold the edge and hence couldn't pop correctly. in that case you jump rather forward/downwind and not high. you also risk swinging under the kite which makes you feel out of control. try to improve your edge and pop together with overall timing. just before the jump you have to edge hard upwind, really lean into the edge of your board, pop off the water, stomp down with your back foot, lift your front foot high and jump into the wind (not downwind).

the 2nd ingredient is the timing of pop and kite, which is highly dependent on kite size, line length, water conditions etc. time the pop when the kite is above you at 12 or ideally still slightly in front of you. sheet in when you pop off the water. once in the air try to keep the kite slightly in front of you.if timing is off the kite is either too far in front of you and pulls you forward/downwind or the kite is behind you when you pop and holds you back. your really wanna hit that sweet spot. go easy in the beginning and focus on your technique over your actual height. ask a buddy to film a couple of your jumps and analyze them after your session.

enjoy the ride!

great advise! thank you

[SENDIT!]

GetHighOrDieTrying gave some great pointers there. One thing I’ll add that is simple to remember and should help. The higher the kite is in the window when you leave the water, the more vertically you’ll go and less distance you’ll travel horizontally. The lower the kite is in the window when you leave the water, the more horizontally you’ll go and get less height. And the more horizontally you go, the FASTER you will travel, which usually results in a wipeout on landing. . Good luck on your journey for higher jumps and keep us posted. As long as I’ve been at this, it has never grown old!

[Havre]

Haven't got much to add. I think GetHigh has got things covered as far as you can based on an online description.

The Zephyr pulls you hard so if you load it it can be quite difficult to keep your edge. Sounds quite plausible that GetHigh is correct and that you are just losing your edge right before you launch.

I would try to jump with less power. Just to see if that stops you flying horizontally.

[Robsw6]

+1 it’s all about edging technique in the loading phase.

I had exactly the same experience as described first time I used my 17m Edge. Just needs short/sharp/hard upwind edging which will reduce the high speed downwind landings

[kitexpert]

GetHighOrDieTrying gave some great pointers there. One thing I’ll add that is simple to remember and should help. The higher the kite is in the window when you leave the water, the more vertically you’ll go and less distance you’ll travel horizontally. The lower the kite is in the window when you leave the water, the more horizontally you’ll go and get less height. And the more horizontally you go, the FASTER you will travel, which usually results in a wipeout on landing. . Good luck on your journey for higher jumps and keep us posted. As long as I’ve been at this, it has never grown old!

If kite is above you when you leave the water it is not possible to hold the edge. Quite opposite you must edge hard against kite when it is quite deep in the window, then you can push against it because there is that horizontal component still available. After take off kite has to have room to climb higher in the WW to the zenit, that is what gives you the height.

Usually people can't estimate how high zenit (12 o'clock) is, it is much higher than you think. Also feel of vertical lift is just a feel, all big jumps travel a lot down wind. I can do small transition jumps on ice that don't cross my track but not always, conditions have to be very good.

In practice jumping well is very much about the ability to hold the edge and to execute correct timing. The faster you can make your kite to fly the higher you will jump. Bad jumps are low and long and you can swing under your kite. Because of weak edging kite is not able to climb up high and it can even stop and backstall, then you drop down and sink etc.

14 sessions is nothing, 14 years is more like it. I suggest to practice to jump on both sides, it divides the strain to your body and makes jumping more diverse

[glfmkg]

Thank you all