Pansh Aurora II Complete Mod Package

[lightandfrost]

Light and frost (L&F) had two(2) Pansh Aurora II 8 meter kites that did not fly directly upon factory receipt. Several mods were installed but nothing ever really worked and these kites were stored on the shelf. Later owners of two(2) Aurora II 12 meter kites having the same problem approached L&F in an attempt to solve their issues.

All these kites were test flown repeatedly. Many times the kites would fly in light winds directly overhead BUT once the wind increased or the kite was maneuvered, the airfoil of the kite experienced what could only be called aerodynamic excursions into the unknown; folding, twisting, and frontal edge collapse to the point where just flying the kite in even lite wind was dangerous.

Several mods suggested in these forum were tested - nothing really worked.

All this began to change when the factory line lengths of the 10 and 15 meter kites were provided by forum members AND a method of computing other sizes was also posted. A L&F programmer quickly embedded the math formulas in an XLS spread sheet and posted it for forum member use.

Line audits on one(1) 8 meter and two(2) 12 meter kites were conducted. All lines were restored to factory settings by adding larkshead extensions. One(12) meter kite had several lines way out of factory published lengths, but the other two(2) kites were relatively close to factory. All kites were test flown. The kites still did not fly and exhibited the same crazy aerodynamic irregularities mentioned above. As all three(3) kites now set to factory still did not fly. We suspected the mixer assembly as it is standard thru the kite size range.

The mixer assembly was modified and luckily for us the 8 meter was test flow first. With the mod on the mixer assembly, the kite would fly but there were still kite folds and stalls occasionally, especially when maneuvering. Hence we knew the general approach was working but we were still missing something.

Next the 12 meter was modded and flown. One(1) person flew the kite and a 2nd person stood under the kite observing the profile. This 12 meter kite when flying overhead had two large open sections appearing on the trailing edge venting pressure. This would not be obvious to the flier. These areas were inspected and it was found that these sections were supposed to be held together with magnets. On the 12 meter kites there was no magnetic force remaining. On the 8 meter only very light force still existed. It was suspected that All these kites were experiencing magnetic containment failure and loss of pressure. With the 12 meter it was permanent pressure loss. However the 8 meter was experiencing premature loss of magnet containment as only a weak magnetic force remained. These magnetic seals looked functional but very lite pressure pulled the cloth apart.

The 8 meter kite vents were permanently sealed by first gluing the seam together with rubber contact cement and then sewing the area shut. The glue seals the seam from water entry and the sewing helps maintain the seal. The 8 meter kite was test flown using both twin tip and foil boards and the kite performed perfectly. There was no more folding or temporary collapse during maneuvers. See attached videos in the attached data package

If you own a Pansh Aurora II kite and the kite is unflyable, suggest you FIRST inspect the two(2) vents located on the trailing edge seam near the middle of the kite. EVEN if the magnetic force still exists but the kite is tip stalling, folding etc, then the magnets are probably releasing the air pressure early. It there is no magnetic force the kite is constantly venting pressure which can be seen easily by an observer when in flight overhead. In either case to test just close these vents permanently with tape(semi-permanent), glue and thread, velcro etc and test fly. If the kite now flies fine then there is nothing else to do. If the kite still does not fly then proceed with the mods as indicated below.

Line Audit

Lines from the factory may be incorrect. Do a complete line audit on ALL Lines. A XLS spread sheet is available in the data package. Just place the kite size in the proper block and all line lengths are computed. Add larkshead extensions to the lines to restore their length to factory settings. Once the kite is at factory settings test fly. If the kite still does not fly, mod the mixer assembly as below

L&F focused on the lines common to all three kites essentially the mixer lines. The following was helpful:

viewtopic.php?t=2400642&start=10

See the picture Update modification1.

Mixer Pulley Mods. Lines B, C and X are attached directly to pulleys. Remove these lines from the pulley. Loop a short larkshead extension to the pulley attachment point and then attach the B, C and X lines back to the larkshead knot on the pulley instead of the pulley itself. This will allow quick release and adjustment of the B and C lines. A semi-mixer test has been developed and if the pulley needs to be changed, a larkshead attachment point on the pulley allows a quick change over and line adjustment.

Now mod the mixer assembly as follows;

For all mixer extensions below L&F used kite string larkshead extensions

Extend the A line till it is 125cm in length

Extend the Z line till it is 125cm in length

Hence A line length equals Z line length

Now extend the B and C lines as follows

Hold the connection point A-X-Y and connection point Z-Y side by side together with one(1) hand .

Pull on these two(2) connection points till lines A-B-C-Z are in a straight line and under tension

Check the B line length

With these lines under tension the end of B at the B-b1-B23-B456 connection point should be 2.0 cm longer then the A-a1-A23-A45 connection point. Add a larkshead extension to B so the B-b1-B23-B456 connection point is 2.0 cm longer then the A-a1-A23-A45 connection point when under tension.

Check the C line length

With these lines under tension as indicated above, the end of C at the C-c1-c23-c456-c6-2 connection should be 1.0 cm longer then A-a1-A23-A45 connection point. Add a larkshead extension to C so that the C-c1-c23-c456-c6-2 connection point is 1.0 cm longer then the A-a1-A23-A45 connection point when under tension above.

Finally:

To the AXY Line add a 16.5 cm length larkshead extension

Larkshead extensions.

100lb dacron fishing line was used to kite lines attached directly to the kite hard point larksheads installed by the factory.

For the thicker lines we used thicker kite lines from older kites

For heavier lines we used kite string

Cutting the larkhead

If you want to add 5 cm to a thin line, double the length to extend and add 7 cm for the knot

Hence to extend 5cm then 5 + 5 +7 = 17 cm

Cut a length 17 cm long, burn the ends with a lighter, fold the string in half and add a overhand or eight knot at the end so from the knot to the folded end is 5 cm in length when under light tension.

For thicker lines add 8 to 10 cm for the knot. When measuring Lines suggest using a sewing cloth tape measure rather then metal stiff one.

Flight Tests.

For the main kite line lengths, the two(2) steering and two(2) power lines were initially setup so when the depower strap was fully shortened the four(4) line ends attached to the kite were equal. However with this mod the bar pressure was too tight and still under tension when the bar was in the fully depower position. The line above the depower strap where the two(2) power lines are attached had to be shortened a bit till tension was released when fully depowered. So expect to adjust bar pressure and the depower adjustment during initial test flight.

Make sure your safety line is loose regardless of the power strap position as a tight safety line will defoil the kite shape contaminating your flight test.

Mixer test.

First make sure the internal pulley lines in the mixer are the right length. You can add a larks head extension on one end as the pulley never reaches that section. Furthermore you can quickly change out worn lines. These lines are attached with larks head at each end. Just cut out the damaged line at each end leaving enough to tie new line section to the larkheads at each end and use two locking overhand knots on each end near the larkshead and adjust the length to factory.

For the mixer pulley lines Make sure

X = 118 cm
Y = 108 cm

Make sure

A is 125 cm in length

Z is 125 cm in length

Then balance B and C as indicated above

Other Aurora Kites.

Owners of other models should check to see if Pansh is using magnets to hold the vents in the trailing edge closed. If you suspect these are opening prematurely simply close the vents temporarily with tape and test fly.

Larkshead knot are also called pigtails

Other Reference

viewtopic.php?f=197&t=2411960
viewtopic.php?t=2400642&start=10
viewtopic.php?f=197&t=2410952&p=1147911 ... t#p1147911

Attachment

Pansh Aurora II Data Package.zip
Contains:

1. Pansh Aurora II Kite Lines.png
2. Pansh Aurora II Line Lengths.xls
3. Pansh Mag Containment Failure.jpg
4. Aurora Factory 2 15m2 bridle.jpg
5. Two videos of the 8 meter in flight in mp4

[airsail]

Or buy a Flysurfer/Ozone foil kite.

[Herman]

Thanks for all the info, very helpful.

Do you have any feel for how many of the problems in the Aurora2 were eradicated in the Aurora3?

[lightandfrost]

L&F have no knowledge of any other kites made by Pansh except the Aurora II. If owners have problems and can post the kites' factory line lengths published by Pansh for a size we will try and provide a XLS spread sheet for other sizes of the same model.

As for buying Flysurf or Ozone;. buying Pansh is a matter of price. The owners of these Pansh kites had already spent the money. L&F are not a commercial enterprise and charged nothing for this work.

[FLandOBX]

Thanks for the detailed information. Well written and thorough. Very useful.

It's worth noting that not all Pansh Aurora II kites need these modifications. Some fly well right out of the bag. Based on posts in this forum, it seems to be luck of the draw. I had a great Aurora II 15m. No problems whatsoever. I suppose the problems could be specific to certain sizes, but they do not run through the entire line.

Thanks again for the useful information.

[edt]

Or buy a Flysurfer/Ozone foil kite.

I have both souls and pansh kites why not get them all riding as nice as possible!