A friend recently acquired an old 15m (I think) Peter Lynn Charger and was setting it up on the beach in sub 10kts (around 7-8) winds when he asked me for advice since he had never flown a foil kite before. It was missing the wing tip battens. The kite looked really good for an old kite (it may have been a version 1??). And the fabric was air tight. I helped him set up and launch it, but in those light winds it was a struggle to inflate it and to keep it flying. The wing tips were deformed due to the line connections. I have no experience with Peter Lynn kites. So, can anyone tell me if this kite is worth keeping and acquiring some wing tip battens, or if it should be thrown in the bin? Thanks!
Even with foil kite experience, the Peter lynn arc-style kites like this one are quite different and require some specialist knowledge. I'd suggest finding some old instruction videos on the web. Some models of the Charger v1 flew badly apparently, with some design fixes in v2. By then almost no kitesurfers were buying this style of kite.
Btw, it absolutely will not work without the wing tip battens.
Is it worth fixing/keeping? Hard to say. These kites, when working, fly in a unique way which in some regards is really nice. A 15 has the bottom end of a 12m LEI (again, very different from a bridled foil) - not so useful in light winds in fact.
These users thanked the author merl for the post (total 2):
The kite won't fly at all without the spars inserted in the black pockets. go to the hardware shop and guy some 10/12mm dowel (or 16-18mm bamboo). the have to be the full length of the black pocket (sorry don't have the measurements at hand.
You also need 12 kn to get any action out if it (10 is a pinch... 7/8 you need a leaf blower, but it will only stay up if you fly the hell out of it). At 93kg i fly mine up to 20 - 22kn (but i'm lit). 15kh is pretty sweet.
they are fun, indestructible and solo launch and land right to the top of the wind range.
These users thanked the author Mikey for the post:
If it is not one of the defective units the Charger 1 is one of the best Arcs ever made.
As stated, its not like other foil kites and you need wingtip spars to fly it. Anything will work as long as the length is correct and they are stiff enough.
Internal pressure is critcal for successful launch if you are new to Arcs. Otherwise it will be prone to bowtie.
This may help give an idea of how we launch them here...
These users thanked the author Hardwater Kiter for the post:
But after you have used a good LEI kite you wonder what do you do with that... I used those kites for some years and even made one arc (which was quite difficult project).
My Charger was ok, I didn't notice those issues some reported. It pulled lot when wind was strong enough, it jellyfished, when dived/looped it gave quite a lot power and then became powerless (typical C kite), it collapsed and inverted in bad gusts, auto zenith worked well and kite was very airtight. If I remember correct seams were glued and stitched and fabric was high quality Chikara nylon. I still have it but I haven't used it for years.
V2 was perhaps a bit more refined and tamed kite (V1 was supposed to be high performance arc, which it was, if that phrase makes much sense)
These users thanked the author kitexpert for the post:
yeah , just came back to the forum , so that will update the post..
wingtips are mandatory..it s like not having bridles on flysurfers.
i had a 12m charger v1 upgraded from a synergy 12, was a total nightmare for me, unstable, collapsing in gusty winds, re opening in full window.....a nightmare, i got rid of it and went the flysurfer medium/small aspect ratio (flysurfer unity).... the synergy was a blast, would handle gust and high end winds very well...was mediocre in its low wind range as any Arc kites. i regrets it.
PL kites are a bit tricky to launch and to relaunch but the synergy was bulky enough to not have much problem with relaunching.
Chargers, venom's and probably synergies are known to stay very watertight with time. Thick heavy cloth, so not prone to premature wear.
Not a light wind machine...
Regarding inflation, specially in light winds, a lot of users searching for ease the launch in light wind where using inflation system to fill completely the kite before initial launching.
Excellent high wind absoption, and auto-zenith which could be a pro or a cons depending on your use...