12m OR1 bridle mod test

Thanks to Andrew at Powerline Sports for hooking me up with the bridle mod for my 12m OR One. Took us less than 10 minutes to set it up. Hit the beach around 2:30 p.m. and flew the kite on the beach till 4:30. The wind graph from neighbouring Hampton Beach is here:

http://www.weatherunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KNHHAMPT3&month=12&day=20&year=2006

I was measuring the wind and reading 5-8 knots with brief gusts to 11 knots, luls to 3 knots. The wind was coming from SW, so it was side-offshore. The Hampton Beach wind meter shows more wind, so I am inclined to believe there was more wind 30ft up than on the surface.

I flew this kite without the mod in similar conditions in the spring and could still fly it, but would be almost a pain to turn it. It took me a few hours to dial it in then. Essentially pull the bar in to accelerate the kite into the turn. Then, just as it pivoted, start sheeting out.

Overall impression is that the kite turns better at the edge of the window in low winds. How much better is hard to say. I would say between 20% and 40% better. I noticed right away that setting the front lines on the third knot (from the end) now gets the best performance out of the kite in low winds. Previously I had to attach the lines to the second knot. There is definitley more pull from the kite and slightly less pop. Bar pressure I would say has increased but it is a minimal change. Re-launching ability may have improved a bit, hard to say. I tried about 10 times to re-launch and once was able to get it to fly by pulling on a back line. The other times I would successfully reverse launch. I got it to hindenburg once, so put some pressure on the front lines just after the kite has turned.

I’m happy with the mod, I think it made a real difference, at least in marginal winds. One thing that is a bit annoying is the plastic line attached to the stopper. I think it hinders a smooth glide of the front line loop through the bar. I will have to remove that and try again.

It does take some finesse to fly this kite in low winds, maybe I’m not there yet, but it matters where the kite is in the window and how much acceleration it has going into the turn. To get a good fast turn, a sweet spot exists for placement in the wind window and sheeting in/out amount. I’m not always getting a smooth sheeting out action with the bar fully turned. I am wondering if that is a general problem with other bars also while fully turned.

Just tried my 06’ 9 ‘ONE’ with mod. #2 albeit in light (12-16 knot) wind. Still enough to appreciate the smooth turning & stability. Nice work O.R. !!! Looking forward to the new ‘stopper’ & leash mod..

What the hell 12 to 16 kn on a nine you must weight 50lbs.  I hope to get up on my 16m in that wind.

Jas

I was just going to land fly it. BUT as a lark I tried it on my MAKO & was able to pump it up to a plane !!! I weigh 180 & should have been on a 12 or 14.

Amazing kites aren’t they, the Mako helps, I got my Mako in the late fall and we have not had adequate weather to try it, so It’ll be in April while in Cape Hatteras

After timidly entering into kiting the last 5-6 years I rarely use my windsurfer. I like the huge depower of the one kites & the ability to relaunch without resorting to a fifth line. Now if I could just get ride of the board leash !!! (Thanks O.R. for inventing the ‘GoJoe’ for guys like me.)...Looks like 9 m weather out east today.      http//weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/marine/marine_e.html?C-NUS

Hey everybody,
I was wondering if anybody knows where to buy this bridle mod?
Now I realize that I am a little late but since I have both 7m and 12m OR One ‘07
it would be great to make them fly better.

I appreciate your help,
K.

Before I get into a second phase mod, just how much better does this make my (slow turning) 16m One?  The 1st mod seemed to do something, but marginal at best.

Regards

Gunner

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dossier surendettement

Gunner - I had the OR bridle add-on from a few years back on my 12m One. The Wisha “Dynamic bidle / Direct Rear Line ”  bridle mod here on the Tech Info forum is a much bigger improvement in turning speed than the OR bridle add-on.  Give me a few days to report on my latest version of the Wisha mod, and you’ll have the method to size the new lines for a 16m.

Not to over-inflate your expectations, the flat shape of the One means it doesn’t have the deep wingtips of a C kite that make C’s turn on a dime. The new bridle mod doesn’t tighten the turning radius of the kite ( IMO ) but it does elimnate the half-second lag between turning the bar and having the kite respond.

The only way to tighten the turning radius would be to find a wider bar ( 75 - 80 cm ). Used to have bars this wide back in the early days of kiting, but they either didn’t have a centre-line hole ( before 4-line kites ) or the hole is too small to run the two depower lines through it. NSI make probably the longest bar around ( 28 inches - 71 cm - see [url=http://www.northshoreinc.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=20&idproduct=34]http://www.northshoreinc.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=20&idproduct=34[/url]  If you have a 60 cm OR bar with your kite, this NSI bar might be a slight improvement.