Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 22:46:07 -1000 From: tanaka_be@swam1.enet.dec.com Message-Id: <9403090841.AA03307@enet-gw.pa.dec.com> Organization: Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard University Subject: The Little Sister _____________________________________________________________________________ From: SWAM1::DECPA::"steveth@netcom.com" "Steve Thomas" 4-MAR-1994 21:15:23.39 Subj: My Favorite Radical (was: Re: Lil' Sis, etc.) I have flown both the Jordan Aire Pro, and the Little Sister. I found the Little Sister to be *highly* over priced for you get--which is a lot of panels that are *glued* (not taped) together. The flight characteristics the the LS are interesting, but by today's standards, it has some glaring problems, such as it's narrow wind range (needs some wind to get it going/doesn't like a lot of wind), and its great difficulty with new moves, such as snap-stalls, and (of course) axles. (an XTC kite review followed....) _____________________________________________________________________________ Thanks for the review on the XTC, Steve. I've been lucky enough to have been able to watch you fly, and in your hands, the XTC no doubt is is an outstanding kite. I'm sure that I am also a part of a large group of flyers that appreciates all kite reviews, particularly when considering a future purchase. I am just a little puzzled by your experience with the Little Sister's performance though, because my own is so different. Perhaps its just a matter of tuning - this seems to be such a personal thing that it probably deserves a thread of its own. But at any rate, I own an LS, and have had the chance to really wring it out and experiment at length with different set-ups. In the beginning, I was having a little difficulty controlling the spin on the LS (possible flyer problem here...). It uses unusually long bridles and this can be a formula for lots of speed and oversteer. Most folks really like this set-up but I prefer something just a skosh more sedate. So, I de-tuned it by shortening the outhauls by about four inches, and raised the adjustment on the long bridle. This is easy to do - just tie small loops in the outhauls to test it - if you don't like it, take the loops out. The LS spins so fast that you don't slow it up that much, and this increases control. My own experience with the LS is that it will axel very easily. I like it because it spins with its belly way down and does the axel with good speed. (I've been able to slow axels down some, but it seems that if a kite cannot do them fast, it never will). Since you were the person that gave me my first pointers on how to do the axel, the odds that I can now do it better than you are extremely remote (to phrase it politely). Which leads me to suspect the LS you demo'd may not have been tuned optimally. The LS has above average stability in stalls so that slides are also pretty easy to do. It takes a little concentration, but you can return slide it, too, in good wind conditions. One of the neatest moves that ever impressed me was watching Miguel Rodriguez rocking the Wasp back forth on the ground on its nose, and then suddenly snapping it to an upright launch position. I remember being in the crowd and hearing them mutter, "Wow, what was THAT?". The LS does this move particularly well. It has such a short tail you can rotate it around and up and it will snap to the vertical a little bit more quickly than some other kites. Also, since the bungi's, and sail stays are enclosed, there is less chance for wing wraps (but unfortunately, I still manage to get those occassionaly, anyway). Because the LS is so reactive, and doesn't pull much, I can still snap stall it and even snap land it (another move I ripped off Miguel) even in strong wind (12-13 mph). Less pull, and shorter required motion allows me to retain good hand speed. I think a rod change would improve the LS's low wind performance, but as it is, it needs 4-5 mph winds to perform well. But even so, the Little Sister and the Katana (for low wind conditions) were the weapons of choice for Bob Hanson who has been, like you, a top competitor in Masters Individual Ballet and Precision. For me, the highly maneuverable LS is a unique kite that reminds me of just how much I love to fly. As far as defining radical kiting - I dunno, Steve. With all due respect, Miguel and the California Wasp have pretty much established the standard for me. Though, having said that, I think that you deserve much credit for expanding this definition and that sharing your techniques with us all says a lot about what kind of flyer you are. Good winds, Bert = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Wed, 9 Mar 1994 10:13:07 -1000 From: steveth@netcom.com (Steve Thomas) Message-Id: Organization: VisionAire, San Francisco, CA Subject: Re: The Little Sister In article <9403090841.AA03307@enet-gw.pa.dec.com> tanaka_be@swam1.enet.dec.com writes: > [stuff deleted] >I am just a little puzzled by your experience with the Little Sister's >performance though, because my own is so different. Perhaps its just a matter >of tuning - this seems to be such a personal thing that it probably deserves >a thread of its own. But at any rate, I own an LS, and have had the chance >to really wring it out and experiment at length with different set-ups. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >In the beginning, I was having a little difficulty controlling the spin >on the LS (possible flyer problem here...). It uses unusually long bridles >and this can be a formula for lots of speed and oversteer. Most folks really >like this set-up but I prefer something just a skosh more sedate. So, I >de-tuned it by shortening the outhauls by about four inches, and raised the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >adjustment on the long bridle. This is easy to do - just tie small loops in ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >the outhauls to test it - if you don't like it, take the loops out. The LS >spins so fast that you don't slow it up that much, and this increases control. > ...and then: >My own experience with the LS is that it will axel very easily. [etc.] Imagine that. Peter Werba (Buena Vista Kite Co.) once told me this story about just how wonderfully a Super Sky Dart flew that he "tweaked a little". He changed the spreader lengths, and the bridal lengths, and mabey even the wiskers. Low and behold, "it flew a little bit like and XTC...". The point is, when I decide what a kite flies like, I decide based on a *stock* configuration of the kite. Sure enough, if you start "tweaking" a kite, it will fly different--mabey even the way you want it to, if you're good at it (which *I'm* not, but that's another story...). I'm sure you can see how complicated things would get if we all tried to give our reviews of all the "permuations" of the kites we've flown... >[...] For me, the >highly maneuverable LS is a unique kite that reminds me of just how much I >love to fly. > The LS is a neat, unique flying kite, and I guess I tend to forget that when I recover from the sticker-shock it gives me. I don't want to take anything away from that, but it *is* very expensive, and you *can* find a lot more quality and versatility at a lower price. If you want a "unique" kite, buy a Cal Wasp--which also has the advantage of being great (I'll let others review this...). >As far as defining radical kiting - I dunno, Steve. With all due respect, >Miguel and the California Wasp have pretty much established the standard >for me. Though, having said that, I think that you deserve much credit for >expanding this definition and that sharing your techniques with us all says >a lot about what kind of flyer you are. Well, see my post answering this point--I basically said that "defining radical" is more of a figure of speech... -- _______ Steve Thomas steveth@netcom.com "I'm doing just fine. I took stock in a Mace company right before society crumbled." -- Selma/Simpson's = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =