My Favourite kite so far was the Airush Vapour series a fifth line SLC.
Is it possible to set up any of following kites as Fifth line.
Ozone C4
Cabrinha Chaos
Blade Mist
Naish park
Best Gp
Airush Varial X/Diamond
Griffin TRX
Does the New Dice Fly well on Fifth line
I think I read some where Sir Rowdy convert a C4 to Fifth line
I know some people hate fith line. I love it. I'm not prepared to discuss the Pro and Cons for me!
If yo don't mind experimenting I carnt see why you couldn't make any kite 5 or 6 line loaded, a bridal mod would need to be done though, putting the safety to it might be a bit fiddly and hair raising though
No problem realy only have to consider if the attachment point on the leading edge will take the load, and if the fifth should be under tension and how much as this will change the character of the kite
Why would you want to convert a kite into 5th line? What's the benefits over a 4 line kite? More stability?
Select to expand quoteIanR said..
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I know some people hate fith line. I love it. I'm not prepared to discuss the Pro and Cons for me!
You love fifth line so much you want to put it on kites that weren't designed for it? But you don't understand it well enough to be able to work out how to do it yourself? Remarkable.
Hi IanR,
I hope I can help on this with my experience as designer for Airush and now Ikon Kiteboarding.
I would classified the 5th line in 2 categories :
#1 - Non loaded 5th line = only there for safety.
It is possible to add a 5th line to any kite for safety. In this case, everything has to be kept as original, i.e. bridles, extension ...
The connection of the 4 lines will be done exactly at the same pigtails.
When you set up this system, the 5th line will need to be lose so it doesn't change the flying characteristics of the kite.
#2 - Loaded 5th line.
For the loaded 5th line, there are 2 options.
Option 01 - You set up the kite exactly the same way as the non loaded 5th line by keeping everything as original but you will start to put tension on the kite. This might increase slightly upwind abilities, avoid back stalling in light wind ... This option is tricky as it forced the leading edge to take a certain shape that is not is original shape.
Also be careful, as too much 5th line tension will make your kite a dangerous flying thing.
Option 02 - The 5th line set will replace the bridle completely.
This is possible but once again you have to be careful of what you are trying to do.
You will have to find a strong attachment point for the 5th line and a strong attachment point for the 2 front lines
There are many issues coming with this option :
- The kite hasn't been designed to work on 5th line therefore the 2 front line attachment might not be at the right place. This is the major issue as the kite will not fly at all of those points are 1 or 2 cm from the right place.
- The attachment points haven’t been designed for the load. You are replacing a bridle system where the load is spreads over 3 or 4 points by a single attachment point. The full 5th line kites are more reinforced and the attachment points are usually placed on the canopy and not on the leading edge.
- You might need to put extension on the 2 front line points to correct the curve of the leading edge. Vertical length between the front attachment point and the back attachment point
- then you will have to set up the 5th line tension right so the kite has a supported leading edge but the LE keeps his shape.
Those are only few points of what's going one beyond 5th line. Reading at your post I think you are interested about Loaded 5th line Option 02 which will be the hardest one and might not work at all. My suggestion will be to keep ridding your 4 lines or buy a 5th line kite.
At Ikon Kiteboarding, the BLIND 2 is coming with the 4 line bridles but there is a 5th line kit in the bag coming with it. It took us a full season of kiting to find the right adjustments.
If you decide to go ahead make sure you have a working 5th line bar and you are trying your options in a safe place in 10 knots of wind just by flying the kite.
Some people like to ride with the kites, some people like to tweak their kites ... most of the time it will not work but it's how you learn.
Good luck and stay safe.
Ben
Ben has made some excellent comments, especially with regards to having the 5th line under load.
I have played with this myself as I wanted to use an unused Naish 5th line bar set up and have the 5th line act as both a safety line and a self-landing line.
Mixed results I have to admit, with my Cabrinha Switchblade, but it does work up to a point and depending on wind strengths, AOA and positioning relative to wind winow.
Basically, as a learning exercise and for practice, I sewed a bridle connector to the middle of the leading edge, but about 2 inches down along the bladder curvature. This was to make sure that when I pulled the 5th line, the kite sell self park and not be pulled horizontally still keeping it in the air.
I then laid the kite flat on a windless day and stretched out all the bridles in alignment. I then drew a line in the wet sand along the tips of the bridle points to make sure I have pulled both sides of the bridles evenly. I then drew a line from the middle of the leading edge to the perpendicular to make sure it's at 90 degrees. Once ok, I then connected a bridle to the new bridle connector I had sewn and aligned it with the perpendicular line between the two bridle points mentioned earlier. Cut the line there and made a larks knot.
After that I made sure all the 5 lines of my bar were even using the common Cabrinha line adjustment video on utube, and connected the lot. The kite flew fine until I had it at the Zenith. The 5th line pulled the kite's AOA towards me too much and it started to hindenburg. ****!!!
Quickly landed it, but made the 5th line longer than the other lines.
Reconnected, and it flew fine this time. I did some static flying and it was all good.
Now the ultimate test. Self landing it!
So I brought the kite down around 2 oclock and sheeted out the bar. Pulled the 5th line hard and the kite parked!!! Stoked!!
It worked.
However, that was all in under 10knots. Easy peasy. I dare not fly it in over 15knots in this setup. Other factors could come into it causing kite mares.
My points are... (1) you must be mad, (2) experimenting is great but (3) you are on your own. The risks are obvious.
Slingy fuel has got to be the only kite which can be set stock for briddile, 4 line no bridle and 5 th line
Select to expand quotesaltydawg said..
Slingy fuel has got to be the only kite which can be set stock for briddile, 4 line no bridle and 5 th line
And slingshot link, but I would not recommend it. It's a dangerous kite anyway.
Thank you Ben for the very informative answer.
I was thinking about a loaded fifth line system similar to the Hi Fi to spread the load across the multiple connection points.
I would be very interested in trying your Blind 2 kite when it comes out, do youu have any retailers in NSW representing your kites.
