Re: Dynamic Bridle Systems
| Subject | Re: Dynamic Bridle Systems |
| From | abw@peritas.com (Andy Wardley) |
| Date | 03 Apr 1996 |
| Newsgroups | rec.kites |
Alexander Hesse writes:
> I think Andy Wardley explained the features of an active bridle system.
>
> Could anyone post me this discussion?
For the benefit of others, I'll repost the whole article. There are a couple of inconsitencies I noted (or were pointed out to me) in the article after posting it.
[ Note: I've chopped this post, but check out the original article if you haven't already ]
The main one is that the MEFM infinity bridle does not have the "wishbone" connection at the T-piece (shown as d<->T on the diagram). On the MEFM, the lower bridle inhauls connect direct to the T-Piece. Since then, I've found that some kites work best with no wishbone, others benefit from a wishbone on a standard bridle and others work best with both. Your Mileage May Vary.
My latest experiences with dynamic bridles have been very exciting. I have designed dynamic bridles for the Box of Tricks, Reflex and Phantom Elite. I am extremely happy with the way the Box and Reflex fly but the Phantom Elite needs some work.
My first success with the Phantom Elite was to add a wishbone to the standard bridle. It brought the tow points in slightly in straight flight without sacrificing the turning ability or radically changing the way the kite flew. The net effect was that the kite's tracking improved slightly as it was less sensitive to minor hand movements. This was particularly handy for me in moving from the Sandpiper (turns only under extreme duress) to the Phantom Elite for precision flying (turns excellently but is sensitive).
Since then, I have had some success with a full dynamic bridle, but it tends to alter the flight characteristics significantly. At one point, I had a superbly radical kite which allowed me to pull off an incredible *13* consecutive axels (forget doubles and triples, I'm up in double figures :-) but it didn't fly in a straight line very well.
Anyway, the Box and Reflex bridles are, in my humble opinion, truly fantastic and greatly improve the trickability of these kite. I honestly didn't think there was anything to improve on either of these kites and previous DB attempts have suggested the same. I had a moment's inspiration and made a quantum leap in my approach to the problem and was rewarded as a result. Total aoxomoxoa the first time I flew it!
The truly great thing about my bridle design is that you can increase the effect, decrease it or even turn it off (i.e. revert to the standard bridle) in a matter of seconds.
[ Note: Check out the subsequent rec.kites post or the Dynamic Bridle page (including pictures) for full details on the Fizz/Benson kites bridle modifications. ]
In the spirit of openness WRT product endorsement, I should mention that I'm now a sponsored flier for Fizz. I shall continue to rave about the products much as I did when I was an independant flier (after all, why am I flying for them if I don't love the kites), but as long as you know my position, you can judge what I say accordingly.
A
[ Original Article ]