BRAKES AND BRAKE LINES

For NPW flyers… this is a MUST read!

You can see my lard bum leaning back against a “little” 2.8M^2 NPW9b Vulture. This pic was taken in a breeze of about 8Mph! Imagine what 12 or 15Mph, let alone what 20mph might do… So ~

Before going into the brake section, I feel it necessary to say that flying an NPW of ANY size or persuasion without brakes is akin to taking your health and life into your own hands ~ Quite literally! Expense might be a factor in making your first NPW, but extra lines for brakes are quite necessary. The cost of the extra, smaller brake lines added to the cost of your first NPW will still equate to a LOT less money spent than with any other power kite. You could even use the brake line set (of lesser strength) as a separate pair for dual line flying. Use them to their best advantage ~ One pair for bigger two liners, one pair for smaller 2 liners. But please use them BOTH on the NPW’s.

PLEASE read on…

“SOMEWHAT” depending on size and windforce, NPW’s are flying TRACTORS, and without brakes, they are like their mechanical counterparts…. Damned hard to stop! I’ve heard the old adage of “Oh, I’ll just park it up on top or to the side of the window”… This is awfully hard to do when you’re getting drug on either your ass or stomach in 15Mph or 25Kph winds!!! I don’t know what it is, but most novices I’ve seen fly the NPW’s for the first time don’t know how to let go of the handles when the kite pulls TOO hard!! I did it myself, so I’m no different… Look into de-powering and safety lines that run from the handle to your wrist that use Velcro for attachment.

When using anyone’s plans for bridle lengths, one can split off the brake lines/shrouds on all NPW series kites into several variations. There can be many configurations of brake lines, and most will work. If you’re into “tweaking” on your own, try several configurations. Changing the brake set-up that uses the double back bridling method (See Tom White’s Website, link below) makes reconfiguration simple, particularly with the new Cascade type bridle.

Many folks are not aware of the Cascade bridle as compared to the Classic method. You must first consider which you wish to employ. More on that in the Bridling section… Or if you want to check it out now, click <here>.

  I've seen and used the lower 2 outside, or wing shrouds, along with the center panel 11 & 12 combo, and I’ve also used only the bottom 4 lines on the center panel for brakes. The 9 thru 12 Center panel shroud setups are probably the most easily kept track of for the NPW5. Changing them at the flying harness is quite easy as the harness knot can be re-tied. Try them both and see which works best to your liking

Before going into the finer points of the brakes I want to say there are two excellent bridling programs, both Classic and Cascade out there. The following sites are a wealth of info. Look for both the NPW5 and NPW9b programs:

http://members.shaw.ca/kiteman for the builder and

http://freedom2000.free.fr/NPW_index_eng.html for the experimenter/designer.

Download and peruse them BOTH ~ you will never regret it!!

Also... I do the bridle measurements in Centimeters.... IT'S A LOT MORE ACCURATE!! See if you can find a tape with both inches and Cm on it- you'll have a lot easier go at these bridle lines!! I’ve also noticed that dressmakers shops carry tapes in 1.5 meter lengths and many have both increments on them… some with them with both types on 1 side… They are easily attached to bridling boards. I’ve even gotten wind that much longer dressmaker’s tapes are available on the net. I’ve not been able to run them down as yet, but maybe someone just might. Please let us know if you do?!!

Best of Luck!!

Bill         < NPWBill@cox.net >