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More on the angle of attack by Aerialis Kites

Refine pressure in the sail before working on straight trajectories.

From the series Aerialis tutorials. Transcript by QuadKites.org. Original article on Aerialis Kites.

More on the angle of attack by Aerialis Kites

Key takeaways from this video

  • On a quad kite the angle of attack is set with your arms and wrists, not only with the bridle, which is what lets you hover at any angle anywhere in the wind window.
  • For an upright hover, pull the front lines slightly with your thumbs back; for an inverted hover, pull the brake lines slightly with your thumbs forward.
  • For a sideways hover, extend the arm on the side the leading edge points to, bring the other arm slightly toward you and put the same-side foot forward.

Transcript

  1. The angle of attack on a quad

    0:21

    The angle at which an airfoil is presented to the wind is known as the angle of attack. The angle of attack for a kite can be set by adjusting the bridle. However, flying a quad kite, you can adjust the angle of attack using your arms and by twisting your wrists. This way you can stop and hover the quad kite at any angle, anywhere in the wind window.

  2. The upright hover

    0:42

    When you know how to hover your kite by adjusting the angle of attack, you're mastering one of the skills required to fly perfectly straight trajectories. So let's go. The upright hover, wrist control: pull slightly on the front lines, thumbs back, to build just enough wind pressure in the sail to make the kite sit stationary, leading edge up.

  3. The inverted hover

    1:02

    The inverted hover, wrist control: pull slightly on the brake lines, thumbs forward, to build just enough pressure in the sail to make the kite sit stationary again, this time leading edge down.

  4. The sideways hovers

    1:23

    Sideways hover, leading edge to the right, arms control: extend your right arm somewhat in front of your body while moving your left arm slightly towards your body, and put your right foot forward too. Sideways hover, leading edge to the left, arms control: now extend your left arm somewhat in front of you while moving your right arm slightly towards yourself, and put your left foot forward too, for a perfect sideways hover to the left.

  5. Again, with a split screen

    2:05

    Alright, let's do it all over again, this time using a split screen so you can see both the kite and the pilot.

  6. Quick recap

    2:26

    Finally, a quick repetition. Upright hover, wrist control: pull your thumbs slightly backwards, and breathe. Inverted hover, wrist control: push your thumbs slightly forwards, and smile. Sideways hover to the right, arms control: right arm and foot forwards, left arm slightly back. Finally, sideways hover to the left, arms control: left arm and foot forwards, right arm slightly back. I hope you found this little tutorial useful. Thanks for watching, and bye bye.

Keep going

In the series Aerialis Kites quad-line tutorials

  1. The hover
  2. Grab the handles, move your body
  3. The angle of attack
  4. More on the angle of attack — you are here
  5. The down turn
  6. Improve your hovers
  7. Straight trajectories

See the 29 videos of the series

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