KiteJan

Lines

The lines actually attach to the handles via a small tail of line that has been formed into a loop using an overhand knot, and passed through the hole using a larkshead knot. The flying lines then attach to the tail's overhand knot, again using a larkshead. This means that the lines can easily be removed from the handles.

The flying lines (all four of them) are all the same length - and for 'normal' outdoor about 20m in length. I'm not sure about the actual strength of them, but they look quite light to me (certainly less than my standard Rev. lines). I will have to find out..... I have found that even in quite strong gusty wind the Deca doesn't pull much at all (much less than a Rev. in the same wind) - therefore you just don't need as strong line.

Oh yes - one tip - if your handles and lines aren't already marked I would suggest marking which handle is which on the top hole and marking the top line on each pair at either end - say tie a pink knot on the left handle and top lines and green on the right handle and top lines.

Instructions

• Each handle is symmetrical with 3 holes at the top and bottom.
• These holes adjust the sensitivity of the hand movements to the kite.
• If the lines are attached to the outer holes then small hand movements will be translated to a larger movement of the kite.
• If the lines are then attached to the inner holes on the handles then larger hand movements are required.
• The top and bottom lines can be in different holes, adjusting the flying characteristics according to the wind and your preference. (Obviously the left and right handles are set up the same.... unless you like a challenge).
• Make sure that you tie the loop of line the same on all the holes - if the knot passes on one side of the handle for the top hole and on the other for the bottom you will find that the lines start to get wrapped around in flight (at least that what happened to me...).

My experience

So far in flying the Deca 1 I have found that in a stronger wind moving the top lines to the inner holes helped to keep control of the kite, whereas in lighter winds moving the top lines to the outer holes gave greater control. I'm not sure about the bottom lines - at the moment they are in the middle hole and seems to be OK.

I suspect that you move the lines around when you want to a) keep control given certain wind conditions and b) allow the Deca to roll onto it's back and front (the Invert manoeuvres it's famous for) - you need to be able to tilt the kite so far forward or back that the air pressure ends up on the back of the sail & so flips the kite so that the sail is parallel to the ground.

On other thing - it's said that you don't need to peg the kite out as the force of the wind on the sail will hold it to the ground and stop it blowing off. Well that's not quite true (as I found out the other day & ended up chasing the kite down the field). If the wind is strong and gusty then it can lift the kite off if it's not secured.

Using other handles

A final word about the handles - a number of people on the rec.kites news group have discussed in the past using the long Rev. handles with the Synergy kites. The general view was that yes, they work, and yes, they are better (like "day and night" said one poster).

I have tried and yes, they worked fine. However by design the bottoms of the Rev handles are longer, therefore lengthening the bottom lines. I wonder if this would make it harder to perform some of the Invert tricks than with the standard Synergy handles.

I have decided to learn to fly the Deca with just the Synergy handles, then try again with the Rev. ones to see how it feels. The reason was so that I didn't treat the Deca like a Rev (because it isn't and won't do some of the things a Rev. will do). We shall see how I get on........