The Airbow

Two days ago at the May 2004 Middle Wallop I finally became the owner of an Airbow which meant at last I could throw one around the sky without concern for accidentally trashing somebody elses pride and joy. In a wind speed that averaged about 8 mph I was able to fly for a good many hours.

There has been a lot of interest in the Airbow even before its release in 2003 and it is fast gaining recognition in the UK. Germany also has a growing number of Airbow flyers.

The question I was asked over and over again during the weekend by people who came over to have a fly was 'how does it compare to a Revolution'?

The short answer is that it doesn't, it is completely different and in a parody of Douglas Adams' line from Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy I would say that "it flies through the air in exactly the same way that a Rev doesn't"...

Throw away all but your basic four line skills and start again. If you spend your time trying to get the Airbow to do all manoeuvres that you have learnt on a Rev then you could be missing the point of this kite.

The most obvious difference between the two is that the Airbow has a three dimensional shape.

From my experience I would say that their relative strengths are ordered as follows:
Rev - precision, tricks, freestyle.
Airbow - freestyle, tricks and precision.

Brian, Andy, Garry & Joe

Some of the people that asked me how it compared to a Rev didn't yet own a four line sport kite and so the question they were really asking is which should they buy first, a Rev or an Airbow?

A Rev is a tried and trusted kite, it has been around for a while and so for the most part you know what you are getting.

The Airbow is new and to be honest I don't think its full potential has been explored yet. This means that it is still wide open to interpretation making it an exciting kite to fly.

The likelihood is that you will end up owning both eventually anyway.

I flew the Airbow using the Switch Grip Handles which I would definitely recommend. I found that by adding a piece of self amalgamating tape around the top part of the metal part between the grips and the end cap prevented my thumbs from rubbing on the end cap, although this didn't seem to be a problem for anyone else.

The loops attached to the handles are different lengths which means that the kite doesn't quite respond in the same when the handles are inverted or 'switched' during flight. Presently I prefer to fly with the shorter connectors (grey) at the top and the longer ones (black) at the bottom.

I flew on 75 foot line. Joe Brown has tried flying his Airbow on 50 foot lines but said he would prefer a longer line length. Sean Turpin on the other hand has flown his on 100 foot lines and said that he would prefer a shorter line length, so 75 foot is probably a good choice.

Whatever you decide make sure your lines are completely equalised, but that should go without saying really.

Airbow Precision

During the weekend I was also asked if the Airbow could end up going the same way as the Stranger Level 7. I have never had the opportunity to set up a Stranger Level 7 or fly one, but I am led to believe that it is a highly configurable kite. However I have seen one being set up and it does seem to be a rather involved process.

The Airbow on the other hand was set up and ready to fly even before I'd had time to think of an answer to the above question.

By the end of the weekend I had managed to pull off all of the tricks shown in Flying Techniques and started to create a few of my own. Joe Brown has worked out a very sweet launch which involves the kite wrapping itself up and then unwrapping itself as it takes off, a yo-yo launch in effect.

Without having watched Flying Techniques or seen Andy Wardley fly I think I may have struggled to start with.

The Airbow has to be the most forgiving sport kite I have ever flown and so far has recovered from everything I have thrown at it. I haven't once had to walk back to the kite to untangle it or turn it over and launching is very straight forward.

I was also surprised by how relatively easy it is to fly with one hand and flying two Airbows at the same time, one in each hand, is not as frightening as I first thought it would be.

I also found that I ended up with some bizarre line twists because the kite occasionally passed through it's own line pair, particularly when it is being flown hard and on its back. This isn't a problem as pit stops are a welcome opportunity for me to get my breath back and drink water before untwisting the lines and setting off on another aerobic workout.

Airbow quotes:

• Don't let the handle fling out of your hands (Robert Dixon).
• Don't whack yourself in the b****x with the handle during high energy motions (Joe Brown).
• Treat a Rev like your partner and an Airbow like your bitch!
• The Airbow - it's a revolution! No it's not... Yes it is... No it's not... (Joe Brown)

I can honestly say that this is the most fun I have had with a kite in ages :-)

Having now flown the Airbow a number of times since writing Part 1, I thought that I'd do an update and describe what I've picked up since then.

The first thing to note is that I have still not had to return to the kite to turn it over or untangle it from a line wrap. However I don't know if wrapping the Airbow around a speaker stand at the Basingstoke kite festival and getting it stuck there counts as returning to the kite or not. The lines had hooked tight on the speakers, and as the kite was beyond reach there was nothing more I could do except call upon the help of the guys from the Council. They were parked next to the kite workshop and agreed to drive their large white van over to the speakers, whereupon one of them climbed onto the van roof and rescued my kite and lines, all of which were still intact I'm glad to say. Cheers guys. Which leads me onto the next part...

Because the Airbow can be flown just as well when inverted, this adds another dimension to the flying experience, which so far I have not seen replicated to this extent with any other kite. This is why I planted the kite in the speaker stand within one second of taking off; I simply forgot which way up I was flying.

Pesky Speaker

Airbow Action
(click for larger pic)

The fact that it flies just as well when inverted should come as no surprise seeing as it is symmetrical about all axes. However the point I am trying to make is that by flying the Airbow on the bottom lines (that is with the kite inverted) it behaves just as well as it does when flown on the top lines. It is therefore possible to take off or come out of a rotation and contine flying inverted without the need to re-orientate. The same techniques can of course also be applied to a Rev but there is physically only so much 'reverse' that can be applied before the Rev folds a wing tip or both. In general a Rev is much more responsive when the leading edge leads the direction of flight.

What this means is that the new challenge the Airbow offers is the opportunity to switch ones mind into the new direction the kite is flying in, and then continue to remember for however long you want to fly like that. The analogy is that of learning to do a trick on a two line kite with the left hand and then learning it with the right hand. With the Airbow you can do the same but also invert the kite and learn the trick all over again :-)

Sometimes I like to force the kite into an inverse barrel roll, by having full bottom line reverse on one handle, and then come out of it by flicking the kite out using either the top or bottom line of the opposite handle.

I recently read on Fractured Axel's forum someone describe the Airbow as being "plain boring". I thought this a strange conclusion to arrive at seeing as he hadn't even flown one. The Airbow certainly isn't plain and neither is it boring. Compared to The Revolution kite which has been around for about 16 years (first patent filed in 1988) and two line kites that have been around since probably before even the 1970's, the Airbow has a long way to go yet. After all it has only been in the public eye for 13 months.

Without doubt the truly original feature of the Airbow is its ability to rotate about the horizontal axis which leads it into tricks like the flic flac and yoyo. One method of getting the kite to go into these is to hold both handles in one hand, and give a sharp tug on either the top or bottom lines. The other method is to quickly stall the kite with the top or bottom lines (using the handles), and then gently feed the lines into the flic flac or yoyo by following the rocking motion of the kite whilst walking or running forward. With practice it is possible to pre-empt the rocking motion and encourage the kite into a more aggresive flic flac, or onwards into a full yoyo.

Airbows

Arena Flying

In light wind flying the kite can be forced into the sky by moving the hands up to the sleeving on the top lines and pulling the lines down hard to each side of your body.

If you find yourself flying the Airbow like this it will respond almost like a two line kite. Try popping a line and you will see a sweet axel type turn appear.

Of course you will need to recover back to the handles at some point and usually I manage to do this before things go too wrong...

I also find that I am constantly moving both handles into either hand. Sometimes I end up with the wrong handle in the wrong hand and even switching my mind to inverted flying will not make an Airbow fly any easier in a situation like that :-)

I've placed a red spot on the top of the right handle so that I can see instantly which handle is which. I'm also working on adding some sort of tactile feedback to one of the handles so that I know which handle I have without needing to take my eyes off the kite.

When flying the kite normally using the handles, try an axel by popping one of the top lines. With enough force the kite will do a full rotation. With a little less force the kite will only do a half rotation at which point you can encourage the kite to continue by popping another half axel using the opposite handle bottom line. This is reminiscent of Andy's 'knitting manoeuvre'.

Something else I am working on is pulling a trick out of the Airbow when it is doing a 'point to point (p2p) flic flac'. A p2p flic flac is when the Airbow is in a flic flac but facing side on, that is, with one wing tip is pointing directly at you. This is still at the work in progress stage...

Another thing I am experimenting with is to add a twist to the lines before going into a yoyo, the idea being that the twist might help in guiding the lines around the centre of the kite rather than falling over a wing tip as sometimes happens. As yet I haven't arrived at any conclusion on this.

Last, but not least, my precision capabilities are improving.

I just wonder how far I can take it...

Maintenance

After a month and a half of fairly solid flying I've learnt quite a bit about maintenance.

The first point to make is with the assembly of the kite. When setting the Airbow up I would recommend inserting the two Skyshark cross spreaders as normal and laying the kite flat on the ground.

Check that the connectors located on the cross spreaders are positioned directly over the spines. To emphasise the point in the left photo, I've drawn a red line to show the spine. If the two connectors are not positioned correctly, gently slide them along the spar until they align.

After one particularly high wind flying session I discovered that a stopper for one of the spine fittings had slipped from its glue point and moved down the spine. The fitting had followed it and so the stand-off angle was wrong. Also one of the stoppers on the central spine had moved.

In both cases a small dab of glue solved the problem within minutes.

Airbowing in Brighton
(click for larger pic)

General

Flying is going well and I would say that I am at ease with the kite now. I entered a STACK UK Trick Out during the Brighton kite festival - my first ever. The first two rounds went very well and for the final 30 second round I had already decided that I would fly two Airbows at once. Unfortunately there just wasn't enough wind and although I did manage to get them both in the air briefly, even managing a couple of one handed flic flacs, I rapidly ran out of arena and had to stop. It was great fun to do and brought smiles to the faces of those watching.

I am going to change to flying on shorter (50 foot / 15 metre) lines, just as soon as I get the chance to set up my new Laser Pro Gold lines. I feel confident that a shorter length of line will suit me better and hopefully I'll be able to see the kite better so that I know which way round it is facing when things get a bit hectic :-)

I had a couple of confusing line twists the other day which I could only resolve by detaching one line from the handle and feeding it through the other lines. I've never had anything like that since and my flying wasn't particulary good that day either so I'm beginning to wonder if it was just one of those days...

Occasionally I find knots in my lines because of the amount of slack lining that occurs when the kite is been thrown around the sky. The new Laser Pro Gold lines, which feel slippier, may help reduce this.

Line tangles also occur when the sleeving near the handles gets wrapped up with the line. I'll try making a better connection between the lines and the handles to solve this and I've also purchased some heat shrink which I may try 'carefully' putting over the join.

I also find that sometimes the lines snag at places on the kite where the spars and sail connect. This isn't a big problem and happens on most if not all sport kites that I've flown. A gentle tug soon free's the line but I've taken to adding a small pieces of masking tape (when I remember) over these joins to help prevent it.

Tricks

I've recently being getting into something which I call a vicious spin. If done in just the right way the Airbow continues to spin with its own momentum with the sail facing the ground; kind of like a back spin.

To do a vicious spin I pull down hard with one handle so that the bottom line is working the kite and simultaneously pulling up with the other handle so that the top line is working the kite. If the timing and wind is just right the kite spins hard.

As the spin starts run forward to ditch the air out of the sail and the kite will continue to spin using its own momentum. By varying the relative amounts of pull on 'opposite' lines the kite will spin with the sail facing the ground.

A new method I'm trying out in order to get the Airbow to flat spin is based upon mastering the point between a furthest flic flac and the point where it continues going and becomes a wrap. At the minima position, when the sail is face down to the ground and the Airbow is at its rubicon, I pull down hard with one handle on the bottom line and give slack with the opposite handle's top line. The kite will flat spin very quickly when done just right.

I've only managed to achieve this 2 or 3 times so far and I think it helps when the kite is close to the ground so that the angle of the lines to the handles is close to ninety degrees.

On a side note I've also figured out how to correct the Airbow when flic flacs start to go a bit 'wobbly' and the kite rotates. The secret here is to continue the flic flac but only use one (appropriate) handle until the kite returns to the orientation that you want and then continue doing flic flacs with both hands.

Selecta: two or more...

One of the most enjoyable ways to fly the Airbow is as a selecta.

I am a guitarist and learnt early on that jamming with others is a lot of fun and a good way to learn something new.

Joining in a selecta has exactly that same feel - it's jamming, only with a kite.

Sport kite flying typically takes on the form of sole flyers who perform sophisticated tricks or ordered teams of people who fly precise coordinated routines. (There may be said to be two classes of people in the world: those who constantly divide the people of the world into two classes and those who do not - Robert Benchley)

The idea behind an Airbow Selecta is to gather together Airbow flyers of varying skill level to jam to music [but not Baby Sweet please :-) ] and see what happens. There are no rules, only guidelines, so line lengths can be different, people can change positions, etc... even chaos can be beautiful to watch.

A selecta can be performed with any type of kite, but it seems better suited to the Airbow. Perhaps this is partly because people have the preconception that Revolution’s are a very ordered kite and seeing them fly ‘randomly’ just doesn’t seem right. Also the Airbow is a very recoverable kite. It’s rare (if ever?) for it to end up in a position from which it cannot recover. A useful requirement when in an arena with lots of other flyers where anything can happen and usually does.

The Airbow graphic also gives the kite a wacky 3D appearance making it contrast with the sky. Also the symmetry adds a whole new dimension so it's not always obvious to the casual observer which way round the kite should be. Put a group of Airbows together and all those straight lines and different colours can gently play havoc with the mind :-)

Airbow Selecta - Putting the chaos back into kite flying.

How to do a YO-YO

PREREQUISITE:
Practice in light winds until this manoeuvre feels comfortable.

OPTIONAL:
Put in a line wrap as this may help the lines find their way into the centre 'channel' section of the kite.

METHOD 1 - Line Tugging (Particularly in strong winds as shown in Flying Techniques):
a) Grasp the top two (or even the bottom two) lines about an arms length away.
b) Pull the lines down as far as you can and let go.
c) Try doing this quickly in higher winds. When comfortable experiment with the speed of pulling down.
d) On release the Airbow will roll, encourage it to continue rolling by moving forward providing slack to the lines.
e) As the kite rolls the lines will wrap around the centre section (keep practicing).
f) Too much line slack or a non-horizontal kite may cause the lines to miss the centre section and slide off the ends***.

METHOD 2 - Popping:
a) Persuade the kite into the sky by pulling *down* hard with the *tops* of the handles. When the momentum in the kite starts to disappear repeat the action.
b) Instead of repeating the same action apply a pop to the top (or even the bottom) of the handles.
c) The pop is a short sharp tiny tug.
d) The Airbow will counter-react and start to roll, encourage it to continue rolling by moving forward providing slack on the lines.
e) With practice as the kite rolls the lines will wrap around the centre section.
f) Too much line slack or a non-horizontal kite may cause the lines to miss the centre section and slide off the ends***.

*** If the kite does get into a muddle as a result don't panic. The Airbow is totally recoverable & with a few careful tugs here and there can be restored relatively easily.

RECOVERY:
Pull the tops (or bottoms) of the handles back hard and consistently until the kite unwraps.

To take the emphasis out of the bottom lines it's not uncommon for the handles to be horizontal and sometimes the handles are actually turned upside down during flight (see photo right).

If you are originally a Revolution flyer then this type of action may take a bit of getting used to.