Newbie to foils......some questions for you!

[windyjools]

Hi, I've been kite surfing for four years +........ Using tube kites, but always felt that foils would have a few advantages, so I have bought a venom2 16m to see if they will be suitable.
Main questions are.....I have read quite a lot about mods on this model, so, should I fly it as it is, or start tinkering with it first?
The kite is supplied with a 'Carbon 07' bar, again, should I change anything, or fly it first?
Any particular 'do's or don'ts'?
The kite and bar are in great condition, very little use, so I hope that it flies as good as it looks.
Any tips or hints for a first-time foil user would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance......

PS I'm 75kg, and would describe myself as a competent intermediate.......if that had any bearing on replies!

[k-hannibal]

hello
if you want to sell your kite, let me a message

Hi, I've been kite surfing for four years +........ Using tube kites, but always felt that foils would have a few advantages, so I have bought a venom2 16m to see if they will be suitable.
Main questions are.....I have read quite a lot about mods on this model, so, should I fly it as it is, or start tinkering with it first?
The kite is supplied with a 'Carbon 07' bar, again, should I change anything, or fly it first?
Any particular 'do's or don'ts'?
The kite and bar are in great condition, very little use, so I hope that it flies as good as it looks.
Any tips or hints for a first-time foil user would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance......

PS I'm 75kg, and would describe myself as a competent intermediate.......if that had any bearing on replies!

[CTB]

a 16m will be equivalent to a 12-13 lei so don't expect it to be the fastest kite.
your initial water start might take 2 dives and youll need to let the bar out as it climbs
the 07 bar is fine and works perfectly well, but if you do a lot of rotatations then you might want a new navigator bar

[windyjools]

Thanks for the reply CTB, I'm not much into rotations, more freeride and small waves. Can the 07 bar be modified to navigator spec, or should I leave it alone and just work with as it was intended?
I currently use 12m as my biggest tube kite, so the venom should replace that nicely. Fast turning shouldn't be too much of an issue, the plan is for it to be the light wind kite and go for a 10 if it works as well as I hope!
Hannibal.... Thanks for the enquiry. Hopefully I will keep this kite. But IF I don't get on with it, I will let you have first refusal!

[CTB]

you could mod the centre lines by putting a swivel it the top of the depower strap

[tim]

>Any particular 'do's?

hi windyjools
congrats on getting a VII 16
I started on a VII 13 and had no need for any mods
it was perfect straight out of the bag
A couple of years back I got myself a VII 16 too and it was just fine as it was

one particular thing to do is regularly check the zippers
better to fix any corrosion etc ASAP
and
emptying the sand out of the tips is good for preventing pinhole leaks too

ideally
the other thing for a twinskin newbie would be to get some old hand twinskinner to run you through the launching and landing routines
eg
Knowing when to tug the centre lines to salvage a launch, etc.
Simple stuff that you could pick up by yourself but if someone gives you a heads up it will reduce wear and tear on the wing (and this might keep k-hannibal happy ...) and get you on the water faster

Even after a couple of years of Venom flying I occasionally managed to mess up the line setup by frothing instead of focussing.
Forgetting to close the deflate zipper before heading out for the second session was a trademark move for a while too.

Anyway
hope you are getting plenty of floaty airtime under the 16

[ribore]

Don't forget to full inflate before launching... PL twinskin are foil but not the same type than Flysrfer/Hq/... : They have no bridle to keep the shape of th kite
Here a good video synthesis, especially for launching (all PL Arc - Guerrilla and older, Venom, Synergy, Charger, ... have the same behavior...) http://youtu.be/t9fZGGJuyuI
[youtube]http://youtu.be/t9fZGGJuyuI[/youtube]

[windyjools]

Many thanks for the ideas, I think I'm going to fly it as it is for the first few sessions, putting a swivel on the centre lines may be a good option in the future.......I'll try to find a large, quiet space for the first few flights till I get more comfortable with it.
Leaving the zipper open reminded me of inflating my nice new LEI at the beach and forgetting to put the deflate stopper in!!!!!!!!! Took me a few minutes to reaslise why I was pumping like hell but the kite wasn't inflating....DOH! Embarrassing but no harm done except to my pride.
Looking forward to some airtime in the next couple of weeks.