Flying & Stacking Tips
customizing Dyna Kites | flying tips | stacking tips
Flying Tips
Most important rule when flying any kite is never fly near other people, power lines, too close to a street or during bad weather. You could easily injure multiple people with big stacks. A distance of 100- 200 feet minimum from any person when flying big stacks of kites. Dyna stacks over 10 kites should use a minimum 200 lbs. test line. You should always use a good high quality string made for kite flying (get from your local kite store). Good quality string is not cheap but should last for years. I, use 300 lbs test for my 15 stack and over.
Dyna stacks fly very well in wind 4-20 mph depending on the size of your stack.
Example:
- 10 stack 4-20 mph
- 50 stack 4-10 mph
- With a stack of 50 in a 10 mph wind you are going for a ride!!!
When learning to fly any stunt kite (2 strings or more) don’t get near anyone when launching or flying. Should someone walk under your kite, take it to the center of your wind window and park it as high as possible until they pass. Remember no matter where you are flying, other people always have the right of way. Beginners should have someone to help with their take off, or stake your handles to the ground and with your lines tight stand your kites or stack them on their corners, return to handles and pull on top string. Delta kites with 5 -8 ft wing span can be a lot of fun to fly. A lot of people will walk by and maybe 1 or 2 may look up but, when you put up a stack of 10-15 Dyna’s with 35’-100 ft tails, get ready to talk with a lot of people. Some will have lots of questions to ask about your kites and want to take pictures. If you don’t like a lot of attention and talking with people, flying Dyna stacks may not be for you.
I have been flying Dyna stacks for about 16 years and owned 265 Dyna’s before I purchased the Company. I hope you enjoy your stacks as much as I do!!!!!!!
If you have any questions about Dyna kites please call me, email or fax.
Customizing Dyna-Kites
by DK Breezin'
As Masters Class Stack flyers, we have learned some tips (some from others, some the hard way) that will hopefully allow you to spend more time flying and less time untangling, assembling and adjusting. Best of luck - Larry and Mary Ann Owens.
The Basics
Two general areas that often cause trouble for stack owners ate being able to adjust and control the stack in the wide variety of wind conditions and the lengthy setup time and premature aging of stacks due to improper handling and storage. There are only three special pieces of equipment we use on our competition Dyna-Kites, otherwise they are completely stock. We have a phantom or ghost kite in front of the lead kite, a special bridling system and connector loops on individual kites.
The Phantom
The Phantom is an isosceles triangle with the length of the each side approximately equal to the distance between the two points on a kite where the bridle attaches to the leading edges (i.e. for a Stunt/Colormaster = 18"). The Phantom acts like a lead kite without a sail, holding the first set of train lines in the same position as the lead kite would. However because it has no sail it is not subject to the same pressure as the lead kite which tends to deform in high winds. The Phantom can be made from any stiff rod (like carbon or plastic rods) and strong tubing (like gas line or vinyl tubing). Using the Phantom is simple; attach the bridle points that normally attach to the lead kite to the three points of the Phantom. From there three equal length lines (anywhere from 1 to 3 feet) go from the Phantom to the lead kite- Using the Phantom replaces any devices used to stiffen the lead kite or special spreaders used to support the leading edges. Some people may use a second phantom halfway up a large stack of kites with a lot of pull, however we have always used just one in the front even when we flew a stack of 73 kites and experienced no problems.
The Bridle System
Being able to adjust your stack means the difference between being yanked across the field in high winds and not being able to fly in low winds. Our bridle system uses two loops which replace the length of line between the Phantom and the keel of the lead kite. If the lines between our Phantom and lead kite are two feet, we replace the keel line with a loop that is about a foot long which is attached to the Phantom and another loop which is about a foot and a half long with knots in it every 3/4 of an inch or so which is attached to the keel of the lead kite. A knot at about the one foot mark is colored to know where nominal is. The loop on the phantom is then larks headed to the colored knot in the other loop. To increase pull on the kite (normally in low wind), move the loop from the Phantom to knots closer to the keel of the lead kite. This pulls the back of the keel forward to face more sail into the wind. To lessen the pull (normally in high winds), move the loop from the Phantom away from the keel toward the end of the knotted loop. This pushes the keel of the kite back so less sail is in the wind. Just remember if you over adjust your stack it may affect the flying performance.
Connector Loops
Connector Loops are short loops about 4 - 6 inches long (the length is not important but be sure all are the exact same length) which are larks headed to each rod of the kite and attached to the train lines. This allows for easy detachment of any kite from the one in front or behind it. Each kite in the stack can have 1 or 2 sets of connector loops. With two loops, one set attaches to the train lines of the kite in front (to the phantom for the lead kite) and one set attaches to the train lines of the kite behind. The last kite in the train has connector loops which are available if you ever want to add more kites. With one loop, one set attaches to the train lines of the kite in front and the train lines from the kite behind attach directly to the rod of the kite in front. The last kite in the train has an extra set of train lines. Now a stack of 24 kites can become 2 stacks of 12 or 6 in a matter of a couple minutes.
Stacking Tips
Storage of Stacks
Half the battle of owning a stack can be packing and unpacking the kites. Some lessons we've learned are to disconnect and wind up the flying lines as with any stunt kite, then stack up the kites one behind the other making sure the tails are not wrapped around the kites or the train tines. Braid the tails into groups of six w less then put the entire stack, tails and line into a sturdy kite bag (our suggestion - MU) Dyna-Kite bag designed especially for the Dyna-Kite stacks). Braiding the tails is important because it makes the tails shorter, keeps them all together and since they are bulkier they don't get tangled up in other things in the bag. To braid the tails, hold the six tails together at the end still attached to the kite and make a loop. Reach through the loop and take hold of the tails moving towards the free end of the tails and pull the tails through the loop. Reach through this new loop you just created and continue the process until you reach the end of the tails then pull the end completely through the loop. To release simply undo the end loop and pull. It's important to keep your tails in good shape. If they become frayed from use, cut the ends and burn the loose threads. Worn nylon tails catch on everything. New tails or tails that have been cut and sealed with heat tend to pull out easily.
There are many different ways to "tune" your stack, we hope these helpful tips we use for our stacks will benefit you and your new stack. All of the equipment mentioned above (Phantom, bridle etc) can be purchased from Dynakite through your local kite store or you could make them yourself. With a little initial time and effort your stack can be as easy to assemble/disassemble and control as a single kite. However a single kite can not give you the same rush as controlling 200 Ibs. of pull from a stack of kites while listening to the awe of the crowd as you sweep the train through the air making the tails dance along the ground. See you on the flying field.