Let's light this candle! Table tuneing gives a reference point to begin flight tests. All of the attention to detail, symmetry, weight balancing and so forth lead to this moment. Most likely this moment will not be an exercise in the swoop loop and WHACK, feverish uncontrollable spinning or any other undesirable flight characteristics. The kite should fly right off of the table. Most likely not at it's best but fly. If the wind conditions are amiable and your kite is suited to them, well enough. All ya' gotta' do is fine tune your new baby and fly the wings off the little bugger. If the wind is not friendly to your kite that day or the kite is not suited to the conditions, the quality of flight will remain a mystery for the time being. Remember this. I rooted out my first ever fighter book and skimmed it three times looking for an appropriate quote. Could not find it. ( I'll try and fake it ) I do not at this time require a crash coarse in international copy- right law or a free Savate lesson
[ wEd: Sabot; wooden shoe, used by Saboteurs in the
gears of machines during labor disputes, more often as a Rochambeau
accessory in the martial art of Sabot ]
but here goes.
In the book "FIGHTER KITES" by Philippe Gallot ISBN# 0-312-03964-6,
MR. Gallot, aka. Phig, aka. Pappy, aka. The Pope said:
( pray for me ) "Do not believe your kite is no good." He
is a very sweet man but he ain't pullin' your manjha. The
kite reminded me of his words many times. I've made kites
that were actually very good but was not aware because of initial test
conditions. Not until the kite was matched to the conditions
was it willing to play. Try them out on different days with
different conditions at different locations. One thing for
sure, the kite will not lie to you. It is more than willing
to tell you what it prefers. Be patient and willing to listen.
Tune the roll attitude until there ain't no roll
attitude. Roll will impart yaw. Yaw will impart a
turning tendency. You need the kite to track straight up and
down, straight back and forth. Give it a chance.
Make a dozen or so passes both ways. Example: A left turning
tendency on the ascent shows a kite veering to the left.
On the dive the kite will veer to the right. Left sweep,
the kite will veer towards the ground. Right sweep, the kite
will veer towards the sky. The opposite is true of a right
turning tendency. The direction a kite veers is indicative
of the corresponding wing being slightly tipped forward. If
the kite veers to the left, hold the knot ( or bead ) at the "Y" of the
upper bridle leg and lightly tug on the left side leg. This
will "micro adjust" the upper bridle. Continue adjustments
until it tracks straight.
The lower leg or tow loop knot is less sensitive to range
of adjustment. This knot may be loosened and moved in 1/8th"
inch or so increments. Also the tow loop adjustment provides
more leeway lending to personal preference of performance.
The table tune is set low. This "friendly" setting lends to
easy control via lazy forward speeds and retarded spin rate.
Dink with it. The higher or closer to the nose the tow
loop is set the more radical the speed and spin. Low
is mild, high is wild. Somewhere in between is a happy
medium. This adjustment may be utilized to accommodate
different conditions. Please enjoy.