Peter Lynn Arc 630 & 460
Peter Lynn Arc 630
I personally think that Arcs are brilliant kites so this review might be slightly bias. It is a fact that this is the most stable kite you can buy and when mastered this kite can be used on snow, water and land. I started using this kite for kite surfing after using a bigger 1120 Arc that was on a sort of permanent loan from a friend. The 1120 was great on the water but I found myself not really wanting to pull massive airs and do radical tricks, simply cruise. The power of the 630 suited me much more even though I could no longer go out in lighter winds. The 630 does need a bit of wind, at least 15 mph to get me going on the water. After about a year or so of kite surfing I have become more
focused on kite boarding on land and that is where the 630 has found its real niche.
The 630 is an awesome kite on land. It has such a stable canopy and copes
with gusting weather as if it is a calm day. Quality of the kite is as good as
the Frenzy and the best thing is that it fly’s on a
bar and is fully de-powerable. On land the 630 looks very impressive and with
its nearly 6m wing span many flyers comment on the fact that it looks like a
much bigger kite. The 630 has one way valves fitted in the LE so when it lands
the canopy stays inflated. This make the kite look enormous on the ground and
always draws a crowd when flown next to open cell kites even though they may
be bigger. I am always asked how powerful the kite is, can it lift you off
your feet, can you jump with it, is it good with a buggy. This kite does
everything, jumps better than the Blade, definitely more stable, brilliant in
the buggy, and no the bar does not get in the way. The de-power is the Arc’s
strength. It allows the kite to be flown in a much broader wind range. A
harness does need to be used but it is possible to lock the de-power strop in
position to fly in two line mode in lighter winds. As a lighter flyer using an
Arc on land you do have to watch out for the lift. These kites are brilliantly
stable but the down side is that if flown in strong wind the profile of the
canopy creates lift. This is the one reason why I now fly a Frenzy and not
630. The de-power on the 630 is not massive. In stronger winds on land this
kite is a handful and if you are a lighter flyer you will find yourself
overpowered most of the time. On the water it is perfect. In the buggy you
spend more time floating upwards, not good. For stronger, very gusty winds
ARC’s rule, so much that I have got a smaller 460 for this type of weather.
But that is another review.
Peter Lynn ARC 460
When you fly Arcs you have this feeling that you are part of an exclusive club, a small group of people who keep very quiet about how good these kites really are. They are a friendly bunch always willing to give out information, but not too much. Not many people I have
spoken to have ever owned an Arc 460. Most start at the 840 size buying
them for kite surfing or more extreme boarding on land. What use is a 460. It
only has a 3.3 projected area for goodness sake. Once you fly one of these
kites in about a 20 mph+ wind you then realise what you have been missing.
When the wind gets stronger and I want a stable and safe kite to fly with the
ability to de-power and turn like a delta there is only one I would choose. I
would even choose it over my 5m Frenzy if the wind was lumpier or gusty and it
turns so much faster. The 460 fly’s in a surprisingly low amount of wind. When
I first got it, as is always the case when I get a new toy, there was little
or no wind, yet this kite managed to fly. Because it is so maneuverable and
lightweight you can generate a fair amount of pull by working it in the sky
even in sub 10 mph winds. The de-power I was told did not work on the 460. It
really is a two line kite with a little brake. As far as I am concerned this
kite when flown in a good strong wind has a better de-power than both the 1120
and 630. It is such a confidence inspiring kite to fly. Not long ago I was
flying up on a local hill top. The wind was very lumpy and gusty and virtually
everyone was flying 2m Firebee’s or small Blades. The 460 still has a 4.6m
wingspan and stands well over a meter high. It looks like a very big kite yet
by the book is only a 3.3m. It actually pulls powered up like a 4m kite and
de-powered not at all. It is a great small kite to jump with mainly because of
the lift it generates and also because of the very stable canopy. It can be
more than a handful when it is on the ground, especially in stronger winds.
Having one way valves in the LE the canopy retains its shape so can pull even
when on the ground. Do not underestimate an Arc 460. I have had more near
misses with this kite than any other. It fly’s so fast that if you take your
eyes of it for a second it has fallen into the power zone and is pulling like
a train. This is not a kite for an inexperienced flyer. It may be a small kite
but will bite unless flown with a great deal of respect. The 460 is also the
only Arc I have flown that does not auto zenith. It may
be due to the lines I am using which are quite heavy for a light kite. I was
never confident flying this kite on lighter lines so moved fairly early to 300
kg Ozone lines. In lighter wind these lines do drag the kite down a bit, but
then I never fly this kite in lighter winds anymore. I would not be without my
460 and where ever I fly it will always be packed in the car just in-case the
wind whip’s up. I do tend to use the Arc 460 as a more general recreational
kite mainly because it does everything very well, buggy, boards and jumping.
Still I don’t want to give to much away about this kite. The good things are
usually best
kept secret.
Review by Me.
Arc Safety.
Rigging a safety on an Arc is easy and this brief description is intended to outline two methods. Always test your safety system in light winds, do not assume it will just work and never test in strong winds because it may not. All our club kites have to be rigged with a safety and even though the Arcs are not club kites they are flown by club members so need a working safety. In my opinion any flyer not using a safety system is a liability to others and should be re-educated.
Ring System.
This is the most popular safety to rig on an Arc. It is effective even though I have always suffered line tangles after using it.
Place a fixed loop at the end of your de-power line or strap. The Loop should be a small metal ring about 1” in diameter. This ring will terminate your de-power strap and give you a fixed point to attach your main flying lines.
Larks head ONE of your main flying lines to the ring. Your other flying line is going to pass through the ring and be larks head tied to another identical ring. This second ring is loose and only attached to the flying line and your safety leash. It can not pull back through the fixed loop so will keep both of your flying lines under the correct tension. In lighter winds some people find the loop sags due to there not being enough main flying line tension. You could use a very ,very light piece of wire the fix the moving loop to the fixed one stopping it sagging. When the safety is used the wire would snap. The safety leash is attached to the moving loop. When the system is used the bar is released, the bar flies away up the center line, and the kite flattens out in the sky de-powered. The leash can be connected to your wrist or a QR on your harness. You can place a stopper about six or seven meters up the
flying line to stop the ring traveling to far if you wish.
Long Leash System
Exactly as it says. Create leaders of your bar that are just over half a kites lengths. Only
attach a safety line to Either to one line or two, only on one side of the kite, either left or right. Create a leash that will be attached to the end of the leader where you larks head the flying lines so it reaches back to the bar with a little play. You could use another piece of leader line for this. Attach to either a wrist band or QR onto your harness. If you are going with one attachment point at the end of the leader lines then larks head the leash to the main flying line, it will stop the kite spinning. When the safety is use the bar is released. It will fly away from you to a distance that equals the left + right leader + bar = kites length.
The kite will flap de-powered and fall out of the sky.
There are a few pictures below of when we stacked the 460 and 630. If you ever have the opportunity to stack Arcs, take it , it is great fun. We used 5m stacking lines with the rear lines about 15 cm shorter. It flew very well, a bit slow in the turn but certainly powerful enough to get some serious air time.
