Modifying Kites  General Information.

Some people buy products and just use them. Some people have to alter, in some way, the product from the original specification, whether it be cars, motorcycles or kite. I just like modifying kites just to see what will happen. I hardly ever make alterations to the canopy mainly because of the massive amount of work involved with changing something. Playing around with the bridle configuration on kites can completely alter the way the kite behaves, either increasing the power or, in certain circumstanced destroy it completely.
These next few pages are organised in, more in a mad inventor way, rather than in any logical order. Some ideas and mod's to certain kites have worked very well, but others have been a disaster. I have developed some of my own systems to depower kites over the years but recently have used existing systems which have been altered to suit different kites. UDS is a great system and I have played around with a great deal. PARAFLYSURFER.DE who have developed the system need a big pat on the back for a brilliant design. The illustrations above show the system retro fitted to a U-Turn Oxigen Pro, a kite that was designed with this system in mind.
A BIG RED WARNING:  I don't mind destroying kites, most of the time I can fix what I break and I enjoy playing around with a kites performance. By its very nature this pastime produces results that do not always work, some project are a success, some are not. Playing around, modifying kite bridles or anything else for that matter is very dangerous, will invalidate any warranty you have on your kite and may result in your, death. Be warned and always test mods in light wind.

The images above are of a UDS II system and are used just for illustration purposes. This rule applies to most depower systems. The top line in the pictures is the A bridle. In position B all the tow points of the bridle are equal. On most kites this results in a fully powered up position. Position A results in the kite being depowered because the AOA has been altered allowing the angle of the canopy to the wind to be shallower. Position C shows the back of the canopy being pulled down so presenting more canopy to the wind. This results in more power but then followed with the canopy stalling.
An easy way to understand this is, the next time you are in the bath try this.
Flatten your hand, fingers together. Push your hand through the water, fingertips first. Your hand will encounter very little resistance and you can move if fast, quickly. Now change the position of your hand relative to the direction in which you are pushing it. Your palm should now be facing the direction you are intending to move your hand. The water pressure can now be felt on your hand as you move your hand through the water. This resistance make it harder to move your hand quickly but creates a bigger wake around your hand. A kite performs in the same way. A small area of canopy shown to the wind will travel fast but without much resistance( pull) A larger area of canopy shown to the wind will create a larger resistance slowing the kite down but creating massive pull. The depower system gives the flyer the ability to alter the AOA (Angle of attack) canopy position relative to the wind, increasing or decreasing power.
All the pulleys used in depower systems allow the lines to move freely although rings can be just as good.

There are other depower systems on the market, Pegas Wingwarp is one example although you will find it is the same as the Ozone Frenzy system, in layout but not in practical application. Both are very simple systems but are very effective on some kites. I currently have a Wing warp fitted to a Viokite V03 and it is simply brilliant.

Viokite Mods

I Currently been working with Viokites altering the depower systems to provide a much better range. The kites are Ok in standard form but the simple bridle mod I have devised transforms the kite into something very special. The Proteus range relies on a limited depower and zip combination to fully depower the kite in all wind ranges, with Vio believing that the correct size kite should be flown in the correct wind. This is a good policy considering the low cost of the kites but does limit you in that you can not fly one kite in a massive wind range. Compare this kite to  Flysurfer Voodoo or Psycho 2 which has a massive depower range, the Vio looks very primitive.
My Bridle modification changes all this, not sure if Vio would approve, however, everyone that has flown these modified kites have commented on how much better they are. Are they better than the standard kite, I am not sure.? With the Mod they are more like all the rest, with a vastly improved depower range and small amount of added lift. Combine this with the zip system and two kites, Proteus 11 and Proteus 7 will cover the entire wind range. 

I am asked the question a great deal, ' is the Proteus better than the Frenzy or Voodoo.'  You will need to read the Proteus 7m review in PDF format to get a full answer to that question, but the short answer is Yes. If you place these kites side by side and weigh up all the pro's and con's of each you will reach the conclusion that the Viokite Proteus is remarkable value for money given the performance it offers. Read the review and make your own mind up, better still fly a Viokite.

Trim Straps

This is an easy mod for anyone to do, fixed bridle or depower. Fit trim straps to all your lines of your bar instead of leader lines. This way you can adjust all your line lengths while flying giving the kite an instant change of feel. Make sure though that they are of good quality and high enough braking strain.  Moving lines over knots is ok but if you want to change things quickly especially with the kite in the sky it is so easy. Stalling the kite, securing it on the ground is also very quick by tightening the brake lines.

The C-quad Bar

I really do not do handles, I find them far to tiring, the bar is much easier. The only down side to the bar is apparent loss of fine control you get with handles. All my depower kit is flown on a bar and my fixed bridle kites on a C-Quad bar. The advantage of this bar is that you get the convenience of the bar with all the fine control of handles. It takes a bit of getting used to and requires you to learn a new flying control style but it is well worth it. It also really suits kites that need a little more direct brake force to fly well, Nasa Wing, Mac Bego, C-Quad, even big Blades. This can be one of the best investments one can make especially if you want to fly your fixed bridle kites on a bar and want full four line control and an effective safety solution.


Ozone Frenzy and Wing warp physical comparison

Flysurfers Mods