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*FRENCH BRIDLES*


Hector Herrera

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At least Stephen has gone to the trouble to learn another language well. And you?

Aww, JM! What is it with you and people joking about linguists?? Watty's only having a giggle - just like I was when I ribbed you about a foriegn language post of yours a while ago. We're only jealous! :kid_content:

Lighten up, Smiler! ;)

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Impress your friends with your language skills via http://babelfish.altavista.com/

but be warned, some of the translation is a little interesting. It is better to learn the old fashioned way but it is good rough and ready solution.

Bon courage mon amis.

:blue_wink:

Very well done Stephen! that's the one I use, JEJEJEJE... I rather this jejeje or jajaja intead of LOL. it seems that LOL is cold. By the way, how do you say jejeje or jajaja in French? .....jajajaja... I think I've got you... :sign_kitelife: ...

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I flew Fabrice's kite (with French bridle) at Berck last year, but it was an SLE leading edge if I remember right...

It will be interesting to test a french bridle a 2, 3 or 4 wrap LE.

Dear John !!!

What don you mean with "2, 3 or 4 wrap LE"? . the rev you tried last year at Berck was an SLE leading edge and the kite was an SUL without mylar . , because you get to much power with it in just one area of the kite.

The best way to fly backward is to set stand off !!!!

See U !!!!

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  • 10 months later...

I flew Shawn Tinkham's kite for a few minutes last weekend. He's using a euro bridle that Lam brought back a few years ago. I could examine it carefully on his wing, but not take any measurements,... as he promised that little Canadian he wouldn't share it without permission!

He had it set-up for ultra-low wind conditions, indoor sticks and 30# spectra bridles for example.

It would track a straight line like it was fired from a laser, but the flat spins became a tangled mess. As STephen said, every area you push hard in one direction becomes a compromise in other areas. I might try-out the Crazy-Driver's bridle dimensions for precision, but I will surely miss throwing slack-line tricks out the window. I might have to start carrying two bags of kites now!

Thanks for providing the links and doing the testing to share these modifications with us too

-paul

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I might try-out the Crazy-Driver's bridle dimensions for precision, but I will surely miss throwing slack-line tricks out the window.

Now I am confused. I thought this bridle was supposed to help with slack line work - See Crazy Driver's post of 16 August.

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I didn't say Shawn was using the french site's bridle being discussed by Hector. He had one developed (or imported?) by Lam Hoac.

That one is certainly useless for slack line rotational tricks, as the outside parameter of the leading edge is where the bridle action takes place (outside of the down spars!) That means there's a snag possibility, to such an extent that it should be carefully considered for use. What do you want the kite to do magnificently? What would you be willing to give up to get that action?

Shawn does a series of flick-flaks in rapid succession, the bridle he incorporates does this very reliably (he also has sewn belt-loop styled covers over the bottom elastic knots and washers, to prevent tangles) He also drew five or six of the precision figures used in competitions, and does execute these figures very, very well!!!

I would have a difficult time giving up the flat spin tricks permanently. I do prefer a more responsive bridle configuration though (built closer to the sail and with a smaller hinge connection between the two legs)

The kite I flew with Lam's bridle on it is NOT of any value for my flying style. It was for precision and one "trick". I want to spank my kites, he's doing a delicate manipulation. Shawn's a master, worthy of defeating the famous Bugs Bunny Routine by JB,... i'm just a hack wanta'be!

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  • 3 months later...
I tried out a French Bridle (not the turbo diagram from Hector) on one of Ben's kites. I liked it so much I'm converting several more kites over. Geeze it uses a ton of line!
In what way did you find it better? Was it more suited to any particular style of flying?
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I am trying to get a bit more precise in my flying, thought this might be nice crutch for a hacker like me.

(Why practice?,... when I can change something instead!)

The new bridle didn't really allow me to do anything startling or brand new,

but it did have a nicer "grab of air", since the attachment points are actually outside of the down spars.

With a very light weight leading edge tube(s), indoor, Race or Pro. it seemed to cup more of the wind than the standard bridle. Leading edge looks like a big horseshoe in flight, when standing underneath the kite. Once in motion it didn't feel that different at all, but that 1st yank-back on the handles certainly was a weird sensation!

Since there are so many attachment points between the bridle and the frame, it's impossible to snag a flying line. Everything seems to shed a tangle pretty effortlessly. I do run the training wheels on the back of my sails though, as I like that extra stiffness in the sail/frame connections.

Geeze, that french bridle does have a lot of darn places where two legs needed to attach together during assembly. I'm still laying out a bridle board trying to determine the proper sequence of assembly and to simplify the overall process enough to present a modification clinic for the MKS Retreat over president's day weekend this February.

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hi folks, its me, chewy from germany.

please excuse my horrible english.

i just want to show you another version of "the french" bridle",

i put on my "tiger"

have a look here: TIGER

you´ll find the measures in centimetres on the bottom of the page.

i have to say, that this version of the bridle "might be good for one, but even not fpr others". if you are interested, just give it a try. if you add a a pre-tied adjustment knot system (like we use on our handles), to every fixing-point of the bridle,

you can change the flight behaviour within seconds.

try out to change the distance of the left and right part of the bridle.

maybe some of you will have fun with it!

regs chewie

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Hello all, I have several different version of the bridle on kites and for me nothing seems to work as well as

the original and thats an honest view...... Sure you can gain some ability with some changes but what I end

up losing makes it a wash for me, one of the biggest things with all the bridles i've tested was the fact that I

lose my ability to floats way off in the corner of the widow..... One of my favorite things is to take the kite as

far as it will go in the corner then walk it in even further and get 3 of the 4 lines totally slack, this happens when

my body gets in front of the kite and I just have fun with that for some reason........ Once again this is just me

but I have seen most everything thats done with a modified bridle done with the stock bridle, don't anybody

get upset cause what I talk about as far as flying is what works for me no more no less........ :kid_devlish:

Me, Me, Me, Me, this is what works for me, but I always tell people to try new things and figure out what works

for you.........Ben :blue-cool: :blue-cool: :blue-cool:

Welcome to the forum and keep on showing us new things...........

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 years later...

Crazy Drivers' French Bridle is commercially available from Flying Smiles kites (fabricated with permission of the french team by Will Sturdy) for the 1point5 platform right now. Been using this for almost two years now, most of my kites are slowly being converted.

I have one on my Zen that's still in testing stages. It is everything I'd ever hoped for and now that I have a lot of time on it I complain loudly when I'm flying someone else's wing without one.

On the Zen it allows the kite to fly comfortably in winds that you'd match up with a mid-vent. Of course you keep all the low wind performance! I marry it up with the magic sticks on the back also.

The best fifty bucks you'll ever spend on a set of kite modifications!

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Crazy Drivers' French Bridle is commercially available from Flying Smiles kites (fabricated with permission of the french team by Will Sturdy) for the 1point5 platform right now. Been using this for almost two years now, most of my kites are slowly being converted.

I have one on my Zen that's still in testing stages. It is everything I'd ever hoped for and now that I have a lot of time on it I complain loudly when I'm flying someone else's wing without one.

On the Zen it allows the kite to fly comfortably in winds that you'd match up with a mid-vent. Of course you keep all the low wind performance! I marry it up with the magic sticks on the back also.

The best fifty bucks you'll ever spend on a set of kite modifications!

REVflyer, are you pairing this setup with the stock Zen frame?

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Yes., all stock Zen tubes all around. The magic sticks are 19-1/8 inches long (125 carbon tubes). Yesterday I was out in winds from zero to 10 mph, mostly 2 to 7 range. Flying the zen on 90 feet of 90# LPG using 15 inch no-snag handles. I can't throw it that far, but with the sticks on the back that doesn't matter. It goes out as far as it goes and lands ready for inverted launch ever time. The catch is pretty reliable on this length but I've practiced plenty on 120s and the up-wind glide is like nothing you have ever witnessed. The slow precision aspect of flying this rig is simply incredible. It has a weighted presence on the end of the lines but effortlessly powers-up when you are inclined to do so regardless of the wind conditions. Dumping the air-pressure requires big dramatic movements if it's blowing, but I like to fly with this flailing style. Axels are so slow you can choke 'em back halfway and the kite will not fall forward. Ground work and target landing (like a squared-off fence post) are great practice. I'm still a little careful around kids though because the thing is so darn big.

My feeling is Revolution secretly consulted me in developing this kite. It seems it was perfectly made for my style and my local conditions. Lately it's the first kite out of the bag and last one I want to put down. I've worn out the bridle it came with, converted to the french bridle and slapped some sticks on the back of the frame from another Rev 1 kite. The sticks didn't even fit correctly, leaning in from the outside edge, instead of being 90 degrees square. The panel layouts and overall shape are different between the two kites, but I'm too lazy to make it right on the Zen.

Uncle benny advised me to move the top part of the bridle back one half of an inch, but honestly I think the darn thing is pretty sweet right now. Like I said, when these are commercially available it will be the best two $25 packets ever spent on kite modifications. Durable and a big wind range, all targeted at the low end. Want a gust buster for long lines? I'm thinkin' all that mass will channel thru the wake and swirls. A couple of power-ups and it's at the top of the wind window again. I love to just release the handles and watch it gracefully float away unencumbered by pilot interference. That freedom downwind glide is at least 3 times the released altitude in distance. I will wager no other kite can match this performance without the sticks. The french bridle is nice but less of a prerequisite and will require some time to become comfortable with it. (hours) There's no wiggle or slack bridle movement, you can yank & spank or fly all smooth & graceful in a dead calm or swirly gust. I'm loving both sides of the performance offered by this kite and enjoying the time I put into the Zen.

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Thanks for the performance description!

The stock Zen frame is a little bendy for my flying style. It sounds like the sticks and french bridle combination might help me.

I'm glad to hear that you are performing catch-n-throws (on 90' lines!) on the stock Zen frame. I did a catch on 30' lines with my Zen, and it bowtied so bad I thought for sure it was going to break. Maybe the sticks help in this situation too.

I love my Zen, the more time I spend with it, the more I enjoy it and its graceful flight. But, due to my flying style, soon I will need to do something about the stock frame to further my enjoyment - either replace it with a different frame or add something like the magic sticks to it.

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