Hybrid 240 Trim and Balance Settings for Long Glides

I have a Hybrid 240 and have two questions.

There is one silver mark on the bridle, but when I view the Horvath Website it indicates that there should be two marks. With two marks, if you move the connecting line closer to the front mark, the kite will be more responsive. With the one silver mark, can anyone let me know how far in front of the silver mark I should move the connecting line. I have moved it about 2 inches so far and that appears to work for me.

My second question is when I fly the Hybrid 240 in no wind on a calm evening. It stalls easily and does not float over a short distance unless I hold tension on the flying line after the kite has slowed down to the slower glide speed. I have added 5-inch length of AFC 2400 that fits over the center spin by the nose to move the center of gravity forward. This adjustment to the center of gravity has made it float a little better, but I still need to add a little more nose weight. Has anyone adjusted the center of gravity so that the Hybrid 240 fly’s without stalling after the slower glide speed has been achieved and did you measure the location of the center of gravity from the noise?

As an update, tonight I just added a 5-inch length of Skyshark P200 over the 5-inch AFC 2400, which moved the center of gravity to 21 5/8" below the tip of the sail at the nose. Using my old kite design program, the center of gravity provides a static margin to around 14%, which static margin works well on my own soaring 8-foot kites that I have designed for my own use and enjoyment.

For your information, my own 8-foot soaring kites are made with ripstop polyester and framed with the old Skyshark tapered Zeros for the wind spars and the straight version of the tube for the center spine. I have theses frames from when I use to build stunt kites in the 1990s. The Skyshark Zeros were too flexible for my old Raptor 8-foot stunt kite, but work great on these soaring kites. My soaring kites have a sail area of 9.67 sq.ft., weight 100 grams, which provides a calculated sail loading of 0.3649 oz./sq.ft.

It is my belief that the weight of the flying line, how much of it is in the air and its connection point to the bridle need to be considered when making these fine adjustments, since these factors can alter the center of gravity. I use a spool that contains 250 feet of 50 lb. spectra line for no wind evenings and attempt to get the Hybrid 240 above tree top height. With a slight breeze, I use a spool that contains over 600 feet of 75 lb. spectra. As you would expect after the launch on a calm evening, I have line all over the field at my feet to work with.

Thank you in advance for any response to my questions.

Sincerely

Doug