Over steer... Discus

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[Flying High]

Well I better make a comment, Over steer is a bit like a rubber band only to a point, I modified a std JJF last year to a Excalibur standard and well because the exterior of the bridal was shorten the kite spun faster thus creating over steer. With this in mind one can freely backspin, hold fade, rise fade and perform many slack line tricks but it happens a lot quicker. So my next modification is to change the exterior adjustments to slow down the rotation to a more acceptable level so you don't have to react to the inputs so quickly. Kevin's right on the money with his advice as well, so in my opinion over steer is fine, however you have to get use to the speed the kite rotates, how the kite tracks and how you can react to the kite, some people make stunt kite flying easy. I'm getting there in my own time - no rush.

Cheers
Keith 

[inewham]

The sl7 has a pretty deep sail.

I think we can all agree there's a bit of oversteer there.

Its actually not as deep as it looks, the keel extends forward of the normal location making it *appear* deeper but the angle of the outer sail half is shallow compared to some kites, thats one of the reasons it backspins.

[/quote]
But, I'd agree that in general terms deeper sails contribute to less oversteer barring other design elements contributing to it.

The Psycho and Stranger had relatively deep sails for their size (and time) but oversteer plenty.

Personally I quite like kites with a bit of oversteer and still enjoy hacking a psycho about - its quite fun to spinstall to stab etc. on a windy day.

Alan makes a good point about technique, going back to some kites I used to fly I'm horrified at how they oversteer for about 10m by which time I'm flying straight lines and square corners again, just need time to adjust.

Vive la difference, it would be a dull world if everything turned like a Nirvana 

[RonG]

I'd say Mike hit it on the head in defining oversteer.  Lots of kites turn easily and tightly without exhibiting significant oversteer.  I'd put something like the Mamba in that category.  The downside (if you consider it a downside) of many of those kites is how easily they can be knocked off a line.  Unsteady hands, turbulent air, etc. all can send the kite in a different direction than intended.

As for kites that truly oversteer, the SL7 is the poster child for my money.  And even the SL7 can be tamed to some degree - it's a matter of being ready with a firm countering input for every turn.  You can't simply go back to neutral - the kite will keep turning.  Not that I seek to tame the SL7 when I fly it, beyond simply keeping off the ground.  A wild ride is what that kite is all about.

I built a kite for competition where neither oversteer nor hair-trigger turns were desired.  The result was a kite that tracks well and would much rather be flying in a straight line than turning.  The consequence, not surprisingly, is the need for inputs are big and aggressive, and forgoing truly tight spins.

As for whether I "like" oversteer or not....guess it depends on when you ask the question.

[thief]

it used to be that the higher aspect kites had more oversteer: Psycho, Stranger, BoT, Matchbox, Aziza......personally i like it but then i am a bit more of an old skool flyer....
you learn to anticipate the turn needed.

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