It's been a while since I've owned an HQ Shadow, but it seems to me that the stock bridle had very limited adjustability.
Maybe it's just me, but I've felt the need to tinker with the bridle on just about every HQ kite that I've ever owned.
Got a mod for a breeze bridle?
The only modified changes for my Breeze was to add a slightly longer outter standoffs in order to outwash the wing tip trailing edges (which for some reason...seemed to increase the turn rate and better backspins..also added two small brass washers to the end of the spine to move the CG back a tad?
Also added a couple of those great little clip on plastic yo-yo stoppers...also to give a little extra turn boost?
Still doesn't begin to give as much fun n game...that my beloved Shadow which was one of the first 5 to be sent to the US for our Kathy Goodwind here in Seattle.
This old first production to the States Shadow has a very different bridle than the new one that I flew last winter at Cannon Beach. I too made some a little extra weight over the first spine weight, which also seemed to give a little better performance...(HOWEVER...THIS EXTRA WEIGHT MOVED THE CG BACK...WHICH SEEMED TO INDUCE A LITTLE EXTRA OVERSTEER.
Not a problem if you can use push turn inputs instead of pull?....Seems like any BEAUTIFUL BRAND NEW KITE...NEVER SEEMS TO FLY JUST RIGHT...until after they have picked up lots of air time and a little extra beach rash n trashin' time.
MY MOST PICKY PICKY IMPORTANT TWEAT ON ALL MY KITES....IS THAT I ALWAY BALANCE EACH AND EVERY SPORT KITE IN MY BAG TO INSURE THAT BOTH WING PANELS ARE EQUAL IN MASS...IF ONE WING IS EVEN SLIGHTLY HEAVIER ON ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER...OR THE BRIDLES OR FLYING ARE NOT EQUALLY ADJUSTED OR PRESTRETCHED.BOTTOM LINE:EVEN THE MOST BEAUTIFULLY MADE KITE IN THE WORLD WILL FLY LIKE CRAP...IF ANY OF THESE ITEMS ARE OVERLOOKED.A few years ago...A young man walked up to me and my young son Ryan...with a brand new PrismQ QPro and wanted to trade it straight across for my son's old SUPER CHEETA made by Darlene and Fred Fredricks.
We both laughed...Walked over to where he was flying....Right away we noticed that not only was one flying line about a foot longer than the other...also one bridle line was wrapped around the top spreader.
We re-adjusted both the bridle and the lines.
(Humm? TRUTH BE KNOWN... $$$ WAS NEVER THE ISSUE HERE?
MY SON RYAN LOVED THAT FAST FLYIN OLD NOISEY SUPER CHEETA in those DAZE DAYS...i know for a fact that Ryan would NEVER TRADE THAT LOVEABLE OLD KITE...EVEN FOR A BRAND NEW PRISM Q Pro.
