HQ Beamer 5.0M

I purchased my first 3 kites from AirBoss World. A 1.8m Beamer, a 3.6m Beamer and a 5.0m Beamer. Due to the distinct lack of wind, it's the 5.0m Beamer that's been used the most.

Why did I go the Beamer route? Well this is my first entry into Traction Kites and I didn't want to put myself off with a kite that was too powerful for a beginner and I didn't want to spend too much money in case I didn't enjoy the sport and waste too much money. That put me down the Buster/ Beamer route. I had the chance to fly a 3.0m Buster and I just didn't feel too comfortable with it so that edged me towards the Beamers. The Beamers come with good quality lines, the kites look nice with the contrasting internal ribs and they come with a ruck sack so it was the Beamers for me. I got an excellent deal with the kites and got a package of Beamers for the same price as similar size Busters.

First Impressions.
Having very little to compare, I didn't really have much in the way of first impressions. I had gone down the Beamer route for the reasons quoted above and I wasn't disappointed when I got the kites home and checked out the purchases. The manufacturers, HQ state RTF, that's not the case, the lines and handles are not connected to the kite. Its not a major problem, connecting the lines to the bridles and the handles want without a hitch and the instructions in the supplied booklet were OK, but the manufacturer should not be stating RTF.

The handles were not the most impressive. Fit for purpose but only adequate. But what do you expect for the price. The rucksack for the 5.0m kite was coming apart already with stitching failure. OK it doesn't affect the kite, but if they cant even make a decent bag, then how are they going to make a decent kite. I little annoying but not the end of the world.

First Flight
I couldn't wait, there was no wind but hey, I've got a 5.0m kite, I'm sure it will find some wind. Wrong. The kite rose up with the help from a friend lifting the kite and then floated back to earth. I suppose if the kite wont self launch, then there isn't enough wind. I went home again.

Second flight
The following day there was a bit more wind so off I went to the flying field. Pulled the kite out of the bag and set up. I obviously did something wrong with packing away because I spent 20 minutes un-tangling the lines. Another observation was made, because the Beamer bridle is knotted as opposed to stitched, if the lines and bridle are twisted, there is a lot greater risk of things getting knotted together.

Once all the bridles and lines were sorted, the kite was brought into wind, and whoosh, straight to the zenith. Not too much pull, bearing in mind it wasn't very windy (no more than 5-6mph), but enough to know I had a kite with some power on the end of the lines.

I have said this before but I will say it again, I really didn't have a lot of experience with traction kites but the Beamer 5.0m treated me gently. Through the wind window the kite pulled hard. Enough to have me scudding on dry grass. Quite good considering the lack of wind.

The kite flew quite slowly which was good for a beginner. Turned o.K. on the main lines but turned very well when adding some brake. I did have a few problems with the kite luffing but I think that was down more to the lack of wind and the pilot flying the kite outside of the window. One other thing I noted about the kite was its tendency to over fly when raising the kite to the zenith. A little brake and a little more wind would clear that minor problem. The suggested setup for the brakes were to have the lines attached to the third knot on the brake bridle. After playing around a little, I felt the kite flew best in this lack of wind with the lines attached to the first knot. Maybe the kite needs different settings for different winds. Time will tell.

Conclusions.
Again, I would like to point out that I cant compare flying the Beamer to anything other than a 3.0m Buster. I felt a lot more in control flying the Beamer. Considering the size of the kite it flew very well in virtually no wind.

The overall package is good value for money, great kite, nice looking, decent rucksack, good lines. The handles on the other hand are poor and should be replaced with quality handles. Alternatively wear decent gloves. I have some waterskiing gloves which I will try to see if the handles are more useable.

If you want a good starter kite try the Beamers. I really like the 5.0m and feel that it will be used a lot. But lets get some more wind so I can try my smaller kites out.

By : Rainady