Peter Lynn Guerilla II 13M

After developing my skills (or should I say nerve) from my old Beamer II, through my first depower (FS Cool) to bigger things (Ozone Frenzy) I decided to fall for the hype and go for an arc and while I'm at it, go for one much bigger than I really should!!

Which led my to a certain poster on this site who had a PL Guerilla II 13m (and an 18m for my mate) for sale.

After arranging to meet up at a very bleak, very windy Hoylake as a half way point, the kite was set up and was demonstrated. Decided there and then not to take it out in 25mph winds for a while. Anyway, on with the review.

In true RaceKites style...

The Bag

Well designed extendable bag allowing you to put the G away without taking out the spars. Loads of compression straps and all sorts of dangling things to hang things from! No danger of getting the kite material snagged. All in all, very good.

The Kite

Apart from it's immense size, fairly unremarkable! As it is second hand, there were a couple of repairs but looked good quality. Obvoiusly being an arc, there are no bridles to worry about. Haven't really inspected the carbon spars yet.

There are different connection points to alter the steering pressure.

Inflation and deflation point is in the centre of the kite, which doesn't seem to be the best design but I beleive PL have resolved this by putting the inflation point at the wingtip.

There are 3 one-way vents on the front - more about that later.

Inflation and Launching

On the first flight, the wind was about 12-15mph so the kite took about 2 minutes to pre-inflate. I'd imagine in lighter winds, pre-inflation would either take forever or not happen at all!

With the kite at about 70% inflation. I adjusted the strap to full power (if you knew me that would not surprise), pushed the bar away and took a step back to lauch. The kite got to about 45 degrees and with a bit of flying for a couple of minutes fully inflated.

The Fun Bit - Flying

Once the kite was at full inflation, it sat directly at the zenith and required absolutely no input to keep it there. I haven't progressed to boarding/surfing but can already see that this would be a god send.

Dropping the kite into the power led to a fairly meaty scud (well run as I had my walking boots on), taking it back to the zenith and pulling in the bar gave a really smooth lift and flight. A small gust caught the kite and I was lifted again but never felt 'out-of'-control'. With a bit more confidence (and skill with turning a much larger kite than I'm used to) I attempted my first pendulum jump. OMG as the kids say. Up, up and away with a lovely soft landing!

Compared with 'normal' foils, the handling is different and perhaps not quite so direct. But due to the fact that it doesn't luff and is relatively unaffected by gusts, I was impressed with my new purchase.

Summary

As it's my first real experience using an arc I'm in no real position to compare it with the other PL twinskins, but due to it's stability, amazing lift and ease of control I'm looking forward to mastering the art of boarding with this beast. Time will tell if it becomes my favourite over the Frenzy in steady beach breezes, but signs are pointing that it will!
 

By : davekermito