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Freilein Quadline Kites


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16 hours ago, Kiwininja said:

Hi guys, I'm new here, but starting to look around to get a decent quad and also a stunt kite. Really like the Freilein quads and was searching the web for reviews and thats how I found Extreme Kites. 

I was wondering the guys that have purchased from OSK found them to deal with and also what sort of costs was involved with the freight to ship them to Oz?

The Freilein quads are great value. Very well made.

Andy at OSK is a reliable guy, so I'd have no qualms about dealing with him.  However, the price of one of their Freileins is around US$180, plus lines US$60, plus handles US$50.  That's US$290 before shipping.  You can get the same kite with lines, handles and shipping included for US$250 from a reliable ebay seller in China.  I did, and had no problem with the deal.  PM me if you want the ebay link

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1 hour ago, Kiwininja said:

One  Freilein quad on its way. Looking forward to trying one out for the first time.

You wont be disappointed.

I have a very early Freilein and 2 more recent models (Full/Standard sail and a Storm vent). The newer ones leave a Revolution for dead construction wise.

Strength/flex wise their "Crystal T2" rods are in-between a 2 and 3 wrap Revolution Rod.

The only catch I have found with Freilein is that their end caps are slightly smaller and really tight to get a 4 wrap Rev rod out of at the end of a testing session. The other lesser wrap Revolution rods do fit well though.

Their standard Crystal T2 rods are beautifully made and I use them all the time for my "rough as guts" style of flying, be it with the full or storm vent sail.

They are one hell of a kite for the money:pardon:

(left hand end is the Crystal T2 rods x 2 sets, race rods, 2 wrap gold label ultra light, 3wrap, 2 wrap professional, 2 wrap ultra light, 4 wrap, 3 wrap Professional.

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I also bought their alloy no snag handles thinking they would be lighter for when I air travel.

But after you convert standard 13" Revolution handles to "no snag" using the blue drywall plug and screw system the standard Revs weigh only 10 grams more for the pair, as the alloy ones use solid round in their construction.:blush:

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Thanks Chook 

Once I can fly the thing I'll see what I want/need to upgrade. I'm going to catch up with Kaos for fly, hopefully I can pick up a few tips there too.

Also have a Prism Hypnotist winging its way to me that I got from Briskites to learn some stunts on too.  

Lately I've just been just playing with some cheap parafoils which I'm really enjoying and just picked up a PL Impluse off gumtree to try out aswell, just waiting some wind.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 6/1/2017 at 3:34 AM, Chook said:

The newer ones leave a Revolution for dead construction wise.
 

I'll agree with with that statement for regular production Revs.   I've never seen a stray stitch in a Freilein..

FWIW, I don't care for some of the newer design changes with the Freileins.  The holes instead of mesh in the LE is fine but the hidden T-joint for the verticals on the newer ones make stacking a really "not fun" task and in my opinion create a "hinge" or fulcrum point that focuses all the stress on a single point in case of a tip drag or impact..Your mileage will vary of course.

In contrast, It does leave a nice clean LE appearance though and has less protrusions to catch a line on when flying team or during solo slack line maneuvers.

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3 hours ago, riffclown said:

 

 but the hidden T-joint for the verticals on the newer ones make stacking a really "not fun" task and in my opinion create a "hinge" or fulcrum point that focuses all the stress on a single point in case of a tip drag or impact..Your mileage will vary of course.

In contrast, It does leave a nice clean LE appearance though and has less protrusions to catch a line on when flying team or during solo slack line maneuvers.

I don't know about that assembly as all mine are like the Revolution attachments. Just like Kiwininja's. Do you have a photo please?

I was looking at a Revolution travel frame to reduce the length down to 480mm and get it more compact in the bag for holidays (but they are 3 wrap) and with all the additional joining ferrels it must be really weighty. Sort defeats the purpose I thought.

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@Chook

As you can see it creates a smoother LE but also traps dirt and is notoriously difficult to keep clean from sand and salt residue.. I need to clean this one again..

Why complicate things when simple will do just as well?

 

Agreed on the travel frame to a point. Ferrules do have some weight but with travel frames you can also mix/match and save weight where you want but have thicker sections where you need strength so like everything else in our hobby. you are striking a balance where you need it to get the job done how you'd like...Weight vs. Strength vs. Conditions vs. Skillset, etc..

20170628_211417.jpg

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15 hours ago, Chook said:

Is it just the leading edge material that holds the vertical rod connection Tee in place, on the leading edge rods @riffclown? I can see now why it's a problem... I like the old shock cord connections.    Thanks for your pics .:good:

Not convinced it will be a problem.

Dual line sport kites use leading edge fittings to connect the lower spreaders - they don't have issues.  If you're worried about stress at the connection point, I think the ground work on duallies (tip stabs, coin tosses, axel take-offs, etc.) would put more stress on that part of the spar than the type of stuff we do with quads.

Having seen the photo from @riffclown I reckon they could have made the connection point cleaner by doing it more like a current dual line setup.  Food for thought on my next build ;-)

Just my 2 cents

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My major issue with the change is the different diameter makes stacking this style of kites an adventure to say the least.. You'll have 5 equal length stack lines and the two lines that join the tops of the vertical spars have to account for the increased diameter.. It can be addressed with pigtails for sure but I like to keep my stack lines minimal so I can throw launch the whole stack.. FWIW, I don't use pigtails.. I can use ONE of this style at the back of my stack. The rest are conventional..  As a solo kite it's fine.. it just doesn't meet my need for stacks.  It also makes it slightly more difficult to change frames. You not only have to navigate the sleeve but also the T connectors now.. Nothing Major but it is a noticeable difference.

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10 hours ago, KaoS said:

Yes, and that's what I meant by " they could have made the connection point cleaner by doing it more like a current dual line setup "

The only surface to lock it to would be the LE Spars.. I'd like for those to remain removable.. I haven't had any issues with lateral movement and the kite design is sound.. Only issues I've encountered are as said above.. Opening in the Sleeve allows grit, harder to keep clean, changes stack geometry.. Some of those are "concerns" Some are just personal preferences..

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On 6/28/2017 at 3:29 PM, Kiwininja said:

I had this turn up on Monday, hopefully fly it this weekend. And yes I realise that the spar is on the wrong side.

 

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Wow, this guy looks like a natural.  Spent a few hours flying for the first time at Moana today, he never crashed, never looked out of control.  A great addition to the quad ranks!

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2 hours ago, KaoS said:

Wow, this guy looks like a natural.  Spent a few hours flying for the first time at Moana today, he never crashed, never looked out of control.  A great addition to the quad ranks!

I think it was more to do with the expert tuition rather than any skill on my behalf. But I had an absolute blast today, it's amazing the amount of control you have with quads.

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