Pictures of a flight-tuned Prism E3

[Jared]

Since there's been talk on a few other forums about what it takes to make the new Prism E3 a bit more responsive for us intermediate to advanced pilots, I figured I'd post my results here, with the necessary hat-tip to DaveH and Gardner for the suggestions.

So, I moved the upper leading edge attachment point below the APA fitting:

Then I moved the lower leading edge attachment point between the batten connector and the APA fitting:

Finally, I shortened the outhauls to 21.50" (I think they were originally around 24") by tying a single overhand knot into each line:

All this gives the E3 a much tighter spin, and changes the flight characteristics from "Heavier, slower Zephyr" to "Heavier Quantum Pro" I've been having a great time doing flic-flacs and Jacob's Ladders with it.

[Frostillicus]

Thanks for the input Jared. Pics are nice too.

[Must86]

Jared,

Might have a chance to try out the mods this weekend. But one thing... a heavier QPro ? Is that possible ? I feel that both my QPros feel very heavy, and I don't take them out unless the wind is close to 10mph. I hope the mods work for me, it would be a shame to have another piece of Prism wall art...

~Rob.

[DaveA]

Sorry for a question that may have been answered elsewhere Jarad, but what was you impression of the E3 stock out of the bag ?

Have you ever flown a E2 ?

Ive been tempted a few times to buy an E3 as ive always liked to look of the E2, and the new version is said to alleviate the problems some people had with the first. (and the price is right)

Although my time with my E2 was fairly short lived as i just found it way too "over-steery".

But to be fair, i'd like to think i was a better flier now than when i had it, hense my temtation to dip my toe in the water again.

[Must86]

Hey Dave...

I have an E2 and an E3. Totally different. ~Rob.

[DaveA]

Hey Dave...

I have an E2 and an E3. Totally different. I don't know what you're looking for in an E3, but I'm sure there are alot of other kites that do it better for the $$$. (Out of the bag, not modified)

~Rob.

Sounds like you're not too rapt with the E3 Rob

[Must86]

Hey Dave...

You know, a $200 kite should come out of the bag ready to fly. If it didn't look so cool, I would throw it in the back of the closet with the QPro SUL. I spent about 2 hours last week trying to get the darn thing to fly right, and I am going to implement the changes described by Jared the next time I have wind ~10mph.

~Rob.

[DaveA]

I don't know what direction Prism is going, but it seems to me like they're going the way New Tech went. The quality control seems to have dropped off in the last few years, I've been hearing all kinds of complaints about stupid stuff.

Fair enough Rob, and i agree with what you say about Prism.

They obviously think taking the brand down a few levels is the right one, but its a shame a once great kite company is now being talked about in the same breath as New Tech and Flying Wings, but if profits are up then who are we to argue.

This image change is also hurting the kite they still wish to be regarded as the flagship, the Quantum Pro.

I got a QPro SUL last year that won't fly in 2-3mph. Like it's got lead in its tail, and I couldn't adjust it to get it to fly

I have a QPro SUL myself, and to be fair i dont really regard it as a true SUL, in those winds it stays in the bag.

However, when the winds pick up a bit i really enjoy it, its veeeery different from all the other kites in my bag, but thats part of the attraction for me, i find it very satisfying pulling off tricks with it that other kites give out for free.

Try flying it in stronger winds than you think it wants and you might be surprised, it does have a good wind range for a "SUL"

...but if the bridle is upside down...

[Must86]

Hi Dave...

As far as the SUL and flying in 2-3mph wind... I have standard kites that will fly with a little work in that wind, including the QPro standard. There is definitly something wrong with it.I won't even mention the poor people that ordered venteds and had to wait something like 6 months for delivery. I would've forgot I ordered it.

I do appreciate flying the QPros once in a while after working on my other easier to fly kites. I've always been able to do all my tricks on the QPro, they just look better now with the practice on the other kites. As far as the QPro being the flagship... It's 5 years old, or more at this point. Time for the Q2 ?

~Rob.

[Jared]

Rob has pretty much nailed it for me already (sorry to take so long to reply)

I do own both an E2 and an E3. I should have bought the E2 last year when I was first starting out, but I went with the Zephyr instead, because my inland winds are a little to light for what I thought the E2 could handle (I was wrong, but that's a story for another day).

The stock E3 is sluggish, has a very, very wide turning radius, and while it would do rollup tricks without too much trouble, all the rotational stuff was either far too difficult, or not even possible.

Like Rob said, for a $200 kite, and particularly one that's likely to be many a flyer's "first serious kite", it left a horrible impression. Honestly, I wasn't even going to buy the E3, but the Berkeley limited edition was too stunning to pass up.

Now that I've made the change, the handling is closer to the E2, but with improved pitch performance. I'm able to do 540s on it, and flic-flacs, and side slides, which were missing with the stock settings. I was very lucky that DaveH and Gardner put the work in before I came along, because I wouldn't have had Rob's patience to spend 2 hours tweaking mine.

[Must86]

Hey Jared...

I am not usually known for my patience... But you're right, the Berkeley E3 was such a nice design, I had to have it. It looked so cool in the air, that I had to stick with it and get it to fly right.

When you consider that you can get a Blue Moon Muse or a Nebula for basically the same money, I think Prism should really get their act together, I can't see how an intermediate pilot could possibly progress on an E3. It might cause some people to give up on 2 line kites all together.

~Rob.