Tim Benson once again is offering a custom program for his kites. A number of folks from the Fractured Axel forum have already jumped on this resulting in the cool DS and DSUL designs shown below.

So, why not make your next Benson an extra special one

So it’s finally here – the Deep Space Ultra Light (DSUL) has landed. To say there has been a bit of wait would be understating things rather, as the kite has been in development in the Benson workshop for a little while now, and in serious development since the start of 2009. It’s fair to say that Tim Benson doesn’t release a new kite until he’s completely happy with it.

DeepSpace standard (left) and ultralight (right)

The obvious question has to be asked. What, and who, is the DSUL for? Given that the standard Deep Space (DS) has a published lower wind range of 3mph, and can be flown with a few small tweaks down a little lower, the first of these questions isn’t quite so easy to answer. Perhaps it’s just an obvious progression and a useful addition to the DS pilot’s quiver to have a light version capable of extending the lower end of the flyable and trickable range. Hence the second question is also addressed. It’s a kite for the flyer who already appreciates the capability of the standard DS, but who wants to exploit those light wind days, or avoid being grounded when the wind drops. As with the UL versions of most other top-end kites, it’s unlikely to appeal to most as their first DS.

From the very beginning, Tim didn’t want the DSUL to simply be a re-frame of the existing sail, but a fully optimised kite in it’s own right. There have been several unofficial DSUL’s (and one official one) with pilots exchanging the standard P200/5PT frame for something lighter. So as well as a lighter frame, the DSUL sports a sail lightened in key areas. The Mylar reinforcement is lighter, and less obvious is the reduction of the internal LE reinforcement at the cutouts and wing-tips. In the final version, the LE material is the same Dacron as used in the standard. Although several lighter materials were tested (a process which was responsible for the most recent delay in releasing the kite), none were found to perform satisfactorily. This leaves the sail closer to the standard than was desired – perhaps if a suitable material can be found a later iteration will emerge.

The geometry of the sail is shared with the standard version, as is the bulk of the material being Icarex PC31. and many of the neat touches are also carried over. The handling of the wingtip tensioning is super-neat, and the standoff sail fittings are concealed in pockets to give a smooth rear surface of the trailing edge. Adding in neatly formed and cut nose and tail reinforcement makes line-snags near-impossible. The DSUL also retains the roll-bar design from the standard, again eliminating areas for lines to get accidentally caught while providing an easy-to-catch yo-yo stop solution.

Super-neat LE spreader cut-outs sporting reduced reinforcement for weight saving

Snag-free and smooth treatment of the reinforcement at the nose and tail

Lighter Mylar used in reinforcement of the trailing edge (standard on right)

As for the frame, it’s basically lightened in all the obvious areas. The spine and leading edges are P90 rather than the standard P200, 3PT’s replace 5PT’s as lower spreaders and the upper spreader is thinned a fraction from 5.5mm to 5mm tube. Pretty normal changes then, but yet the attention to detail in a Benson kite is evident in the less obvious alterations. Shaving the standoffs and roll-bars down from 3mm to 2.5mm and 2.3mm to 2mm might not be immediately apparent, but have been implemented to save a precious few grams. But now the dedication to optimisation (some might say obsession) really starts with 3 grams shaved off the tail weight and hollow LE ferrules. Even the bridle line is lighter than the standard. The overall effect is to reduce the weight of the kite from 305g to 240g, representing a little under 20%.

Thinner rods are used for the upper spreader and roll-bars on the DSUL

As ever, Benson build quality is superb

The conclusion then, is that this version of the DS, already an excellent kite, is pared down to the absolute minimum with no area of weight saving left unexplored, and with build quality amongst the best in the business. It should therefore prove to fly in the lightest winds and remain trickable too, although the inevitable compromises due to the lack of mass, and hence momentum, will have to be accepted. Of course, everyone wants to know how it actually performs, but that will have to wait for now since Murphy’s Law has ensured that since delivery I’ve had nothing but ballistic winds. For now then, I’ll have to be content with imagining how it is to fly, but I’m sure that when the time comes, the DSUL won’t disappoint.

Update – The First Flight!

Of course it was bound to happen. I receive a new UL kite and pen the first half of a review dealing with the build, assuming that I will be able to get out and fly it and make some comments on that later. One bathroom re-fit and four weeks of high winds later and I decide to get the build part out there as there seems no prospect of flying the kite for the foreseeable… Murphy strikes again. One week later and I’m blessed with an hour of evening wind at 2mph – perfect for the DSUL. So finally, here are my thoughts on how this baby actually performs.

It’s a little while since I’ve flown a light kite. My DS standard flies so low that I’ve been happy to work a little harder and use that, or pack up and do something else. Of course, I wanted a UL, but I was happy to wait for the DSUL to emerge from Cornwall. So, was it worth the wait? Oh yes, you bet it was!

After a 10 minute warm-up on the standard and with the wind dropping to the point where I’m struggling not to loose too much ground, I figure it’s time to give the UL its maiden flight. Set-up is just as the standard, and a smooth tug on the lines has the kite in the air. First impression – whoa, this really is light. It feels almost like there’s nothing there (remember, I’ve only flown standard kites). So it’s really light on the lines. Next, let’s try a few axles, and yes, this is a DS. The response is reassuringly familiar, but then a subtle difference emerges. It’s clear there is significantly more frame flex, absorbing the input and adding a tiny delay between the input and the response. It’s to be expected but it needs an adjustment in flying style after which lovely floaty cascades just fall into place. So now it’s time for a yo-yo and another difference becomes apparent. While the standard is happy to pitch around it’s lower spreaders, the UL needs more room and rotates gracefully around a circle. Of course, a little more slack is required and results in the first few attempts being choked off. It’s also clear that the whole flying experience is slower and calmer, the DSUL being the older and more considered brother to the standard’s rebellious teenager. While unmistakably DS, It has it’s own character preferring to be persuaded to perform manoeuvres rather than forced to. I’m sure it can be thrashed around it you like, but you’d miss out on a far more rewarding and subtle experience.

The slower pace is something that is really nice on this kite. If you want it, it will give you a little more time to react to things, while retaining the flowing nature of the standard. 540’s can be made really flat and closer to a true flatspin on the spot than the standard and the kite gives the impression that super-slow taz’s would be possible. Sadly, these are beyond me for now, but one trick that seems to really flow out of this kite is the slot machine. You have enough time to get the kite flatter before the spin input and as a result the kite spins on a flat plane rather than an inclined one. A direct result of this is that it comes out of the first spin and begs to be spun again. I found multi-slots on the spot pretty easy and much prettier without the need for a tiny bit of flying between the spins. This gives access to combinations of tricks that I’ve not even attempted before, 540-to-slot being one such example that seemed to be given up easily. I could also feel that various duplex variations were close, and something I feel I could achieve with some work.

Flaring the kite feels just like the standard, but the pull to fade is a little different. The lack of mass means the kite needs a longer and gentler pull and a little more time and slack to get to the fade position. Once there though it seems to lock in better than the standard. Maybe it was just the relatively smooth wind (and the bumpy stuff I fly the standard in), but I really could hold a fade for as long as I wanted, rising it all the way through the window with ease. Of course, the JL is pretty straightforward too, with just a little extra time required to flip the kite back to the fade. Backspins were there, albeit a little slower and needing a slightly gentler touch. One surprising aspect was the performance of Lazy Susan spins. Since the kite doesn’t settle deeply in a backflip like some others, the more dynamic approach of giving the spin input during the back-flip rotation is required, a characteristic that is shared with the standard. The momentum carried through the spin though, is quite surprising for a light kite being at least as good as it’s heavier sibling. The kite also floats nicely on its back in the spin without losing excessive altitude meaning flapjacks can be executed low and slow, and multis are in there too.

A final word on the frame – although it exhibits significantly more flex than the standard, it strikes me as pretty robust. I gave it a couple of pretty firm tip-stabs without complaint, and the long grass at the field cause a few decent bends in the leading edges during recoveries. It’s been reported that it can withstand a fair level of abuse with prototypes being flown in 15-20mph wind without problems…

So what can we conclude? It feels and performs like a light version of a DS! It might surprise you in a few areas, and if you like the DS standard, all the surprises will be good ones. If the DS standard is “float and gloat”, then the DSUL is definately “floatier and gloatier”.

-Ben

Perhaps you have heard that Tim Benson was updating the Gemini ? What would it be like ? Would it be a whole new kite or just the old one with rollbars ? Recently I got the privilege of finding out when Frazer loaned me his brand new, updated Gemini. It came with a price though I had to write about it. Being a big fan of Tim’s kites this was more of an honor than a task.

I remember the excitement the first Gemini produced, as Andy Wardley gave the kiting world tidbits of its development. This was going to be a radically new kite with a radically new bridle that in 1999 would change the kiting world. Though it didn’t bring world peace it did create a standard that all new kites after that were measured by. The Gemini was stable in flight yet a radical trickster as well. Reviews referred to it as ‘an instant classic’. The quality of construction, unique design, and excellence in performance made the Gemini one of those rare breed kites that kept its appeal for years to come. But time marches on.

New tricks were created; tricks that exposed the weaknesses of the Gemini. Though the Gemini really is a classic, it began to show its age. Almost everyone has one, yet we pull it out when we want to remember, not when we want to learn new tricks.

Thus, what would a new Gemini fly like ? Tim has already proven that he can keep up with the newest trends with his Deep Space. What would he do with making a new Gemini ? Over the years a few designers have had the pleasure of updating a popular design. Usually the result would be a new kite. I recall one that simply took the old name and tagged it onto a new completely different design.

What joy it was flying the new Gemini and discovering it still is a Gemini. It took me back nine years to that first day of flying the original. What Tim has done in his masterful way is to keep the strengths of the original and improve its weaknesses. And improve them he has. What a thrill it was in flight. Though it was a day that was way too cold to be outside flying, it was such a joy flying the Gemini that I forgot about the temperature; I forgot that I can’t do a taz machine. I was lost in popping effortless backspins (or rotofades as folks on this side of the pond use to call them back when the Gemini first came out). I was lost in popping one of my favorite tricks, a trick that few of the new kites do with ease – double axels. And like the original, beautiful flatspins. As I moved to the newer tricks I was amazed at the ease and speed which it does rolls up. The rollbars work perfectly catching the lines even when my execution was less than perfect. I soon was lost in the thrill of flying a kite that I remembered well, yet performed as if it was ten years younger and made to meet the demands of today’s standards.

There’s no need to write about quality, because it is a Benson. Tim has and still builds masterpieces in regards to construction. BTW, as I compared this brand new gem with my original that is over eight years old, the only way to tell them apart was the dirt on the old one. There are no signs of construction breakdown, even in the bridle-with its ‘tangled crossover legs’ that many complained had premature wear, somehow mine shows no signs of wear.

Enough of that, what I’m sure you really want to know are the intricate details of how this Gemini is different. More to the point, does it warrant replacing your Gemini. I contacted Tim to get the full scoop from him. Tim shared that from the very beginning this modification was meant to do much more than add rollbars. The frame has changed from Structil to Skyshark rods.

“I wanted to keep the roll bar connector at the ferrule point (like on the Deep Space), it makes production much easier and allows easy access should the connector need replacing, I couldn’t find an effective method of achieving this using Structil but with Skyshark and the internal ferrule it solves the problem. It also helps solve the problem of leading edge breakage. The new set up still retains the core features of the old Gem like flat axels, backspins and general floaty laid back style, but the stiffer frame gives it a more responsive feel and gives an added durability, especially with ground work and hard tip stands.”

Besides the change in rods the kite also got a ‘tummy tuck’. I didn’t notice it at first. It wasn’t until I pulled out the old and switched back and forth between the kites. This new one seemed slightly smaller ? Tim kept the sail the same size and shape but trimmed the spines, top spreader and leading edges. The leading edges are now about 5 cm shorter than the original. With these changes the kite will easily roll up without adding any weights. Of course there are now the usual improvements to the sail’s leading edges, a neat trim nose, with glides over each edge connector.

I asked Tim to describe what changes were made to the wing tips; here is what he said,

“Yes the wing tips are the same style as the Deep Space, the leach line is stitched secure inside the tip, the internal stiffener is to prevent buckling or scrunching from the pull of the leach line, it also provides extra reinforcing for the wing tip tensioning cord. There is also internal reinforcement on all the leading edge covers, not sure how best to describe those BTW, they’re more of a “glide” than a cover I suppose, they have the same effect of course. I am now also machining down the lower connector to give a smoother tension on the sail around the lower cut out.”

One other change from the original is the lower spreader. It is now a three piece spreader with a center section with long internal solid rods for support. All these little changes have a very positive effect on the kite. Though it still feels and flies like a Gemini, it’s a little quicker. Turns have a touch more snap to them. There’s just a touch of over-steer, so that it does not have the rail like tracking of the original, but who flies a Gemini just for precision? I didn’t notice this until I was switching back and forth between the old and the new.

As mentioned in the beginning, it excels at rotational tricks: backspins, axels, double axels, flatspins and slot machines. Oh, and course flic-flacs, and cascades. Now the rollup tricks are added to its repertoire. Though it still doesn’t sit deep in a turtle, and the Jacob ladders still requires a light touch. I doubt there’s a trick that the kite will not do. But it’s not what the kite will do that makes it special, its HOW it does them. What this kite has that makes it stand out is that intangible – personality. I’ve flown a few kites that were easer to trick but were boring to fly. Tim’s new creation has that trademark he puts in all his kites, that when one flies it the way it was meant to be flown it captures the flyer. This is not a kite to just use to learn a new trick, it’s a kite to enjoy, to experience, to forget about what you can’t do and let it flow from one move to the next and even to those moves that have no name that you can’t repeat. It’s far more than just a pair of rollbars on an old classic. To anyone that enjoyed flying the original Gemini, you will love how Tim has updated it. I can’t wait to be able to get my own.

The Gemini series now feature SkyShark framing and the Gem / UL have updated geometry, bridles and include rollbars. Theres a new color scheme for the Gem too, as seen in the videos by Andy Wardley and Lars Fakkeldij.

Tim writes “The Gemini series has had a make-over ! The sail shape and graphic remain the same but everything else has changed, the frame is now mainly Skyshark, there’s a new Andy Wardley Tristar Active bridle, the frame has a narrowed centre section, and the sail now includes features we’ve previously used only on the Deep Space, like roll bars, yo-yo glides and snag free reinforcements around the tail, nose, tips and stand-off’s.”

Theres no Deep Space UL as yet … but it surely can’t be too far off now Tim’s got his mojo back :-)

]]> http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/new-bensons/feed 0 http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/deep-space-ul-update http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/deep-space-ul-update#comments Sat, 19 Apr 2008 21:43:21 +0000 admin http://www.kiteclique.com/?p=96 More detailed framing information for those of you considering re-framing to a DSUL.

These specs come from Tim Benson himself and we thank him for providing them. Note that the UL has the same dimensions/measurements as the STD, its just the choice of spars which differs.

Note: Pultruded/Structil 5.5mm could also be used for the spine in which case it should be 78cm.

So I weighed the kites and the tail weights.

My technique for weighing the kite might well be a bit suspect as I’m balancing the kite on its wingtip on the scale – the other wingtip leaned against a wall but the same technique was used for both kites.

More detailed framing information for those of you considering re-framing to a DSUL.

“The cross-active bridle is based on Andy Wardley’s cross-active bridle for the Gemini and Gemini UL. This scaled down version was made to see if the improvements to the full sized kites could be reproduced on the mini.

The conversion keeps the upper and lower outhauls exactly as on the standard bridle. Leave these (they are one single piece of bridle line) attached to the kite and the tow-point pigtail. Remove the inhauls and all other lines from the original bridle. Tie new inhauls to the spines and then to the tow-point pigtail. Tie the activators from the upper outhaul to the inhaul 23cm down from the tow-point on each line, then tie the cross-activator between the centre points of each activator.”

]]> http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/minigem-bridle-mods/feed 0 http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/new-to-the-bag http://v2.1.kiteclique.com/wordpress-3.0/wordpress/new-to-the-bag#comments Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:23:40 +0000 admin http://www.georgina-faye.com/wordpress-2.3.3/wordpress/?p=20 A Benson Deep Space UL arrived today. This kite was originally sold at auction to Allen Carter at Kite Party 4 (KP) and then resold to David Cathey at the KP auction the following year. It still in very nice condition, were it not for the dirt on the nose it could be unflown. I believe it is framed in SkyShark P90 and 3pts. It has rollbars but made of carbon rather than the heavier fibreglass used on the standard.

From Tim Benson himself – here are the UL specs.

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