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Stryker48

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About Stryker48

  • Birthday 01/14/1958

Profile Information

  • Favorite Kite(s)
    ones that fly
  • Flying Since
    1980
  • Location
    Toronto
  • Country
    Canada
  • Interests
    Staying alive
  • Gender
    Male

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  1. Agreed! anything over 10mph I would definitely look at packing the 4D away and using a better suited standard kite for the wind conditions. Kites are designed for various wind conditions for a reason. There is no one kite that can fly in all wind conditions. If you're serious about flying and want to be able to fly in any and all wind conditions, you will need at least 3 kites to cover you for that. (UL, Standard and Vented) That been said not all kites are created equal, so finding the 'right kites for you' and your budget will be the challenging part, especially if your budget is on the lower end. Good Luck!
  2. The Prism 4D is quite capable of pulling skywriter tails up to 100ft. with enough wind. There are many Youtube vids showing the Prism 4d with 50ft. and 100 ft. tails. Good Luck!
  3. From my own multiple kite flying experience, with many trials and errors, I too had difficulty in finding the "right kite" with as little pull as possible and still offer good precision with slow to moderate speed. Most full size kites will have considerable pull and might not be the best option to hone your skills on. That been said, it also depends on your wind conditions. In low winds under 8mph, a full size ultra light will have manageable pull and not be too overpowering. Ideally you would want a SUL or UL for those very low ind days and and standard kite for winds from 8mp up to 15 mph. When it gets to 15mph and above, the pull becomes tremendous on a full size kite therefore a vented kite would be a better option in this wind range. My advice would be to get a pair or 3 decent reputable beginner kites (something like the Beetle) although on the smaller side, it is VERY durable and will definitely speed up your learning curve as they are faster than full size kites, so it will keep you on your toes and bring you endless hours of enjoyment. Once you can master them and feel comfortable with the pull they generate, you will be better adapted to try your hand at a larger stronger pulling kite. Some multiple kite flyers can fly stacks of 20 kites from each hand with tremendous pull. It CAN be done! Good Luck and safe flying.
  4. Michael, Every kite is different. Some kites have attachment points, sewn on at the factory. Some don't, and you have to get creative. As for the damage, I think that was mentioned, when someone attached a tail, up in the middle of the spine, near where the bridle lines were attached. Attach the tail at the bottom of the spine. As for the wingtips, make up a couple of short pigtails (3"-4"), and lark's head them to the loops, down near the wing tip, where the tension line or bungee is attached. Then lark's head your tails onto the knot in that pigtail. What ever you do, when attaching to wingtips, make sure you do the exact same thing, on both sides, to keep everything balanced. As for the spine, you can usually attach something, like a pigtail, to the very bottom of the spine, by lark's heading to the bottom of the spine, or to the piece of velcro, that is usually found at the bottom. Here is an explanation, and photos, of how I made a tail attachment point, on my new Delta Hawk. I did this before I ever took the kite out to fly. Flew it for a while, then decided to try a tail. It worked perfectly, but of course, there's not a whole lot to go wrong here. Oh, and I didn't have any idea what, if anything, I might attach to this kite. All I was doing, was creating an attachment point (a pigtail) that I could attach anything too. I do this on a lot of my dual line kites............ http://kitelife.com/forum/topic/5402-delta-hawk/page-2#entry36946 Just don't get too hung up on there being a "correct & proper procedure", for doing this. A lot of this is simply trial and error. Again, don't forget, this is not "rocket science". We are playing with kites. Have fun - be creative. You can try just about anything, on a temporary, or trial basis, with a few simple pigtails, and if it works, great, if not, try something else. When you hit on a solution, then you can make some permanent changes, or "not". As for attaching tails to the Rev, there's the upper wingtips, and the lower ends of the two upright spars, and maybe the center loop. I don't think that I would hook anything as big and heavy as a 100' tube tail, to any of these points, but a simple, light weight streamer, or two, shouldn't present a problem. Again, as on the dual line kite, if adding two streamers, make sure whatever you do, is balanced, from side to side. An inexpensive item, to experiment with, is surveyor's ribbon. You can get a full roll of it (Lowe's or Home Depot), for a very small investment, usually in orange or pink, and then make yourself all kinds of permanent, or disposable tails. Again, just get creative, get yourself a roll of surveyor's ribbon, make up a few pigtails, and have at it. I make up tails, using several pieces (layers) of surveyor's ribbon (maybe 4 or 6 pieces, cut 8', 12', 16', or more). I put the pieces (one end from each piece) together, fold them over a couple of times for thickness, and insert a small brass grommet through the folded area, to create an attachment point for the tail. Then I take a sharpie and label them, up near the grommet end, (i.e. 6/16, which means 6 tails X 16 feet). When done flying, just fold them up, or simply put them in a stuff bag, and use them over and over. When they wear out or become frayed, cut them off, or throw them away and make up some more. Oh, and you can attach them using snap swivels (like used for fishing) that you have tied, or pigtailed to the kite, or just lark's head pigtails through the grommet, and then onto the kite, where you may have added another pigtail. There really is no right and wrong here, just use common sense, that is, unless the kite manufacturer has provided you with attachment points on the kite. If so, snap in there, or attach a pigtail. You'll figure it out Just try something, and if it works, great ! If not , try something else. Attaching a tail to the bottom of the spine is not the best idea as it will affect the way the kite flies and turns and potentially put unnecessary strain on the spine. It's a much better idea to attach a pigtail from the T on the lower spreaders and spine which is the kites pivot point, then attach your center tail to the pigtail. You kite will fly and turn much better. (my 2cents worth!) GOOD LUCK!
  5. I agree, tails look good on kites and also revs. Here I have attached tube tails to my rev:
  6. I have 2 'new' identical SKYDOG Dream on kites (rainbow on black) which have been flown once which I'm possibly looking to trade. The kites were very recently purchased for the purpose of flying multiples (one from each hand) however the pull is a little too strong for my liking. The Dream on is essentially a team kite offering excellent precision and tracking with decent trick capability. (Kite of the year 2012) I would be willing to trade for 2 full size UL's .... depending what they are (don't mind old school) or 'possibly' for a Rev quad complete with line set and handles. My location - Ontario Canada.
  7. Unlike most folks, I personally prefer to fly on my own without spectators. It allows me to concentrate on honing in on my multiple kite flying skills without interruption. That been said, I have a plethora of kites (way too many!), single line, dual line, revs and power kites and have found from personal experience that these days power kites seem to attract more spectators than any other and I can only assume it's because of their current popularity, especially with young adults. I can only assume, the average person who doesn't know a thing about kites, assumes kites are for "kids" (yes they are wrong!) and the power kites are more for the adrenaline junkie adults, which have really increased in popularity over the last 10 years. Also, the average person for the most part, has no clue about the different types of kites on the market today.(That was me a few years ago. I since have learned the differences.) I certainly agree that as soon as you attach a tail or tails to any kite, it definitely attracts more attention. That been said, nothing attracts more attention than flying kites in multiples, (with or without tails)as it's rarely seen and a sight to behold when executed with precision and especially when flown to music like a well choreographed ballet. The GRAND MASTER "Ray Bethel" got me started flying multiples after seeing his Youtube videos and I have never looked back. "Thanks Ray for all your videos, influence and personal advice" Here are some of my multiple kite videos: If it's spectators you are really seeking to attract, my advice would be, hone your kiting skills to become proficient enough to fly and compete at large kiting events around the country. You won't be short of eager spectators then As far as what kites to have in your kite bag, well that a very debatable point. It all depends on what type of flying you are really interested in and your location, with regards to average wind speeds. If you are lucky enough to live by the ocean where wind speeds can fluctuate dramatically, your choices are very wide and you would find use for UL's as well as vented kites for much higher wind speeds. From personal experience my UL's get way more flying time than my vented kites and that's mainly due to my flying style and of course my location which for the most part has very mild breezes, rarely exceeding 10mph. Well, that's my 2 cents worth and hope it helps point you in the right direction. Happy kiting!
  8. You're welcome! I haven't tried mine out either. Hopefully in the next day or two.
  9. This is the response I got back from Shawn T Just off of the phone with Jon T: There are a couple of things on the earlier models, that are causing the problems. both of them are an easy fix. 1) There were inserts placed in the upper LE fitting. These are keeping the Upper spreader from going all the way in. The nose needs to be pulled in a bit. His suggestion was to remove the insert by, squeezing the fitting with pliers, to break the insert. Use any type of tool to remove the pieces. This will allow the spreader to seat fully. 2) The bridle needs to be stretched a bit. Those with significant time on the kite, may not need to. 3) The way that the pigtail is tied to the bridle is causing it to shorten the legs. If you are comfortable with tying a Prussic knot, you can remove the pigtail and tie properly. If not, it shouldn't be a problem as long as the bridle is able to reach the proper lengths. Bridle lengths, with the upper outhaul on the 3rd knot are... Inhaul 22 3/4" Upper outhaul 20 1/2" Lower outhaul 22 1/2" This has been corrected and they should be fine, from here on. Dealers, either have been, or are being notified. Hope this helps. Shawn T Hope that helps Steve
  10. Thanks Merlion, I will contact Jon Trennepohl re the Widow. Hello Gentlemen, I am not sure if you have been made aware of this yet. But there are some modification's that you might need to contact Premier about for the Widow. These are both structural and bridle mods. If you can't get the information direct from Premier. Then may I suggest you contact Skyburner Kites, and ask Jon T or Marieanne T to email you what is necessary. To then improve your Widow's. I fly a Widowmaker, and have heard from them direct that these mods need to happen to get the best from the Widow. Regards, Merlion
  11. I don't use weights if I'm pulling any kind of tail. As mentioned, I'm hoping to get into doing some tricks this summer. I will use the Widows for sure! This is not a light wind kite and needs at least 3 to 4mph to fly without weights and/or tails. For light winds I LOVE my Desire UL's for flying multiples. The frame is too flexible to be a light wind trick kite.
  12. Yes I got the 2 red ones. They do look very cool in the air. I'm still going to keep them as I do want to get some tricking under my belt.
  13. As mentioned, I had not covered the Widow's trick ability, which I'm sure as you mentioned, is very capable, which is what it was designed for. For my purposes however, where I'm flying one kite from each hand and putting in very sharp inputs like you would controlling the kite with 2 hands, is near impossible, so the oversteer is there to stay for me with this kite unfortunately. Flying tails off the wing tips will help somewhat. So for flying multiple kites, IMHO, it's not the best choice of kite. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it! Since this kite was primarily designed for doing tricks with its high aspect ratio, I'm sure it will more than please those looking for a trick monster with striking good looks. Another word of note: I have had a couple of moderate unplanned landings with my Widows during practice and by the end of the day, I found that I had lost one yo-yo stopper from each kite. The thin black ties that hold them onto the LE, broke very easy.(Not a 'biggie' for me since I'm not tricking them at this time anyway) I'm going to keep experimenting and try and get the most out of these beautiful kites, that I can.
  14. I purchased a pair of Premier Widows for flying multiples and was also somewhat disappointed in the kites precision. The kites have lots of oversteer at all of the bridle settings. Definitely not a precision kite, but then again, that's not really the purpose of this kite. (I don't think it can/will compare to the Widow maker):http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=HYZw3RE6dZM Since I'm not into tricks and somewhat inexperienced in that department, I won't comment on the Widow's trickability. So for my purposes, it's unfortunately not a great kite, which is a pity as it really looks great in the air.
  15. Hi my name is Steve, I have always been fascinated by those few in the USA & Canada, (Carl Bragiel, Ray Bethel, Troy Gunn, Joe Perrone & Gary MacEachern .... apologies if I have excluded anyone) who are able to fly multiple kites, so I did some research and thanks to Gustavo Di Si's very informative article on multiple kite flying: http://www.batoco.org/bibliotoco/files/MSKF.pdf I decided to take the plunge and started to learn flying multiples in April 2007, by flying one kite at a time from one hand and alternating: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=aWCOEHLoSH0 In the month of June 2007, I took the plunge & flew 2 kites at once for the 1st. time: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ds2yCi5ZBE Here are a few more videos since then, flying various kites till now.: HQ Yukon's - June 2007: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=pVDPgtIUz2I NT Desire UL's - June 2007: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=8rbvIm4wgno NT Desire UL's - July 2007: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=7Byih_QvuQE NT Desire UL's - Sept 2007: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=VOirWT2yuRc Premier T&T's - Oct 2007: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjl0zHu9x94 HQ Breeze's - April 2008: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=W9zS-dsNZRg NT Desire UL's - JUne 2008: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-BQF8Kl0ydE I hope this helps and/or inspires anyone looking at getting into flying multiple kites. Steve http://sports.webshots.com/album/555971792LZBxKr
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