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Huffheinz

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About Huffheinz

  • Birthday 01/28/1974

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  • Website URL
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Profile Information

  • Favorite Kite(s)
    Cherry Bomb, Pocket Sled (Home Made), Delta Conyne
  • Flying Since
    April, 2007
  • Location
    Kansas City, Missouri
  • Country
    United States

Huffheinz's Achievements

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  1. I finally got some fly time on my new cherry bomb tonight! The winds were pretty low (I'm guessing 5 gusting to 8) but I was able to launch her and keep her in the air without any problems. It took me a little while to get used to where the wind window was and how it would grow and shrink with the strength of the wind. Since I'm a newbie I stuck to flying large circles, figure 8s, and squares (per Dodd's advice in the video). I was really concentrating on flying straight lines and using small and slow controlled inputs. I also found that my hands kept creeping up to shoulder height, a habit that I want to nip in the bud. I also found myself wanting to cross one hand over the other when flying push turn squares....talk about getting your wires crossed! I put the lines into several wraps just to convince myself that the kite will remain in control, even with 10 wraps in it. I crashed it a couple of times, but only when it stalled out when I was near the edge of the window so they were nice and soft. One major lesson I learned tonight: When you're in a stall on the edge of the window, pulling with the inside line only spins the kite out of control, it doesn't steer it back in. I practiced a few controlled stalls in the middle of the window, just to get a feel for how the kite reacts to different inputs. A couple of those landed in the grass too, but it didn't seem to hurt the kite at all...not even when I panicked and smacked it into the ground by pulling on the lines instead of pushing. The kite really flew like a dream...MUUUUCCCCHHHH better than the el-cheapo Texsport kite I've been flying recently. It was easy to set up and I didn't have to make any adjustments to it at all. It is sewn together beautifully and everything just seemed to fit. I was surprised to see that, instead of using a molded center tee, the upper and lower spreaders were held to the spine with an o-ring. It seemed to hold it in position but I wasn't sure exactly where the center of the spreaders were because there is no mark (something I will remedy before the next flight). (Photo courtesy of Kite Life Cherry Bomb Review) It was completely silent and it seemed to move nice and slow in the light winds. I only heard the slightest flap of the sail during some particularly strong gusts thanks to the leach(sp?) lines on the trailing edge. And I have to say that the CB looks awesome in the air...the colors are really vivid...the pictures on the internet do not do it justice (it reminds me of a red-eyed cicada). I'm extremely happy with my $43 investment in this entry-level kite. It has been a joy to fly so far and I am confident that it will keep me entertained for many hours of flight.
  2. Alas! Mother Nature and a visit from my mother-in-law have thwarted my attempts to even get my new cherry bomb to the field!!! This is driving me nuts!! Maybe tonight... I bought the kite from the E-Bay store Northcoast Wind Power. The prices were comparable (if not better) than the major retailers and they had free shipping on several of the kites. So I ended up getting my cherry bomb for $42.89 delivered. I placed the order on a Thursday and I had it in hand the following Tuesday (even with Memorial Day holiday on the Monday). I would definitely recommend them.
  3. Thanks for all the advice everyone! I am proud to say that I am the owner of a NewTech Cherry Bomb!!! I went with the Cherry Bomb because I got the impression that it is more trickable than the beetle. It cost me $43 with free shipping and it arrived yesterday. I haven't had a chance to get it in the air yet but I'm hoping to go out tonight.
  4. Thanks for the advice everyone! I have it narrowed down to the Beetle, Cherry Bomb, and Bolero. As near as I can tell, they are all pretty much equivalents. Whichever one I can find the best deal on, I will go with. But a lot of you are saying Beetle....
  5. I guess I need to add: Premier - Addiction HQ - Bolero (I'm actually pretty interested in this one.) Newtech - Detonator
  6. I'm a complete newbie who bought a 64" wingspan $10 dual line stunt kite off of Ebay. I have flown it a couple of times and now I'm completely hooked. I got to the point where I could control it fairly well...figure-8's and squares are no problem. I tried multiple looping for the first time last night and managed to do a full speed nose plant. The tee holding the spine to the lower spar broke and the spine broke through the fabric at the nose. I'm going to patch this one back together, but now I'm thinking that I need another kite. One that is durable enought to handle my newbie crashes and has decent flying lines (with straps). I'm looking at: Flying Wings - Beetle Newtech - Chery Bomb (or Diode) Prism - Jazz (or Nexus) Can anyone recommend any of these or are there others that I should consider? If your friend (that's me) had $50 (or so) and said he wanted to get into stunt kite flying...which kite would you recommend? (And why...)
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