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.