p23brian

We had great weather over the weekend. Sunny with pre-Irma wind of about 12-15 with stronger gusts. I had the chance to switch back and forth between my full sail Exodus and the new Exodus Max full vent version I just picked up. I spent most of the time with using the Max. It was just a lot smoother in these conditions. I hadn't been flying for several months, but I was able to pick up pretty much where I left off. I worked on hovers, figure 8s, side slips, etc. and felt like I had pretty good control. I did find that even with 12-15 wind the Max was a little more difficult to launch than the full sail Exodus. I moved the upper lines in 1 knot on the leaders and made it much easier. It occurred to me that having some kind of handle setup that allowed adjusting the top lines on the fly would be pretty cool. Have no idea how to make it work, but it might be something to spend some time noodling over. I can definitely see that flying quads is like many hobbies where you can learn the basics fairly quickly, but spend years developing skills and fine-tuning.

First post here in a while. Last year I bought my first Quad, a full sail Freilein Exodus. I spent a few months flying it when free time and wind were available at the same time and I started getting pretty good at the basics. I cracked a frame tube (center tube on LE), probably the result of one too many "high speed landings" during my earlier attempts. It actually failed when the kite was flying, but I think it must have been weakened. As a result I wasn't doing any flying. I just ordered a replacement rod, a new Freilein Exodus Max and a 120' line set. I'll be ready to get back in the saddle shortly. Still very happy with the quality of the Freilein kite. I'm pretty certain the rod failure was due to multiple crashes and not anything inherently wrong with the frame. I think I'm going to get a ferrule and epoxy it into the broken rod just to keep it around for a spare.

I use a commercial grade beach umbrella made by Frankford. Mine has a wood pole and fiberglass ribs. I can't remember the size, I think it's 8' diameter. I use a cordless drill with an auger bit made for planting flower bulbs. Drill a 2' hole in the sand, sink the pole in it, backfill with sand and some water to pack it tight and it doesn't go anywhere. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I just picked up 6' of 1/8" shock cord at REI. It seems to be good quality stuff similar to what my kite came with. $0.38 per foot. I'll probably cut some pieces to length with a chisel tip on a soldering iron to keep the ends from fraying.

Probably worth mentioning here that the increase in air pressure on a kite increases exponentially as wind speed increases. Assuming that the density of air stays constant the air pressure is roughly equal to wind speed squared. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I can try REI. They have a store a mile from my office. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Anyone know where to buy a length of the small, maybe 1/8" diameter shock cord that holds the frame in place on a quad? I'd like to keep some extra on hand. My kite came with a couple of extra pre cut pieces, but I'm down to the last of them. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

A few times when I've posted using the iOS app the post has shown up 2 or more times. I'm certain I didn't tap the button to post more than once. Doesn't happen every time, just occasionally. I also get an error message saying there was a problem submitting the post. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I spent about an hour and a half at the local perk. Wind was W 15 -20. The gusts were probably above the optimum range for my standard full sail kite, but other than a lot of pull I was able to control the kite pretty well. I moved my upper lines in a couple of knots on the leaders and the handles felt more balanced. I find that with the top lines too far extended it's more difficult to apply brake when the wind picks up. Having STEADY wind the whole time was really nice. I continued just working on hovers and increased precision, especially quick 90 degree turns. Too bad we don't get more days with wind like this. I can appreciate that a vented kite would be nice to have when the wind gets up around 15 steady. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

The version I have is vegas movie studio platinum. Vegas pro is a lot more expensive and I've never run into a situation where I needed the additional features. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I flew for about an hour at the soccer field today. Wind was better than usual, steady 8-10 with gusts 15+. My hovers are getting better but still need some work. I had to move my top lines in to the 3rd knot on the leaders to keep the kite from pulling too hard in the gusts. It helped a lot. I met another guy there flying a Parafoil. He said he's there fairly regularly and hasn't been chased away, so it's probably safe to put this spot on the map. I wouldn't recommend planning a kite flying vacation here but if you find yourself in the neighborhood it'll definitely do in a pinch. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I use Vegas Movie Studio. It's been a Sony product for years but I think they sold it off recently. Takes some time to learn but can do anything you can imagine. Price is reasonable, probably less than $100. Rendering edited video takes a while regardless of the software. The more powerful your computer the faster it will go. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Would like to do this but I'm not sure those dates will work. My son is playing baseball down in Florida that week. I'll have to see if there's a way to make it work. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I've already added the park near home where I usually go to fly. I'll try the soccer field a few more times to make sure I don't get chased off or anything before I add that too. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

The Weather Underground site is really good for getting current local weather conditions. People who set up their own weather stations in their yards feed data to the site. You can see the location of these stations on a map and click them to pull up the current condtions. This is the wind data from one of the stations that's about .5 mile from the new soccer field I just found.

I found a place near my office where I can duck out to for a little flying when conditions are good. This should come in handy. Today is sunny and relatively warm, wind SE 0-10 so I tried it out for about 45 min. Still working on the hovers and getting better at them. Much easier when the wind is consistent. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I'm always amazed by the models that RC hobbyists build. Some of the boats and airplanes are just incredible.

All kites (and other airfoils) respond to apparent wind. The topic probably doesn't come up much with kites, because the people flying them are usually more or less stationary. Sailing is all about apparent wind. Some (very) high performance sailboats and all iceboats can sail faster than the speed of true wind. Definition of apparent wind is the vector sum of headwind and true wind. E.g. if the true wind speed is zero and you're in a car going 10 mph and you stick your hand out the window your hand will feel 10 mph wind. If the same car is driving 10 mph directly into a 10 mph true wind, your hand will feel 20 mph wind. If the car is driving 10 mph and there's a 10 mph tailwind, your hand will feel zero wind. Same principles apply if the wind is coming from a direction other than straight ahead or straight behind. If the wind is light and you jump backwards, tug on the kite lines, etc. to fill the sail you are momentarily increasing apparent wind.

Working fine now! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I just tried this too. I couldn't find a map on the lower left side of my profile. I've gone to the Member Map page from the link at the top of the home page, but I couldn't find any way to add my location.

Sounds like you'd have to be super careful with those big ones. I know how hard my snapshot pulls when the wind picks up. Anything much bigger Than that could really take you for a ride. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Does the 4.5 on that kite indicate 4.5 sq meters? For comparison the white/blue/yellow spinnaker in my pic is about 35 sq meters. You really can't hold the sheet by hand if the wind is much over 5 mph. The sheet goes through a ratcheting turning block onto a #8 winch to control it in any more than that.

I've got one. Not that big though. Mine is a Prism Snapshot 1.9. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app