Kitelife Magazine

Video: Power Kite Kayak with 21sqm Speed 3

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:27:07 +0000

Look at this video of the latest prototype of my invention.
http://www.youtube .com/watch?v=kjUEq6yhX-s

Ingo

Widow Maker (6/10/2012)

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:42:26 +0000

We're pleased to yet again announce the next prize being given away to our most appreciated supporters, the Kitelife Subscribers... For roughly 10 cents per day they play a major role in keeping KL growing in every way.

==

This time around, a return to the prize pool (thanks Rob) - the Widow Maker STD by Skyburner Kites, MSRP of $345!

From the Skyburner website:

The Widow Maker from Sky Burner weaves a dangerous web, approach with caution. This kite is very easy to fly and extremely precise but will pounce onto trick flying with deadly accuracy. The NEW Widow Maker was designed and built with a performance flyer in mind.

The Widow Maker is built with the exceptional quality and craftsmanship you have come to know and expect from Sky Burner. The sail is sewn with great care and precision and exceptional strength. The panels come together with the sleek and nimble styling of the spider its named for. Built with an unbelievably tough Sky Shark Nitro carbon frame, this is a Kite built to endure and out last every flyer that crosses its path.

Designed by Jon Trennepohl and Wayne Brunjes.

Sails sewn by Heads Up Kites, Pam Kirk and Mike Dennis. Made in the U.S.A.

NOTE: Primary color of the kite in this drawing is BLACK, WHITE, YELLOW, two shades of ORANGE.

You can sign up here.

Odds of winning for this prize is currently 1/298, and will be drawn on June 10th, 2012!

Our thanks, and the very best to you... Let the drooling begin!

Flying the Seven, one year later...

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:38:10 +0000

A fun flying session with a good, smooth sea breeze. Winds were ~5mph. Kite is a SportKiteDesign 'Seven' std. It is a very tricky full sized kite, flies similar to the modern Gemini. This has been my goto kite for smooth 5-10mph wind for a year now. Totally worth the $$$ !

Great Lakes Kite Festival 2012 (May 18-20)

Thu, 24 May 2012 03:05:24 +0000

Grand Haven State Park, Grand Haven, Michigan.

Weather Underground is predicting great weather - not too hot, not too cold. WIND from off the water or up the beach at reasonable speeds.

See you all there!

Glider Tricks

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:45:28 +0000

I've been playing around with my Chiroptera glider a little. Making up my own flight patterns and figures is great fun, but I'm wondering if there are any glider-specific tricks I could be practicing.....
I've searched around a bit, and read mention of the "Flat Spin", but I have yet to see one performed. I think.

Know of any glider tricks?? Please post them here!

Revolution Kites History

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:02:51 +0000

Hi all Dark Siders

Has been reading this on our sister forum for some time and waited till for the site to be more complete before sharing here.

So John has been doing a great job (he is a Rev historian anyway lol) in searching all these infos and compiled this into a very nice website. Very simple and easy to browse, you will get all the infos you were missing from your favorite kites.

The site is getting completed slowly (bear with him) as there is much to write on these kites.

Revolution History

Good Reading

B

Aye from Bonnie Scotland !

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:01:49 +0000

Helooooooo all,

Firstly to John its all your fault for getting me into this .........

After a trip to Berck in 2011, then watching John's profesionalism on the Tube i was hooked.

One Year Later and Four Revs in the Bag (Rev of Course)

Learning and having fun all the way .....

Have read all I can on the Rev forum so have come over here to see what is gong on - and I like it!

Subscribed immediately, and am like a dog with two tails watching and learning from the Tutorials.

Was in Berck this year again for the week and met the Decorators, Flying Squad and Fusion, thanks guys for making me welcome. Met with Flame, wow these guys can fly with two lines

Some One to One on the beach with Thomas Pedersen and his "Pink Lady" Miriam,
thanks guys to taught me how to slide

Hungry for more learning and flying.

Unfortunately i'm a pretty lonely flyer up her in the wilds of Aberdeenshire, any other solitary pilots hereabouts ?

Looking forward to reading more.

Take Care all ...... Just a minute did i see a tree just move ..... I need a fix

Goofing around trick

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:59:50 +0000

I had some very nice winds this evening so I decided to go fly for a bit. Being new to trick flying, I have little experience in the names of the tricks. I'm able to stall it in the middle of the power window and land it safely. I'm able to sweep within inches of the ground across the window. And the spins, figure eights, etc.
But today I was bored with that. So I flew it up essentially vertical, slacked the lines so the nose few away from me, and let it float into a (fade?) While on its back flying away from me I tugged on the right line and it spins on its back. After the nose rotates clockwise once, I even the tension and continue "normal" flight. I was able to do this with some consistency. My question is what is the name of this trick? Is it a trick...well it is to me.
I will try to get my wife to shoot some video of it and will post later.

Hoodoo

Laughing while flying?...yeah I just get use to swallowing bugs.

A True "Newbie"

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:57:23 +0000

I just purchased a Prism "Nexus" after reading about it. The only experience I have with kites is with the singel line ones. And, I have had a blast teaching my nephew and his friend, but I want to move on to real kiting.
Any pointers on where to start on this site for tips, and if I can find somone near my area that may be able to help me. I live in N.E. Indiana.
I love the videos and tips I've read, I did subscribe to the magazine as I want to support this site. Thanks for any help.

Always a problem... Selecting music!

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:19:15 +0000

Hi guys,

I'm trying to find a new quad ballet for this year, and am having a heckuva time.

Please share your suggestions!

New product announcement from LS Custom Kite Accessories!

Thu, 10 May 2012 17:01:05 +0000

I now have the LS Magic Wand. It is an indoor single line kite wand with 3/8 inch carbon fiber tube, polished aluminum guides, and hypalon grips in your choice of blue, red, black, and green. They are 4 feet long, and comes loaded with 25ft of 90lb laser pro gold line. I will post a photo of the first one soon!

SDT 2.8 Power Kite (5/1/12)

Sun, 06 May 2012 15:59:45 +0000

We're pleased to yet again announce the next prize being given away to our most appreciated supporters, the Kitelife Subscribers... For roughly 10 cents per day they play a major role in keeping KL growing in every way.

This is a brand new SDT 2.8 power kite from Skydog Kites, roughly a $225 value!

Dimensions: 113.5" x 42"
Materials: Ripstop Nylon Sail
Skill Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Wind Range: 6-25mph
Line Set: 475lb & 242lb x 82ft, 220kg & 110kg Dyneema x 20m with quad line handle

Info on the Skydog website - http://www.skydogkit...n/sdt_2.8.shtml

If you haven't done so already, You can sign up here.

Odds of winning for this prize is currently 1/291, and will be drawn on May 1st, 2012!

Our thanks, and the very best to you... Let the drooling begin.

Dr. Moody and Ben in China

Fri, 04 May 2012 21:03:09 +0000

Just wanted to share this in all the right place and try out this site for a change....... Ben

Revolution Shockwave

Thu, 03 May 2012 19:37:10 +0000

Since its actually raining in Las Vegas today (and I'm made of sugar ) I've decided to review the Rev Shockwave (SW) in lieu of flying it. Its fast fun, and I look forward to flying it as often as possible! I've put about 20 hours on my Shockwave now, I hope my perspective helps anyone interested.

BUILD QUALITY - I don't know thing 1 about sewing or fabric; however all the stitches seem "compete" and unbroken, and they don't lie outside of any of the seams. No dangling bits of thread anywhere. All spars were smooth and even.

WIND - I'd say Revolution's claims of "3-25" mph are accurate; but for proper enjoyment, I've heard everyone else say start at 7-12mph, and I agree. The leading edge (LE) bends mostly convex to the pilot below 7mph, and this gives me a feeling like I'm trying to balance the kite on a beach ball while trying to float it around. Its possible, but tricky and not-quite predictable flight. Once it catches enough wind, around 7 mph, the sail begins to stretch around the vertical spars, the LE begins to bend away from the pilot, and control and precision are a go.
Now, above 14 mph..... I think I actually prayed the other day around 16 mph. I'm 5'9 175 lbs. and at 16 mph and above I was sliding down the grass field I fly at when I locked in the power. Use at your own risk above 14 mph!!

PERFORMACE - Best to go make a sandwich before you start this, 'cause I got a lot to say.
*side note - I never used the stock leaders that come with this kite's handles, setup from the factory. I immediately switched these out for knotted leaders like the B-Series handles use. But I tested through most knots/setups available to me thoroughly*
The SW takes some getting used to. Where the 1.5 size Revs feel like the left and right halves of the kite work with each other, and support each other, the SW gives me a definite feeling that there are 2 independent wings. This is very noticeable in a blazing fast Dive...Stop. The first time I tried one, from the top of the window, I inverted the kite, quickly pulled the handles past my hips, and..... the SW slowly traveled at a diagonal angle down and left. ???? I found that I was not pulling with both arms evenly - I was pulling the air out of the right half of the sail! Once I got the hang of pulling with both arms, evenly through my movements, I found it to fly more like I had originally expected it to. The SW does not appreciate flailing!! Dramatic arm movements just disrupt the air across the sail to the point where control is lost, especially in forward flight.
Side slides - on the SW, they should be called "side slips". To really get this sucker moving laterally and quickly, you have to let the air out of the trailing wing (which you can do by over-pulling the leading wing or giving the trailing wing slack - interesting). When I do this, it goes screaming fast laterally, but with loss of control in all manner - not sure I like that. When I keep the sail fully pressurized and try for a side slide, in around 8 mph wind, the SW travels laterally slower than my 1.5 size Revs.
Reverse flight - Reverse flight on the SW is actually easier than forward flight, for me at least! When traveling in reverse I can't seem to over-pull on one wing over the other at all! The quicker and faster I try for reverse flight, the quicker and faster the SW does it - it doesn't "flip a wing" like the 1.5 size Revs will if you are too hard on the handles! When the wind started to pick up, above 11 mph, trying to fly in reverse for long periods tired out my wrists and forearms and quickly, but that's to be expected.
Otherwise, this Rev has characteristics befitting most Revolution kites - forward, reverse, lateral control, and speed control through all manners/directions of flight. But none of these characteristics are strong enough to help fly precision compulsory-type patters - if you plan to do so, it will require some time and effort far above and beyond what the 1.5 platform requires to trace some decent figures in the sky.
*side note here - something about the way this Rev handles makes for easier Cartwheels/Traveling Bicylces!*

NOISE - Fantastic!! Oddly enough, I was never a big fan of the "buzzing" noise from the trailing edge of my dualie trick kites (yeah yeah leechline). But this noise... Its got a higher frequency to it, when it starts up, so it doesn't sound so much like the cartoonish farting of a dualie. Also...... As the wind speed increases, more harmonics of the original sound are heard, making this kite sound like a swarm of angry insects. This sound increases in pitch and volume as the wind speed goes up as well - its sublime!!! I actually didn't even turn the iPod on the last 2 times I've flown it, just to listen to it cut through the air. Every time the wind gusted, the sound kicked up BIGTIME and all eyes at the park were on my Shockwave!!

I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS TO - Anyone who is proficient with flying a Rev kite, and liked the pull their smaller dual line foil kites used to give them Anyone who just wants to buzz a Rev around with no set pattern, carving up the sky like a maniac! Anyone who like the pull of a foil will like this one when the winds pick up! Anyone who wants the attention of everyone at the park!! I love the handling on this kite considering the speeds it flies at!! If you want to practice precision compulsories in a militaristic style, this kite might be for you as it will take all the time and effort you can give it!

I'm thrilled to own this kite! I will be practicing with it forever, I don't see mastery over it in the near future. This appeals to me, along with the amazing speed and sound of it flying!!

Need Help Deciding on Glider/Urban Kite

Wed, 02 May 2012 16:47:10 +0000

Hi!

This is a sort of continuation of a post where I was looking for kites that can be flown without a lot of physical activity (I'm disabled and I'm not able to run back and forth doing lots of setups for relaunching) but that has more interest than a standard single line kite. I'm exploring the idea of quads although cost figures into it but I was introduced to gliders/ultralight/urban kites and I'm in love!

I need help choosing a kite. I live in a small city but we have some nice park areas nearby and of course parking lots, etc. There are nice parks by the lake and some fields I can think of that are an easy driving distance. My husband and I live in a small apartment.

I don't know if it's possible to find a glider that I can fly around my apartment and also be OK outside in light to no wind. I really only need it to be OK up to about 8mph b/c I have other kites I can fly at that wind speed. I'm already interested in the Prism Zero G but it looks a little large for a living room I read the recent article in kitelife,com (the link was given to me in my other thread) and I've looked at each of the kites there. The end of the article says that most of the kites in the article are available from the site sponsor kite stores to the right of the article but after searching three time from the top to bottom of the page, I couldn't find the list.

So I have two questions...is/are there any specific kite/glider(s) that you LOVE, would recommend, have more flying potential (ie easy to learn on but have potential for learning "tricks"), any that you wouldn't ever fly outside (or inside), any more or less durable, or anything else you can think of that I should know. (that was the first question ). The second question is, where do I find these gliders? Any idea where the sponsor listings are? (I have googled almost all of the kites and the results are really varied. Several have plans available but I think I'd rather buy one than make it after reading on a couple of them how difficult they are to make correctly, so I'd prefer a commercial source.

Thanks so much in advance. And, thanks for helping me find something fun that I can do, even with my loss of "abilities" and acquisition of "dis-abilities". It's helping give a little piece of me back again...and that truly is priceless.