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Useful tips for flying high end kites


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If your kite has wrapped rods in the leading edge, it is a good idea to wrap the rods where the fittings sit in a layer of packing tape. The kind with the strings in the tape. This will help with wear on the point the fittings will rub on the rods. They will last longer that way. Granted, I have well over a 1000 hrs on my kite, but in the last week I have had two rods wear through. Kinda kills the day if you know what I mean.

Second, little pull off loops on your flying lines or bridle adjustments will not only help in freeing tight knots but help keep wear on those points to a minimum. Take 1 inch, or 3/4" line(spectra) fold in half and tie as close to the end as you can. Don't have to be perfect. Burn the end pieces back to the knot to lock the knot permenatly. Over and under what ever your loosening and your done. Not hard but will save you a headache eventually. Especially indoor fliers. Trying to get 50# line off of a 50# bridle is not only hard, but can wear through the lines attachment loop prematurlly. Sorry for the typos. Maybe John could figure out how to get a spell checker on here. :w00t:

Sincerely,

Dean

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  • 4 weeks later...
If your kite has wrapped rods in the leading edge, it is a good idea to wrap the rods where the fittings sit in a layer of packing tape. The kind with the strings in the tape. This will help with wear on the point the fittings will rub on the rods. They will last longer that way. Granted, I have well over a 1000 hrs on my kite, but in the last week I have had two rods wear through. Kinda kills the day if you know what I mean.

Second, little pull off loops on your flying lines or bridle adjustments will not only help in freeing tight knots but help keep wear on those points to a minimum. Take 1 inch, or 3/4" line(spectra) fold in half and tie as close to the end as you can. Don't have to be perfect. Burn the end pieces back to the knot to lock the knot permenatly. Over and under what ever your loosening and your done. Not hard but will save you a headache eventually. Especially indoor fliers. Trying to get 50# line off of a 50# bridle is not only hard, but can wear through the lines attachment loop prematurlly. Sorry for the typos. Maybe John could figure out how to get a spell checker on here. ;)

Sincerely,

Dean

Hello Dean,

You recently had an inquiry about not being able to get a new sail for your MEFM..? A friend of mine down in Australia, still makes MEFM sails to full specification's. His website is www.mefm.com.au Regarding, attaching yoyo stoppers, and roll bars to an MEFM to achieve more complicated tricking..? All has been done over a decade ago, with great results. There is still nothing in my time in sportkiting that comes close to the precision of an MEFM. There are other sportkites these days which "do all the current tricks", but MEFM still stands alone for the purpose it was designed for. Many awards all over the world is the proof of this.

It is a bit like all this "Hoo Hah" about dog staking Rev's, and also flying Rev and Dual line at the same time...? Been there, done that , in the late 80's early 90's, and from what I have seen of the newer breed these days. One fellow still stands out as the best in the business for this type of dual combination flying, Scott Augenbauer......

Regards,

Merlion

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No doubt, this is all old stuff, but very rarely done these days... Too bad, it's pretty fun. ;)

And I agree, Scott Aughenbaugh may very well be the best flier in history, for his era.

He and Miguel Rodriguez were two of my earliest inspirations, ever since I saw them compete at the 1990 AKA Grand Nationals in Seaside.

Would love to get my hands on some more of the older videos, I've only got a couple of Scott.

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I have been in contact with Warren. Now if I can come up with the dollars I'll be able to get my sails. I gotta send mine over to make sure it's exact, so I'm sending the one above my name on my posts. It's a one of a kind that'll hopefully end up being a 3 of a kind for my father and I only.

Barresi, your still my inspiration. ;) If I hadn't had my forced lay off I might be rubbin' elbows with you kiting now a days B)

The M is still in my opinion the best dual line kite ever thought of. I'm no slouch when it comes to trickin with the M. So I'd love to see and learn from someone who can do wrap up tricks without Yo Yo stoppers on the MEFM. Training wheels or not, I'd like to have them.

As soon as I get the 3 rods I need to get my fathers M going I'll be back to flying dual M's. It is an art not many do anymore. Multiple kites period. 2 is my limit for now. But as soon as I decide if I can still trick a kite one handed or not, maybe I'll bump up to 3 kites. If I can still trick I'll be a fairly unique pilot. It's something to shoot for anyway. Maybe if I get good enough I could get a sponsership. B) At least 50% of my kites. MEFM's of course. :w00t: That would be helpful since when I bought my original Ray Bordlon M it was $265. Now it's $475 and I even have the custom clamshell fittings.

I don't want to give up the kite I started on and made so much progress on and after 8 years am relearning at a warp speed on. Ya know what I mean?

Dean :P

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I have been in contact with Warren. Now if I can come up with the dollars I'll be able to get my sails. I gotta send mine over to make sure it's exact, so I'm sending the one above my name on my posts. It's a one of a kind that'll hopefully end up being a 3 of a kind for my father and I only.

Barresi, your still my inspiration. :w00t: If I hadn't had my forced lay off I might be rubbin' elbows with you kiting now a days :P

The M is still in my opinion the best dual line kite ever thought of. I'm no slouch when it comes to trickin with the M. So I'd love to see and learn from someone who can do wrap up tricks without Yo Yo stoppers on the MEFM. Training wheels or not, I'd like to have them.

As soon as I get the 3 rods I need to get my fathers M going I'll be back to flying dual M's. It is an art not many do anymore. Multiple kites period. 2 is my limit for now. But as soon as I decide if I can still trick a kite one handed or not, maybe I'll bump up to 3 kites. If I can still trick I'll be a fairly unique pilot. It's something to shoot for anyway. Maybe if I get good enough I could get a sponsership. ;) At least 50% of my kites. MEFM's of course. B) That would be helpful since when I bought my original Ray Bordlon M it was $265. Now it's $475 and I even have the custom clamshell fittings.

I don't want to give up the kite I started on and made so much progress on and after 8 years am relearning at a warp speed on. Ya know what I mean?

Dean B)

Hello Dean,

I have been flying sportkites since 1985, and both Bordelan's and Makka's (Warren) MEFM's since my first one in 1992. I have about 9 different variants of the MEFM design from Featherlight, and Microlite, Standards through to custom 2, 3, and 4 vents.

If you are looking for something to fly in zero wind outdoors, have a look at Makka's Microlite. It is something else indeed, as nothing else comes close to it. Rays featherlight, was innovative for the time, but Makka's Microlite is a dream on 15lb, 20lb or 50lb. The longer the flying line the better too outdoors. These days I use more modern designed S, SUL, and UL sportkites for indoor, tricking, pairs, team, and quad. Then there are times, when I wish to fly individual precision and ballet routines for demo's, and wind depending, I still revert back to MEFM .

Regarding Scott A, I still have many videos from WC's at Seaside, Berkley, and Japan. Also some from my time in Hawaii, when flying individual, pairs, and team at K park, and with Rob and Alan from Team HPK.

Now those were great days, and excellent times in sportkiting. We were all dog staking Rev, as well as Rev and Dual flying back then. Some of us from time to time still do now, as it's no big deal. Though this is a personal choice more so these days, as "old school is still good school"..

Regards,

Merlion

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I'm just looking to stick with the MEFM. If I could get one I'd love to have the MEFM Maxi to match my fathers. Maybe a second Atomic Wedgee too. Course I'd like to have a vented M too though. I just need to win the lottery or something. :w00t:

I think between my Weldon Aerolabs Synchro (Avia Sport), MEFM, MEFM Atomic Wedgee, Prism Illusion (pre 2000) and Fizz Kites Box of Tricks I'm about covered for just about any kind of dual line flying at the moment. After I get my skills back I'll look at other kites. But for now a new sail for my MEFM is all thats needed at the moment. I'm just worried how much it's going to cost. LOL

Dean ;)

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I'm just looking to stick with the MEFM. If I could get one I'd love to have the MEFM Maxi to match my fathers. Maybe a second Atomic Wedgee too. Course I'd like to have a vented M too though. I just need to win the lottery or something. :w00t:

I think between my Weldon Aerolabs Synchro (Avia Sport), MEFM, MEFM Atomic Wedgee, Prism Illusion (pre 2000) and Fizz Kites Box of Tricks I'm about covered for just about any kind of dual line flying at the moment. After I get my skills back I'll look at other kites. But for now a new sail for my MEFM is all thats needed at the moment. I'm just worried how much it's going to cost. LOL

Dean ;)

Hello Dean,

Like everything in life, I suppose it comes down to what you are happy with. By paying a little more for quality, then you get the true experience. Be rest assured, Makka's MEFM sails are excellent, and truly top notch in fact.

When you get things back on track, and you have the MEFM flying again. Feel free to contact me, if you desire to know more about the yo yo's and roll bar "specs and mods" for MEFM.. The MEFM 2 vent Missile is a very slick sportkite, so is the Meteor. There is also the "mods" with keeping the bridle out of the way of the bow string, and stand off's too.

Once again though, it is all about what you actually wish to do, and your expectation's with the MEFM experience.

Regards,

Merlion

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I've been flying the M for so long now that I rarely get the tail to wrap. I've learned over the years how to get out of just about all wraps. :w00t:

As far as Yo Yo's and other wrap tricks, the problem is the lines slide down to the tips. I can unwrap the tips once on the ground without walking to the kite. I'll post some pictures of my current M when I can. This is the kite I will experiment with. You'll see why when you see the pics. I'm sure no one else owns a M in this condition. ;) Flown the piss out of it I have. I just need to know where to put the stoppers on the leading edge. The cage if I decide to go that way, will come with the new sail. I was thinking of pockets over the stand off holders on the sail connected to the Yo Yo stoppers. One snag that frustrates me now a days is snaging the nose webbing. I hope that'll be snag proof on the new one.

The line to keep from wrapping the tail and keep the bridle out of the bow string as I remember it is just like the standard Atomic Wedgee bridle set up. I'll post a picture of that too when I take some.

Dean :P

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