Timeline

Hi everyone, I’ve just launched a new section on QuadKites.org: “Behind the Scenes”. The idea is to shed light on what we don’t always see — how workshops are put together, the unexpected challenges at festivals, the little tricks that make things easier… in short, the day-to-day reality of : begpassionate kite flyers. 🎤 The first article is an interview with Thierry Deschamps, who runs 2-line and 4-line kite bootcamps in Normandy, France. He talks about his decisions, logistics, what he’s learned over time, and what makes these moments so unique. 📖 You can read it here: 🇫🇷 https://quadkites.org/fr/dans-les-coulisses/interview-thierry-deschamps 🇺🇸 https://quadkites.org/en/behind-the-scenes/interview-thierry-deschamps Feel free to share your thoughts — and if you have ideas or people worth interviewing behind the scenes, I’d love to hear them. Happy reading, Alban

Congratulations @snapper5. Happy flying!

Welcome to our latest supporters! 1774 - @Michel_de_L 1775 - @PerryP Current subscriber count, 335.

Would anyone know how to go about making the sheet metal sail panel templates some folks seem to use for precisely cutting out the sail patterns from Icarex?

I have not been on in ages, so, sorry for the lateness of the response. I have a bunch of tricktails which used dynamic spars from about 20 years ago. My stash is about used up. I would replace with skyshark. However, about 2 years ago I was in Ocean Shores Kite Shop and he had dynamic spars, so I bought one for a broken Utopia I had. It has quite a different logo on it, but otherwise seems to fly just fine. They don't match exactly. Somewhere I have table for the two, but it is 20 years old, and I haven't looked at the current skyshark offerings. For Dynamic, it used to be if it started with a T it was a tapered tube and D was a straight one. T8's used to be the lightest and I heard that they were 2 wrap, while T10s were 3 wraps. I've only broken the T8's which were quite fragile. I've never broken a D tube. Good Luck. Brett

Making this kite from scraps of a previous kite. This will be Kite #95

I've this kite HQ Salsa 2 bought used some months ago and received it with untied bridles... I found these sheets on the official website and searched online for info about bridles tuning and adjustments but everywhere seems common a three leg fixed bridles, here we have instead four legs (and i would like to know how are you going to tie them for example, i think i'm using wrong knots) and also how sliding knots affect the tuning because the kite also with strong winds doesn't stay in the air but stalls immediately and land... it's also very slow and unresponsive of the pulling... do you think I could convert this bridles to a common fixed three legs using the same length and start working from there? I mean avoiding the FL leg or also using a single line for O+A and leaving M at a fixed lenght instead of O+M and A at fixed length I hope to have been clear enough in explaining... I'm losing hope in seeing it flying, i'm wasting a lot of hours trying to set it up P.s. If there are problems with the image attached this is the link to the tech sheets https://www.invento-hq.com/myfactory/CustomUpload/374O357O340O370O356O369O350O328O365O373O356O365O371O366O350O326O364O353O327O/116736_SALSA_II_RED_Technical_DataSheet.pdf

It might also be worth looking simply for sake of discussion, at how fliers hold their handles during flight... My leaders are tuned first and foremost so that when I go "full gas", it's the right amount of gas with no oversheeting or loss of pressure - I've tuned out any additional amount of thumb back / forward that might cause the sail to flutter or loose pressure (key signs of oversheeting). Basic looks at how I'm holding my handles during flight... https://kiteforge.com/tutorials/quad-line-kite-tutorial-figure-8-and-180s/ https://kiteforge.com/tutorials/quad-line-kite-flight-and-control/ What you might notice is that I'm not "holding" my brake lines back when I'm in normal forward flight, not really managing them at all - bottom of the handles are nearly straight out, thumbs at full tip back. Another pilot, using more forward in the settings, but almost always managing or balancing the brake lines through forward flight, a balancing act between top and bottom lines throughout: Neither right or wrong, but good visual contrast between the two different approaches to tuning.

Looking for any original and signed Reza Ragheb kites (e.g. Omega, Mandolin Squares, Intimate Triangles Genki, Saruga, Delta, Sode Dako... and any others).

Hi all. I am tired of putting kites that spin on twisted line and then having the line go all to hell because it's untwisted. Should I be looking into something like this: "200′ of 50# high quality braided Dacron line" I put a snap swivel on my line AND a snap swivel on the bridle, but my HQ Roto kite is just murder on the line because of all the twisting. Any suggestions?

Each kite bridle will be different. One kite with it's bridle might be 6", one kite with a different bridle might be 10", another kite with a different bridle might have the length on the bridle so 0" at the handle. What ultimately matters is the orientation of the sail in the air; the bridles, the lines, the handles, and the pilot all play a part. As for starting the decision between replying to an 11 year old topic versus starting a new topic, it really should be a new topic. Maybe Riffclown or another with mod/admin power would split it off.

Thanks for the tips @RobB. Your response notification went to my spam folder and I just now saw it. Really good idea about using a leaf blower to experiment. I called Premier Kites and got some customer support. I was told to attach the front bridle (i.e., the nose and front paws) to a separate line to control the amount of pull to help shape the head. Still not as perfect as I'd like, but much better. And flying it down at around 15-20 feet altitude delighted a couple of toddlers at the beach -- which is why we do this, right? 🙂

Thanks for the endorsement Rob!

Looks like some sort of Roto-Kite. Looks like it's setup right...

I’m sorry if this is an old classified . I just noticed February .

I can't stress this enough. You only get to cut someone's lines once. By yourself fly what's working for you. Fly in a group or a crowded field you are going to likely lose some respect from other fliers if you cut their lines.

Do you still have the kite? i have the same it’s missing part but hopefully not the same! Thanks, carherine

Congrats Andybenson. Enjoy your winning, my friend. 👍

That seems awfully heavy for the size of the kite. Given enough wind and a proper bridle it can probably fly. As for the rest, apart from a few basic equations for angle and surface area, even NASA kite sails have an experimentally determined value, basically they fly the kite and measure whatever it really is.

I just bought 6 Rainbow stunt kites still in its tube . But it doesn't ha e any instructions on how to assemble. Does anybody have a copy of the instructions? Thank you

Congrats

Unveiled, Meshelle Sharples and I (Windfall) flying our new indoor pairs routine with Zen Gliders, Kaijus and Djinndoors - single, dual and quad line in sequence. 💦🤜❤️🤛🔥 Thanks to Fortuna Found for capturing all the videos!

Sounds about right. There are coatings that can be applied, with risks that come with it. Personally, I wouldn't bother with anything more than the coatings that come on fabrics. The risks of getting sticky, tacky, stiff, or yellowing are worse to my mind than the effect of fading due to age. Of course, I also have a small stock of Icarex / PC31 fabric that is coated, and UV-treated thread. Many kites are built from the stuff, but some are not. Ultimately kites are meant to be flown. Fly it, love it, let it get the UV damage from sunlight, damage from flapping in the wind, and when it's eventually battered and weathered and worn, retire it. If you're flying it enough that it is damaged due to wear and sunlight that means it's a well loved kite.

FUGGETTABOUT THIS COLD AND SNOW! Mark your calendars! Fun for all ages. April 27, 2015. 5th Annual Archangel Gabriel Kite Festival at Youthtowne in Clinton, PA just two miles from the Pittsburgh International Airport just outside Pittsburgh. https://archangelgabrielparish.org/kite

Thanks for the tips