Leaderboard

Shelter Cove, Ca has grassy, park by, plateaus running along 20 feet above the beach. Good wind and great views. So, yesterday I noticed National Weather Service says 10-15 mph, gusts to 20. OK. I have been looking for wind since the summer doldrums. I went with 90' lines and started with JB 1.5 mid vent. Since this was my first flight, I figured the mid vent would be the one to try. Not so. Too quick for me. Did ok but thank God my son in law was there to turn the kite when I crashed after about 30-60 seconds. I would go to the top of the window and hover thinking about what I would do next. Resting....hiding. Don't want to spin and crash. That's when I says " Let's get out the Full Vent." Easy switch to lines. Wind is wild. The mid vent Was pulling me forward and the kite looked liked like an emaciated old man's rib cage in the air. I must say that I am so happy I got the full vent in a deal. It turns out that it flew great. It flew slow enough that I could think about what I wanted to do and how I would do that. I was hovering anywhere I put it, take off and landings like a piper cub doing touch and goes. Inverted take offs were easy. The full vent turns out to be my great beginner discovery for this high wind learning situation. This first flight, doing some of the things I learned watching John Barresi videos, was a definite high. Thanks to the Kite Life community for all the help getting to that first flight with some encouragement and knowledge. Willie B

Ok, I remembered to get my camera out today while I was on the beach. The weather could've been better, and the winds were just little high for dual line flying, but that's all I flew, anyway. It was a great day flying OPK's, and some of my own. I met some incredible kite artists, and ended the night with a night fly... The experience of laying in the sand, flying the light kite for and hour was indescribable ! Highly recommended !

It's been a while since I got a chance to go to a festival. It's been really hard to find time to escape life and find time to play with kites. I guess that's expected with 3 kids 10 & under and a full time job that involves a 4 hour commute. Yes, life has gotten in the way of kiting for now, so that made this trip extra special. The mid-vent Rev was my choice to fly on Sunday morning, after my Solus was munched & crunched by a wave. The weather was great, 80* and sunny, and the Atlantic was still warm enough to stand in comfortably while flying. Great time playing with the waves, and dodging the lines of countless SLKs. A friend of mine got some shots of me doing the indoor demo. I thought I had a different glider in my bag, but it turned out to be the Plutz, which worked out well anyway...

Well that's just GREAT 😡. Back to the Solus colorizer. Another color combo I wouldn't think I'd like but I do. Spend more time on those dang colorizers than I like to admit.

Got to talk to a experienced flier yesterday. He has and has had a bunch of kites. More of a quad flier now. In the short time he flew my Pro Dancer I was impressed with his skills.He thinks his Quantum Pro sul and hyper vented are 2 of the best kites he's flown. Speaks highly of the Zephyr but likes the earlier model over the later but not by much. Not sure what mine is. Zephyr is another kite I've thought about selling a lot to make room for a higher end kite. Still here. Think about selling it.Go fly it for the last time and back in the quiver it goes.It feels a lot like throwing away an old comfortable pair of shoes. Ya just don't want to do it.Very different than my Tekken sul. Most folks say the Z is a light standard more than a ul. All I know is it took a lot of hours , 2 broken spreaders and 3 broken LEs to be able to fly that kite in 1 to 2. Won't trick much that low but as Rob has said sometimes the trick is staying in the air. Moving from my Widow ng to the Zephyr was always a smooth transition. I've probably learned the most as a newbie on the Zephyr.Yeah I think I love that kite.

The QPro is the flagship of the current Prism line. If you can find one, scoop it up. It is a frustrating kite at times, because it demands exact, precise inputs, but when you get it right, the results are phenomenal. The Quantum and Hypno are tough, robust, capable kites that need a bit of wind to fly (5-7 mph, at least) and the E3 was Prism's attempt at a modern trick kite. I really don't like mine, or the others that I've flown. A better bet would be the Zephyr, it flies in less wind than the Quantum or Hypno, but it isn't as robust. It's a tough kite for it's lighter construction, but it's not a tank like the other 2. If you're only buying one, I would choose the Zephyr, unless you can find a QPro...

Hello... it's been a l-o-n-g time since I've gotten out to a festival, or had anything personal to post about. I've been around, still very interested in kiting, just haven't had a chance to get out and really fly much. I actually missed last year's LBI kite fest and that was a real bummer, because the pictures that I saw from friends showed that it was even better than the first two years. Well, LBI kite fest is four years old now, and will hopefully exceed expectations, as long as the weather holds out. I got here in the early afternoon on Friday, and was happy to see that there were all ready kites in the air. So, I went strait to the beach, put out the full vent as the winds were over 20mph, and got a taste of how rusty I am. Most of it came back quickly, but wow, don't take 6 months off and expect to pick up where you left off... Anyway, the indoor event is on the first night of the festival, it's held at a local elementary school. Not a huge gym, but big enough to fit about 200 people on the side-lines and in the bleachers. This is the first time I've flown indoors other than in my living room, so it was, uh, interesting ? I've flown in zero wind conditions plenty, so it wasn't much different that outdoors other than having different obstacles. I was very impressed with the skills of the many competitors, single line, dual line, and quads. I'll roll some pictures and I would guess that there will be some familiar faces to some of you... In the mouth !?! I know, right ? not only does he fly with a handle in his mouth, but he can fly 2 at the same time... Decas, no less ! The gratuitous Kaiju shot... 😎 So, this guy got me to fly my first demo. First indoor demo. I think he might be a bad influence... a great guy, it was so good to see him. This was an unexpected treat ! Hopefully, I'll remember to get the camera out tomorrow on the beach. I forgot today, but it was kinda nasty windy and rainy, so the camera is better off. I'll keep yous posted.

Thanks for the reply Wayne. I'm getting better at that ^^^. I spend quite a bit of time practising my crash technique.

The Quantum is a good choice. Strong and robust, able to handle abuse reasonably well. No framed kite is indestructible, so be aware. That said the Quantum is pretty strong. Tip: If there is no hope of saving the kite in a crash situation - STEP FORWARD, DO NOT PULL! All you do by pulling is drive the kite even harder into the ground! Learn to - Give to the Kite!!! Take all the power out of it. Better to go straighten up your kite after a crash, instead of finding a broken mess of rods and/or torn sail.

I decided to stitch with white.. If the Purple will act a bit as a black light it might pop at night.. I can also try to find some Blacklight LEDs. Either way, I think the white offsets it pretty well. LE will also be white. Edge Binding (and wear strips) will be orange. The sewing on the panel is complete.. LE is made.. Time to marry the two and start finishing up this project.

Got a feeling that will pop in a back lit situation!!

I guess my question is - is there a "hole" in your quiver of kites that you want to fill? Low end? Middle? Personally not really into high winds here. Rather go quad if the winds are up. A low wind Prism would be the Ozone. Flies when most stuff is grounded. Not a "trick monster" and takes a light hand, but flew in winds my friend's Qpro sul didn't handle. But again, not a trick monster. The only other Prism I have really flown was the Alien. Odd little kite with a bent LE. I tend to fly it in slightly higher winds as the design seems to pull less. But again if the winds are up - I grab a vented quad. Both are no longer in production and there seems to be a cult of Prism owners that buy almost anything Prism. So keeping your eye on forums like GWTW is key - and having cash at the ready! I've seen kites posted for sale that go in minutes!!!

Time to piece the center together and start sewing.

First panel basted..