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Bridle Check Complete. Ready for Flight Tests

This was taken during the taping of a local TV destination show - Grant's Getaways - about 3/4's of the field!

Didn't get started until 2011!! I have an indoor soccer center to use. Being retired, I can go in the hours of it not being used. It has been a wonderful therapy after having a stroke. Works on my balance, hand eye coordination, trusting my footwork, etc.

Those are vented quad line winds. But, for the stated wind range, QPro & Zephyr. The Quantum & Hypnotist will not fly very well under 5mph.

LBI#4 was a great time with wildy appreciate crowds and super hard working volunteers too, everything you could want was there, you just hard to seek it out, indoor, kids activities, team, inflatables, dualies, gliders, quads, SLKs, comps (but only the good ones!) For MMB as an example, Scott Weider, Jim Cosca and myself were the judges and we sat in the crowd with the folks, sharing the score cards before filling in our numbers. When done, we asked those around us "who won to you?" Marc Conklin was their selected (and our official champion), defeating Smitty, Lisa, Laura and Karl Berg. Each flier has a unique flight style, musical points and showmanship, thousands cheered 'em on. Indoor was amazing, again I chose to Judge and getting a great seat helped me see what is possible when you want it bad enough,...... they did! Go to a festival, share the experience with other like-minded individuals. This one rocked totally!!!! if you can get there for number five in 2019, you should join us!

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

There are plenty more things you can learn. For strong winds you learn the cost of spars after they break, how to patch a torn sail, and how to cut down a snapped line into short lines. You also learn the "fire drill" maneuver to rush to the edge of the wind window in heavy gusts, and the importance of stretch strips sewn into the kite fabric to slow down the eventual wear. For light/variable winds you can learn patience, learn how to read the tells of an incoming wind by watching the distance, and get the exercise of the "walk of shame" out to the kite as it repeatedly falls (or learn about "magic sticks").

Alas, I don't fly quad much any more. Nor indoor. No readily available venue nearby. I would do it exactly the same. That is, except for not being able to get the same tubes any longer. Only reinforcements were at the tips near the feet. Just self-adhesive 1.5 oz ripstop patches. Used vinyl end caps as connectors. Had to use a hard tube for storage so the sail wasn't damaged.

Years ago I made an Orcon Rev 1.5-ish. Ripstop Orcon, 1.5 oz Dacron LE, Skyshark 2p tubes. Just rolled edges using 3M adhesive. It was a great kite. It lasted along while, but the ripstop eventually delaminated from the mylar film. These are the only known photos of it, taken in Verdun, PQ back in 1992 (I think) Yes, that's Scott Aughenbaugh who was inspired enough to borrow the kite from me for a bit. He's toying with Cory Jensen. Good times.

Just ran across this thread from last year. I have been flying indoor quads for about a year and making my own indoor quad kites. My focus has been on lightweighting the kites - so my current kite is an Orcon sail with ripstop edges and ripstop reinforcements where I’m guessing the biggest stresses will be. I like the lightweight character of Orcon but it can be fragile when I run into ceiling fans (which I do often) and I feel like it is a lot noisier than the all-ripstop sails I have made (all-ripstop is a but heavier but seems “stealthy” to fly). I agree with comments in the thread that the low mass kites are not as good outside even on “calm” days because there are always occasional gusts that come up and make the low mass kites hard to control. My current indoor quad weighs less than 100 g (3.5 oz) including fittings and spars and uses skyshark P90 tubes (three full-length in leading edge and each vertical is a full-length P90) I’m still learning a lot about flying and building indoor quads - so this thread is really helpful

Assemble each travel frame "stick" with a couple of wraps of electrical tape, so the pieces stay together, until you don't want them to,.... A travel frame is stiffer. than a regular tubed set, so a three wrap travel is very much like 4 wraps. you can vary the stiffness to suit personal preferences. I like 4 diamonds and two green race, with the race members at the junction of the leading edge and the top of the down spar. I need that area rigid and I want the outer 3rds and the center portions of the leading edge to be more flexible. YMMV

PS: please post a photo of your octopi sky occasion! Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using KiteLife mobile app

Ah man! Octopi are my favorite animal....but TX is way too far a drive. Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using KiteLife mobile app

In the Prism line it is an Ozone (out of production) or the Zephyr. The Zephyr seems to be a well liked, light wind choice here! Are you only considering Prism? There are many other manufacturers out there to choose from. But Prism is a known, tried and true brand. The Kite Shoppe is a good online source, so too are ITW, Kite Connection, A Wind of Change, and Flying Smiles Kites Also offer several in other wind ranges too. Right now on ITW, there are sales on 2 kites - The Hydra and The Kymera. Both are good capable kites in the mid wind range. Nice thing both on sale for just over $100! But it all depends on what wind range you want to fly in!

+1 for a cheap foil. You can crash it all you like.

When selecting a kite to fly in ultra low winds, less than 4km/h, I will prefer to put a little extra effort in to have a bit more mass in my kite. When flying a B Std with a Diamond frame as opposed to a Black Race frame, I prefer the extra mass of the heavier frame. Sure you have to work a bit harder to keep it in the air BUT the returns come in the form of extra inertia. Like Paul said, it's all compromise. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

We have that same discussion locally Mark. How much mass is necessary for "lazy flight" in zero wind? Some builders' like Dave Ashworth's efforts, lack enough mass for my comfort. nothing is free with his wings, you must tend the lines thru-out the flight or face a complete loss of lift. Imagine flying from a standing position, but only on one foot. As long as you keep motion in the kite, it flies easily. Stop flailing and it is done for! With some more mass, you get free momentum (like a javelin thrower, they step several times violently forward towards their target area BEFORE releasing it) Also. a very flexible frame REQUIRES a longish bridle to prevent frame distortions from sharp commands on the handles, whereas a stiffer frame and affixing flying lines onto the end-caps directly creates a better set-up for collapsing the sail (throw & catch or the jumping-thru technique) There's certainly a compromise between no-wind floating and a steadily powered flight of gliding, you pick which direction suits your needs best based upon testing and comparisons. When you finally find that combination that clicks you are so satisfied! I like Dave's kites indoors but they aren't right for me outside in no wind. Too much distortion on the frame and sudden turbulence from the slightest wind on your skin behind an ear.

FWIW, these days I'm mostly flying ATM UL by Lam Hoac outdoors. Occasionally the regular ATM.

fly OPK April, until you know what you want or how to craft your own wing our local kite club has been flying "indoor conditions with an unlimited ceiling" since about 1996 (most everyone else would call it summer in the mid-atlantic states). These conditions typically last for five months out of the year. Want to build as SUL?,... you need to snuggle up to Dave Ashworth, our club president, he only flies kites he built himself and his stuff separates fliers on the competition field into the haves and the have nots. What about a vented kite with covers over the vents so you can open 'em or close off as necessary? Again, see Dave. His version won't fly as an SUL, but with half decent wind it flies as a full sail, open some covers up and it becomes a mid-vent, full vent or an extra-vent Jeffery Burka is the master of flailing and flying a kite UP WIND, his wing of choice is Rev2 sized kite, no bridle, super long throw handles, about 35 feet of length. (not handles silly, the string's length) I buy kites, but have somewhat extreme expectations, I almost always pay more than retail to get it built as I prefer. I probably have 6 or 7 thousand hours in a dead calm of flying time too. Eventually these demanding conditions have become my preference! I own 3 Zens and a couple of SULs which I'm happy to share. A single skinned sail weighs less, but is more impacted by stretch. Tapered down spars force weight where you want it and reduce strength down at the bottom where there's not much sail anyway. Nylon is cheaper to buy, but Icarex is the fabric of choice for most all high-end sport kite builders. Orcon can't be sewn, but nothing is as light for an indoor kite. Maybe mixing the materials offers the best solution of strength vs weight Skyshark P-90s are about as light as you can get, but now you're lacking stiffness in the frame. Would you pay 500% extra for diamonds? The difference is a cross-bow vs a long bow. $6 bucks vs $30,... oh and you'll need spares too What about a hybrid frame?, parts of it flexs and parts are stiff. This weekend there's a mothers' day gig at the Washington Monument. Come down and try out some different stuff from the other club members. Most of them are stock bridles and on 15 inch no-snags. Not that different from your current comfort zone. Try a kite with no bridle, then a french version,... see which one tickles your fancy. Next time it is very likely to be a different kite which captures your attention. What impact does your handle's length have on low wind conditions? when are achy wrists better off than no flight at all? (when you want to flail in big wind and still use those darn long handles) Bonding construction is lighter than sewing, easily as durable too (3M's 9460 bonding tape holds in windows on high rise buildings, it's proven stronger than riveting!!!!) How does the panel layout impact flight,... what about long term?,.. does it stretch and distort or actually improve with age? 50#/hundred foot length is a requirement for the washington monument grounds at least half of the year. At the beach you'd probably seldom use long throws and light weight lines. learn on our equipment, it's okay, everyone is offered this same opportunity (until you are not the weakest flier). Some like Fletch, are paying back so much that he's the guy giving lessons now!