Leaderboard

Drone footage from March 2018 on a deserted beach. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lest one thinks perhaps I am gifted. Alas NO!! Hours and hours at this with many,many more to come. I have quite the advantage over most. Winds here are some of the best inland flying to be had. Short week for me is 15 hours. Most are 20+. 50 yards to my kite shed, then 75 to my flying field.Got a variety of kites for 2 mph to 40 mph. It is awful close to kite heaven I think. Yesterday flew the Widow in 8 to 12 in pretty steady winds. 14 degrees but it did warm up to a balmy 18 when I quit. The new move has already helped on the Cynique. Caught the best one ever center window in about 8. Then right foot started getting cold. Blew the dang side out of my boot. Frost is about gone and temps are warming nicely.Cmon Comete, Cascade and Cynique. Hope nothing breaks 😰.

That's one of those videos that if you're feeling a little grumpy will put a smile on your face.

Went out to join in on the community kite fly this past Sunday. Great Wind, No Sun

Agreed, can't even put a price on "experimenting", that is where all of your personal preferences will rise & reign supreme eventually! What do you like on that kite right now?, ... what would you prefer IF it could be changed towards a known objective? (for instance: "I want to be able to catch 120s",... that necessitates a killer glide that can penetrate up-wind predictably.) How much bend in the leading edge construction makes a kite that turns within it's center, but simply WILL NOT rotate on a wing tip? How much stiffness in the leading edge itself prevents that difference from rearing it's ugly head? If the kite will not back-up it might as well not be a quad at all! Tuning the leaders is merely determining where on the handles that "down" (reverse flight/tricks/absolute control) takes effect. I have always been a fan of edge binding personally. Take your binding material and fold it in half, (crease that edge HARD, against a piece of glass or with a steel ruler, then fold those two outside edges in towards the middle, then crease it again, finally place that center (folding as you sew or adhering & folding to sew), such that the edge of the sail is captured in between 2 thicknesses of edge binding on each side. Most folks use a triple zig-zag to effect this binding. STRONGLY consider two rows of straight stitches slightly offset from each other instead. Edge binding makes a hard ribbon that slices thru the air when flying in reverse. The better the ribbon is constructed the better/easier the reverse flight becomes. Ah, but there's always the other side,... what is it in this example you ask? Well the great ribbon you've just finished will vibrate at a different level that a single thickness behind it. Those vibrations will create stress fractures and eventually the single thickness immediately next to the edge binding will fail. Does a shortened lifespan of the sail warrant improved flight dynamics? Only your answer matters! The venting (or holes left open, whatever your solution) along the leading edge "assists" with reverse flight. Do you have to have it? Speed Series Revs don't, they fly backwards almost as fast as a 1.5 will fly forward! Indoor and SUL quads don't need it to fly beautifully in reverse. How wide and where to locate "said venting" might be fun objectives to consider as experiments. Change only one variable at a time so you can control the experiment,... scientific principle. Four variables and wild oversteer happens, but which one made it the worst or which combination of 2 variables totaled such a profoundly negative impact? Hey maybe you'd like MORE oversteer yet, this is fun! Just change one thing at a time. Ideally, do this experimenting with a friend, cooperative projects are simply the best!

A few of us DC Misfits got our hands on a custom Djinn this weekend. Per usual the wind was, well, non existent. And per usual, these guys make it look easy.

Wow... it took me YEARS to learn the 1/2 Axel. I'm not sure still if I'm even doing it right. Forget about the Slot and the Taz, I've only done those by accident. Maybe. I've never flown with an 'instructor' (not true, I've flown with some very well respected fliers, but never for instruction, just fun), so I am just imitating what I see on uToob. Glad to hear that stuff is 'clicking' for you !

I recognize a few kites there.. The misfits look familiar too.

Sorry, just a little jab, didn't mean anything by it. But you now see how hard it can be. Glad riff is helping. He has built more kites in recent history than anyone I know. Do not know of any Zen plan out there. Bazzer made them for Rev. He hasn't built a Phoenix version. I did give riff some measurement for one, maybe he can help.

SHHHHH!! @DTill Positive no ill intent was there.. The secret is not your first kite.. The secret is, "Is your latest one better than the one before?" As long as that answer is "yes" OR you are learning from the experience then you are making progress. Build it, fly it, learn from it and build the next one better. There will always be critics. Keep in mind EVERY ONE of those critics only knows what you've told them and they've only seen what you've shown them. Ignore the critics and listen to your own self evaluation. Send your kite to a friend who's flying you respect and ask them for their honest opinion. You don't owe anyone anything and I personally am very glad you've started this adventure. I've had a blast and you are on the same path.. Keep it up. Your first one looks far more professional than my first one. I had no pattern and no Rev or other Hadziki Wing to base my design on. Every kite you make has something to teach you. Not every one will be your showcase kite. I look at a few of my early efforts and wonder how they flew at all. FWIW, I still have my first mesh made from tails.. DUCT TAPE reinforcements and all.. As for the design and a little sag, you'll be surprised at how forgiving the sail design is. Finish it up, try it out and learn what it looks like and acts like from 90' away when it's backlit by the sun.. A little sag or a stitch mistake won't show from there. Be willing to make mistakes, you'll learn something new from each and every one of them.

Keeping mesh square is really hard. I should've bound the leading edge when I originally taped it out. Live and learn, it's my first time sewing a kite. Lay off I'm not bazzer. Is this why riff gives me most of his tips in a pm?

I've got a little sag on the left side of the sail. It would be alot of seam ripping and resewing. How perfect does the first one need to be? Power forward and see how it flys?

I'd have to agree.. i like the diamonds look. I started playing with the layout and used the two strip widths to skew the vertical pattern a bit.. The diamond panels can now mitigate the wear strips and give me a solid pattern vertically. It aligns the solid material with the spars. The center panel in this Photoshop mock-up will be a throwback to my diamonds patterns as well emphasizing the front side and backside of this fabric. One side is shinier that the other and depending on the light angle, looks either very dark blue or almost black. This is one where the entire pattern will have to be laid out flat and basted before doing any sewing.. A true mashup of both designs . The Diamonds have to be fully basted before sewing, the mesh kites have different requirements but this kite will need to have all the techniques done at the same time to keep the sail flat.

I like the look of the bigger diamonds they should allow the kite to be flown in lighter winds. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Icarex will hold the crease better than Ripstop Nylon but both will hold a crease. Dacron is in general tougher to fold but really holds the crease. Good thing too, if it din't it would be very hard to keep it in alignment for the leading edge sleeve. The principles of folding the crease are pretty much the same. more effort required for some materials. a lot less pressure for delicate materials.. FWIW,Some fabrics just will not hold a crease and I'm not sure what techniques work best for them . I just don't use them for the most part (personal choice.)

S_T_O_P you don't want a Dacron edge bind, (WAY too heavy & thick) you want 3/4 ounce nylon or 1/2 ounce Icarex,... ideally cut into strips of appropriate thicknesses AND on an angle, like 45 degrees. Lazy? Some kite building suppliers have ready-made rolls of edge binding material (1.5 inch width = 3/8 edge binding final size), but if you have curves to edge bind, making your own will allow it to bend much easier,... curves have to be stretched to fit that shaping, stretching along a curvature is easier in my experience with the material angled. TEST yours first.

Tuesday Afternoon in 7-8MPH.. kite did well. It took a bit more effort but, this sail IS flyable sub-10MPH without too much extra work.

I look at the names of dual tricks and wonder how many of them started out as "repeatable mistakes" that looked cool.

Looking them up quickly on photography comparison sites: Sensor is different. The IV sensor is slightly better in low light conditions. That's better if you don't have a flash and need to shoot at dusk, but in good light unlikely to matter. View screen has more pixels on new model. The IV view screen has more dots so it looks prettier, but consumes more batteries. Faster continuous shooting on new model, taking a burst of shots can handle a few more images per second. Higher resolution video in the new camera, from 1080 video to 4K video. And naturally the newer camera costs more. There are also the model 5 (V) and 6 (VI). The features are better than most smart phone cameras, with better glass and a bigger sensor. Still, the sensor (13.2 x 8.8 mm) is much smaller than a full frame (36 x 24 mm) so it gets about 10% of the light captured compared to a full frame. Those are only problems if they are the limiting factors. A great photographer can use a terrible camera and still get amazing shots by leveraging all their technical skill. A novice photographer using world-class equipment will still produce novice shots. Look at what you are shooting, and why. Ask yourself what limits you from getting the photos you want. If you are limited by your skill, a new lens or new body won't help. If you are limited by lighting or camera speed or sensors, you need a better camera body. If you are limited by lens speed, aperture, chromatic issues, lens flares, or focal length, you need a better lens. If one of those cameras satisfies all your needs, go for it. The major brands of Canon and Nikon are better for the high-end bodies and lenses. That camera can produce good results for hobby photography.

Yesterday winds were a bit on the rollercoaster.8 to maybe 10 then 1 to 2. Stayed on the Zephyr for a few hours. Kite can get irritating to me cause it doesn't fly like anything else I got.Then I remember fly it like it wants to fly not like I think I want to and the good times return. Didn't do any slots and only did a few cascade starts.Taz is coming along and got some nice ones mostly left side. It's usually right so go figure. For me the purpose flying wasn't so bad for once. Get a little irked and do something else for a bit. Like the dreaded side slide. A year in and no matter the kite 1/2 the time not sure how I pull one off. Such a seemingly easy trick and it feels so cool on the lines. Lifetime to master? Yeah I think so. The virtual contest this year has a prize for longest steady side slide. Master fliers will be entering so that's kind of a tell on that trick.Practiced the KT all over the window. In low wind the 1 hand pop worked okay. 8 center window not so much. A lot harder to stall the kite and get the slack for me. Thinking about what the other 2 guys were showing me. Think I'm just developing a pretty different style. When 1st warming up I was catching the wing tips pretty often. 1 or 2 wraps don't bother me so much anymore. If up high turn the 1 wrap into a insane and have fun. On the ground I can do some work and often get a 2 wrap undone. Few flips, tip stands and such. Guy commented about how I was catching the tips and tried to help. Not one to turn away from advice even if I don't use it. Might come in handy later. Both fliers push forward on upper wing as kite flattens pop the kite into rotation move forward then power the kite up moving backwards. As they hard pop the kite into rotation the hand they're using comes across the chest with lots of slack in the other. Great for a cascade but seems awkward to me for a Taz, Slot,Rixel or to flip the kite. Both fly with hands holding the loop(Dodd Gross). Said they thought if I flew that way I'd have more control. Uh absolutely no. Started that way so I could let go and maybe save a broken part. At 15 mph gets real hard on my hands. Someone said don't worry about hand position. Person will gravitate towards what works for them and no one is wrong.Pretty soon I was flying with a wrist wrap and gripping the handle. Now I fly wrist wrapped with forefinger extended(Chris Goff). Can control most moves with my wrists or finger using my arms for slack more often then control.Sometimes in high winds (20+)I find myself with 2 fingers extended without thought.If one thinks the loop gives more control fly a Micron in 15 mph. I can't.The higher the wind goes the faster I need to react and that takes as little movement as I can get away with.Above 10 mph the loop grip doesn't work for me so I never use it anymore.My favorite straps are becoming Peter Lynn branded made in Jamaica with a metal ring.Got 2 pair black and yellow cause Riff was building the Hive. Add in the colorizer thing and black and yellow was kinda stuck in my brain.Flew in 40 mph with them and a pair of jersey gloves with no discomfort.Got a pair of the thick padded Lynn straps but they are a little awkward. I find my fore finger at times inside the ring. Again without much thought. Before they showed me they're way I could never KT in low winds. Needed 4 at least. Was pretty amazed at how effortless they made the trick look in 1mph. Will keep practicing at the edge on the 1 hand to see where I go with it. Elsewhere in the window I gotta do the 2 hand.

What kind of kites are you flying? Sent from my SM-T380 using Tapatalk

Hi, Paolo, and welcome to the forum.

Man 33 minutes and your Revs were GONE. Would have tried to get your vented but ya snooze ya lose. Welcome.

Welcome! I occasionally fly in Berkeley, usually when there's some event. You've probably heard of the Berkeley Kite Festival that happens in July. The Bay Area Sport Kite League also has a few events there. I fly at Shoreline park in Mountain View more often (although I haven't been flying much lately, other than at events). There are a number of regulars at Shoreline, some of whom are also on this forum.