John Barresi

Nice collection Ralph! Always glad to see multi-discipline fliers coming along, there are so many cool kites to play with. == FYI - here's the IFLY group on Facebook that Rob mentioned earlier... http://www.facebook.com/groups/221998147943305/ LOTS of kite stuff happening on Facebook, all the time. http://www.facebook.com/kitelife http://www.facebook.com/akasocial

No problem Mark - you'll be looking for #1074 - good luck!

Hi Dayhiker - sounds like you've already reaching flying enlightenment in all ways that matter! Welcome to the site, lots of super friendly folks around here who only give enough grief to let you know you're loved. lol Seriously, glad to have you - someone to give us the real dirty on Mr Runner. You fly dual and single too, or just Revs? No wrong answer, just curious.

Typo - the vented comes with 3 and 4 wrap, changing it now - thanks. Yes, we've sent at least two prizes to the UK... Some to Netherlands, Japan and Latin countries as well.

And that my friend, is a beautiful thing - keep us posted!

Ya really, this topic needs some serious banter - carve off 1/10th of the prize banter here and we'll be rockin'!

TK is a June baby too. Thanks Steve, and good luck!

I'm with SkyPuppet all the way! 1mph+ is good for me, from there, it's just different flavors of awesome as you scale through the various wind speeds / equipment combinations. There really is no "best" wind, because every kite feels different (faster, more precise, smoother, etc in their own ideal wind) it all depends on the wind quality, kite of choice, frame of choice, line weight, handle length and level of training - it's all play land, best to play with everything you can to find your own muse(s).

We're pleased to yet again announce the next prize being given away to our most appreciated supporters, the Kitelife Subscribers... For roughly 10 cents per day they play a major role in keeping KL growing in every way. B-Series VTD (package), roughly a $350 value! This package includes kite, 3 wrap and 4 wrap frames, adjustable handles, DVD, weight kit and kite sleeve! NOTE: Primary color of the kite in this drawing is RED and BLACK with WHITE CENTER, on a VENTED SAIL. This is regular (factory) model, it is not a Pro by Bazzer, but will still provide excellent flying for whoever wins this. You can sign up here. Odds of winning for this prize is currently 1/341, and will be drawn on July 15, 2013! Our thanks, and the very best to you... Let the drooling begin!

Yes indeed, June 1st is my birthday so what better way to celebrate than giving something away to the folks who help make every year so fulfilling here at KiteLife! We're pleased to yet again announce the next prize being given away to our most appreciated supporters, the Kitelife Subscribers... For roughly 10 cents per day they play a major role in keeping KL growing in every way. B-Series STD (package), roughly a $350 value! This package includes kite, 2 wrap and 3 wrap frames, adjustable handles, DVD, weight kit and kite sleeve! NOTE: Primary color of the kite in this drawing is LIME and GREY with WHITE CENTER, on a FULL SAIL. This is regular (factory) model, it is not a Pro by Bazzer, but will still provide excellent flying for whoever wins this. You can sign up here. Odds of winning for this prize is currently 1/341, and will be drawn on June 1st, 2013! Our thanks, and the very best to you... Let the drooling begin!

Small clarification... I didn't just roll up 33 times in one go, did anywhere from 1-4 at a time (adding on) until I reached 33. And yes, my lines got pretty darned short! LOL

A good rule of thumb is the frame stiffness, medium-high wind kites will generally sustain better... Visually, you're mainly looking for reinforced trailing edges (often with mylar or dacron) and yo yo stoppers. If a modern kite doesn't come with stoppers, 8 out of 10 times it may not be well suited to such tricks. True. Kite Party, maybe 2005 or 2006, flying a Deep Space on 110' lines... 33 roll ups in all, at one time... Mark Reed was watching when I unrolled, it was awesome. <grin>

Check out this upcoming project by Matt Cyphert / MTP Studios... You can find more information here... http://www.facebook.com/indoorthemovie http://www.indoorthemovie.com I'm especially interested in the potential this film has to increase public awareness, which is good for everyone - and knowing Matt, the trailer above is "just getting started" stuff and we'll be seeing even more exciting stuff hit Facebook (please LIKE the page above) in the months to come.

Well, the Swift is probably too light and flexible to make a good trick kite (yo yos, etc)... 1 - When the kite fully wraps up, the line around it creates compression (requiring some stiffness in the frame to sustain), and the lines can abrade the trailing (or leading) edge material if it's not "rated" or reinforced for this type of use... No guarantee the Swift can't handle it, but I know it wouldn't have been specifically designed for it. 2 - There is also the issue of weight... In order to flip the kite (yo yo), a little weight / inertia is needed, and the Swift is pretty light, so if you do try adding stoppers, you might also need to add some weight (5-15 grams) to the tail to facilitate rotation. That being said... The SKY IS THE LIMIT, yo yo stoppers are cheap and a pretty easy, harmless install... No reason you can't try it, long as you have your wits about you and listen to the kite as you experiment... I've tried all sorts of weird with kites, much of it absolutely ridiculous - all of it fun and educational. Did you know... Almost every slack line trick (like the yo yo) started as a mistake that someone managed to repeat and perfect? == As for getting out of a roll up... Remember the compression I described above, and it's potential to "crush" the kite... If you've got the kite rolled up and you're flying, the simplest and safest way out is to head straight up with your hands pulled down closer to your hips... Once you feel the pull reduce slightly, push your hands toward the kite, then let them drop back to your sides. What should happen, is the kite's nose will lean back slightly for a second, then come toward you, initiating the actual unroll. == You can also fly high up, turn the kite so you're flying down, then do the same thing... Soft push out (kite goes into pancake), then hands back to unroll... Trick with this is to remember, you'll be headed straight down and be loaded up coming out this way - so make sure you do this whole thing fairly high up, and be ready to turn away before you hit the ground. And another... You can also do a ground pass, turn up slightly (rise 4-5 feet, nose at roughly 45 degrees up), then use the same hand motions to unroll onto a single wing tip or 2-point landing. == Some good references... Awesome tutorial https://vimeo.com/25435954 A different sort of roll up, very weird... https://vimeo.com/25164167 == I do love my rollups... == Pretty soon, if you're not careful, you'll be flailing like this. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1233727007467&set=vb.1357938423

I think Steve de Rooy is using something similar to 90# LPG for his iFlite, lots of dangle on it.

No worries, easily overlooked in quick reply.

Howard, you're right - the links weren't working, looks like something feel out of date. I can't get to it right now, so I've disabled the sidebar for now. Will fix as soon as I have a moment to look at it. Thanks for letting me know!

Hi Howard. Gallery function really works best for true galleries. To place images in a post... 1 - Either click the "More Reply Options" button when adding a new post. 2 - Or, click "Use Full Editor" when editing a previous post. In either case, on the page that comes up, you'll see image attachment options below where you enter the post content. If you can get that done, I'd just delete the images you placed in the gallery.

Good topic Ian... Got a specific time range in mind? I think the main eras for me (in terms of kite styles) might be: pre-1988 1988-1992 1992-1998 post-1998