John Barresi

I understood nothing less... But, I also have some sense of the dissatisfaction you do share. What about what I had to say about educating the judges by way of workshops, etc... And about "training" the judges over the course of a season? What you have to remember is that we're dealing with hobby-oriented people for the most part... Not professionals per se. In my 16 years of flying, I've seen all kinds of innovations that people didn't understand... Slack line tricks aren't so unique in that regard. Giving them a list of tricks still won't help them recognize what's happening... You have to put in the selfless time, by way of educational programs before and after comps. I for one have been spending time with club members and workshops here in the Northwest, working towards that end... And increasing the overall skills of our fliers. I'd be curious to hear direct responses to the body of my first post.

I think submitting a trick list in AKA comps is energy better spent holding trick workshops, and educating the judges on what they see... Or, organizing group discussion and education at events. Most judges today know a hard trick when they see it... If indeed a flier considers this to be a problem, they might consider bringing it up at the pilots or pre-discipline meeting to briefly describe the 2-3 more obscure tricks. Bottom line (I know this young man)... Tricks are not the focal point. Learn what the judges are looking for, and fly within that range... I do everything from Comets to Wap Do Waps, multiple roll ups to Jacobs Ladders, and have never run into a problem with the judges scoring me well - because I also deliver precision, content and program, which is what 85% or more of the score sheet is for. AKA comp is not Tricks Party... That's why the latter was created. Pardon my reaction, but I'm tired of the occasional flier trying to validate their poor competition results by saying "the judges didn't understand"... Learn what they do understand, and if you fly a really great routine on the whole, even with an unknown trick or two, you'll do well. Sometimes it takes several competitions to educate the judges, and acclimate them to certain maneuvers or tricks... Key example... Years ago, I started doing a tip drag / axle / tip drag / axle / tip drag / tip stab... The first 3-4 events, they kept giving me deductions for hitting the ground! So what? After those initial events, they started to get it... I didn't complain, I just kept demonstrating the skill until it stuck.

I learned about 60% of the tricks I know from those tutorials... Good find Rob.

Already done. Yes Wen, better to send personal info like address via email or private message.

Ant man, there's a photo gallery here on the forum... You can add them through the "My Controls" link at the top of the page, or just click here and look for "Create Album". Regular users (such as yourself) can post up to 5MB... Paid subscribers can post up to 100MB of photos. The subscribers section (which is a separate area) hosts only exclusive high resolution Kitelife videos and photos which aren't available on the main site. If you're curious, some of the other forum members might be able to shed some light on the benefits of being a subscriber and supporting our site.

Granted, Rev rods are TOUGH... Especially when there's 10 kites worth. That helps me too, since I've got about the same number of Revs packed in along side my dual line kites... Makes for a solid backbone. Me thinks Rob needs more Revs. FYI Rob, your Acrobatx went out on Tuesday via Priority Mail.

Another great bit of travel info... If an airline ever gives you grief over the length of your travel bag, tell 'em it's sporting equipment! All the airlines I have encountered have an exception clause for sporting gear... And certainly a $1,000 bag of kites qualifies! I generally travel to events with $4K-$5K worth of gear, counting kites, lines and rods.

I use the "standard SKB hard case" when going international... You have to break your kites down all the way, but the case is bloody indestructible and has an unconditional lifetime warranty... Plus, it doubles as a lock box on the beach for your camera, or whatever. For domestic travel... Despite multiple horror stories from others... I generally don't worry about my kites, since I've only ever had a couple of 2PT wrapped Skyshark rods break on me. My luck is very good, and I've been okay with Prism's full size rollup bag ("RUB").

Check it out... We added a whole bunch of new stuff to our CafePress shop! http://www.cafepress.com/kitelife

If there's enough excess that it gets in the way, you can trim it... Worst case, you'll lose a few inches off your total length when it's all said and done.

Does anyone have input for this student? I know we'd all love to see him get an A+ with kites!

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. Gallego, roughly a $160 value! You can sign up here. Odds of winning for this prize is currently 1/206, and will be drawn on August 10th, 2006! http://www.kitelife.com/prizes/gallego48/index.htm Our thanks, and the very best to you... Let the drooling begin!

Our pleasure Rob, keep on flying!

I'm off to an event this weekend, I'll post August 10th's prize when I get back on Monday or Tuesday... Likely to be something from HQ Kites.

Oh, also... On the dual line side of things, RandyG has some EXCELLENT "slack line" trick tutorials on his site... Fairly advanced stuff. http://sportkiteflyer.spaces.msn.com/ Look along the right side of his page. Don't forget to practice corners, landings and such... The basics are important too.

Aside from the standard Rev video that comes with the kites, the only other one I know of is the "advanced revolution" on www.kiteconnection.com. http://www.kiteconnection.com/cgi-bin/shop...21&user_id= It doesn't cover the really advanced stuff, but a lot more than the standard Rev video.

Rob, have you looked into any of the instructional videos out there? FYI - Your Acrobatx should go out via Priority Mail early next week... It comes with lines and straps.

Drum roll please... The winner of this great prize is: Rob Barden - Subscriber #259 Congratulations Rob! Rob just signed up on June 25th too, lucky guy! Our new prize(s) will be announced by the end of the day.

I think Peter might still be making those on a custom order basis... He buys blank sails from Rev (so they're official), and custom appliques them. http://sportkite.com/ Click on "Custom Revolutions"... Tell 'em Kitelife sent you.

http://www.SkySportDesign.com, http://www.SkyBurner.com, http://www.RevKites.com Just three, off the top of my head.

Dorsal, sorry I overlooked your last post to me in this thread... I like leaving the breadcrumbs, as the information is oddly useful. As long as an off topic post of three doesn't turn into an entirely new thread, I'm not inclined to moderate.

Howdy gang, Just dropping by to let you know that volume 9 of Kite Lines has been processed, and can now be found in the Kitelife archives... Still 100% free of charge to view or download, you'll find a bevy of historic plans, articles and reviews in these archive issues. http://www.kitelife.com/kitelines Enjoy... And if you like what we're doing, please consider becoming an official Kitelife subscriber - help support efforts such as these! http://www.kitelifers.com Thanks to all, for being a part of kiting.

Cool, well you're thinking it out very well... Keep at it.

When doing the inverted slide, try pressing a little more reverse on the trailing wing... The lead wing (direction of flight) is the steering portion, the trailing wing tends to drop when it isn't tended. If this isn't true in your case, and are inclined, tell me about the tendencies it's exhibiting. I'll do what I can to help.

Upside down (inverted) slide, or upright? Indeed... When the leading edge can flex slightly, reverse is far more effective.