John Barresi

For the launch, circle and land, it's a bit tricky... I'll do my best to explain: Fly the maneuver... Now the kite is headed directly at the ground... About a foot or two off the ground, slightly pull on the left line to cock the nose towards the right... Immediately after the slight left hand pull, give that same hand all the way out with a big step forward at the same time. The idea is to get the lowermost leading edge parallel with the ground, then to lay the uppermost wing back so the kite sets firmly and evenly on the lowermost leading edge. It's actually much harder than a pancake landing, and about a technical as a proper two-point landing. Ask more questions if necessary, not a problem.

Yup, got the pics... Thanks Alan.

Sea Shells, really tiny ones.

LOL - Paul DeBokker got put up at the raisin ranch last year... Watch out for the old bitties, they like the young stuff.

Yep. I prefer poly myself... Might not last as LONG as some nylon sails, but as long as I get 1-1/2 to 2 years out of a kite, I don't care... The difference in performance is worth it. With dual line kites, poly has a tendency to crack near the stress points (wisker pockets) during Jacob's Ladder, Multi-Lazy, etc... But again, it's worth it... And not an issue if properly reinforced. Poly seems to hold light wind better (less porus?), and tends to shed/dump high winds better... So I find my wind range is extended over all.

Yes, custom order... No idea about cost. Quality of manufacture is higher with the SLE, and better sail cloth... Far as I know. Mylar is "slippery" in the air, doesn't cup the wind as well... Slightly less precise. Also, fabric stretches over time... Mylar doesn't... So you eventually end up with a partially stretched sail, which is aerodynamically uneven.

Also, I don't know if you've found these trick tutorials... They taught me 75% of the tricks I know today: http://spaces.msn.com/sportkiteflyer/ Look on the right side of the page.

Lam and myself both use brass tubing, sized to fit exactly over the spine... We cut it into 5, 10, 15 and 20 gram weights... If you look at your kite now, it should have a single silver-ish 7 gram weight on it. I generally fly 25 grams minimum, often up to 35-40... But very few use that much... 15-20 grams might be the common average. If you get in touch with the folks at The Kite Shoppe, they sell pre-cut lengths in various weights... I get all mine from them.

I would disagree about the SLE making a kite more precise, since a slight "cup" or bowing in the leading edge actually enhances precision. For the record, I always recommend an ALL NYLON 1.5 (no mylar, in the SLE pattern) with a 3-wrap leading edge (same as the standard verticals). IMHO, the SLE is only good for very high winds or if your kite is going to take a lot of abuse during learning or teaching.

Hello all, figured I'd let everyone know... I'll be in France from April 6th through the 17th judging at the World Sport Kite Championships (WSKC), and going directly from France to China on April 17th to be Chief Judge at the Weifang International Kite Festival, finally returning home on April 26th or 27th... This will put me out of the USA for quite some time during which I will not be able to answer my phone. However, email access should be consistently available, shouldn't be offline for more than 1-2 days at a time. You can look forward to daily updates from the WSKC here... http://www.kitelife.com/archives/wskc06/ And, a full report and photos from Weifang in issue 48 (due out June 1st - my birthday). While most of my expenses are covered for these trips, it will still be fairly costly, so donations and subscriptions are always welcome. Thanks for being here!

Tada... Photo credits to Kitelife.com of course. I still hate you.

Alan, you got 2-3 dozen choice photos that Kitelife can use in the next issue? Need 'em at least 800px, by email is okay... Let me know.

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. A pair of UFOs by Lee Sedgwick, roughly a $100 value! You can sign up here. Odds of winning for this prize is currently 1/179, and will be drawn on April 1st, 2006! http://www.kitelife.com/prizes/ufo47/index.htm Our thanks, and the very best to you... Let the drooling begin!

Cool, I'll send out a note to the team list now.

Haven't seen it yet... Might have to turn on the TV myself.

Drum roll please... The winner of this great prize is: Ray Cooper - Subscriber #196 Congratulations Ray! Our new prize(s) will be announced within the next few days, I'm headed to Kite Party for the weekend - back on Monday.

From David Gomberg: It is difficult for me to write all of you with this devastating news. Mike Gillard died unexpectedly earlier today. His family found him at home. They believe he suffered a heart attack. As you know, Mike was one of the pillars of AKA and a major contributor to making contemporary kiting what it is today.In addition to being the driving force behind the new Kiting Magazine, he has chaired our Sport Kite Committee, was principle architect in the development of our sport kite rules and the center spoke of the global cooperation in sport kite competition. Mike was Chief Judge for the World Sport Kite Championships last year, and was scheduled to serve as Chief Judge at the new international completions in Weifang China this April. He was a dear, dear friend. I'm in touch with the family and will get you news about further support. Damn. Lift a glass tonight to a good guy who worked hard to spread the joy. dg - - - Many of you know, Mike was the founder of Kitelife... A good friend of mine for many years now, and a former teammate on the World Cup team Captain Eddie's Flying Circus in 1997. I'm a bit speechless at the moment, but wanted to pass this on through our forum.

Hehehehe... Drawing is fast approaching.

I'll be putting something on really long lines... Either my VIP, or the Wren. What color is yours? I'll need something in the blue/black spectrum. Guessing 25-30' lines, depending on how much clutter there is around the "field".

Music was emailed to me.

558... Hoowah!

Hehehehe... 474 mph, got my manhood back.

Damn, Shannon just banked 392 mph! Looks like I need more practice at spanking the Monk.

Oh yeah... Topping out at 374 mph... Can't seem to find that original post on this forum with our high scores.

2,146 viewings on Egan's video in February alone, up through today... AMAZING! A paltry 1,034 on mine.