John Barresi

The thing with lines that short, you have much less time to respond when the kite is doing a nose dive... Since the lines are 15 feet long, it only has to go about 12 feet or so before it does a high speed soil sample. 50 feet is on the lower end of line length for newbies, while still giving some time for the reflexes to kick in and turn the kite out of a nose dive. I myself generally won't fly shorter than 75 feet, and usually prefer the 100-120 foot range for leisure flying. Bear in mind readers, Penny is one of the foremost indoor fliers in the USA and is most often found on 10-20 foot lines since they are the tools of choice for her specialty.

By the way oculus, the few fliers that live in Portland generally choose Delta Park... Not the main one with the soccer fields, but over on the west side of the highway in the overflow lot for the raceway. It's actually not a bad spot, and the MAX lets off within a block of there from what I hear... Probably the best spot in Portland overall.

I flew that one at WSIKF... It handles really nice, and kept up with me no problem! I tell you, Ray gets more tail... ROFL

I'm in Portland as well... Most of us do have different kites for different conditions, and shorter lines (50-75 feet) do make it a bit easier sometimes. As for kite recommendations, I'll concede to the others on this forum... But, there is a fun fly happening just over the river in Vancouver on the 19th of this month and you might consider stopping by to fly and learn! http://kitelife.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=218 Also, there are some kites at REALLY great prices in the Kite Classifieds which you might check out and see if any catch you interest. http://www.kite-classifieds.com Generally, those kites in the 8 foot wingspan range will handle lighter winds better than either of the kites you mentioned.

I think you could get lessons from any one of us! There are some kites for sale at GREAT prices on the Kite Classifieds... Anywhere from $45 to $90 for some really good stuff, just see what grabs your eye and ask about it in the forums here! (I like the Tamontanas!) http://www.kitelife.com/classifieds BTW - Nice signature graphic you got there #73!

He also doesn't believe in ultra-lights... lol! For the record, Ray can also frequently be seen flying his Pizzaz Pluses with trademark Canadian Maple Leaf applique.

To help us subsidize the costs of operating Kitelife, we're still offering monthly prize drawings... And two in the month of October! To be given away on September 15th:http://www.kitelife.com/prizes/jack-in-the-box37/ To be given away on October 20th: http://www.kitelife.com/prizes/phoenix-pyro38/ Do the math... A $32.95 yearly Kitelife subscription works out to $2.74 a month, which is less than the cost of three regular raffle tickets at an event! So, for a little less than 10 cents a day you currently receive a 1/65 chance of winning each prize (as of 9/4/04)! In addition to the prize drawings, subscribers also receive the following: Access to our subscriber's area which offers exclusive photos and video from various kite festivals around the world, available nowhere else. 100MB of storage in the Kitelife PhotoFiles on line albums where you can display your favorite photographs and share them with visitors to our site. Special recognition in our Kitelife Forum by way of a special graphic seen in your postings. It's not cheap to host all of the archives, out of print publications and videos that you can find on Kitelife, if you enjoy the content we offer please consider helping us by becoming an official subscriber! Thanks for your support,

The tails are a separate item... You can get either flat tails (like Ray has on the wingtips) which take less wind to pull around the sky, and/or tube tails (like he has on the tail or "keel" of the kites)... The tube tails definitely have more visual impact, are a little more expensive and take a little more wind. Notice his tails have multiple colors in them... Also a little more expensive, not all stores have them in stock, but they can be ordered for you. If you want to save a little cash, you can just get single colors.

My friend Moon (another local flier) would also like to come... Is there room for one more if she's here with me for the pick up? Let me know.

Right you are... I misread my calendar.

10:30am on Saturday the 19th... Sounds good, I look forward to flying with you guys!

He's flying the "Kestrel" made by Sky Delights... I'm not sure if it's still in production though. http://www.skydelight.com/ You might check with one of the stores listed on our site and see if they have any in stock or can order it... Otherwise, there is another similar kite made by Sky Delights, the "Luna Moth" currently for sale in the Kite Classifieds at a great price! http://www.kite-classifieds.com

That's really pretty Progcraft... Nice work!

There are some really great prices on kites in the Kite Classifieds right now, I recommend everyone go check it out! http://www.kite-classifieds.com

Progcraft is our resident Eddy expert... I imagine he might have some ideas. Some of his articles: http://www.kitelife.com/archives/issue35/c...ddy35/index.htm http://www.kitelife.com/archives/issue37/c...ddy37/index.htm

Aye I do... If there is enough wind for the vented, I find it has a great deal more stability when flying backwards and doesn't shimmy around as much on the upside down hover... Note the point at 3:16 through the WSIKF routine where I fly up backwards and break into a left circle, still backwards... Smooth, and easier than a full sail.

We've just added the following routines to our video section: John Barresi - Bugs Bunny Quad - WSIKF Chris Shultz - Ballet w/Mirages - WSIKF Troy Gunn - Multiple Kite - WSIKF Team TKO - Team Ballet - WSIKF Ray Bethell - promotional DVD footage http://www.kitelife.com/videos/demo

That would be Sam Ritter's stack.

You're already headed in the right direction... Shadow judging does not get weighed into the actual scores, rather an opportunity for people to "shadow" the active judges and learn through practice... The scores and methods are discussed before and after.

Still waiting for mine...

Yeah, hopefully... I missed you at WSIKF, was looking at the beer garden.

Just to be clear Penny, smilies (or emoticons) are the little faces we put in our posts... The stuff you're talking about (like my eyeball) are called avatars.

Anyone going to the Whidbey Island Kite Festival in Washington state? And more importantly, anyone coming from or passing through Portland on their way? I'd love to attend, and would be willing to share cost of gas... Might be two of us, if Moon decides to come with.