ikky68

That's crazy talk. The Addiction is like a miniature 'Lix. Although, I agree with you. The Magnum is a dog (ie. flies weird).

Well folks, the competition year is coming to an end. That means that the Indiana Trick Clinic is back. The Hoosier Kiteflyers Society is again sponsoring the event. This year we will have Ari Contzius as our guest instructor. May I add that Ari is the guy that got me over the hump in learning the comete`. Between Mark K., Ari C., and the supporting instructors, we should have all tricks available for learning. Anyways... Here's the information. WHERE: The Academy of Model Aeronautics. Muncie, Indiana. The exact address is at this link: http://www.modelaircraft.org/ Look at the bottom of the page. WHEN: First weekend of September. That is the Labor Day Holiday weekend. The trick clinic starts at 10am Saturday morning. We camp out at the field and socialize in the evening. The trick clinic starts up Sunday and continues until everyone is done. COST: Free... The Indiana Trick Clinic is a free event sponsored by the Hoosier Kiteflyers Society. Camping at the AMA is free. Food and drinks is your responsibility. The cost of said food and drinks is directly proportional to how much you decide to consume.

Music, Is the size of that kite 48" when assembled or laid out flat on the ground? Smaller kites give you the total wingspan whereas other kites will give you the assembled wing span. If you can afford it, you should treat yourself to a larger kite. Firstly, they are easier to fly. Secondly, they have better wing loading, meaning that they will fly in lesser winds. Prism, New Tech, and Premier have great intro kites in the 6 foot range (assembled wing span).

Paul, To answer your question: "It depends." The Elixir is very touchy in the pancake. That is, the flic-flac trick is not the easiest to perform on this kite. Weight on the tail of a kite will do one thing. While weight in other places will do something else. It really depends on your style of flying on what you want and where to put it. If you want a pitch happy kite, then weight on the tail will help you. But this makes the kite sit more shallow when in the turtle postition. This pitch happy attitude is only applicable when the kite is pitching nose first. Not so much when the tail is leading the pitch. If you put weight on the nose, the pitch will have a longer throw when the nose is leading. Bridle adjustments will affect the kite greatly... That was a no-brainer. For example, try to rebridle your elixir with wider tow points and you'll see that the backspins get easier. The mylar on the Elixir add much to its personality (IMHO). The outer standoff also contributes to the Elixir's personality when pitching. If you want to make the backspin easier, take out some of the flair from the outer standoff. One last thing, the weight on the tail of the kite will affect the flic-flac move. Most kites aren't hindered too badly. My home grown kite for example, sucks at flic-flacs if more than 10g are on the tail.

Hi Jan, There's no hard-fast rule on what ripstop to use. I personally like my prototypes built from the .5oz ripstop. They hold up well in most wind conditions. I've made .75oz ripstop versions of the same kite. It flies well, but I can feel the extra mass. It feels like the kite wants to do the tricks, but a finer control is needed to keep it under control. The 1.5oz ripstop is stuff for banners. I have made a vented prototype that felt great! The frame is made out of p400s and the lower spreaders are g-force standards. Took a beating and handled winds from 6-13mph without the venting. After I put holes in the sail, it took (about)12mph to make it feel like it was pressured. The day that I tested it had winds hovering at 18mph. By far, the friendliest of the 3 kites was the .5oz ripstop. Floaty and fealt very light on the lines. Some tricks were there and automatic, but others needed finer inputs. The .75oz has all the tricks and most of them are almost free, but the free-ness of the tricks can get the kite out of control if you're not paying attention.

Hi John, I like the East Coast way, although, I've never been to a West Coast comp... I don't think that the casual observer can appreciate the technical beauty of the comete. The casual observer probably gives bias to a 'pretty' kite as well (but what do I know). I think that Mat Epstein(?) was announcing at Wildwood. And if all announcers had a fraction of Mat's style and knowledge of tricks, then all Hot Tricks Shootouts will be a success.

What are the winds like at home? The fanatic is a really small kite. Good for tricks but will punish you if you're a little off with your technique The quantum isn't trick friendly. The Nighthawk is small (still bigger than the fanatic) but capable of doing most of the new tricks. I saw RonG and LamH spanking that kite round. The Magnum is a good sized kite. It needs about 7mph (or more) for precision. The Magnum tricks nicely in 5mph. The rods are P300 so it'll take some punishment... But it'll need more wind to fly it. If the winds are low in your area, you might want to consider a UL.

Dude, If you can fly around without crashing a kite then you can skip the Beetle. If your controls are slightly off and you crash on occasion, then the Beetle is the kite to buy. That kite is bullet proof. For trick flying I would start out with the Addiction. As for Mirecat's suggestion, you can't go wrong with the Elixir. I've had both and liked both for different reasons. The Addiction behaves very similar to the Elixir. BUT the Elixir has a wider useable wind range. There are a bunch of kite under $150 that are coming into the market. You might want to look at those and read up on what they are capable of.

Dude, that question doesn't really have a straight forward answer. Some guys like the shorter lines for trick flying, while others like the competition length lines. The kite will also dictate the line length. Example of dumb: "putting a set of 90# 120' spectra on a prism micron. Some kites work well with a longer linset and others don't. If memory serves, the pyro xs is a little over 6.5'. So the 80' lineset that you have should be more than adequate.

If Mr. Barresi gives the okay, I'll write instructions.

***HIGHJACK*** How did the Spirit Quad get past Revolution's monopoly on quadline kites?

Most junker kites need a lot of wind to fly. When they do fly they, don't track well. Most kites are made to do certain things. This affects their personality. A tricky kite will feel faster, and spastic. A precision kite will feel more solid and will fly straight lines better. When you get to the high end kites, the distiction between precision and trickiness gets vague.

Dude, Quality kites come in different sizes, functions and flavors. Are you looking to compete? Are you a recreational flyer? Do you want to do the latest and greatest tricks? Do you like (or care for) a certain amount of pull from a kite? If you're relatively new and don't want to spend a lot on an initial kite investment, then I would suggest: 1. If you are still learning to control a kite and want one that will take a beating, then you need to get a Flying Wings Beetle. It'll fly from 2 to 15+mph. Most Beetle packages come with lines and a tail (for sky writing). The kite will fly in a light breeze, which will give you more chances to have fun. 2. If you can keep the kite flying with no unintentional crashes. AND if you want to learn tricks, get a Premier Addiction. This kite needs 5-8mph for some really good tricking. This kite always gave me the impression of a smaller version of the Elixir. 3. If you want some pull (traction/power) from the kite, then you'll probably be better off with a foil. Just pick a size and you can start wrestling with it. 4. If you want to compete, then there are a few competition level kites that don't cost much (around $150). Too many to list. Let us know what you want to do. Then we will be able to narrow your search. We also need an idea of the windrange where you live.

If you can fly around without crashing, then you're good to go... Get the Addiction. Great trick kite.

What new, high-end stunters use a straighter trailing edge?