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Agreed. He teaches it along with his "snap spin" done exclusively with the wrists and done quickly. That motion will always cause a drop, with a greater drop the slower you do it. I tried working through his steps, but on level four threw it away. Joe did a great thing as a designer 35 years ago and was a great pilot, still good at it, but his skill is better as a salesman than an instructor. Collectively we need more educational training, and step by step is good, but those instructions are lacking. The bicycle is a continuous transition. You need to be comfortable holding the kite in any orientation, and then learn to transition between them. The bicycle turn can then be taken as slowly as you want, transitioning from one hovering orientation to the next. It is more like pedaling and bike which I believe is where the name comes from. Just like pedals require large motion in knees and hips, slow bicycle turns require motion in shoulders and elbows. At the left facing and right facing direction one arm should be drawn back and the other extended. For me in most wind the upper side is drawn back near my elbow or even behind it, then pushed back out and on the other end of rotation, my opposite hand is back by the elbow. Done slowly it is a big body motion. Done quickly it might be a small distance back to the wrist or forearm, but certainly is not the twist of the wrist the video describes. Just watched that clip again and shuddered at at. Calls it "multispins", done entirely with the wrist, stating you do an aggressive 3/4 spin and let momentum carry it through the turn. He also says the motion requires strong wind and needs a vertical pop to stay up (0:30, and 0:55) warning if you don't have both strong winds and a quick pop to stay up it will fall. I also noticed he mostly shows his hands but doesn't show the kite. In the few moments he does show the kite, 0:40-0:41, 0:48-0:50, and 1:03-1:05 there is a SIGNIFICANT drop in the air. He describes it as doing the spins QUICKLY and relying on momentum to keep the kite up, then correcting to recover and regain altitude. Here is an old (free) article with a video near the bottom, notice the arm motion is fully to the elbow in order to maintain height at the left-facing and right-facing positions. And here is the (paid) tutorial from this site, that breaks it down in turns of hover to hover to hover, again showing large motion of the arms. In contrast, all these instructions say to go SLOWLY, as slow as you need, to maintain a solid hover at every position. Instead of using speed and momentum to rush through, they recommend first mastering a hover in any direction. Own your hover.

Agreed. In good winds you can fly a quad easily from a beach chair. Dual lines can be flown from one spot only if you are doing little more than steering. The moment you want anything more advanced it becomes athletic with legs involved. Speed control on dual line, and slack line techniques on any kite, both require leg work. On dual line whether you are doing a two point landing or a series of acrobatic tricks, the footwork ranges from a slow dance to a rapid sprint.

That's because active pilots don't generally sell their gear. It happens sometimes, which is what gets posted here. Most sales of good gear are people getting out of flying and want it to go where it will be used, but only after trying to get it to people they personally know who want to fly. When they are posted they are often snapped up quickly. Often it is easier to find listings on social media, local sales boards like Craigslist, and general sites like eBay, from people who inherent a bunch of good kites and don't know what else to do with them. Often they sell them as a group, like a bundle of 15 kites from the 1980s or 1990s with minimal description or photos. There's also people who only flew once and gave up, with a huge range of gear quality.

That may be a terminal velocity for one condition, but terminal velocity is could be anything on a huge spectrum. The sail can potentially be in many orientations and conditions. Since you discount a glider option -- and a glider orientation can maintain a near-flat gliding profile, not 3-5 m/s -- you're describing where it could act as a parachute. But it could have fabric flapping around, and could even have winds and turbulence lift it temporarily into the air. On the flip side, it could be oriented to have practically no drag from air, cutting through the air like a falling stone. Why are you attempting all these calculations? I've done some of the math myself a few years ago for a simulator program, and my brother-in-law went into aeronautics and we've talked about it, and this is an area where nearly every equation includes a "fudge factor" which is experimentally obtained. At any moment a kite has a mixture of both laminar flow and turbulent flow, can range from almost zero profile to having a full surface profile, can range from a completely rigid body to a completely soft body, with portions behaving anywhere in between. And the conditions can change in an instant, a kite fully inflated behaving as a hard body with a narrow profile and laminar flow can depower and become a soft body tumbling with a variable profile and a highly turbulent flow, then it can catch the wind again and revert back to hard body, fixed profile, with a strong laminar flow. There are formulas giving approximations under a wide range of conditions, but most functions and engineering principles say the only way to know for certain is to try it experimentally.

It has roots in Latin. You can buy both internal and external ferrules. Internal ferrules are like a dowel, a small stick inserted into both ends with one end typically glued/epoxied permanently. External ferrules are usually a metal sleeve, the rods slide inside with one end glued/epoxied permanently. There are pros and cons to each.

As Dragonfish mentions, it seems you could be better served by a parafoil kite. No tubes and spars, and they can be folded or stuffed into a small bag. If you encounter people who would destroy your kites, a dual line kite if you're looking for activity would probably be better as it's easier (and less costly) to replace two lines rather than four. For ready-made kites, an HQ Symphony, Prism Synapse, Skydog First Foil, Cross Kites Air or Boarder, or maybe smaller with a Flying Wings Mighty Bug, and many store-specific variations which may have better availability in Brazil. They fold down small in a backpack, are lightweight, and are difficult to damage in a crash. They can still have lines cut or other damage by aggressive fliers, so you'll need to stay away from destructive people. If you're looking for more pull, HQ Rush, Prism Tantrum, or even a Prism Tensor or Elliot's Magma may be more your preference.There are many variations and store brands of these, as well, called power kites, traction kites, and trainer kites, they can produce tremendous pull if you're feeling vigorous or are in need of a demanding workout, or are considering kiteboarding, kitesurfing, or riding around on a kite-powered buggy. Larger designs really should be only flown over water due to the ability to lift people into the air, and those landings are harsh. Beware with these larger kites, they require more training and safety mindfulness as they increase in power. That is an option. Do you want to spend your days flying kites, or designing kites? Or if you have your heart set on a smaller frame kites, some kites have "travel frames" available. Rev 1.5 travel frames are about 40 cm long. If that works for you, many of the revolution 1.5 sized kites (Rev, Djinn, Phoenix, RevoPolo, etc) could work with modification if they don't sell travel frames. Basically the rods are cut in half, although it does affect the strength and flexibility. You could do the same with a dual line framed kite, although each joint introduces a weakness and changes how the frame flexes and bends.

Yeah, the main danger tends to be what can damage, as opposed to what will happen. The worst case on can happen is pretty severe. The line snaps back at the full breaking strength near a person, who is then hit with a fast velocity whipping cord. The whip puts out an eye, or causes a severe lash. The kite happens to be in a position where it divebombs directly to the ground, striking someone with its full weight at 100 MPH or so. Or for a large kite, covers a crowd and gets them tangled up in many strings, like a fishing net over a crowd. The safest that can happen is minimal. The line snaps at a location far from the ground, and gently drifts to the ground. The kite itself is on a glide position and maintains it the entire time to a soft, gentle landing away from people, roads, or other obstructions. Most likely it will be on the safe end of the spectrum, but it cannot be guaranteed. Mistakes happen, and every year around the globe there are deaths related to kites. Statistically they are safe, but there are real dangers. The video links show a few of the ideal and mid-case scenarios. I think the harshest on those videos was depowering from inversion while doing a vertical hover, where the leading edge fell like a vertical spear directly to the ground.

Call ITW, as they were the primary distributor. They know which parts they require. Sometimes they have an updated part number or use a different brand or generic part as years have passed since the kite was introduced. As for the shaking and power loss, what else is happening during the event? How does the wind change? What is the environment? Turbulence? Edge of wind window or the power zone or somewhere in between?

Paul gave a video of one way of intentionally doing it. In some orientations the kite falls somewhat slowly in place. You can do this easily with a quad by trying to reverse too hard (see about 3:55 of this video of one of my practices), or performing an axel with too much of a tug (see about 1:59 of this video of a more recent practice), and the kite tumbles out of the air. Both clips have a few other examples. The kite is basically stationary, or may even come back toward the pilot by a few feet, so travel distance is basically zero. The impact speed is moderately light, unlikely to damage anything or anyone unless there is torque from the tumble. In some orientations the kite can travel a LONG way. The wing is naturally balanced as a glider, and at a guess it probably glides close to 3:1 or even 10:1 in whatever direction was forward. Heading fully downwind in a proper glide, on 120' lines at the top of the wind window I can imagine it gliding downwind 800 feet in a long, slow glide. The impact at the end would be almost nothing, like any glider. Imagine the landing of a perfectly balanced paper airplane after gliding a long, long way. Dual line example video showing how to do it. And that exact glide is leveraged when doing a catch maneuver, forcing the kite to glide directly back to you with a well-timed tug. Again it can potentially travel a long way, all depending on the angle. The impact forces there are usually minor, easily caught with one hand. This time, not me, but clearly demonstrating it repeatedly through the clip. Perhaps the most dangerous condition from a small kite losing control is a kite slamming directly down. No videos I can find of an impact but a full-on dive can go quite fast. Kites like the Supersonic can hit 70+ MPH no problem. Revolution advertises the Supersonic as able to reach 0-60 in 1 second. Multiply out the mass times the speed and you've got a substantial impact. While normally they crash into the ground, break some spars, and rip some fabric, if they hit a spectator it could mean some bruises, maybe a broken bone, or possibly losing an eye. But be aware that the kites in the clip are small, weighing less than a pound, have flexible frames that absorb energy then break, and generally flying in controlled positions. While those are relatively safe, there are also dangers. Large show kites are much larger and heavier, and more dangerous. Quickly looking up a few, a 10 meter design weighing 9 kg (20 pounds), a 5 meter kite weighting 6 kg (13 lbs), a large ray design weighing 16 kg (35 lbs). Very large show kites can reach several hundred kg. In addition to having considerable surface area that can trap and ensnare, they have lines where people can become tangled. Blowing downwind they can even catch the wind again potentially re-launching using a snagged person as the anchor. These kites are potentially dangerous both for falling on people and them becoming trapped, and becoming tangled in the lines as they lose and regain tension, potentially amputating body parts or throwing people into the air. Sadly there are a few reports of deaths from these every year if you search the news. Every year there are around 20 or so deaths reported globally from kiteboarding accidents, many involving an accidental or intentional pilot launching followed by a fall. While kiteboarding encourages jumping and dangerous tricks, it's not the only danger. There are plenty of amputated fingertips, fingers, and worse from a kite unexpectedly catching the wind and lines going tight while someone was handling the line. I've met several people who have survived major accidents, and known one who died. Others were notable that left memorials were created. It's been a decades but Steve Edeiken's death, a major figure in the kiting world who died at a kite festival during a mishap, serves as an oft-repeated warning. The AKA has an annual award named after him. A sudden gust and getting an ankle caught in the lines lifted him before he fell to his death. Another I know about from decades past, Dean Jordan who organized man-lifting anchored kites and ran some AKA events, nearly died after an accident despite having a safety rig, helmet (which likely saved his life) after a mishap lifted him and violently threw him to the ground. And people in India created an entirely new set of dangers with Manja, glass-impregnated line for kite fighting. Every year many people die from the stuff, many others lose body parts or have serious wounds due to the cutting line. It has spread to a few countries like Brasil. That's not so much danger from the kite itself, so probably not what you're looking for.

I've studied a bit of the math behind it, it is quite complex. The general equations are accurate enough but for situations rarely found in the wild. For the general drag equation you are using, I immediately see two issues. You are using the angle of the kite, which isn't part of the equation. Instead you need to use the projected surface area at the given angle between the kite and the flow. While the sine of the angle is part of computing the projection, it by itself is not the projected area. While it might be similar, the wind hitting dead on a flat kite does get close to zero surface area, and hitting full on gives close to 1x the fabric surface, those are not the projected surface areas. The second is the drag coefficient you are using. The values are always experimentally found and are unique to each wing and a range of values. The coefficient is usually not a single number but a table of numbers for many angles because of varying turbulence, laminar flow changes, cavitation changes, and more. At the kite's strongest angle it should be around 1.8 or so, but maybe closer to 2 for a strong pulling design, or lower near 1.5 or less for weaker pulling designs.

YAY!!! I can't believe it. You can be sure I'll feel more comfortable flying it outdoors now, and be a little less afraid of finding it's limits. I won't be flying with reckless abandon, but on light wind days I'll feel less risk. I wonder if I can make a stack of them for indoor? THANK YOU so much!

Just one more week to win myself a kaiju. Fingers crossed, the black and red will look lovely with its siblings.

Maybe fly at some fields of the USU campus and someone will join you? Sadly that's far enough north I don't know people. Good luck in your search.

There is fairly little organized flying in the region. I moved four years ago and was the only person I could find who regularly flew on the Wasatch Front. There's a few people who used to be in competitions but no longer were. I have a brother who flies his flexifoils every year or so when I am out there and convince him to fly with me, but that doesn't help you much. The roundup at Antelope Island had a kite festival with the events but I think it stopped several years ago. Old news articles may help you find names and contacts. But if you are elsewhere in Northern Utah it may take travel time. You weren't very specific about where you were, Logan, Brigham, Ogden, they are more likely to find like minded people than Snowville or farm country. The kite store A Wind of Change closed their physical store in Vegas and moved the shop online, and moved to Salt Lake City several years ago, they may help find some local contacts.

That's what you write now. Many people get the "kite bug" and go deep. Others don't. If you're sure it will remain casual then get a cheaper one, but if you feel more serious the cost difference is relatively small in the long run. If it helps, consider hours of entertainment per dollar. Your first learning will cost some extra sail life and repair costs for broken spars, but they are good for many hundred hours of entertainment. The Vertigo and Rev EXP are made from a different fabric than the others which is heavier (Edit, see note) but it also can aid beginners by being slower and more sturdy. But after your first few flying days you may not want that. Go fly other people's kites and learn what you prefer, then buy that. Fly other people's kites in a variety of conditions and wind speeds if possible. You should also try dual line, and other styles like speed kites, power or traction kites, which also have dual and quad line options. All are fun in different ways. You originally wrote 3-20 mph range. While there are kites that can do that for a short time, for most of us that means three different kites. A full sail quad can handle the lighter winds but will be stretch out of shape quickly at 20 MPH with high risk of damage at every gust. A mid vent will struggle in light winds and be difficult at 20, but with experience could fly the full range. Neither endpoint would be particularly fun, though. A full vent would not fly for a beginner below about 10 MPH but would be strong at 20. Above 20 you would want a different sail, as well. /Edit: Looks like the Vertigo's different fabric is somewhat lighter. Their web site says it's a slightly lighter polyester, rather than the more typical polycarbonate (PC) fabric. Either way, the EXP and Vertigo models use a different fabric than the ones used on most of the other major models. It's something to consider.

That almost looks like scales. I can imagine it with a dragon head or serpent head on a large show kite.

That could look trippy (in a good way) in motion.

... Um, yes. We fly alone collectively. Then we have large festivals with throngs watching individuals. Now we sit alone and attend teleconferences with other like minded solitary people. And we chat together all alone. We're certainly a contradictory bunch.

For me they change when I switch between a Rev and a Djinn, they change sometimes when I'm flying with others and they can't launch, and they change as the lines stretch out but I don't want to equalize right that moment. They rarely change mid-session.

With my normal parks closed but some "alternate" venues open, and with the city still recommending people get outdoor exercise while keeping distance, I've had some extra urban flying time. Unfortunately the area available had some terrible crosswinds, in addition to turbulence from nearby buildings, trees, benches, utility sheds, and pavilion shelters. I've done a little experimentation with urban flying from my parking structure and around parts of my preferred parks, but never anything quite like today. Winds were a cross-wind, ranging from near-stopped to moderate, I'd estimate 1-15 mph. I switched from a mid-vent to full sail after the first few wind stalls. My own already-realized notes on the subject of urban crosswinds: Short lines seem better. I was using 25' lines, and thought about shifting to 15' lines. I think they would have made it easier. Float around in the middle ground. When you know crosswinds are shifting from due South (180') to North North West (340') do your best to keep floating through the middle ground so transitions are easier. In this case, it means trying to stay south-westerly (180-220 degrees when South, 300-340 degrees with NNW). Footwork keeps power when wind doesn't. When the wind shifts, that means powering the kite with feet while trying to drift to the new direction. When in trouble or winds cut out completely, apply the indoor concept of "flying means falling slowly". When the shifting wind won't support a hover, walk/jog the kite into a glide. Even with those, it was challenging today to deal with the cross winds. Sometimes doing the odd landings on a bench or other object wasn't so much of an active choice, more of a last resort to keep upright and prevent a walk of shame, or prevent losing the kite behind an object. Any additional recommendations from the urban flying crowd on how to deal with shifting, variable, turbulent winds?

With full disassembly you could make about 12 prizes. Win a dozen kite parts in a stylish Kite Forge travel case. 🤔

My indoor location is unavailable. I can work from home and am expected to keep my existing work load, so all I gain is the brief commute time. Normally I have a short commute so there is little additional free time. So my 2x per week morning indoor sessions are canceled, and I really enjoy my weekend flights. I have taken some evening flights when winds were good, but I am feeling withdrawal overall.

Far too variable for a number like 17 hours, or even a number like 23 practice days or 200 hours of practice. Depends on the person, depends on what you mean by "the tricks and basics", depends on when they practice, how often they practice, the conditions during the practice, how long they practice, depends on if the practice is highly focused or casual, depends on what they are practicing, depends on the kites they are using, depends on more factors besides. Some have a natural order. You can't really learn to stall until you've got great control of the kite. Acrobatic tricks require the skills of not just control, but to recover the kite during a loss of control (which many tricks require, especially while learning). You can reach a level of basic control in anywhere from minutes to hours. You can be competent with several hours to several dozen hours (depending on all kinds of factors) but truly mastering it takes many hundred hours of practice in many varied conditions. For one person getting the first accomplishments may mean a weekend of intense training on the beach - - 20+ hours in ideal conditions with experts occasionally offering tips. For another, several years of 50+ one hour sessions going to a local park alone, unaided by anyone and with very limited self review or focus. Does that mean it takes a weekend or years? The kite you are flying also can make a difference. Some kites are better suited for precision and team flying, some kites are better suited to tricks and acrobatics, some kites can do both fairly well, some kites can do neither very well. Getting more time on the line is always a safe answer. No matter the skill, keep practicing it. The more you fly the more experience you gain, the more it will cement existing skills, and the easier new skills will come. I have found recording the session and critically reviewing it to be helpful. Find moments you succeeded, moments you nearly succeeded, moments you hesitated, moments you attempted something and failed spectacularly, and study every single one of them. Post links so others can also review it and offer suggestions. Meeting with another skilled pilot who can help you can be very helpful. Some people are better teachers than others. Track your progress. Make notes of how many hours you were flying, how long you worked on specific skills, the conditions, and assorted other notes. When sharing with others the answers may not be the ones you want, you may be told to practice basics and fundamentals when you want to practice more intense stuff, like someone being told to practice dribbling and passing a basketball when they only want to master a slam dunk. But no matter the sport, experts still have to practice the fundamentals and keep them sharp, from world-class athletes doing sessions passing the ball, Olympic medalist gymnasts still spend time focusing on handstands and handsprings. And pro kite fliers spend some of their flying time thinking about basics like ensuring their flight lines are straight and turning angles are perfect. Maybe. Different kites have different levels they can handle. If you have the budget to buy more expensive kites, or to fly indoor kites and potentially break them outdoors. Also, not all kites are suitable for all kinds of flying. A Pro Dancer is a great light wind kite for precision team formations, the Level One Badass is a great light wind kite for acrobatic tricks, both are great in very low winds but the two are far from interchangeable. Whether a purchase is worth it for you depends on you, your budget, and your interest. If you can reasonably afford it and your interest is strong enough, sure it is probably worth it for you. If you cannot reasonably afford it right now, wait. If you aren't sure your interest is strong enough for several hundred bucks in more kites, wait. A good way to answer is to determine if it is your or your kite. Is the kite you are using capable of the skill you are trying, or is it your own skill that is holding you back? Spending more money on better gear won't help you if you are unable to use it, and better gear is generally more expensive or time consuming to repair; in that case keep on the equipment you have now. However, if you've progressed to the point where you need better equipment, either because your current gear is unable to handle it or because the different equipment is better suited to the task, then get the equipment.

Easy solution: bring more kites.

An opportunity to get into kite making. If the winner isn't interested in making things with the fabric, this would be a good one to have a list of fallback ##s