Breezin

Right after last post went outside and yay winds were flyable for the Hydra. Got more then 4 hours in 0 to around 15. Wind ebbed and flowed nicely from the north. Nary a violent gust at all. Flew with 2 weights and nose forward the whole time. Kite would shudder a little at 15 but the wind would drop pretty quick. Kite rated for 18. Pretty sure it'll do that but I need to get more familiar with it before I explore the higher range. Really like this kite. It's flippy, precise and pretty fast. I think it and the Widow Maker are going to be a lot different. Hoping so. Not sure I ever want to fly on a beach. Might make me want to move LOL. Better hone those ice driving skills in a hurry. Scared the piss out of myself along the Columbia and down through the Siskiyous a few times. Even drove on ice in north Florida once but the Oregon ice storms are the worst Iv'e been in. Once I have a vent the bad will be good. Once I get my kite built the bad ass will still be bad ass but BAD ASS ,

Fantastic morning mild temps with winds around 5 to 6. Last 3 days winds have gusted 25 to plus 30 mph. Had chores and errands to do. Got done grabbed the Hydra went to set up and winds started gusting + 20. Sigh I do love Spring but dang it man. Sent my info to that fella up north yesterday. I'll let him guide me to the kite. Really thought long and hard about the Silver Fox vented and the Challenger Max. Going to bite the money bullet. With good flying and good fortune should last the rest of my life. Got a never flown Widow Maker Pro sewn by Steve Tapp that should be here by Thursday. Practicing some more sewing thinking about the new Widow and dreaming of the next kite ought to keep me from being to much of a . Probably not. Man I want to fly.

Build a shed with a nice fence around it. Then find a reputable dog academy and buy a highly trained guard dog loyal only to you. If the dogs big enough you can make a pack so it can carry your kites and guard the ones your not flying. My Great Danes are big babies so it doesn't work with them. My Akbash Shepherds get offended when I put anything on their backs. I harness up my Chihuahuas but they can only tote 1 at a time. My Toy Fox Terrier just lays down and goes to sleep. The Pekingese gets very violent. The cats you might ask. Well that becomes a little life threatening. Hmm maybe I need a mini Burro. Lots of folks here have 4Ds . Won't be long before you get help.

Fantastic !! I got some plywood and 1x4 slats. I'll take 2 of each. Post dated check 3/19/2052 is in the mail. So excited.

Prism Micron in good shape. $35.00 PayPal preferred. Includes U.S. shipping.

Premier Addiction in good shape. $75.00 SOLD

Premier Nighthawk in good shape $85.00 PayPal preferred shipping included. SOLD

In good shape. 2 of the 3 Premier Spider series. Widow ng $130.00 Jewel $ 60.00 PayPal preferred.U.S shipping included. Widow ng SOLD

Casey? I got a very unique one for $7000.00. It's been flown, broken and repaired by ME. Please buy it. Just think I could have kites from Canada, England, France, Holland, Sweden, Germany, China, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S.A. Do it again Kite Ninja. It's just about as good as dreaming of hitting the Lottery. Hey you never know. 3 years is not so long and from what Iv'e heard this kite collecting thing can be habit forming. It's hard to imagine but some folks may have more than 1 Zephyr and still want another. That Orca color is sure looking nice . I think Ca Ike vented one or thought about it anyways.

What Wayne said was the hardest thing for me to learn at the start. For me it was so counter intuitive. My brain would say one thing and my body would do another. Got a few broken parts waiting for a project to prove it. Now when I'm not trying to trick my main focus is trying to be as comfortable nose down as nose up any where in the window. The good thing about starting on Prisms is their customer service is an A. A+ if they weren't so pricey. Got parts from them twice. Both times I forgot to order hollow ferrules. Make a list when ordering like I didn't.

Went out again for an hour. High winds stalled out till later tonight. Put up the Hydra on it's new 130# x 100' line set for the 1st time. Winds a little shifty between 1 and 12 mph. Had 2 weights in and not doing much tricking. Kite pancakes really well and got 2 really good roll ups at least for me. Was rocking the kite at the top of the window and heard a big gust coming. Went to right side of window as fast as I could. Kite was shuddering pretty hard with nose forward. Wind had to be above 15. Got to edge trying to go belly down nose forward when the wind twisted. Kite bounced twice and then headed towards me. Stepped in front of it thinking I could catch. Realized how stupid that was tossed the handles away and jumped back. Kite went pass at probably 20.Kite changed direction twice more and smacked the ground 4 more times. Was sure parts were broken and sail torn punctured or both. Wow no damage. Catching the kite could have damaged it but getting caught in the lines was a real threat. Even though it's not a power kite 130# line can still do damage. Going to the kite I was more worried about what I could have just done to myself. Thinking about the stories Iv'e read it was a foolish move. Been out in 30 mph and this is the 1st time scared. First twisty of the year and it sure won't be the last. Snapshot will relaunch and when I get a Lycos 1.2 it'll go 100 mph. Better not be foolish then!! Off to get the Addiction. It's tough

My Toy Fox Terrier does not have a tail. Got out material and started measuring wondering what he'd look like. He got very irritated when I snapped a bungee on his nub and left. I'm not bleeding to much but I think I'll stick to tails on kites .

This is one of the 1st post I read. The 1st time I put my Widow ng together the spine weight pocket twisted pretty severely to the left. I found everything measured out evenly and no stains. It concerned me a lot about the twist. Every time I set up the kite for launch I had to turn the pocket back to center. I have read that a sail needs to stretch and begin to breath before it aligns and it's true nature appears. For some reason I got it in my head this takes 20 or more hours of flying in different winds. The more the Widow has been flown the less Iv'e had to adjust the pocket. Now it seems it's from hard crashes more than sewn off center. Flew this morning for 1 1/2 hours. Started in 0 to 4. Last 1/2 hour some gusts hitting 15. No crashes [unbelievable huh]. Reset the kite quite a few times from failed tricks. Mostly wing tip wraps. Did not have to straighten out pocket once. Iv'e got more then 50 hours on it now and this is the 4th time out that the pocket stayed straight. Think the sail has broken in nicely. My Zephyr when new was even more dramatic looking due to the Mylar running down the whole spine. From the nose down it looked like the whole thing was sewn off center. With more than 25 hours in the air it's about 1/2 as bad. More flight time and I think it will straighten out the rest of the way. Maybe longer then the Widow due to the stiffness of the Mylar and flying in lower winds. I believe all my kites fly better now that they're broken in and the crispness is less. Being new I can't really tell how much because my skills still need a lot of honing. With close to 5 hours on the Hydra it should be the kite that I can really feel a difference. Maybe when it breaks in something will be off . Doubt it.

Yay no damage today. What a relief.But then I didn't fly today . Think I would have rather had to fix something. Winds are going to be 20 to 30 mph tomorrow. Maybe I'll get the stones to punch holes in the Addiction and see what happens.

Some days my thumb tips are a little sore . Mostly on cold snowy days but not always.

Well I am pretty convinced that this is not a hobby and more of a sport. Mainly because for more then a week Iv'e been updating injury reports. Yesterday winds around 10 for a few hours and then started hitting 15 for the last hour. Flew the Nighthawk for a good 2 1/2 hours and had a great time. Been a couple weeks without it. Really like that kite. Once again nose forward belly down I pulled the kite forward and put a small puncture in the upper sail. This is the 7th time Iv'e done this. Ya think I'd have learned not to do that by now.I get a little excited.Good thing is repairs are really hard to see. Got out the Jewel. Some gusts started the kite shuddering but had a lot of fun. At the end low to the ground got a tip wrap and hard nose dived. Popped out spine, broke 1 c clip and the rest came loose. Tough kite and no damage. 2nd time it's happened. Going to get some tubing today and replace all the c clips with it. Was getting a little angry with myself and a song popped into my head that I haven't thought of in years. Sonny and Chers The Beat Goes On. Got to laughing a bit thinking about future days. Pretty soon I'll be good enough to walk out of the house debating if I'm going to fly my Fearless lite vented, Widow Maker Pro, Pro Dancer or Super Nova UL or something like them. I'll look back on these days beating the hell out of my first batch of kites with a skip in my step and a grin.In the meantime I'll fly on .

When you are assembling your kite be sure and put some fingers between the spar connection, spar and sail. JB has a great tutorial on assembly. Iv'e had a few little cuts on my fingers dealing with tight fittings but that is better then a damaged sail.

Ahh the heirloom angle. Must explore that further. The investment for the future went away when replacement parts started showing up LOL.

Haven't really thought about an avatar. Still working on my LE and haven't cut the sail yet. Tomorrow I'll get the rest of the frame and shape shifter stand off parts ordered.

Wow 4:30 getting ready to quit and epic fail. Trying to do cartwheels to the bag blew the 3rd one and broke LE above the ferrule. Apparently it's a common thing trying that trick so I'd better get better.This run of damage needs to get over SOON. Starting to get a complex. Poor Zephyr will be going thru hell the next year or so . Nice winds today, mostly between 3 and 6. A few drops to 0 and some gusts to 8. As i'm getting better on the kite i'm starting to leave the weight in and the TE tensioned no matter what the wind. Seems to be less floaty and more graceful. Flips are easier but the turtle seems a little harder to hold. Got to thinking if I take a 2 day break I might settle down and break this curse Iv'e put on myself. Naw life's to short. Only the z is down for now. If I break the rest tomorrow I'll go to ITW Wed. Get what parts I can [hopefully all]and buy another kite . Ha there is the answer. Surely a new kite will fix my ham fisted flying. Wonder what the wife's going to think of this theory .

Rough week on the kites. PDSUL, Zephyr and Widow were a little mistreated. Thought I had holed the LE on the Widow Monday. Did a nice patch job and with 1 day low winds the next high and repeat didn't fly it again till today. About 45 minutes in I went to adjust my rollups and noticed a zip tie was broke on 1.Low and behold the hole I patched was for the zip tie.Hey I am a rookie. Very happy though slightly embarrassed . 1/2 hour later winds around 8 I tried to cascade in the center. Got about 1/2 way down and got a wing tip wrap pulled that line trying to flare a bit and rotate out. Pulled to hard and started to nose dive. Freaked even more and instead of throwing slack on both lines then yanking opposite line yanked the same one even harder. Kite proceeded to the ground even faster. Even while yanking I knew that I'd made a bad mistake. Not sure how but I avoided a total nose dive but hit pretty hard tail about 2 o'clock, nose forward, belly down . Thought I'd jacked the TE from the way the kite was sitting. Nope broke female spreader completely in half at the outside edge of inner spreader connection. Had a spare so kite is ready to fly . Maybe at times I'm yanking to hard hence the broken zip tie. YA THINK !! Mon.Tue,Wed all 3 issues were at 4 pm. Now I could be come superstitious and not fly then. Maybe blame it on the fates and become deterministic. Maybe figure it out. I usually quit around 4. I start pushing harder knowing the day is coming to an end. Looking back that is the time of day Iv'e had a lot of problems. Not all but most.From failed tricks to broken kites. So having reasoned this out sorta, I spent the next 2 hours on the Hydra. Got close to the end and what the hell. It's to much fun. So off to stoopidville I go again. Set up to land as close as I can to the kite bag in window center.to end the day. Came in from the right about 3' off the ground nicely powered up. Snap stalled just about perfect at the bag and went into a turtle. Was going to float down a bit thinking tip stand landing. Decided to 360 1st. Got to the fade, lost it, nose dive and lost spines c clip. Got a spare and it's in place. This week I think Iv'e gotten to level 2 out of 10. Still hanging out at mostly 1 but really starting to see and feel things better. Combos are coming a little more on purpose. Weird thing is the last month Iv'e noticed it takes longer to transition to another kite. On another post someone told me that opinions of a kite will change over time. You learn more and more what a kite is designed to do and most importantly why. My muscle memory is starting to develop but the connection to my brains not quite there. Some things transition well others not so much. The more I learn the more diverse my kites are becoming. When that connection happens I think I'll be reaching level 3. Man this stuffs fun broken kites and all .

The Quantum and foil will serve the 4 of you well. My 2 cents is go up from the Quantum not down. One person on either end of the kite while learning to stop nose diving will keep every one engaged and laughing. The person relaunching the kite will get a valuable perspective watching from the opposite end. Into the Wind has the Hydra and Kymera marked down to $125.00 plus shipping. Ebay has the Flying Wings Soul for $150.00. Same guy has really good deals on the Acrobatix and Silver Fox. My Hydra is better built then my Widow ng and Zephyr. Today I had it in Zephyr winds with all 4 weights on 100' 150# line set.. 1 to 2 mph winds starting to be able to control it well. 3 plus and it's response is right there. Iv'e not flown it over 15. It does fly lower than stated and I think it will fly higher than the stated 18 too.Once I get my timing better it will be my go to kite. An honorable forum member said he watched the Hydras designer flying the Focus version in 1 to 2 mph tricking the daylights out of it. I believe ! The better the kite the more you will learn. Doesn't matter that much what comes next. Just make it better.Be patient and find good deals so you can buy 2 different ones instead of just 1. If you do that the Quantum will quickly be the kite you hand to newbies while it's waiting to teach your grandchildren to fly. Yeah it can last that long. It's tough.The sticker shock turns a lot of folks off unless you do the math. Randy G who is a champion flyer had a top of the line kite for sale last week for $300.00. A lot of money for a freaking kite but you could fly that kite for a 1000 hours. That's a lot of fun for 30 cents an hour. That's assuming with more skills the repair bills are going to be lower then mine currently are. The only kite Iv'e paid retail for is my Skyburner Pro Dancer and I was happy to do so. But that's boutique. My 7 year old Great Grand daughter is learning on a 1.4 foil with a bar, Premier Vision and Addiction. She is coming to visit next week. She will be restricted from the PDSUL and Hydra. The rest if she breaks em I'll fix em. A few hours on my Prism Snapshot foil in 20 mph winds and I'd let your family fly my Jewel, Addiction or Nighthawk. They are very tricky kites. P.S This is from a guy who for the 1st 2 weeks of flying thought nose dive left, nose dive center, nose dive right were tricks and was very happy doing them.

Very nice start Exult. The material for my 1st build is black and orange. Imagine that . Brilliant minds think alike LOL.

Hey hey put a camera on the nose. Get center window and nose dive into the water as hard as you can. Pull nose back to surface and relaunch. Should be able to get a better view underwater. If nothing there it would be one helluva trick anyways . Nice pics and history lesson. Very cool !!

Flew the PDSUL in 0 to 4 on the 114' x 50# yesterday for about 45 minutes. Just flying around I liked the feel and distance. PD is not a trickster but with the light lines only caught 2 axles. Once in the fade, turtle or pancake I couldn't pull out and had to go to the ground. Stalls and slides were nice though. Went back to the 90# and much happier. 114' will be great on the micron above 15 mph. Thinking about cutting to 100' and adding different coins on the tail. Might help getting out of the turtle. Tried the 65' today. Wind was 2 to 3 from the south. Got maybe 20' off the ground and a gust came from the west and drove the kite into the ground before I could react. The way the wind hit the kite it took all the tension out of the lines and then snapped it back in. Happened so fast not sure if I could have done anything. Left standoff popped out of TE and went thru the sail about 1/2" from the standoffs hole. Been worried about that since I got the kite. Has to be a better way to secure standoff in the TE.2 punctures and 1 tear in 3 days on 3 different kites. Getting good at the repairs though.Got lucky on the PDSUL and Zephyr. No cords cut and from a foot away hard to see. On the PD the spot looks like a bit of dirt 1/2 the size of a fine point pens nib. So far I suck on short 50# lines.