Dorsal

Wow! Absolutely unbelievable, Thanks!

Derek, everything I have (the original files from Steve Laport's website) is in pdf format and you can't post them here to link them to you. PM me your email and I'll send them directly to you.

Derek. I have posted some of my photos to http://kitelife.com/forum/index.php?autoco...um&album=30 that might help.

That'll teach ya! Congratulations on your growing quad skills and the growing set of kites to support it.

There is going to be a Kite Festival in Mountain House this Saturday, August 18, from 10:00 to 4:00 at Wicklund Park in Mountain House. Mountain House is a new town just west of Tracy, between us and the Altamont Pass. I've never been to the park, so I have no idea of the available space, but the Google map looks fairly promising. http://tinyurl.com/ypm2hj (Zoom in to the arrow) Kid Kite Decorating contest, Free Kite making, Kid Kite Parade, Trick Kite Flying, Public Kite Flying, Buggy Demo and Candy Drop are all mentioned on the flyer. Here is the pdf Flyer AIM_KiteFlyer_rev.pdf

Well, if I win it, I'll give it to Ant Man, or keep it as a giveaway to some kid at the park. I think I have enough already.

I think New Tech added a "Trick Line" across the bottom of the kite to keep the lower loop of the bridle from snagging on the bottom of the middle spar. IIRC a couple of my kites had such a line, but I just removed it. I wish I could remember it better, but that was a few years ago. It certainly isn't on my kites now, if it ever was there.

I never roll up a kite from the spine outward, because the tees always get in the way. Nor do I usually fold up the leading edge rods or loosen the tension on them. After removing the upper and lower spreaders, I hold the kite sideways by the spine, bring the LE rods up parallel to it, then, after tucking the standoffs and the bridle inside the sail, roll or fold the sail from the outer edges toward the spine, with the spreaders rolled up inside, like a scroll. I don't usually have the Velcro thingies, so I don't usually use them, but sometimes I'll use a rubber band around the center tee. I just stick the kite into the sleeve, tail first. That way, I align the standoffs and such as I insert the kite, and they always come out of the sleeve without hanging up on anything. Of course if I need to get the length down smaller then I'll break down the LE's first, but the rest of the procedure is the same.

everest - I've never flown either one, But I have seen them both flown at kite festivals and they are both well-designed kites. However, that you posted the question tells of your inexperience. Given that, your abilities will be far outstripped by either of the kites you are contemplating, so I'd suggest you buy whichever one you fancy the best or can afford. At this stage of your kite-flying abilities, it won't really matter, and all the opinions in the world won't change that - only your own time at the handles flying the kite will. Yes, I'll probably catch 7734 from a lot of people here for being so blunt, but I thought you should get the honest truth.

I was waiting to see if anyone else joined in the thread, as it usually seems I'm the only one that's ever flown one, but I'm never the only one with an opinion about them. Yes indeed, I have a Stack of Five (with R/W/B bridle lines to boot) and I also have a single, plus 4 or 5 Revs. The way a Rev usually flops onto the grass and plays dead really irks me! I still like the Spirits the best, probably because I don't like getting my arms pulled out of the sockets, nor do I like my kites rocketing forward at every gust of wind. The mods that are posted on the New Tech website are very good, and after you get one feel free to write with any questions. And thanks for the compliments on my stack. I really like them, too.

Baloo - If you look closely, you'll notice the bridle (stacking) lines are red / white / blue also. And Thanks!

Congratulations Paula! Just email me if no-one else wants to give you some help with your Spirit! I have a few myself.

I was surprised at the capability also when I tried it. Here's an old discussion thread on GWTW that led me to swapping the rods out. I don't even own any Beetles now, I either sold them or gave them to my grandchildren. Anyway, this is kinda off topic. After all, someone learning to drive a car isn't really interested to learn how some nut turned a VW into a Porsche, are they.

No, I wouldn't say so. In fact, by changing the rods on a Beetle to .156 tubes, the Beetle becomes a very capable trick kite, and it is still never as sensitive as a Micron. Make those changes to a Micron and it's still fast and sensitive, just a little heavier. I have given Beetles away to new flyers, after teaching them some basics with their new Beetle, and that's something I would never attempt with a Micron. It's too hard to teach someone when they're frustrated.

Well, for less than $60, your selections could include the Beetle or the SR2 by Premier Kites, the Addiction by Flying Wings, the Jazz, Micron or Nexus by Prism Kites, the Oxygen by L'Atelier or a Trlby by Trlby Kites. Since you're starting out, I would NOT suggest the Micron, as they are very fast and sensitive little kites. Any of the others would be a good kite to have.

If you can afford it, I would definitely go for another kite. The Quantum reframed will fly a little differently, but it will still be a Quantum. Every kite design has its strong points and its lesser points - in other words, some will flip easily, but axel-based tricks are almost impossible. Another kite might have the exact opposite characteristics. What that means to you, is that you might be doing everything right to get some certain trick to happen, but you might be working on the wrong kite. And flying a different kite will illustrate things about the kite you already own, that you didn't know, and may have otherwise taken a year or more to learn. btw, I currently own over 70 kites, and they are all a little different. If there was a "best" kite, I'd have probably flown it by now. There isn't.

Congratulations!!

Because of my last name, Fishback.

No, he does not have a "Brick and Mortar" store, just online. He does keep quite a lot of kites and supplies in stock though.

I know Tony, and he is an upright guy. His wife has had some medical problems in the recent past, and maybe that has kept his mind from his online store. Just email him again to remind him, and tell him Dorsal will drive over and kick his dog if he doesn't treat you right.

This guy says he has 50 of them at 99¢ each. Or get 20 at a time from this place.­

It looks different because it was more closely wrapped. The "wrapping" is NOT what you are seeing - the ridges are leftover marks from the edge of the tape that was wrapped around the graphite material as it was cured. Then the wrapping tape was removed. That leaves ridges in the cured epoxy resin. "Wrapping" is simply a method of creating a more consistant amount of pressure to the carbon fibers, to force them to be more evenly disbursed around the mandrel on which the rod was formed. In other words, performance-wise, it won't matter whatsoever.

I usually Larkshead the bridle loops onto my flying lines, but tying larger knots on the bridle lines would probably work also. Actually, since you're flying the SUL (if you have a set of lines used primarily for that kite), you could just remove the sleeves altogether. I've stopped sleeving my new lines at all, no matter what kite I'm flying, since the lines are usually cut by some stupid kid with a WalMart $2 kite and cotton lines, long before the line wears out anyway. Y.O.M.V. (Your Opinions May Vary)