Spence Watson

My usual method to clean lines is to let them soak in water, and rub them with my thumbs while the line is still on the winder. This get most of the sand and salt off of the lines. I've heard of some people using wd-40 on a rag, and applying it down the length of the lines. I've never tried this before, and cannot comment on its effectiveness. Generally, when lines get to the point where they are binding too much, it is time to buy a new line set. You can tell it's time when you can see a lot of little spines poking out off of the line. I fly pretty often, and a line set will usually last 1-3 years for me, depending on what I do with them. Sand is particularly abrasive, and dog-staking kills a line set pretty quick.

Just finished a new street kiting video in San Francisco:

At the very least, I like having an extra belt loop sewn on the top end of the bag. That strap has a tendency to lift off over the top, so a bit of fabric about a foot in or so keeps the strap in place.

What is it that you are looking to do with your kite? You seem to be looking into parafoil kites, are you looking for something to pull you around, or just something to move around the sky? As for the kites you mentioned, of the two, if it were me, I'd lean toward the Peter Lynn simply because I know the name. I'm not very familiar with kites4U, and they may be just as reliable a manufacturer as Peter Lynn, but I like to go with what I know. Unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with parafoil products in general. However, if my experience as a sport kite flyer has taught me anything, you generally get what you pay for. A $40 kite tends to fly like a $40 kite. If you are still perusing the options for a parafoil, I would recommend taking a look at Prism and HQ. Both are well known manufacturers, and big names in the power kite industry in particular. Hope that helps!

The song is "Blue Orchid" by The White Stripes

Just for the hell of it, I put together a 5 stack of B2s. Here's video from its second flight:

I'd agree on 90#. I do not actually own any outdoor line sets other than 90#. Some people use 50# when the wind is really light. As far as 150# goes, I've been pulled down the beach and had the bridle break before breaking a 90# line set. Now days, because of the presence of the Xtra Vent, 150# line is unnecessary unless you are in some sort of tropical storm. As for what works for team flying, there's not really any particular reason for standardization. 90# is the all around standard for rev flying in general, so any teams end up using that weight any way. Would there be an issue of people on a team are using different weight line? Not unless it is an extreme difference, no.

Yes, any Skyshark rods are printed exactly like that. The stock rods in the Kymera are P300. If you ever break anything on pretty much any dual line, Theresa from The Kite Shoppe is very knowledgeable about the specs for a bunch of kites, and can guide you through the process of repair. The line sets from The Kite Shoppe are great. The lines that I use are 85' and 120' 90lb LPG. Laser Pro is a great line, and that's all I ever use. Granted, LPG is very much the standard for quad line flying, as is my focus, and as I understand it, the benefits of LPG are not as important on dual line, and some even prefer Shanti, which is another fine brand. Theresa's process for making line sets is great. Every set is pre-stretched and perfectly equal. I am unfamiliar with Kent's (ITW) process, but I'm pretty sure he pre-stretches and all that as well, and I've never heard a single complaint about his lines. As far as cutting down a 200' line set to make a 100' line set, just remember that some of the line will be used up when tying new loops and the like. So, a 200' line set would not be cut down into two 100' line sets, but maybe more like 100' and 90' or something. This is perfectly do-able, and my only concern is whether or not you are flying alone. If you are ever wanting to fly with someone else, you will want your lines to be close in length. 120' is the team standard for quad line, and I think the most common lengths for dual line are ~120' and ~85'. Sorry, I don't know enough to be able to answer this bit.

Well, if it's any consolation, I learned on a Kymera. I had flown dual lines a bit about 5 or 6 years ago, but had abandoned them in favor of revs, so I wasn't completely learning from scratch, but I was never very proficient with a dualie back then anyway. In the one year that I have been flying my Kymera, I think I have broken one bottom spreader, shattered a wing tip, and had the ferule slip, making me think I broke it. The bottom spreader broke right at the center T, and I don't really have much of an explanation for it. The wing tip shattering could have been prevented. The kite comes with vinyl end caps to use when flying over hard surfaces. I didn't use them while flying in a very rocky field, so the arrow knock broke off. And the ferule slipping happens with any kite with a feruled leading edge. I've not been flying dual line for a terribly long time, so there's only so much input I can give, but it took me getting my hands on a decent kite for me to really get interested in dual line. As far as p.i.r. (Delta Park West) goes....... eh. It's close, it's accessible, and there's a decent bit of space of slightly maintained lawn. The wind is intermittent at most times. It's not Long Beach, I can tell you that, but as far as local spots goes, it's probably got the best wind for a place of its size. I usually go to Frenchman's bar, near the Port of Vancouver. The wind is usually nicer there, but it's a smaller place, and it isn't very accessible for those that take the Tram to Delta.

Hehe, I'll make that Kymera endorsement. It's the only dual line that I own, and I love it. I've been flying dual line for just under a year, and I've been able to get most tricks down. Half axels, cascades, insanes, yo-yos.. etc. I have not made any adjustments to mine, and they should fly well out of the bag. It isn't the lightest kite, but I've run 360s with it on more than a few occasions. I see the price at $225 at TKS Here's a video of John and I playing with the Kymera yesterday:

One of my favorites is something that I've seen Paul de Bakker do in many occasions with the skate. If you fly the kite with the nose pointed straight up and the sail loaded, give a small tug, then release, to get the kite to reach an apex, then glide toward you for a catch

You may benefit from checking out the Randy G video tutorials. Here's one that is very similar to the trick you are describing:

Glad to see you here! Welcome to Kitelife!

Looking at the url where that picture came from, it's a discontinued kite by New Tech. Price is shown as $159 for the Maxima, and $164 for the Vortex. The info is found on the bottom of this page: http://www.foreverfl...om/newtech.html I also found an old Kite Lines article in our archive that talks a decent bit about it. The segment begins on page 14 of the Kite Lines issue found here: http://www.kitelife....mmer-fall-1995/ From what I can tell, the Maxima and Vortex are the same kite, with a different panel layout. Sounds like a big kite that pulls. Wind range from 4-25mph-ish. Sounds like a sturdy build too.

I totally encourage it. WSIKF is where I first picked up a stunt kite, and I've been back every year since. It's a huge beach, and a huge festival with a lot going on. The only thing to know is that this festival is quite popular, and the hotels have a tendency to run out of rooms, so best to book your reservations early. Welcome to KiteLife

Hi there, I'm originally from Spokane and moved to Vancouver, WA last year. The only kite group I am aware of is the Lilac City Wind Chasers club in Spokane. Unfortunately, information about them is kind of slim. They have no web site or anything. Outside of the club, there are two Rev fliers in Spokane, and I think there is one in Kennewick. One of the guys in Spokane flies mainly Rev outdoors, and the other flies revs indoors. The guy in Kennewick is a pretty good Rev flier and a heck of a guy, but I haven't seen him in some time. I'm not aware of many other kite fliers in the area. I've bumped into a dual line flyer or two here and there, but never got any contacts or anything. Send me a PM and I can get you some phone numbers and/or e-mail addresses.

Hi Rob, I'm sorry that you are having difficulty with the site, and know that I'm trying to do all I can to get it working for you. So far, I have tested in 4 versions of Internet Explorer (IE6.0, IE7.0, IE8.0, & IE9.0) and have been unable to replicate any issue that you have described. Are you having the same issues with a similar setup at home, or is this an issue that is only apparent at your work? What portions of the site are you unable to access? Is it the entire Kitelife.com domain or just the Magazine side (i.e. kitelife.com vs kitelife.com/forum)? While a decent amount of our work is done from an Apple platform, I work entirely on Windows. Our team is actively working between two operating systems, three browsers, as well as two browsers in the iOS mobile platform. Exclusion of any browser is certainly not intentional. Thanks

We will fly all our routines upsidedown beginning and ending in an inverted hover at the top of the window.