kitedog

Aurora and I had a fantastic time. I second everything Mouse had to say. Great participants, instructors, students, weather, you name it - it was a super time for all. We learned a lot and made some strides in our flying. The best part is Aurora flies team way better than I do. I could not believe how well she did. This gave her a great feeling of accomplishment and boosted her confidence in flying a revs and team flying. I would like to thank everyone who let her in on the team flying. Hahaha, I would like to thank everyone who let me in on some team flying - sorry for all the wrecks and knots . I will continue to practice and hopefully get better. The best part was seeing old friends and making new ones. I probably have as many friends in BC as I do in the US. You BC folks rock, I couldn't believe that many of you came down from Canada. Once again thanks for all the help from Iquad and all the participants. If you can ever make it to a Rev Clinic sponsored by Iquad I highly encourage you to attend. Hope to see all of you soon our on the flying fields. Arns

Aurora and I will be there Friday-Sunday. We have been planning for this for the last couple of months. We are very excited. Can not wait to see everyone. Arns

Big Bri, Life is good. Enjoy the kite. It was super of Kent to put on the contest. Great breezes to you. Arns

It is all good. I am happy for you and your family. Many thanks for running the contest and thanks for the kite. My daughter and I will enjoy it and think of you and your family when we fly it. Congrats, Arns

Congrats, GIRLS ROCK!!!! I'm not just saying that cus I have a little girl . Congratulations to you and your family on your newest addition. HAPPY BITRTH DAY TO JONI Arns and Aurora.

I am very happy for you. What a great turn of events. Arns

Congrats on the new kite!!!

I have been doing some reading about the Widowmaker by Skyburner. Anyone with any experience with this kite and able to compare it to the others? Also looking for a kite for lower to moderate winds. Arns

Congrats Monkey. Arns

I got a chance to fly the Sea Devil and Fearless at Whidbey Island. Lam Hoac was there and gave my daughter and I some quick lessons and turned us loose on the kites. THANKS LAM!! Both kites were very responsive. Flew well in the light winds. Tracked well and for the folks who could trick them they were amazing (both the kite and the flyer). Something I don't think a lot of us think about is the amount of pull the kite has while you are flying it, maybe it is just me . If the kite is a good strong puller it is difficult to control and yanks you around while you are trying to perform. To little pull and it feels like you have nothing at the end of your strings. I spoke to Lam and he stated the amount of pull from the kite was a design factor. Aurora, 10 y/o about 80 lbs if that much, did not have to struggle to fly these kites. The other great thing was the wind range on the Light Sea Devil or Light Fearless. From whisper of a breeze or zero on up to (I am not sure what the upper limit is). My point is one kite that covers a decent amount of wind options. This decreases your investment on day one and you can wait a while for the standard, ultra light and super ultra light and vented versions. Although for the serious competitors they have one of each in their quiver. I found the Fearless a little more laid back. It tricks as well as the Sea Devil but you have to slow down the inputs to the kite just a bit. Your hands input the directions and the kite moves into the trick very gracefully. It is not in a rush but its not slow either. I think the Fearless tracked just a little better. The Sea Devil was a bit quicker. Input and BAM it is doing the trick. Input BAM, right on the money. Maybe a better analogy would be a skateboarder and a ballerina. Both are agile, do many tricks, are amazing to watch, and graceful in their own way. Its all about your style. Majority of the kites flown in the compitetion, singles, pairs, ballet, hot tricks, etc., were Sea Devils. Maybe 2 to 1 in favor of the Sea Devil. The only other kites I recognized were the Quantum Pros and I think someone was flying a Silver Fox. A couple of competitors were flying Fearless on the side lines but did not use this kite to compete. In my untalented hands I like the Sea Devil and Rory likes the Fearless. Both are amazing kites made by an amazing flyer. Please continue to post any thoughts and options, we are still looking at kites. Thanks Kent, John and Dave for your input. And again thanks to Lam for spending the time with us. Nothing like someone you admire helping you out. Its like having Tiger Woods coming over and helping you out with your golf swing. (This goes out to you also John B.) Arns BTW if anyone suggests quad line, we are hooked on those already. We already have a full arsenal of Revs in our bags.

UGH, I a am sick but that has lifted my spirits.

Congrats to you and your family. Girls rock. They love their dads like nobody else. Hugs and kisses the rest of your life, you can not beat that. DEC 10 at 1:00 p.m.

I would also like to thank Lam Hoac for allowing us to fly his Sea Devil and Fearless. I love these kites. And Lam spent sometime with us giving us impromptu trick lessons as you can see in the photos. Triston we enjoyed your company also. We really enjoyed watching you fly both in and out doors. Rory and Arns

We could not decide on the route for the trip home. We spoke to some of the guys at the Lions Club Hotdog stand and they gave us some advice. The Clinton Ferry runs every 30 mins but is a 45min drive but cuts off about an hour off of the drive. The Port Townsend ferry is the quickest for you to get home but it runs every 90 minutes. Or you can drive home over Deception Pass across the bridge. Your waits for the ferry will take a long time because the motorcycle riders will be going home from the Oyster Run (couple of thousand, if not more, cycle enthusiasts were also on the island). After much thought Rory and I decided to drive over Deception Pass. We left at 6:30 p.m. This was our treat at Deception Pass during sunset. We plan to add Whidbey Island on our list of festivals for next year. Hope to see all of you there. Couple more pics of the festival.

22-23 Sept 2007 What an awesome weekend. Great people, clear skys, cool weather, and nice winds (well on Saturday, Sunday the winds were light to none). 6:15 a.m. Starbucks in hand and off to Mukilteo to catch the ferry. 7:30 a.m. The roads were clear straight shot to the ferry. We arrived at 7:30 but missed that ferry had to catch the 8:00 ferry. What a beautiful crossing on the ferry, it lasted about 20 minutes but the sights were great. It was nice to strecth the legs. 9:15 a.m. Whidbey Island Kite Festival. We visited and said HI to a few friends and passed out hugs. 10:00 a.m. Revs in the air--- Lam Hoac giving Aurora lessons on the Fearless Adrian, Mario and Lam The Canadian cheering team. And a rare site, Triston taking a break. What an awesome kite festival. Everything is right there. You do not have to walk blocks to get from the parking lot to the fields. There was an area for folks that were not competeing to just fly kites and a section for single line flyers and big kites. The sport kite competition was the main event. Wow, the talent out on the fields was incredible. Everyone did a fantastic job, whether it was teams or individuals, beginner to masters. It was a treat to watch Triston, Lam, Mario, Adrian, Cutting Edge etc. all of these guys were amazing to watch. The festival has a really down home feel to it. Everyone helping everyone out, you feel welcome. No one rushing from here to there. The schedule was well laid out. You could make all the events, you didn't have to miss the indoor fly because of the banquet. Everyone did the outdoor comps, then to the banquet, then off to the indoor fly. At a couple of festivals we have gone to you have to decide amongst different events and a lot of the times it is hard to choose. A SPECIAL THANKS TO THERESA AND DAVE FROM THE KITE SHOPPE. I mentioned to Theresa I was going to Whidbey Island and never been there and not sure of the who, what, when, and where. Theresa didn't attend but she asked Dave to look out for me. Dave found me at the festival and got us set up with an excellent camp site. I thanked him and I love his comment, "Kite people helping kite people." I really do appreciate you guys helping us out THANKS!!!!

Great job on both kites. I have been thinking about making a custom/homemade rev. I want to do the American flag almost like yours. I would just extend the stripes out further. It would look like I layed the rev right on top of the flag and cut the rev pattern out. Other options are Ohio, Texas, and Puerto Rico style flags for the layout to keep with the RWB theme. Arns

Thanks Kent. That is the type of advice I am looking for. I am more interested in team flying vs solo tricking. But I would still like a kite that tricks easily. I was reading at GWTW and saw this video. These kites look awesome and the fliers make them sing. WOW. Cosmic TC Vented. Any advice on how well they track? Kitehouse Cosmic TC

Mouse, Very, very sorry to hear about your loss. It pains our hearts. We will keep a look out for your kites. Hopefully the police will be able to find your kites. Much love, Arns and Aurora

I did not know there would be a banquet. Guess that is another option.

In your opinion what is the best dual line combination precision/trick kite out there? What are the good and bad points? The reason for this question is I am looking for a new dual line kite, possibly to fly as a team with my daughter or just for fun (always for fun ). I would like a kite that tricks easily but also tracks well with spot on turns in other words the best of both worlds. Kites I am looking at: Fearless and Sea Devil by Sky Sport Design/Lam Hoac I have seen these kites and man do I love the graphics. I have also watched a number of kiters out there do some amazing things on these kites. Evo by Level One STX 2.1 or 2.3 by Cavaliers du Ciel Quantum Pro by Prism I own a couple of Prism kites and love the build quality. One of the oldest dual lines I have is the Illusion. Nirvana by R Sky This list is not inclusive all suggestions would be helpful. Arns

EBGB, I didn't think to look for the local state parks. We have used a number of state parks in WA and they are all great. We will, more than likely, leave early Saturday morning. I-5N to Mukilteo take the ferry to Clinton (I found the ferry times and prices at www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/ ). Then to Fort Casey for the kite festival. For camping we will play it by ear. Possibilites are Fort Casey, Fort Ebey or South Whidbey state parks. We may even drive home that night depending on the weather. I forgot to ask in the original post but I LOVE FOOD any and all food. Are there any must stop places to eat at on Whidbey Island. One of the things we like to eat is clam chowder. But the suggestions do not have to be about clam chowder - mexican, american, asian, italian, seafood, turf - it is all good. The best suggestions would be something you would travel to Whidbey Island to eat or when you are at Whidbey a place you are sure to stop. Arns

I plan on leaving early Saturday morning. Who knows I may even leave Friday night.

Tristan, Hope to see you there. I watched you do some indoor and outdoor flying at WSIKF. Awesome performances. John, I had the Whidbey site but thanks for posting it. I am trying to find out where most fliers stay and the best option for traveling. Thanks Arns

DOH! I forgot to ask if any quad heads are attending? Non quad heads are cool too . I just want to try some team flying or with just a couple of peeps. Arns

I plan on going to Whidbey Island 22-23 Sept 2007. I need some info. I plan on tent camping if I stay over night. What would be a good place to pitch a tent? Bathroom and hot shower facilities are always nice. What is the best/easiest way to get there? I see to areas for ferry crossings Mukileto/Clinton Crossing and Port Townsend/Keystone. The other way is up to Mt Vernon and then cross over. Thanks Arns