JoneZ

Would that not be grounds for copyright infringement || ie. lawsuit? <agitated> @#$%@# Scam artists... </agitated>

The CDN postals must have been eating canadian bacon slathered in maple syrup before handling your kite. Perhaps thats why it was squished flat -- gotta have a place to cut the bacon and spread the syrup eh? heheh I can make fun, because Im canadian. heheh

You could also cover the back and top side of those connectors by gluing ripstop to the sail, around that point (as seen here in pics http://kitelife.com/...dpost__p__21294 ). The pics show the coverings over the APA fittings, but not the leading edge connectors. I have since fully covered the leading edge connectors, to eliminate snagging, and hopefully to reduce L.E. drag. I did this to my Quantum, and there are no more snags, and I don't have to worry about my lines cutting into my fittings and connectors, yet Im still able to break down the leading edge (just have to do it blind). Cheers bro ~Jon

What type of kite do you have m8? If its a small size kite, you'd be good to use pretty much about anything really. I would go for the cheapest carbon rod possible. If its a medium size kite, that where the weight / stiffness ratio comes into play. Also, You may want to stick with the type of rods that your specific kite uses. Reason being, is that the kite is balanced out weight-wise. If you use a heavier or lighter rod than whats normally used, you change the center of gravity, thus change the flight characteristics. Hope that helps m8. ~Jon

Good stuff there m8. I have deduced the same. If a kite flies erratically and has a tail, chances are that one tail is heavier than the other. Getting twin tails of identical dimensions is key. We have a bird kite where we had the same issue -- bought 2 tails to attach to the wingtips, but one was 2" shorter than the other and therefore if would always veer and loop, and nose dive. Glad you got 'er goin good. ~Jon

That is truth there my friend. Absolute and beautiful truth. I've thought that since the first day I flew, but never verbalised it to anyone other than my Wife (being as she was a little tiffed that I was kiting SO much). I explained it in a very similar way: Firstly, I've always had a fascination with anything that flew. Kiting came into my life at a very late age. I never even flew single lines when I was a child. When I raise my kite into the air, the world becomes silent save my breath and heart -- time ceases to exist, and therefore stops. I feel serenity (NOW!!!) and tranquility. I feel connected to myself and the earth and the universe in a way which I have never felt before. Harnessing one of the worlds most abundant and wonderful power sources, Wind, and in turn, harnessing the earth and life and matter itself. Cheers ~Jon

On an afternote,, did you break out those inserts on the upper LE APA fittings? That will also cut down on the oversteer. One more thing I did, was replace the nock end ferrules (which were solid core) with hollow core ferrules. That lessened the weight at the wingtips by 2 grams per side -- drastically decreased the oversteer. As of now, I can't notice any oversteer on my Widow with the mods I've done to her. Flies like a dream. smaller, less aggressive, less yank n' spank inputs are key...

I'd like to see a pic of those straps Duane. Im always interested in home made projects and tweaks/mods. Hope your Nirvana is treating you well. In regards to your walk of shame, the maneuver to recover from that position is called a "dead Launch" and it can be extremely hard on the spine section of your sail. I tore a 3" hole on the spine section of my sail practicing it. It is a pretty hard recovery to master imo. The 2 pops have to be quick in succession, but not over powering. Real tricky for me. If you want to practice this maneuver, I would suggest re-enforcing the sail down the spine with some duct tape, or some other kind of thick adhesive tape. I would cry if you tore that beauty of yours. Don't make me Cry Duane..... hehe I would just suggest really to walk the walk of shame. After about 50 collective miles of walking that walk, you'll have learned to not get in that position in the first place. Cheers m8, and Good Winds ~Jon

Hey Merrick. In regards to your question about the leech line: It should be just tight enough as to not distort the shape of the sail. If you see your sail starting to wrinkle at the wingtip, then its too tight (if that makes sense). Also, just run the leech line as a straight pass through the left and right trailing edge. Don't larkshead it to the spine. It should be free flowing so you can equalize the tension from right to left T.E. Also, when I installed my leech line, I had to re-learn to fly the kite. It certainly does change the flight characteristics. Since the leech line cuts the flapping of the trailing edge, there is no more energy dissipation -- which means that the sail is using the winds full potential -- that also means that turns will be more touchy on her. Just make smaller inputs in regards to turning and spinning. Try push turns and push spins as well (ie: throwing out your arm to turn/spin, instead of pulling it in). They give you the ability to "Lock" your exit. So for example, when you throw your left arm out to initiate a right 45 degree turn,, once the 45 degree turn is achieved, with a quick motion, pull your left arm back level with your right arm and "lock it in". Experiment with this, its a lot of fun. Sometimes you may have to give a micron of slack with the right as your "locking", but only momentarily (and I mean MICRON). So in short, smaller inputs are key, and the leech line should be tight, but not so tight that it distorts the natural shape of the sail. Hope that helps m8. Good Winds ~Jon

Thanks equally for the encouragement m8. Appreciate it. ~Jon

Very Nice Jb. Lovin the new format. Can't wait to tinker around. cheers!! Jon B

Hey Dave. Heres a vid I just made. http://vimeo.com/5293405/ Just toolin around my field. Nothin special, but I thought I'd make an updated vid. Cheers. ~Jon

That is amazing. I hope to fly a kite that high some day (when I can afford a 120ft delta. hehe). Bookmarked that site as well. Thanks for that. So far my record is with our 7ft wingspan bird kite. We flew her 500ft with 200# dacron (would have flew her higher, but we only had 500ft.). The winds were blowing about 15-20Mph so it was no problem getting her that high. Heres a closeup of her in flight on that day (quick link to my photo gallery). http://kitelife.com/forum/index.php?autoco...si&img=2907 I think thats the most fun my Fiance has had flying a kite.

Thanks m8. Its really nice colored fabric. ~Jon

Heres a better picture of the green. The last one was all flashed out. Its actually a little darker than it is turning out in the pictures. probably just the digital conversion of the camera.