win l-r

I bought my first Nirvana in 2003. Flew it for a couple of months and just couldn't connect with it. I'd been flying Prism and Blue Moon kites. Then I slowly started to understand what an amazing kite it was. Straight tracking and trickable, very trickable as it turned out. Eventually I acquired 8 of them! Sold my competition set of 4 a couple of years ago, and am now down to 2. The UL is still my favorite goto kite. My romance with R-Sky was great fun, their kites smelled of cigarette smoke out of the bag. Everything changes.

To address the "pairs ballet", you'll want a kite that tracks exceptionally well and has predictable handling qualities. I have a tendency to watch my partner's kite out of the corner of my eye so I can match him. This leaves my own kite at least partially unattended as we fly the routine. Gotta have a kite that "flies itself" well. Nirvanas, Mambas, Furies, and Quantum Pros come to mind as some of these were flown by various teams at the Team World Cup in Lincoln City. All of these kites can also turn in a quite respectable freestyle performance also. I know the Transfer series are als oquite capable, just can't comment on their stability and tracking.

Egads, Ocean Beach sounds like great fun. It is the same weekend as Seaside though, and I need all the AKA points I can get. So why does this affair draw people from Canada and E. Washington? Also why is this a "Thankyou to kite makers and flyers", and who is thanking them?

I would never even consider store bought lines anymore. I just so like the ones I make on a board with a couple of nails in it and some inch marks drawn on it. I made up 3 linesets for me and my pairs partner last night in the space of an hour. The beauty of this is that I know they are accurate and they are made correctly. I also just love to fly new sleeved lines. They feel so good and look so purdy. Of course, I usually fly my old lines untill they lock up with 5 wraps and they look as hairy as my ears!

Eeeuuuuu, I hate goosht and gooop. Stuff won't wash off, it just wears off. Right about the time the rods are starting to show through the leading edge, the gooop no longer shows! Aren't those ornery critters up in Alaska now eating everything in sight like a plague of locusts. Last winter I stopped up at the Zu and there was an entire herd of them encamped on the grass. A couple of park workers were sitting in their truck watching them for a while possibly building courage. Finally one of them started approaching the geese on foot. When he got close enough to see that these things were huge, cranky, and had big beaks, he stopped and slowly backed away to the safety of the park truck. Parks - 0, Geese - 1 Seattle just goes ahead and machine guns them into oblivion. Or at least I've heard something to that effect. They're like rabid dogs. I think I'll go out this fall and spread a little goodwill and a little pepper in the grass. Be fun to see if it helps. Anyway, David, Vanier sounds like fun and a real treat. I'll come up soon, I'm thinking maybe a week or two after Whidby. Of course, you can come down to the Zu also. Brewster's been there, maybe we can have a quad party. Justin knows which end of the handles to grab too.

Happy Birthday Penny. As I remember, I may have had a birthday during WSIKF. I think it rained that day and I completely forgot my age. I'm not sure though. Terry Huff's birthday was also this month as was Jim Byrne's back in the Bronx. Anyone else born on a hot day in August? What a time to be pregnant. We need to start planning ahead from now on. Yeah right, like that's ever going to happen! Anyway Happy Birthday to your silly self again Penny!

Hey David, I've only flown at Steveston. Saw the videos of Ray Bethel flying at Vanier. Is their enough room? Gorgeous park, and grass, oh goody!!!! I'm pretty tired of sand, the beach, and perfect winds. I'm a sick puppy, I need help. LOL Went up to the Zu in Bellingham last evening for the usual summer Wednesday evening kite fly. 20 minutes of wind and then pretty much dead. Egads, spend the evening yakking with friends. Even Justin was grounded. Hi Penny, just trying to maintain an even strain here, and keep enough glow going to find my socks under the bed. The Whidby club has a demo going this Saturday for some event at the Admiralty Head Lighthouse in Coupeville, WA. I think I'm supposed to be providing some leadership for this thing. Right, fat chance, I'm just gaga useless. LOL Ya know, the last two days of sun at WSIKF really makes you forget the other less than perfect days. Was it really all that wet? It really did rain once, didn't it. Am I rambling?

Thanks for the warm welcome from all my friends in the southern part of the Great Northwest. For some silly reason you folks are a very warm and inviting bunch. A little different from the chilly reception one often receives from the Kite Hill crowd. The Prism Kite Kult. Oh well, just glad to be here. Heck, I'm just glad to be anywhere!!

Hi folks, my first post on this forum. Ah WSIKF, just gets better and better every year. Friday night, tired from flying, eating salmon dinner to die for, wine cooler in the beer tent, marimba band playing their hearts out, fireworks show outside, and lot's of friends inside. Other than breaking a couple OPK's that'll cost me dearly in the future, it just doesn't get any better than flying kites with friends you care for dearly. I'm still glowing!