dragonfish

Thanks for the responses. Yes, it's mostly just for fun. And maybe for slowing down the kite in the higher winds. I come from a Rev background and haven't quite gotten used to no brakes yet.

I've been wondering where to attach a tail to a dual line kite. I'm sitting here looking at my WidowMaker double checking that there are no obvious loops (like my Wala (SLK) has) or tail attachment points, and there aren't. So...where and how should I attach a tail? What if I want to attach 2 tails, one at each wingtip? Some ideas I've had: - Larkshead a scrap piece of line to the spine above the center T and attach the tail to that? (seems kind of high up though and will it stay put?) - Larkshead the scrap piece of line to the spine above the tail velcro? (again, will it stay put? and the leech lines run next to the spine there so dunno if anything will get in the way) - Do something with the tail velcro where it folds over the bottom of the spine (I don't know about this one, just looking for "loop-like" areas on the kite) - There's also a bungee tied above the center T with a knot at the other end, but it's part of the leech line tensioning system and probably not a good idea to mess with that Good ideas? Bad ideas? What do you do? Thanks.

This is why a lot of us bring multiple kites to the field when we go out. Next time just bring both kites out, so you don't have to walk back home to get the other one if the wind decides to switch on you. Depending on how empty your fields is, how comfortable you feel, etc. you could even leave the first kite set up if the wind forces you to get the other one out. Revs pretty much won't take off on you by themselves if parked leading edge down no matter which way the wind switches around to; dual lines you may have to be a little more careful.

Don't have a quad line set of Skybond, but I do have a dual line set. The yellow color seems very bright a lot of the time, but I have also found times when they were hard to see (don't remember the situations though). Just like most of the time I can see my white LPG lines, but in some cases they are hard to see (like today as the sun was starting to go down and the sky was completely white). I can't really give a comparison between Skybond and LPG though because my Skybond set is 175# dual line and my LPG sets are 90# quad line (and different lengths too). I have also seen a red(ish) colored line. Don't remember what it is called, but it's unfortunately probably discontinued as well. Random tidbit...once I was flying with some other people and there were red lines, white lines, and blue lines all being used in the group.

I'm with Rob. Top and bottom is important so the kite doesn't take off unexpectedly, also the handles have distinct top and bottom ends. Right and left is not important until I pick up the handles, at which point I have a quick and easy way to determine which is connected to which side of the kite. I set up with the kite inverted, so I wiggle the bottom of the handle I have in my right hand. If the right trailing wingtip (actually on the left side when the kite is inverted) wiggles too, then I have the handles correct, otherwise swap the handles. Picked this up from somewhere/someone, but don't remember where. Works for me, and fewer markings to keep track of and pay attention to during setup.

Congrats bbailey! Nice haul today (prize and number of posts). Can't wait to see what you put up next.

Oh, duh. There's an Add Location button at the upper right that I did not see. Thanks, John, for the quick reply.

Where does the map get its data from? For example, on my profile, the location field says California, but none of the dots in California is me. Then I thought, maybe it will only place a dot if a city is specified, but there are others who have dots on the map and only have a state in the location field on their profile. Is there something else that tells the map whether or not to put a dot and where to put it?

Less than 2 days! Looks like chances are pretty good for those of us who are in.

Ok, I'll bite. I'm in. That book sounds interesting.

The overall tally is in the first post of that thread. Or maybe bbailey can tell us more about that new system he is working on.

Yikes. Glad you and and the kites are fine. Too bad about the truck...but that's what insurance is for right? While I'm here...I keep one of my extra frame sets in the plastic sleeve thing. Don't have one for the other set, and I thought about making a fabric sleeve just for the sake of keeping the set together in one place and not rolling around everywhere, but I never got around to it. So now, that set just goes loose into a kite sleeve next to a kite. At least it's somewhat contained.

Thanks for all the advice. Sorry, I've been busy/away so didn't get to post again until now. "Better wind day" was the next day - flew for about 3 hours. It was fun. Also acquired a tool that helps with removing spreaders. Sadly Must86's suggestion probably won't get used much since the kite doesn't seem to fit in my car trunk at full length.

Hi Nick, On the sign in page, below where you type your user name and password, there is a checkbox for "Remember me" - make sure that is checked before you click sign in. If that doesn't work......then I don't know. Hope you get back up to speed soon with your new computer.

Soooo....I picked up a SkyBurner WidowMaker. Happened to find a guy selling his, and at a good deal too (yea, I got lucky). Just got it today and flew it for about 2 mins before the wind died, so waiting for a better wind day now. However, I had a hard time disassembling the kite. It was really hard to get the spreaders out of the fittings, like it felt like they weren't even budging at first. It took way more effort than I expected to get them out. Any tips? BTW, I've already watched JB's tutorial on assembling/disassembling a dual line kite. Both methods he mentions were really difficult at first. I had to work at it a lot before I could feel the spreaders start to move out of the fittings. Thanks.

I'm in. Sun protection is always a good idea. Hope your medial procedures all go well, Nick.

Train...now there's an idea. Hope they behave for you.

I'm counting 9 countries and 14 teams? Seems like a lot to me, but of course, I'm relatively new to the kiting scene, so I don't know how many there used to be in the heyday.

Hahaha, I thought of that too for the front. No idea what I'd put on the back yet though. I think some graphics would be nice, but what? Hmmmmmm.........

This has been adding to my indecision as well (and I am an indecisive person to begin with). I wouldn't really want to get something and end up wanting a more capable kite very soon. I'm willing to spend a bit more to get a kite that will help me learn faster/do more tricks/fly better/etc. as long as it's worth it. So, what are some of those other kites you ended up moving on to if you don't mind sharing? John: I will definitely work on straight lines, clean turns, etc. But, it's the tricks that are drawing me to dual lines.

Thanks for all the suggestions, and keep them coming. I am nowhere near a decision yet. I do have quite a bit of interest in the Widow NG, but I am not a fan of the colors at all. As far as I know, there is only the red/white/black one. Anyone know if there will be (or are) any other colors? Wonder if I can find one of the old layout/colors...hmmm....

I've been flying quad line kites (Revs) for almost 4 years now, but recently I've become more and more interested in dual line kites. I think it's the trick flying that's caught my interest. So, I'm starting to think about getting a dual line kite in the near future and I'm looking for recommendations on what to get. I've flown some friends' dual line kites before, so I know the basic controls but nothing about tricks. I think I'm mostly past the crashing-all-over-the-place-the-kite-flies-you stage, but I'm sure learning tricks will come with its own share of crashing. I would like to get a kite that will let me learn how to trick and also help improve my general flying. So, what are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Okie dokie. Fed the RNG 1 through 22. And... it says... 13 Congrats Hasek! Please PM me your shipping info, and away the kite goes. And keep the karma flowing.

Nice last minute Must86. Just getting around to double checking the list and consulting the RNG, so no more last minute's please.

Ever have those days when the wind is kind of fluctuating right around the higher side of a standard (full sail) and the lower side of a full vent? Sure, you can fly either and it will work, but that's the sweet spot of the mid vent. Maybe those days don't bother many people (just deal with it and fly right?), but I really started noticing it when I started competing. Having a slightly overpowered kite or having to work to keep it up is just one more thing I don't want to be worrying about when flying precision figures or a choreographed ballet. I went through most of a competition season with just a standard and a full vent. Was that sufficient? Sure (...and I wasn't even the only one with that combo). But, I did have the "standard or vented, standard or vented" panicked debate several times shortly before my turn to compete. I just recently got a mid vent right before the AKA Convention and Grand Nationals competition, and it sure was nice to have that kite that flew best in the range between the other two and not have to stress out so much about which kite to fly for competition. Maybe you're not into competition (yet), but it's just another example of "Do you need it?" No. "But is it nice to have?" You bet. And, like SparkieRob said, if you're set on getting a Pro, get a mid vent Pro. You'll like it. Edit: Oh, or wait and try your chances at the B-series mid vent in the current subscribers' drawing.