dragonfish

Kite Party happens once a year in Huntington Beach, CA in mid-March. http://kiteparty.com/ Website still has this year's info even though it's passed. It probably gets updated a few months before the next event. Soooo....since the pic was taken at Kite Party, was that Thor's Hammer being flown on 75' lines?

Materdaddy, sorry to hear about your dad. I just thought you might come up here often since you mentioned it multiple times. If you're near San Diego, you may want to look up the San Diego Kite Club if you're looking for local kitefliers. Guess I was wrong about no-name kites being smaller. But yes, anytime I see lines on handle/winders like that, I think cheap lines. Most people I see with those kind of handle/winders also don't unwind the lines all the way, making it near impossible to have the two lines be exactly the same length, which is important for good control. And, in case you're not aware, the listing you linked to says "Prism", but that does not look like a Prism kite to me. Prism (the real one) is a reputable brand.

Hi Materdaddy, and welcome from the SF Bay Area. Do you frequent SF or the Bay Area? If so, a couple of popular kite flying spots are Berkeley Marina (Cesar Chavez Park) and Shoreline Park in Mountain View (there's a Kite Flying Area just inside the entrance). You will see kites at both these locations pretty much every weekend, single lines and sport kites. As for no-name vs brand-name kites, I am no expert, but quality generally goes up. Materials, workmanship, etc as well. There are many kinds of ripstop nylon, some better suited for sport kites than others. I would also venture a guess that the no-name kites are smaller kites. Smaller = less materials = less cost, but smaller kites are typically harder to fly. Smaller kites tend to move faster and also need more wind before they get off the ground. Smaller kites also react to smaller inputs, so it's easier to oversteer/overcorrect while flying. By the way, 4' to 5' or less wingspan kites I consider to be smaller kites. Full size sport kites are around 7'+ to 8'. And don't forget, it's not just the kite. Lines can make a big difference too. Stretchy lines will dampen your inputs before they get to the kite or cause other outside influences. Uneven lines will give an uneven input to the kite even if your hands are even. High quality lines don't stretch very much and give a much more direct connection to the kite, but they do cost more. Well, now that I've given you information overload (hopefully not), remember to have fun and go fly a kite. This shouldn't be stressful. Like the TRLBY? Go fly a TRLBY. Hope you're able to get a "new" one (or many ).

Thank you all for your kind words. I will definitely write more event recaps after they happen. That's the reason I decided to start this blog. Oh, and I realized I forgot to mention, yes there were dualies being flown at Kite Party. It wasn't just Revs.

Friday, March 11, 2016 I set off early in the morning with a fellow kiteflier on our 400 mile drive down to Huntington Beach for Kite Party 14, my first Kite Party. It was raining for most of the drive as a storm was moving south at the same time we were. When we reached the LA area, the rain was so heavy it was hard to believe that the forecast for the weekend called for sun and good kite flying wind. By the time we reached Huntington Beach though, there were slivers of blue sky poking through, and the rain had mostly let up. We paid a visit to Kite Connection on the Huntington Beach pier to meet the owner Dave, who is also the organizer of Kite Party, then said hi to the early arrival kitefliers who were still flying on the beach despite the rain that had passed through earlier. We finished off the day with dinner at Fred's Cantina, where we met more kitefliers who had arrived for Kite Party. Saturday, March 12, 2016 Saturday morning, I awoke to blue sky and light wind. What a difference from the day before. Kitefliers began to gather on the beach for Kite Party. There were two roped off fields for the registered kitefliers to fly in, one for sport kites and one for single line kites. Fliers set up "camp" (chairs, banners, sunshades, assembled kites, etc.) along some of the edges of the fields. There was a fliers meeting where everyone gave a quick introduction, and then Kite Party was on. Since Kite Party was a party, and not a festival, the roped off fields were for everyone to fly in, and there was no schedule. There were always many people flying in a small space, so sharing space was important. In fact, lines were limited to 75' for sport kites. There was a lot of Rev team flying (yes, on 75' lines), which I participated in quite a bit. I took a few opportunities to walk around to the single line field to take some pictures. Jose Sainz set up a banner display in one corner. In the afternoon, we did a memorial fly for Ron Despojado. More than 30 Rev fliers participated, and the line of kites and pilots stretched from one side of the field to the other. We spelled "RON" and made a few balls. With that many pilots spread across the field, instructions had to be passed down the line from one end to the other. After the sun set, we all migrated over to Lamppost Pizza for dinner and the kite auction. Sunday, March 13, 2016 Sunday was much of the same, albeit with a slightly slower start due to the Daylight Savings Time time change. I decided to set up a dualie, but by the time I did and walked around looking for a place to fly, I was feeling claustrophobic with all the kites already flying. I can fly a Rev in close quarters no problem, but I am not quite comfortable enough with dualies to do that yet, so I left my WidowMaker by my kite bag and went off to fly my Rev again. I did find a brief opportunity around lunch time to fly my WidowMaker, so I didn't set it up for nothing. One of the major attractions on the single line field on Sunday was this dragon. I also took a walk on the Huntington Beach pier to get some pictures from a different angle. Somehow most of the sport kites were on the ground when I took the next picture. Kite Party ended with dinner right next to the beach at Zack's, where we said our goodbyes. Monday, March 14, 2016 Monday morning, I looked out the hotel window and saw gray sky and wet ground once again. At least the drive back was mostly dry. We really lucked out with the weather during Kite Party. Ron must have been looking out for us from above.

I can't tell if your mention of a 1 meter kite is just because you want something that packs up small, or if you really are looking for a kite that is that small. If the former, you could also consider getting a Rev with a travel frame. Basically, instead of a 3 piece leading edge, each of those sticks are cut in half and ferruled, so you end up with 6 sticks of half the length. Same with the vertical sticks. I know you can get the Rev 1.5 (that's not 1.5 meter by the way, Rev's numbering system is not the same as the convention that power kites use, if you're familiar with that) with a travel frame. It may be possible to get travel frames for other sizes as well. So, for a Rev 1.5, which normally have 31" sticks, with a travel frame you end up with 15.5" sticks plus a couple inches or so for the ferrules that are on some of them. Designed to be small enough to fit in a suitcase when packed up. Hopefully small enough for your motorcycle too.

That looks like a great place to fly. I'd be playing with the water a lot more. Nice way to say goodbye to January.

They need to be done in the order specified, for both programmed precision (new name for league style, basically) and standard precision. If figures are done one at a time with scoring in between (what I refer to as standard precision), the field director will usually show you the diagram of the next figure, or you can ask to see it, but you still have to do them in the order specified.

A stationary ceiling fan is just another obstacle, like a bookshelf or a chair. Actually, I've found that if there is a ceiling fan in the room, it helps to lower your elevation. Kneel on the floor, or sit on a chair. That gets you lower so you have more space between you and the ceiling/fan.

Awesome prize! If I didn't already have one, I would totally enter this drawing. Great little kite for when you just have to fly and are stuck at home or don't have time to go out.

It sounds like with one-handed flying, you are trying to start from the ground. I find that launching one-handed is not the easiest thing to do. Have you tried starting in the air? What I mean is, flying with two hands, get the kite in a stable hover in the upper half of the wind window. Then bring your two hands together so the handles are almost touching while keeping the kite stable. Then transfer one handle to the other hand and try to keep that hover. If things start to go south, keep the empty hand nearby to grab the handle back. Good luck.