Wayne Dowler

Yeah, haven't been on for quite awhile now. Life changes. Have returned to the working world to keep up with expenses. Part time security officer - 4 days/week. Lots of walking. Anyway - just wanted everyone to know I'm still around and mostly using FB as my info source. Fly high my friends, fly high.......

Looks tight enough to me.Tightening the LE bungees actually creates that billow you want. A straight LE leaves the sail flat and tends to "slide" thru the air, not trapping any air. Almost every factory kite needs this slight adjustment to the LE. Just don't introduce any vertical wrinkles, good sign of overtightening...

Just be careful not to overdo any adjustments. You want the sail smooth, but don't introduce any new wrinkles. Usually you work to remove horizontal wrinkles and not add any vertical ones. Overdoing adjustments will put undo strain on your sail. Besides caps or tubing on the verts, may I suggest one more thing. I added a piece of insignia tape over the holes punched into the sail where the bunji goes. Keeps them from pulling through or elongating the holes.

Not sure the model, but I flew one of the Freilein sails early on as a tester. It was before Andy went to holes on the LE and still used mesh. He gave me 2 to try for a weekend at a festival, a std and a mid. Winds were right up the std range. It flew just fine. At that time, it flew just about as well as anything on the market. I felt it was a great choice for anyone starting out. IMO PS: I did end up using a Rev race frame in it, just to see how that felt - I liked it even more!! I'm sure that Andy has plenty of available options for one now, depending on your use. I think at the time it had T-2 rods in it.

Blue kites fly better - wink, wink!

Those 7/16" spars are pretty indestructible, but with little flex, they also make the sail a bit harder to control. A full set of 5 rods shouldn't cost too much more than buying only 2. I would highly recommend it for advancing your learning curve. Don't skimp on getting quality line! It is your only connection between you and the kite. Stick to known, quality, line makers - Laser Pro Gold, Shanti Skybond, Vectriva (Andy Ocean Shores brand). No polyester or nylon!! I would suggest either 80' or 120' to start. many fly on shorter, but the window is small and your reaction time better be really good! Longer is better to learn on.

Always more to learn.........

As was said - you may have a stock bridle, just in 2 colors. To be safe, I'd get one from here, as well as leaders. Spars. You should have gotten 5 pieces - 4 with no ferrule and equal in length, 1 ferruled at both ends. You may have the SLE tubes for the leading edge, they are slightly bigger in diameter, I believe 7/16". the others should be 1/4". It is possible the whole 5 pieces are 1/4". then all the unferruled pieces can be interchanged. the ferruled piece goes in the center of the leading edge. All 6 spar ending points on the sail should have caps, attached with bungee cord. Personally, I don't use the SLE tubes. They don't flex enough to create the 'belly" in the center of the sail. If you don't have a full set of 1/4" spars, I encourage you to look online or visit your local kite store and get some. Makes your kite much more controllable. As a beginner, I'd look for a set of 3 wrap rods. Light enough for most use and tough too. 2 wrap or race frames are better taken advantage of by more experienced fliers. Enjoy!

So latest update: All fixed! Good to go! Just need to build up some coordination and endurance in the leg. May even salvage a little outdoor flying this year!! If not, at least indoors. For all of you that had me in their thoughts - Thank you!

Never trust that most store bought sets are good! Closest I've found are those from The Kite Shoppe. Theresa make great sets on any length, most strengths. Highly recommend her..

Healing pretty well so far. Swelling is going down in my operated leg. PT has given me exercises to strengthen the leg and increase flexibility. Got a dr appointment to remove staples and assess things. Looking forward to being able to put more weight on it. Gradual improvement......

Update. Surgery went really well. Home recouping, limited in weight allowed on repaired leg. Stiff and sore, but still a bit mobile. 3 weeks check up to see if I can put more weight on it. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Sorry to have been quiet for so long, but life has dealt me a setback. I will be getting a new replacement hip on Thursday. Something about my body is rejecting the replacement I had done in 2009. The doctor isn't sure what he will find until he gets in there and sees for himself. I'm not kidding when I say I'm a little nervous about this. When they were replaced them before, I knew why. This time - not so sure..... Any way, I thought I'd keep you up on the latest and promise to post as soon as I am able. Fingers crossed and all that...... Wayne

Told you the sky was falling .......TIMBER!!!!