Wayne Dowler

Been to a grid clinic, so have been "radio silent" over the weekend. That sail is coming along nicely!! Looking good!!

Is that due to no center panel or........

Just be aware of the distance, body to needle. Not sure what projects you have in mind, but a bigger gap lets you feed more material through easier. That and the ability to sew thick materials.

#1 and #5 are pretty sweet, but I would like them symmetrical. My preference! #3 is nice due to the contrast of colors. #2 gives me a warm fuzzy feeling! I'm not helping, am I?

Yep - the indoor fest is on that weekend. Since it is spring break, I wouldn't expect too many at "D" river too many people. Might find some behind the hotel by the casino. Less traffic, bigger beach. A bit of a walk to a bathroom is the only drawback. One of my teams practices there. Undecided about indoor or out, weather will decide!

You offered the trade terms - LOL!! Can't have everything - can ya??

I still have my Stranger - pretty fun kite generally. Massive amount of over-steer, but a very forgiving kite too! I'd put it in some very stupid positions and learned to just wait a second - voila - the kite came out of them! It was learning to wait was the hard part!

Don't know if it is because my laptop is so old or ??, but chat still shows on my screen. Haven't been in there in a long time, but it does still show.

Interesting .......! Blue too!!

Haven't tried a dead launch with the Hydra yet. Hate dragging any of my kites around trying it. I usually try once or twice, then walk.

3 positions now: Fade = on back, nose to flier. Turtle = on back, nose away from flier. Pancake = belly down, nose away from flier. One more.......? PS: I've been flying quads for a bit now and trying to relearn some dualie stuff. Trying to remember what everything is called ........!

Got 2 positions so far: Fade = on back, nose to pilot. Turtle = on back, nose away. Others?

Anyone else with more?

As in a backflipped position?

Reading this thread, I'm not sure what each position means. Other than a fade being kite on its back, nose to flier. Would someone explain the others?

Another tip - NEVER have someone else wind up your lines!! They are a mess? You are to blame! Not the wife, kids, or guy you just met on the field!! YOU!! Here's a bit of a chuckle for those reading and know the pain: I used to wind my lines on a single winder, but as separate pairs. I would larkshead the left pair together, then straight wind them on, Go back to the kite and larkshead the right pair and figure 8 those over the others. 2 trips. One day, I'm at a clinic of John's and it's time to pack up. So I start my routine of two lines and look over to see John. There's just the hint of a smile creeping into his face as he sees me doing my thing. I yell out - " I know this works!" to him. He looks at me and says - "But I know this works too!" Anyway we all pack up. So the next time I'm alone, I decide to test his method. I had some 50' lines and figured - if they get in a mess, it's only 50', not 120's, so let's try this. So I tried and it worked! Next time I tried it on 80' - it worked again! Finally I used it on 120's - yes!! Now I have some very minor differences that are my own, but all the basics are still in use! I prefer to use 2 stakes. After hooking up lines to handles, I separate the handles by a couple feet. Then I unwind to the kite end. If you have wound them before, there should be 2 pairs. Take a pair in each hand and spread your hands apart. All the wraps you saw unwinding, should fall out. If you are like me and my color code, you can trade hands around to end.up with the sets completely separated, using a little pressure on them. Hook up your kite and ready to go with just a twist in a pair or so - no biggie. Another way is to stick a finger between the pairs as you unwind. If they haven't passed through each other, you should be able to end up with pairs again. No matter what method you end up using - IF IT WORKS and you're comfortable with it - DO IT THE SAME WAY - EVERY TIME! Make it habit. The less you mess with the process, the better off!

Watch John's line management tutorial til you're sick of it - then watch it some more!!! That will save you so much aggravation - guaranteed! Carry a Sharpie if need be, to mark the lower lines. I myself use a 4 color code to separate the top/ bottom, left/right sets I had a stroke years ago, it keeps me sorted out. But I use John's system and it is tried and true - it works, trust it!

I would recommend that if possible - get 2 kites - a full sail and a full vent. Lines and handles of course. The 2 sails will cover the most wind range. Maybe not the extremes at both ends, but can handle everything in between. Used is a good way to go. Most of us use a number system to indicate condition, 1 being beat to heck, 10 being brand new condition. Decent used kites fall into the 7-9 range mostly, all depends on how each person views it. The biggest thing to look for are tears or splits in the mesh on the leading edge. Another are little cracks or splits along the vertical shafts. Usually either give a good idea on how much it has been flown. Stock handles are fine to learn on, so to most lines. Usually 80' or so, give or take 5'. 120' is the standard for team flying. Not needed to learn on if not readily available. Also, until you are pretty confident, I would stay away from really short lines. I know they have their place, but things happen pretty fast the shorter the line. Stick to 75'-85' to start. If there is one piece of advise I can give - learn to "Give to the Kite"! Don't pull if crashing is inevitable. All pulling does is drive the kite harder into the ground, increasing the chance of breakage. Just let your arms out, step forward a step or 3, worst case - drop the handles!! This takes all the drive out of the kite and lets it fall more gently. Welcome to the fun!!!

We missed the worst of it here in SE Portland. Not the cold, but no bad snow.

I might consider rods instead of tubes. Tubes might be lighter, but rods might be less likely to break? Either way, I would leave a way to remove them if they should get broken.

Congratulations sir, fly it high!!

I can wait .............. to learn my fate ............. RNG - remember me!!!😐

Another day to tease, to hope, well, why not? The RNG is waiting patiently. Guess we can too. Come on RNG, please pick me!! Please. Maybe?

Today's the day!!! RNG be good to ME!!!

I would ask some one like riffclown about that, he has made many a kite. Did you find plans OK? Mine was made for me by a friend - Mario from the quad team Island Quad. He has also made many kites, but not sure if he is on here.