Wayne Dowler

The more "eyes" the better!

We have another winner!! Yeah!!! Congrats!!

Well, the search goes on for my friend's "new to him" kite!! Anybody looking to move one - PM me and I'll pass along info!!!

Was it Siaws'? I don't see that update here!! Just checked and it was!! Anyone else out there?

Can't hurt to ask - I did and found one!! Worse you can do is ask!! I'm bringing back this thread for a friend of mine - he's looking now!!! Anyone just not happy with theirs? Upgrading to something custom? Not sure of his color preference, but he asked, so I'm passing it along!! Anybody out there?? PS: I don't know if he's seen your pix, Siaw! I've told him about them, but haven't heard any comments yet!

As per your original post - go with the longer 2 sets til you really get it dialed in! For shorties - consider a set of 50# x 50' lines - long enough to give you some window to work in, but short enough to fit almost anywhere! And the length makes it a bit easier to have room to let the Zen clear the ground on moves!! My set of 50's are my most used lines, with the small park I have near my house!! Plus it makes setup and take down that much faster!!

I haven't seen any Berry Blue advertised on the websites I've been to lately!!

Also take care during setup, to make sure everything is pulling from the same direction!! All your bridle lines should come off the caps in the same order, left and right sides! Having a bridle line wound up in a bunjii will cause an uneven pull! Look to make sure all connections come off "clean"!

Have all 5 - std, mid, vtd, xtra, and Zen! Always helps in picking out the right sail for the wind conditions on that day! I have no "favorite", I'll fly whatever works best for the wind, right at the time I'm flying! That becomes my "favorite"!! I was like you a while back, only had the std and f/v! It was always a little trade off between powered up or under powered, depending on what you wanted to do! Solo flying, I can get away with a bit under powered, team means having power at all times! Getting the mid meant I didn't have to compromise between the two!

See my post on the Rev forum!!

Don't know about others, but I don't use the SLE (big) tube at all! Yes it's beefy for crashes, but it is so stiff, there is no flex in it!! Unless the winds are way out of the range for it (and then you have the wrong kite for those conditions), the smaller 3 wrap frame is plenty strong enough for learning on! One tip I can give - if the kite is gonna crash - LET IT! Give to the kite!! Step forward, throw your hands out, - DON'T PULL!! You're only driving the kite harder into the ground if you pull! Better to straighten out, than put away broken kites!! Breathe!!!

On the Rev forum, there's a member map, I believe! Same here too! John also developed a mapping site for fliers, name escapes me right now, but it also gives some info on where people fly! I'm sure if John or Watty see this, one of them will have more info!!

Go on the AWOC website to see 3 different lines - LPG, Shanti Speed, and Shanti Skybond! I'm thinking of trying out some Skybond lines to test the slipperiness and durability of them!! Saw them at WSIKF this year! Paul Dugard put 10 wraps in them, then handed the kite over to a relative "noob"! No problems with control, even with that many wraps! Plus he flew with many of us using LPG with no issues! Anyway, I'd like to test them out myself to see if I like them!

Whole nother animal is the Zen, boys and girls out there in Kiteland!! Anybody expecting it to be a light wind 1.5 is going to be greatly disappointed!! It is slower, more deliberate in the way it flies, not like the snappy 1.5 platform!! Think Rolls Royce vs Ferrari!! But if you want to (have to) fly in light wind, it's more than capable! Just don't expect it to be something it isn't!

Pigtails are the way to go, look at someone's Indoor if you can, for attaching flying lines or stack lines! You'll see how it goes, but beware the quick loading of the kite without a bridle - the way the LE flexes is different than when using a bridle!!

You watched his tutorial videos? 3 steps to kite flying: 1: The kite flies you! Always reacting to the kite, behind in control! Doesn't take long to get past this point in your flying career! 2: You fly the kite! Start to understand what makes the kite go, you've learned some control over the kite! Most at least reach this stage! 3: You and the kite fly together! That "AH-HA" moment when you are in almost complete control and can do almost anything! Very few get this far, takes a lot of practice and knowing your equipment! Wonder why there aren't more JBs in the world? Get a few tickets for "JB for the weekend", might be able to get you up and running in the right direction!

ARRRRGH!!! I mean congrats Scott!!

Can't believe I get one more chance to "influence": Hope this works!!!

When all else fails - read instructions!!! And follow them - HAHA!!

Answer not in the form of a question - but statement of fact?? OH OH!!

Last chance to remind, influence, etc, the RNG: Loud and proud!! Send it to me!!! PLEASE?

Now, now Mr. Russell, don't be so quick to jump in between us folks - you might get caught in the crossfire!!

I'll hold my thought on this til you can work on it!! Still seems to be a problem ...!

Nick - 90* might be a little too limiting, but not much more than a 120* functional window, in the strongest winds! I don't see how a kite will fly "upwind" in any way, or shape! I too sailed, don't see how this can be accomplished!! I'd like to see how this gets done!!??

Baloo? Out of his cave?? Hadn't heard from him in quite a while!! Anyway, this one is coming to me!!! Come to papa!!