Jay Farlow

I planned to attend the casual clinic in Cleveland last Sunday but blew it off when I saw the wind forecast (calm). From TK's photos here, it appears some people got some stuff in the air for at least part of the day, but it wasn't worth the risk of a four-hour drive (each way) for me. My back-up plan was to come to Schaumburg this weekend, but ... Monday, we bought a house across town from our current home. We have a lot to do over the next 45 days to prepare for the move and sale of our existing house. I'm still planning to spend the entire 9/27 - 9/28 weekend at the IKE retreat in Northwestern Indiana. So, I can't really afford to take a full day this weekend to drive four hours to Busse Woods, play all day and then drive four hours home. John and TK, I'm really sorry I'll miss the chance to see you both in person during your pass through the Midwest. I'd been looking forward to it. My brother lives north of Seattle, so perhaps I'll make it out your way sometime to visit him and we can do some flying together then. Have a fun and safe trip west!

Wind forecast for tomorrow sucks. "Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Light and variable wind," per NWS. I don't want to drive four hours and not be able to fly, so I'm probably going to pass on this one.

Not to worry. I tracked you down, didn't I?

If the weather looks good, I'll be there, even though I'll have to leave home at 6 a.m. on a Sunday!

Just found the Cleveland & Chicago casual clinic details. Google Maps says drive to each is same (just under four hours). My plan for now is to shoot for Cleveland, unless weather looks bad, in which case I'll blow off Cleveland and try to make Chicago. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

John: Where will details about the Cleveland clinic appear (when available)? At the moment, I see nothing at either of the following: https://www.facebook.com/johnbarresi/events http://johnbarresi.com/events/

Bummer. Was hoping a stop in SE or south-central Michigan would be in your plans, as that area is only an hour or two from me. Both Cleveland and Schaumburg are ca. 5-hour drives from here. Plus, the weekend after Schaumburg, I'm already planning to spend the entire weekend at the IKE retreat in NW Indiana. Keep us posted and I'll see what I can do.

No worries, TK. As long as I hear something before you get to the Ohio/Michigan/Indiana area, that will be fine.

Hey John, I'm not on Facebook but I'm really interested in a clinic when you pass through Michigan. Keep us posted. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm in

I learned to fly on a Rev. loaned for the day by an IKE member. On two other occasions, when the wind was too strong for my standard Rev., IKE members loaned me vented kites. IKE people are great!

Had some success tonight flying reverse across the wind window. I recently added knotted leaders to my stock handles and I had the kite tuned with as much break as I could ( and still launch). Not sure if that helped.

Thanks for the nice pics, TK!

Have a great trip!

I resemble that remark! That's why I found the next two sentences particularly helpful:

Thanks for the excellent resource.

One of our kite club members tells the story of flying a duallie all over the wind window, only to have a neighbor comment to his wife that his kite seemed to be out of control that day. The point is, the unitiated assume that all kites behave like the SLKs of their childhood and the idea of actually controlling where one goes is foreign to them.

Hey John, a few things: I haven't been around the forums much for the past several months. I just this evening caught up a bit, seeing this thread and the "AKA and you" thread. First, I want to belatedly add my thanks for the work you put into AKA. You heard from me a few times during your tenure, so you know how much I approved of the things you communicated while in office. I don't know what were the "forces outside of kiting" that required your resignation (nor do I need to know) but I hope that those issues are resolving themselves satisfactorily. I read through much of the January thread on FB (which I was fortunately able to do, even though I have no FB account) and felt your frustration. FWIW, although my lovely wife and I are AKA members, I can't honestly say why. We don't get much out of it, except the magazine (most of which doesn't interest us) and the ability to attend kite festivals that might not happen without AKA insurance. I agree with others who commented that the value falls short of the cost from a personal perspective. Second, I want to wish you luck on the big road trip. May it accomplish its goals. I note that your route takes you within a couple hours' drive of our home in northeastern Indiana, so I hope to have a chance to shake your hand again (maybe even a "bro hug," if you're into that) while you're in the neighborhood, and perhaps even participate in a clinic (now that a Kitelife drawing has "drawn" me to the dark side). I'll try to keep a closer watch on the forum forthwith, so I'll know what you're up to and when to expect you to be nearby. Grace and peace to you and your lovely wife, jf

+1. The coaching I've gotten from IKE members has been invaluable.

Definitely drooling here. I learned at the last IKE retreat that I "need" a full vent (well, as much as any of us really needs any kite!).

"Kite Komotion" kite festival, Shipshewana Event Center, Shipshewana, Ind., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sport kite demonstrations (Windjammers, Fire & Ice and others). Single-line fly area (widely occupied last year by Wisconsin Kiters, Simon Crafts and Adrian Mann). Kids' sled kite-making workshop. Sport kite learn-to-fly field. Candy drop. For more information, see the website of the Hoosier Kitefliers Society: http://www.hoosierkite.org/ Also, here's some video of the 2013 Kite Komotion:

Really wish I could help, but I haven't even had time to write the submissions I've been wanting to write.

At the risk of belaboring the point, that's one of the definitions of good leadership. Let's hope that whoever succeeds you as AKA president in the future is paying attention and learning from your example.

Further evidence that you're the right guy for the job! Thanks for your leadership.

There's no better way to learn to fly any sport kite than to get in-person coaching from someone who already knows how. Videos are great, but a video player can't tell you that what you think you did with your hands isn't what you really did.