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Russ Wilson

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Posts posted by Russ Wilson

  1. So, we own several dual-line kites, but for the life of me I can't remember the last time I flew one.  I always grab my quads these days.  For that reason I haven't seriously considered a clinic like this - you know, "real men" do quads.  JL just challenged me on that thinking and pointed out we always learn a lot from the "101" part of a clinic like this.  She's convinced me - sounds like it would be good to improve our skills in this area.

    Given that, I'm wondering what the best equipment is for a clinic like this.  It sounds like John/Scott are pretty open to whatever people have, but if you guys had to recommend a particular setup what would that be?  I'm taking the approach of trying to improve my flying ability thru shopping.  Seriously though, is there a particular kite, line, handles that would be ideal for a class like this?

  2. That's actually what Pryme specializes in - Bluetooth adapters for Motorola and Bofang radios.  Unfortunately, they don't seem to support Midland.

    I'm finding some interesting info on headset/cell/music integration for motorcyclists.  A company called Sena sells units that use some sort of long-range Bluetooth - with a battery life supporting 12 hours of talk time.  The only downside is they are pricey.  

  3. After last weekend, I've been wondering about a solution along these lines too.  I really hate wires and I'm not a fan of things hanging off my belt.  Was wondering about a hybrid approach - either using the phone/wireless headset to connect to a radio or maybe just a wireless headset to the radio?  Pryme makes Bluetooth solutions that let Bluetooth headsets connect to Motorola radios, but I haven't been able to find a solution like that for Midland radios.  

    Has anyone else found something along these lines that works?

  4. 23 hours ago, John Barresi said:

    When you DO bow tie, best method is to default to a “forward flight” position with your hands, slowly step backward, and the kite should auto-right by the count of 3... At that moment, it’s all about neutral, hover.

    Thanks John  - that makes sense.  Now if I can just remember to follow your advice when I'm fighting with the bowtie :)

    • Like 1
  5. Thanks Makatakam, that could be part of the issue.  The Phoenix sail tends to flap a bit so I have my bungees a bit tighter than normal.  Maybe my "tuning" is working against me.  I'll give it a try with looser bungees.

  6. Great comments Breezin - I so agree with you.  The woman behind that kite was really worried about negatively impacting the rest of the flyers, but I was really glad she stuck it out and flew with us.  We were so much better off having her part of the team.  I'll fly with her anytime.

    BTW: The flyer 2nd from the left and 2nd up did a bunch of wonky stuff too.  And I sure had fun doing it!

    • Like 3
  7. 42 minutes ago, Wayne Dowler said:

    Russ - I  don't think the Phoenix is any more susceptible to wing flip than a "B"pro, made by the same guy! In over a year of flying them - no problems here.

    I might be wrong then.  It could be my flying style has changed since I got my Phoenix's - I definitely fly with a lot more brake these days than I used to.  

    • Like 1
  8. I'll give it a shot next time I fly.  For what its worth, I do feel the Phoenix is a bit more susceptible to bowties than a Rev pro.  IMHO

    In a related note, what is the best procedure to use when I do create a bowtie?  I usually just flail around and hope to get it on the ground with less than 50 wraps.  So far I haven't stumbled on the right way to regain control.  Any advice would be appreciated.

  9. Thanks for the great tips guys - they were very helpful.  I have a set of magic sticks, but I've never flown with them.  I'll give it a try.  Was really impressed watching Scott use them.

    John, I look forward to learning more about body position and how this can be controlled.

    Wayne, here is probably the best video from last weekend - 

     

    • Like 5
  10. Thanks Wayne - good advice for flying a Phoenix.  Do you find flying one lower sail helps speed up reverse flight?  I'm struggling worried if I give it any more brake I'm going to collapse a wing and create a bowtie.  

  11. I had the opportunity to be part of John's Mega Fly Clinic this last weekend.  In watching the videos, I noticed  when we were doing an exploding ball I was slow to return to position.  Exploding the ball was fine, but getting back to position I was always lagging.  I was in the 7:00-8:00 o-clock position of the ball.  Anyway, I remember feeling like I was on the edge of applying too much brake that the kite would collapse, which tells me I was flying backward as fast as I could.  Any tuning tips for speeding things up?  If it helps, I fly a Phoenix Pro which does tend to be a bit slower than the Rev Pro's.

  12. Going back to the OP's question about snagless handles, I recently bought some Asian gold anodized handles and for the most part I really like them.   The size, feel, and look are fine.  The problem I have is with the leaders - they are too short.  I tried to remove them and attach a pair of TK's leaders but could not fit them thru the hole in the handles.  Was wondering if anyone else has run into the same problem?  I'm going to take them back home and ream out the hole with the drill press.  That should make them work but it would be nice to find a set of handles that works out of the box.

    It seems Walt is no longer making the Rev snagless handles - I can't even find them for sale anymore.  Given that, what are people buying when they don't want to use the drywall trick with their original handles?

    s-l1600.jpg

  13. Now that I have a few extraneous diamond rods laying around, I may try to work up some kind of recoil test using them (won't hurt my feelings if they snap).  Seems like a rotary encoder and lever arm might be able to measure recoil - just need to make sure the data acquisition is fast enough to capture the spring back.   Hmmmmmmm....

    Glad to hear you are using SkyShark on the Djinn - that's where my money is going these days too. 

    Looking forward to the first order of Djinn's:wub:

    • Like 1
  14. Very interesting information - wondering if anyone has set standards for measuring the other 3 factors mentioned?  In principle, stiffness could probably be quantified by cantilevering the rod, hanging a standardized weight from the end, and then measuring deflection.  Not sure how to measure recoil, but I inadvertently tested my diamond frame for resilience a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately, that was a destructive test:angry:

    • Like 2
  15. Good point on the ball burst - changing the number of participants will definitely change the overall structure of the kites.  I was thinking something a bit simpler - for instance having 3 people flying synchronized diamond patterns.  Adding a 4th to that pattern should be as simple as copy paste; unfortunately, from what I've seen it is much more involved than that.

  16. @dragonfish Let me preface my comments with the statement I am far from an expert in Synfig Studios, but from what I've learned so far it is not an easy thing to reuse maneuvers.  Yes, you can insert scripted maneuvers into a sequence of other maneuvers, but there is no easy way to do things like copy a single kite path to a second kite following the same basic pattern but shifted left or right.  This means maneuvers I script for a team of 3 would require heavy manipulation to scale up to a team of 4 or 6.  

    While I have not done this yet, I believe the pace of a routine can be sped up/slowed down to match music.  I'll try to make time to explore this more in depth since I'd like to know that too.

  17. I would really like to see a library we can pull maneuvers from.  We've flown with JB several times now and it is always helpful, but I gotta admit I easily forget the names he uses.  Unfortunately, I've even forgotten some of the routines.  Having a library we can refer to (and possibly use for orchestrating routines) would be a big benefit.

    • Like 1
  18. Not a bad idea - I'd be willing to toss in a few hours to an open source project.

    For me, the big thing is whether "the community" would find it useful?  I'm glad to know there are a few of us this appeals to, but I kind of suspect the vast majority of users may not find it as useful as we would.  It'll be interesting to see who else posts on this thread.

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