GammoRay

I could fly with lines like yours, but I’ll never fly with lines like you!

Beautiful! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

The fiberglass spar should lie next to the sail, as you have it! Just an educated guess, but if it has a wooden dowel, it’s not Gomberg’s, or the spinner is very old. Also, the colors are not Gomberg’s standard set. Don’t replace the dowel! It shouldn’t break, but if it does, you can replace it for under a buck at your local hardware store. The environment will thank you! Nice video!

Looks more like a manta than a stingray. Looks more like a twin bird than the sea creatures.

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sh*t happens. I did move, but the house required extreme leveling. $$$ I leveled it in January, but February brought a freeze to Texas, combined with a gas pressure drop and a near week long power outage. My water pipes froze and burst, causing collapsed ceilings, shorted electrical systems, and damage to possessions. $$$ The whole house had to be repiped because the existing thin copper tubing had burst in so many places. $$$ I had no water until April and the plumbing job wasn’t finished until April 29. $$$ Because I couldn’t cook food or wash dishes, clothes, or me, I moved into a hotel for several weeks in March/April. $$$ I currently am still getting the damages to my home repaired. $$$ I’m 71 years old and my health has deteriorated rapidly. I have daily medical treatments that eat up my time and energy. $$$ I have yet to move everything from the old storage room for my kites and other toys. $$$ And I don’t know when I will find the Rogallo. With the COVID wars, multiple deaths in my family and of my friends, and the stress of simply coping in a cold, capricious, and largely uncaring world, the kite is not my highest priority right now. I hope you can understand. I’m not quite sure I do, but thanks! CCD Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Just to the ‘burbs, but a bit closer to the beach! [emoji41] Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I’d get a smooth-faced long-handled framing hammer. The straighter claw makes for easier stake removal. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

https://stormforcetiedowns.com/ Storm Force Aircraft Tie-Downs! Buy your own hammer. You will thank me… really.

Captain Rick (a real tugboat captain!) showed me this knotless hitch for tying down kites, especially big kites that pull hard. This is my technique for tying the hitch onto a carabiner, but the hitch is perfect for tying to a fence post, driftwood, trailer hitch, etc., without degrading the flying line. The hitch is also known as the Lighterman's hitch, and even has a "secondary" use of safely mooring your boat! 1. The kite is in the air, the standing line (flying line) is under tension, the carabiner is tethered to an anchor, and the bight (the line we are working with) is in the middle of the line between the kite and spool. For safety, the carabiner is climbing-rated at 22 kilonewtons and will hold about 5000 lbs of pull. 2. The opening side of the carabiner is the bollard, where, of course, we will make all of our bollard wraps. 3. Start with two wraps of the bight around the bollard. 4. If your kite is pulling so hard that is is difficult to hold, make three wraps. (All of the following photos show two wraps only.) Position your holding hand with your thumb on the carabiner gate, and work the bight with your other hand. (I'm right handed, so I hold the carabiner with my left and work the bight with my right.) 5. Always pass the bight around the standing line on the "dockside" (closed side) of the carabiner. 6. Twist your holding hand palm up, open the gate, and pass the bight over the bollard… 7. …and pull the bight through the gate of the carabiner. 8. Twist the carabiner back to the starting position (palm down), passing the bight dockside of the standing line. 9. Pass the bight over the bollard and pull it through the gate. Notice that the standing line has been wrapped twice, once from each side of the carabiner, thus equalizing the tension on the standing line. 10. Twist the carabiner palm up again, pass the bight dockside, wrap it around to and over the bollard, and then pull the bight through the gate. 11. Again, pass the bight dockside… 12. …twist the carabiner back to palm down (except I moved my thumb for photo)… 13. …and pass the bight over the bollard and through the gate. For most kites, you can quit here. 14. However, for heavy loads, wrap the standing line again. Twist the carabiner palm up and pass the bight dockside, over the bollard, and through the gate. 15. Twist the carabiner palm down… 16. …and pass the bight over the bollard and pull it through the gate. This will hold 99% of kites, but for exceptional loads or very slick lines, you can repeat the wraps as often as needed. 17. Note the alternating wraps on the dockside, keeping the tension equal on both sides of the standing line. 18. The finished hitch uses no knots that weaken your flying line. It can be easily adjusted even under load by undoing a few wraps until the line begins to slip, and then controlling the line slip with a little tension on the bight. With a bit of practice, you will be able to tie this hitch in 10 to 15 seconds! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

The more equipment you use, the more points of potential failure! I fly huge kites using only a climbing carabiner, sand anchor, and heavy line. The tugboat hitch uses no knots so you can let out line easily and under control, even under full load. Check it out! https://www.facebook.com/621114835/posts/10155644288019836/ Hmmm, this link will get you to the Facebook post, but won’t show the the commentary on each photo. Open it in the Facebook app/website to see it all! UPDATE: I created an article (Tugboat Hitch on a Carabiner) and posted it in GENERAL SINGLE LINE so that you don’t need to mess with Facebook unless you want to! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

High-quality 64” 2-line backpack-able kite that folds to 26”— cheap! Prism Stowaway Delta Single-Line Kite https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0044TGS1I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_15HMFb2H8CFHB High-quality 2/4-line backpack-able soft kites— I like the Prism Snapshots (1.2, 1.4, 1.9, 2.4). I have purchased 10 over the years and given away 4. The 2.4 is conversion-ready for 4 lines. The Snapshots seem harder to find lately. Prism may be pushing it new Synapse line. https://elementalkites.com/shop/sport-kites/prism-snapshot-1-4/ Prism Synapse Dual-line Parafoil Kite https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00UTLRI0A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_uAIMFb35FQYX4 Single-line soft kite— Prism Bora 7 has a 20’tail! https://smile.amazon.com/Prism-Bora-Single-line-Parafoil-Kite/dp/B07FTYP2BK (I’m not endorsing retailers, just pointing you to pictures and specs. I do not own stock in Prism Kites![emoji6]) Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I’ve got one in great condition, but I haven’t decided if I want to part with it. I’m moving in November, and may not get it unpacked until January. I’ll mull it over, and if you’re still interested then, hit me up and I’ll give you an answer. Sign me, “Old Mr. Wishy Washy”! (Better yet, I’ll post a photo here when I uncrate it.) Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

That’s my birthday! Skip the random drawing and just send it to me!

Peter Maxxed Out! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

KiteLife

Attach an adjustable 3-point bridle to the top two corners of the kite sail and through the sail’s center point, tying the bridle line around the three spars where they cross. The bridle lines should be relatively long. Tie your kite line to the central line of the bridle. Fly the kite, adjust the bridle, rinse and repeat!

Are you on Facebook? I just posted this: If not, I'll try to create a PDF file for you.

Even the best songs and the loveliest poetry can't fix erratic winds, and even the steady winds on the beaches sometimes give in to lulls! On light wind days, all you can do match your single-line kites to the conditions. Choose kites with greater sail-to-weight ratios, and adjust bridles toward the kites' tails for the greater resistance. I often fly soft kites or the cheapest Chinese sparred kites on such days, but my last resort are my four Laimas— almost no-wind kites— but even they will glide to ground in a lull. Here is a tip you might consider for the occasionally errant kites that might cause tangles: fly from one anchor! Use a climbing carabiner to attach to your anchor; it's big, strong, and accessible. Launch your overhead flyer and and attach it to the carabiner using a tugboat hitch (no knots and easily adjustable even under load). Launch your low flyer and likewise attach it to same carabiner (or another one attached to the same anchor if you want to do a lot of adjusting of both kites). The different angles of attack should keep the kites apart, but if they do cross over even multiple times, the twisted lines free up as the the twist slides down to the single point of attachment. There is usually no need to untwist, but if you are OCD or packing up, you only need to untwist your lines at the anchor point. It works for me! PS: I have found most kites don't care what you say to them, whether praises or curses, and shooting the bird or even mooning them doesn't affect their attitudes or altitudes. They seem to be humming their own music and always looking up! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I fly mine on Texas Gulf Coast beaches and it's a breeze! [emoji6] I generally fly on 300-lb line, and then 500-lb in strong winds, but I have multiple winders of both. I never fly over 300'— I only put 330' on the winders. The Premier insert (http://instructions.premierkites.com/33050i_13ftFloTail_instructions_REV_9-22-15.pdf) actually says "250–500 lb test line," but that's a range recommended for a range of conditions. Don't worry, even in low winds, a 500-lb line is no weight or drag for this huge kite! I get my line in bulk from Goodwinds. https://goodwinds.com/line-winders/braided-dacron.html Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Sorry, guys, it's my first rodeo! I didn't know that I was supposed to run the RNG until John filled me in. Thank you all for for your understanding and kool karma! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Here is your RNG sequence: 4 Mike Klaiber, you are our winner! Congratulations! 3 5 1 2 6 Timestamp: 2017-07-15 05:02:51 UTC Thanks all for your patience and understanding! Thanks for playing! Thanks for supporting KiteLife! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

HEADS UP: I won’t make the Post Office today. (We still don’t have a winner.) So, I’ll probably mail this on Monday. Patience, Grasshoppers.

Great! Everybody’s chance is now 16 2/3%!

RNG! RNG! Hello? Is it time to make the call? Well, yes, if you want me to try to get this in the mail today. After all, I gotta contact the winner, get their bridle preference, pack it up, and still make the Post Office before closing (at the worst time of day for both traffic and lines). OK, quit your whining. Ill be waiting, that is if you West Coasters are finished with your lunch…