makatakam

That is something that will change every time you fly. It will change because you will get better at controlling the kite. It will change because of changes in the wind. Each time you fly, after an hour or so, try letting the top lines out one more knot. Eventually you will be able to fly many knots further out than when you started. This will happen in time (experience) without much effort on your part. Just check every two or three times out that your lines are of equal length and adjust when necessary. The only thing to try is not becoming "handed". This means being able to, for instance, turn to the left but not the right. That would make all your turns "left-handed". This is an extreme example that is unlikely, but some of the more complicated moves like flying backwards can be more difficult in one direction than the other, so practice each new move to the left, right, up, down, all four directions on the diagonal and every angle in between, and at every speed from very slowly to very fast. If you do this, then the problem becomes a moot point -- it solves itself. You will know when it happens. It will "click". Just remember WHY you fly. Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe.

I'm likin' it.

Hot stuff! Ooooooh, yeah.

Wait for the good stuff. I know it sucks, but you will gain basic control so much more easily when you're not fighting the wind.

Yup, everything they said. Be very selective about the wind you learn in. A steady breeze at 6-12mph is what you want. I know you want to fly, but you won't learn anything if you are fighting the wind, except how hard it is to learn anything in lousy wind. Let the wind help you by choosing to fly in good steady wind. You will learn more quickly and form good muscle memory that way. Watch the video tutorials again, several times each until you are totally sick of watching them and never want to watch again, and then watch them a few more times. Everything JB tells and shows you in those videos is GOSPEL. They are tried and proven methods that work EVERY time. You can make changes to suit your own style later, once you have mastered the basics. For now, do exactly what he shows you. It will keep you from having "spaghetti" for lunch each time you fly. Take your time, go slowly. Make sure there are no wraps or tangles in the bridal. Use very small inputs and move your hands and your body towards the kite if you are about to crash. Take frequent breaks, fly for ten or twenty minutes and take a ten minute break. Give the muscle memory time to "sink in". Things will get better each time you fly. The progress and problems you describe sound exactly like my first attempts as I also learned the basics alone. Once you can launch and hover motionless things will get much easier, so work on that as your primary goal. Don't get way up in the air. Stay under 20 feet to reduce crash damage. Practice going up without wobbling and coming down and landing gently. Go as slow as possible. It's all about balance. Go home and watch the videos several more times. Relax -- remember, you're supposed to be having fun! Smile a lot and don't forget to breathe. Then watch the videos again. Really! It will suddenly just "click". P.S. -- Do check your lines and equalize if necessary.

Hi, Van, and welcome to the forum. You'll get the answers you need here. If not, the GWTW (Gone With The Wind) Forum is another good forum for all kite information. It's good to have you on board. Did they originally look like this? As you can see, if you click on the image, that each kite has a complete frame, both the upright and cross frame members. I don't know of any kite stack, other than the parafoil type, that would fly (well) without it, so I believe that you will need to acquire and install the missing spars. You don't necessarily need the same ones that originally were included with the kites, but if you can find them it wouldn't hurt. If you can't, you have two options. You can replace the missing ones with something that is of similar weight, diameter and flex characteristics as the originals, or replace all the frames so they are identical throughout the stack. Please bear in mind that I am not the guru of dual line stack kites, as my passion lies with quads, but I've seen enough in my day to know just a bit about them. I'm sure that others here can and will chime in to either concur with what I've said or to correct it and steer you in the right direction. Until then, hang in there. Most of them are out flying on weekends and you may not hear from them 'til Monday. I look forward to sharing the wind with you someday. Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe. P.S. -- Now that I've looked more closely at the image I posted and compared it to the one you posted, I can see that I may have misunderstood what you meant by "cross member". Generally, only the leading kite, or perhaps the first two, need additional frame support as they bear the majority of the load. I don't see that cross member in the image I posted. Let's wait for the others to advise us further. It may be they are on the back side of each kite. They are most likely spreaders that keep the sides of the kite from collapsing, and required for each kite.

Of course you realize that is just the printed poly for the sail and no finishing whatsoever has been done yet, right? No leading edge sleeve, no mesh, no edge binding, no reinforcements, etc. It's just the material and the ink so far.

By Jove, I think you've got it! If you're painting the knots to keep them from fraying it takes a lot of time. Faster and less expensive way is to trim the ends about 1/16" away from the knot and use a butane lighter to flame/melt them down to the knot. The melted material fuses with and becomes part of the knot. With a little scrap bridle line and a bit of practice you will end up with a knot that will never ever come apart, no matter how hard you try.

And you can actually learn a routine, dance and drink beer all at the same time. Staying out of the rain is a bonus, but it can be done in fair weather also.

You would benefit much by taping together the pieces being sewn . No more pucker. If the tension on your machine is adjusted correctly, the panels will be perfectly flat when sewn together. You may be able to get all that pucker out by grabbing the ends of the seam and pulling hard and twisting/torquing the length of the seam. PM me your mailing address and I will send you a roll of 3M 9460 transfer tape for free. Google it. If you check the build threads on any of the kite forums you will see it mentioned frequently. I have a bunch more than I will ever need, and it's light enough to send 1st class mail.

Hi, Vin, and welcome to the forum. I don't remember if I said hi to you yet, so if I didn't before, I did now. Once every two or three times you fly, see if you can go one more knot further out on the top lines and still be "happy". You will find that over time you will be moving them further and further out to adjust for wind conditions. Watch the "launch" tutorial, and the rest of the beginner batch. It will make learning easier to cope with if you're doing it on your own. You will have one or two frustrating times when you are learning. Chalk them up to experience and get on with flying. We've all been there and survived the (minor) trauma. Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe.

Like the iQuad kite dance?

For 70 to 135 years after the author's death in this country; less time in others. And that is for books and such. Copyright lengths vary depending on the type of intellectual property. There are also two types of patent: utility and design. The utility patent covers the mechanical aspects. The design patent covers the ornamental aspects of a physical object.

If you use ripstop, either nylon or poly, you can't use ordinary paints. They just crumble and fall off. Dyes are used to color these materials and must soak into the fabric to become permanent. If they merely adhere to the surface, they too will crumble and fall off. This kite was sprayed using silk flower spray. If you look closely you will see it coming off in the areas that get the most wear/folding. I tried to fix it using solvent, but that just made it uglier. That's the smudged-looking spots. So, if you want something permanent stick with sail fabric that accepts coloring well. Test samples would be a good way to go.

That's why I said, "Ask Bazzer". Speculation is how rumors begin. Get the facts. We all know what is moral and legal. We don't always do it. All of us. Period. P.S. -- Most patents end in 17 years. Copyrights last much longer.

Find and order it online. It's gonna ship from China anyway.

Nice design. Needs more red. Made by an American in China.

Yes, it's morally wrong to copy patented items for personal use, but it's not illegal. Ball can roll either way from the top of that hill.

Ask Bazzer. Ask Rev. But don't form any conclusions until you have both stories.

If it's not copyrighted or patented then it's fair game for personal or commercial use. Period. Look at how Revolution's patents and copyrights were abused by others. What would you do differently?

If you're not careful that sand will get right between your toes. Play hard. Have fun. There will be a quiz.

There are a few other ways that people have come up with to make this modification, but this is the simplest, fastest and least expensive of them all. It works and it lasts a long time. The only addition I would suggest is "sacrificial" loops to attach the leaders if you fly more than 10 hours per week.

Dorts are the substantial absence caused by what would have created dots, I believe, but I may be wrong sometime tomorrow or sooner afterwards.

Go for it, John, and post the video. Who could be better than you to pull that one off? We will guess what moves you're doing by body and arm movement. It could be fun. Since you got nothing to do anyway.

Cool beans. Welcome aboard. Sew if you're sew inclined.