SHBKF

By the time I had enough spare parts to repair all my crashed kites I did not seem to need them any longer. I suppose I learned the trick of controlled crashing. SHBKF

I tried to post image of one of Rob's old Widowmakers. It does appear in my image gallery but I made some error trying to show it here. SHBKF

In the video, from 1:10 to 1:30, the flashing highlights on the kite are wonderful. What a beautiful sight to behold. Just makes me want to get out and fly a kite. Thank you my friend, SHBKF

Sigh..... I was there, on GWTW it's last few years. Read many topics, posted a bit, bought a few kites (well more than a few) & generally had a good time. I was just learning about forums & I made some mistakes that were a bit rough. I don't mind that some of that is gone. I have participated in many hobbies over the years & have seen the ebb & flow in most of them. Support the sites you love. Ride the wave while you can. We are like a vapor. We are here then we're gone. SHBKF

One thing I have learned while in the pursuit of many hobbies over my lifetime is this. You have to ride the wave while you can. So glad I acquired some R-Sky kites. Like Rob said the Nirvana was legendary. My all time favorite image that I took of a kite is from the first flight of my Nirvana WW. Into the sun 73 from SHBKF

I flew a kite today. It had been some time since I had. The winds of Spring were calling & I had an old friend with me. The Zephyr knows me well. It was my first good kite. I am not a great flier but modesty is a good trait for someone always learning. Don't know why it had been so long, probably over a year. Maybe life seems tough at times or has too many distractions but there is really no reason not to indulge. I had missed the wind on the back of my neck. I did seem to still remember how to not crash. Pulled off a few tricks, made some blunders but did some successful ground recoveries. I enjoyed the concentration involved that allowed me to focus & zone out into the moment of flight. The winds were fickle as the usually are here in the mountains. Varied from dead calm to gusts that made me park at the top with the lines whining. Love the whine. Hope I don't have such a pause again. If I always carry some kites with me I will surely fly some more. Best wishes from SHBKF

A few of these kites seem very familiar.... SHBKF

I really like the white leading edge. After flying the Blue Diamond kite I realized that the white leading edge sort of disappears when the kite is in the sky. My eye seems to only see the main body of diamonds & darker blue stripes. The white is close to the brightness of the background sky. When the kite is inverted parked on the terrain the white then shows up very well. Your new Midnight Blowing Snow is another amazing product of your powerful kite fab mind. Wow, you're killin' me, SHBKF

Thanks for all you do John. KiteLife has been a part of my life for some time now. It is everything kites for all kite fliers. Pure & fine all the time. The prizes are just icing on the cake. I have been fortunate to win several times. It is a surprise, a joy & humbling all at the same time. The B series have a special place in the world of kites. I believe I have nine in the kite dungeon now. I guess I have been around just long enough to see some changes. Rock on, SHBKF my beloved B mid vent

I lost the upper spreader for my Prism 4D several years ago when I had no spare tubes or rods for any of my few kites. It was a bad feeling thinking I would not be flying my little superlight kite until I could order a replacement part. No kite shops anywhere in my area & I did not know at that time that hobby stores stocked small diameter light carbon fiber rods for RC control rod use on the little planes. So after a bit of useless anguish, I used my Swiss Army knife to whittle a replacement twig into the guessed length. Later I thought I would make something without bark. At home I went into the shop & found an eighth inch wooden dowel to make a prettier one. I just tapered the ends a bit to make the fit a little better. The kite flew just fine. But still I wanted the proper part. Thinking about the afternoon I lost the part I remembered hearing a distinct "ting" noise as I loaded the kites into my truck. On a hopeful thought I went back to where I parked that day & there was my carbon fiber spreader laying in the gravel. These days I have spare parts, spare kites & still keep my little dowel too. I also know most dualies will fly without upper spreaders & I have flown them without any spreaders just to see if they would do it. SHBKF