SHBKF

Another great blog post. Love those Goblins. They must be spectacular flashing across the sky. Thanks, SHBKF

Very interesting topic. Flying paper diamond kites as a kid we would try some of these adjustments but I suspect we moved things too much. We adjusted the bow of the kite, moved the spine, fiddled with the bridle & put way too much tail on them. We also were flying in the suburban streets so conditions were sketchy at best. Of course we crashed them often so they did not last too long. There was an art to carefully assembling the fragile paper sails with strategically placed cellophane tape to reinforce where the perimeter string exited the paper at each corner. Once in awhile one of us would buy & assemble a kite that seemed to fly better than all the others. It would be given special treatment & guarded carefully so as to not disturb the set up. My big brother had a yellow Hi-Flier that still is magical in my memory. Man, if I had just known some of you guys back then..... SHBKF

Another great kite adventure with impressive images & a great story. Your comment on the 200 mile drive home reminds me of California's huge size. The pictures give an idea of the wind strength as even the huge kites are fully flagged out horizontal to the ground. Thanks again for giving us a feel for what it was like to be there. SHBKF

Sometimes buying Super Ultra Light kites & gliders help. Then "ironic wind" has a chance to occur so have your heavier kites ready for action. It may be you have recently acquired new standard or high wind kites & the ironic factor has delivered light to zero conditions. Keep working on it & let us know what works for you. It is similar to fishing, different day, different approach. I try to fly during the weather changes as fronts move through the area. But now the thunderstorm season is approaching so that strategy has to be tempered with a bit of caution. SHBKF

Great news! I was in your neighborhood yesterday & was thinking of you. The wind was blowing nicely, wondered if you might be out flying. Good to hear you'll have some flying partners soon. Of course you'll be a master by the time they can take the lines. Those are some great kites you are offering. The Microns are some of my favorites. The Stylus can be flown & enjoyed by all. Everyone needs a lifter kite & the Hawk has a reputation all it's own. But I must say anyone interested in flying a full on power kite should seriously consider the Tensor 3.1 if they are looking into heading in that direction. It is highly recommended as the proper size to learn static flying with before going on to larger sails for traction type flying. Then the 3 meter size is still a good kite for higher wind days to pull your buggy or board. It is an easy kite to fly & will definitely get your attention. The Prism Tensor quality is very good & the kite bag is a great item on it's own. Best wishes from our family to yours, SHBKF

Welcome back, I always enjoy your posts. Glad to see all this interest in the 4D. There have been times when I felt like I was one of the few that liked this kite. It is so willing to fly that you just got to love it. Well it works for me anyway. SHBKF

I'll try to get a picture next time they are in the air. I am just beginning to attempt pictures of dual line kites in the air as I fly them. Just now finally getting enough confidence in my flying to risk it. I am nearly always by myself when flying kites. Rarely do I even have casual human spectators. There are some local hawks that regularly fly by to check the kites in the air. Hope to do some stack flying at the beach soon. Maybe my Lady will snap a few for me. If we get a decent image I'll post it in my KiteLife gallery. Thanks for asking, thanks for the inspiration, SHBKF

The flat tails on this Micron stack are 30' long. The kites spreaders are left in place when packing the kites flat in their triangular carrier. This allows the tails to be wrapped around the tips of the kites neatly. Note the Velcro straps holding the wing tips in position. Sometimes, when flying flat tails, they get a spiral curl on the ends & sort of turn into tubes, To flatten them out again I wind them up on thin flat boards about eight inches long & lay them on the bench with a weight on them to press them out. Tails really add visual effect to the zooming little kites. Eight of them at once so much the better. SHBKF

Welcome MacKite. That name seems familiar & hints of greatness in our KiteLife. But perhaps I'm mistaken... SHBKF

You ought to try rinsing & drying one that has been in the ocean. I was at the beach in a sandy campsite & had my area roped off like a crime scene. The black & white tube tail was suspended off the ground about belly high. I anchored the seventy-five footer to the picnic table & had it strung around the site boundary markers. I could almost hear the neighbors saying "There's that weird kite nut doing another strange thing again." I had previously entertained them with street flying dualies on short lines, night time Rev flying with tip landings on all surrounding tables, campers & posts. Not to mention numerous conventional beach flights... It's so much fun being loose on the beach with bit of wind. Kind of makes the tail packing hassle something I don't mind. I carefully roll mine up by hand after a day of playing. It is my after flight therapy I suppose. SHBKF

I am looking forward to Master Flier Wayne's analysis of this new Sportwing. He has helped me all along the path. Many thanks Wayne, SHBKF

I agree with Rob's guidance on the wind ranges. Since you are inland you may want to start with a B 1.5 standard sail with the 3 wrap frame. The mid-vent will need more air as you learn but eventually you can fly down to 5 mph or so if the wind is steady. The mid-vent has a special feel & is my favorite with the conditions I fly in round these parts. I almost always have to deal with gusts & the vents help. In the lightest air I prefer to fly a good SUL dualie though. SHBKF

Ditto, what he said.... I too have a blue 4D & it was my most flown kite for about two years. Due to my inexperience it would fly when no other dualie I owned would at that time. With my 4D I learned gliding out to regain ground, zero wind flying, urban flying, overpowered flying survival techniques, short line (18') line flying, sail pressure, bridle adjustment & did my first 360's & 720's. I flew it a bunch & while many would say it is a twitchy kite I took it as a challenge to refine my inputs. I also could leave it fully assembled in the back seat of the little Geo or in the passenger area of the pick up. I wore out the nose tip & repaired it twice, lost spreaders, found them the next day & ground down the leading edges on asphalt. Never did fly it pulling a tail but the little kite can do it all. It still goes with me everywhere I go "just in case". Not really a beginners kite but that's what I used it for. Too much information? Love that little kite, SHBKF

The Revs are: B 1.5 mid-vent, 1.5 SLE full sail, Rev 1 Sedgwick cool & only showing it's belly is the Power Blast 2-4. These were my first Revs & still some of my favorites. The Zero G is a versatile kite that responds well to bridle tweaks. You can fly no wind, light wind & even in moderate winds. If the wind is higher it will just park at the top of your line, hunting around for the prevailing wind direction. I recommend them all, SHBKF

Here's a picture I took of my Zero G glider a few years back. Four Revs are in the background. Can you see them all? From down in the Dungeon, SHBKF

Yes, Klig's is correct. I saw some in the store at Thanksgiving so I believe you should be able to get one. They are not expensive & they have spare parts too. Sometimes when posting on forums I wonder if anyone reads them or will be helped by comments I make. After a few zealous posts early on I decided I wanted to only post positive helpful things that others might like. I recently have been adding images to show the mentioned kites if possible. Need to increase my gallery images to cover more. Still tryin', still flyin', SHBKF

Welcome to KiteLife! New old stock TRLBY kites are still available at a kite store in the Myrtle Beach South Carolina area if you would like a replacement kite. Selection is limited but my wife gave me this six stack one Christmas recently. They are classics. SHBKF image from The Kite Dungeon

Great to see you have two new exotic Sportwings. I was hoping you would post something about the Neos. The red geisha kite is spectacular also. I am also glad to hear you will fly the Neos Omega as I would do the same thing if it were mine. I really considered getting in on the bidding but held back for some unknown reason. Now I know the reason. I am very happy a fellow KiteLife member acquired it. Best wishes from out here in the mountains. SHBKF

Watching this topic progress I have been secretly pulling for the "Z". I bought mine when I finally decided to give dualies a serious try. Mine was purchased with little kite knowledge & lots of raw emotion. I just got lucky I guess. It was the first kite that really wowed me. It's still one of my frequently flown kites. Best wishes on your new KiteLife. SHBKF

Java, Welcome! Please consider joining us on KiteLife chat. We have an official chat night on Wednesdays but you can log in anytime. If no one is on you can wait a little bit & someone will likely jump in. It might be me even. Look forward to hearing about all your kite adventures. This is a very helpful friendly site. It has really helped & encouraged many of us. Cordially, Ralph

Reading the forums & watching videos you eventually notice that some kites have achieved an almost mythic reputation. But there are those that dismiss them too. Kite fashion moves on to the next latest greatest kite. But still you wonder about these special ones. The RSky Nirvana is one of those kites. New ones are pricey & used ones don't seem to be sold often. But somehow I wound up with one described as a SUL. I believe it is called a Nirvana WW. Didn't know what that stood for until I consulted with one of my kite mentors. Rob said "Wow, that's a purty kite ! A Nirvana Without Wind ? I am no Nirvana expert, but I would guess it to be a Second Edition." The complete kite weighs 195 grams, 6-7/8 ounces. Tip to tip is 92" & the spine measures 34-1/2". The tunnels are 11" deep & the leading edge length is 59". Being a kite that large & that light, it is a true Super Ultra Light. Easter afternoon was overcast, temperature in the sixties with light wind out of the southeast at a measured 2 to 4 mph with occasional puffs reading 5. Average reading after ten minutes was 3 mph. I have tried to fly many different kites in similar conditions. Most times it is simply an exercise in keeping the kite in the air & moving. Certainly no attempts at slack line maneuvers & landing often to wait for the next puff of wind. Only a couple of my kites really work in these inland sketchy conditions so this would be a real test. I thought I would probably fly around a bit using up a lot of ground stroking the kite. But I have one other kite that is full size & similar weight so I thought it would fly okay. I unrolled the same line set I use for the PD SUL, 100' x 90# with Norm's finger straps. Alright! an easy launch with the kite climbing effortlessly up into the more active air that starts about ten feet above the terrain. The kite flew very straight, carved nice circles & exhibited no oversteer, none. Wasn't too long ago I could not even have judged a kite for oversteer. Flew figures for a few minutes then went to the zenith. I turned downward & walked downwind to slow the kite. It behaved just like the SkyBurner Pro Dancer SUL. It glided wonderfully. I could have run downwind & it would have still glided elegantly. That's a good sign I thought. It occurred to me that all the PD flying will translate to this one. I held my hands low & a bit behind me. I threw my hands forward & stepped toward the kite. It flared just like the Sea Devil & a moderate tug pulled it around to a fade, first try! Now that's a big deal for me at my level of flying. Held the fade nicely bobbing a bit but I was in control. I rolled out & climbed a little bit, flipped over & did it again. Dang! this kite is gonna be good. I proceeded to go through a few other slack line items I am working on. And that's how the next two hours went. I was finally flying an SUL that even I could trick a little bit in very sketchy inland conditions. It also was easy to fly the window 90 degrees to each side with very little walking backwards. For the first time ever I noticed I was using more of the field giving slack to the kite then I had to use to keep it flying. I was walking backward using up what was usually precious ground in order to have more room to give slack to the kite. This kite will fly very slowly & still behave. I guess you would say I like it. I have found Nirvana. SHBKF