SHBKF

Well it's been a little over a year since I wrote the 39th post on this repair thread. Now I have a little repair to do so I thought I would read this topic before proceeding. I will tape it on one side, glue it, & tape the remaining side. That ought to do it. Guess I could throw in a few stitches too if I get real inspired. But I also thought a bit about walking to the kite. Some of my earliest walks involved getting on the bicycle, zig-zagging through the neighborhood looking for the line that got away with my precious little "Eye in the Sky" delta on the other end. Back then I did not even know it was a delta, it was just the kite with the big blood shot eyes that I loved so much. Many years later I got my first two line kite, a Premier AeroSport. My "standard lines" back then? Old Shanti Skybond, 150' of 200 pound test, Dacron exterior kernmantle line with a Kevlar core wrapped on a set of Sky Claws. Kite monkey on the other end saved a great deal of walking as we learned to fly the 3/4 sail kite. So now I am making new memories hopefully with no shame, just the joy of kites, same as when I was a kid.

All kites are beautiful, just some are even more so. Congratulations, I have several kites that seem to have come to me in a dream, thanks to my friends on KiteLife.

I too have some kites that were presents from my family that are extra dear to me because of that. It is wonderful when your passion for kites is so great that others perceive it & give you a gift of a special kite.

If you wear them out, need to replace them & didn't want to keep them for sentimental reasons, I could nurse them back to life in my little basement kite shop...just a thought....

And to think our kites get views like this all the time.....

Don't have much air time with the big kite yet. May need some adult supervision so I don't get in trouble. But I can say it is very amazing to fly to the top of the window on 100' lines & have the wing just keep going upwind behind you. You just give one side a little tug & it turns around floating back downwind not losing any altitude until the tension of the lines arc it back downward into a gentle dive. Then you resume flying normally, well maybe not normally. It is a big kite that has a large amount of inertia. So you may have to change your style to a more guiding approach, at least at my skill level. I am waiting for more steady winds than the thermal gusting we have here in the mountains in the hot weather. Should have more favorable winds this fall. Wanted to fly it at the beach when I was there Memorial Day week but the wind never slowed enough to fly big kites on the crowded beach. I'll undoubtedly comment more as I get to fly the 12' monster Rev.

The 2-4 was the second Rev I acquired. I had read various comments about it & somehow thought it would be a good choice as a light wind kite with additional fun as the wind picked up. Although pretty naive on my part it turned out to be to be sort of the opposite. The first few flights were quite an eye opener with the power coming on strong. I gritted my teeth during full power low level passes with my eyes squinted & a smile breaking out. This kite is not for a timid flier I thought. I learned quite a bit as I rattled around the sky. I began to finally understand sail pressure & locking in to the power. Gliding became a new thrill & I learned the archer's pose with the exaggerated inputs needed to fly the big Sportwing. Low wind flying was attempted but the weight of the kite is an obstacle for a new Rev flier. More time in light air with all types of kites was needed by me before I would have enough finesse to float it around. I think these bigger Revs are not for everyone but I liked it so much I got a second one & recently was given 4-8 as a gift. One thing about flying by yourself is you don't have anyone to inhibit your irrational behavior & you can just go for it. But I'm just out here in the mountains with my kites....SHBKF

The kit is really light, so the weight is negligible in my opinion. A home brew might be heavier. Yes, I have read these comments but still resist, not logical but I am a SHBKF you know.

103 responses, hmm, must be a topic of great passion & interest. I'm impressed enough to ponder making some out of numerous broken struts that I couldn't part with as they are part of the kite hoard. But still I resist because of having an aversion to adding weight to any kite, even the tail weights that are commonly added to dualies. But now I am additionally interested in this other kite that seems to be stirring things up a bit. Again I'll be saying, "Just one more kite & I can slack off a bit."

Have spent several nights in WalMart lots but I like the car parks at truck stops better. Many times it is almost like circling the wagons on the old trail drives. By morning there may be five or more van campers, a few pickups & sometimes cars. Some of our best nights camping have been at impromptu locations. Enjoy the journey. Sometimes it's better than the destination....SHBKF

Yes, that's me. It's kind of a poke of fun at the fact that I don't know all the short hand that is so common these days from the texting world. So one night on chat I just made up one of my own. I have enjoyed it, almost a "handle" now. Thanks for all the kind congratulations. Join us on chat tonight if you can. SHBKF

If you can fly them separately I would count these as three. I have purchased one ready made stack of kites & the other stacks I have are assembled from individually acquired kites. The factory stack included the bridles for all the individual kites in case you wanted to separate them.

Gollieeee, what can I say! I have actually retired & this is a fabulous prize to cap the event. These kites will be flown & cherished for a long time. They are the same type of kites that first made me say "Wow, look at those kites!", so many years ago. Right after I saw that stack of five TRLBY kites, flying at night piloted by one of the Kligman brothers, I bought my first serious kite. Flying stacked kites is always a thrill for me. Thanks to all in KiteLife. I am truly surprised to win & these are probably the most meaningful ones possible for me. SHBKF

Got home at eight P.M. this evening & put the Tekken together that another flier sold to me. What an impressive piece of craftsmanship. Such fine construction balanced with real beauty & style. It is certainly capable of flying better than I may ever hope to achieve. But with the help & encouragement of all you on KiteLife I have another top level kite. Now I'll be that guy that they talk about at the kite festival, "Did you see the kite that guy was flying? Shame is that he probably doesn't even know what he has.... Maybe he'll learn how to do it justice eventually."

Kite restoration, what an interesting topic this is for me. I really like older kites & the problem is similar to detailing an older car for car shows. How do I clean up this mess without making it worse. Some just call it patina & leave it. I want to get things to look as if they never had any blemish if possible. So you start with the mild treatments & cautiously progress to harsher methods watching for signs of distress. In this instance I would begin with the kite sleeve as my test bed. It may not be the same fabric as the sail but it has the offending material on it's fabric. Once you find something that works on the sleeve then decide if the fabric of the sail can handle the same treatment without loosing color or substance. In some of my old backpacking gear it is the urethane coating on the inside of the fabric that deteriorates becoming sticky making a mess. Figuring out what the proper solvent to use can be tricky. Some things I have used on different surfaces are of course logical like detergents. Others are more harsh like lighter fluid. You can use hand cleaners to remove materials like pine sap. I will be watching this topic to learn from others who help with this question. Many ladies are experts as fixing things like this & I ask older friends for advice as they have a lifetime of experience. But I am getting to that status myself now. Good luck. Sounds like a really nice kite.

Hey! I thought I was the SHBKF.....maybe there are others?

Canyon de Chelly had free camping last time I was there & Monument Valley, what a place for a horse ride! Two of my favorite places.

Nice kite, exactly like my first serious kite purchased for my "kite reawakening" not too long ago. First flight was on a beach in South Carolina & the smile was visible for a great distance. Rock on, Rock on.

Watch some of Rob's videos. He could be a pro. I too have all three of the mentioned kites but I am what I call an advanced beginner. I like the Zephyr so much that I bought a spare. I fly it often. I like the Quantum Pro as it flies so well & is a full size kite. I am collecting all three types of the Quantum Pro. I now have the standard & the variable vented. The ultra-light is in a pending deal. I bought the E3 contrary to advice like Rob's & I must agree with his assessment. It is a great looking kite but needs more wind than the Zephyr. Have not heard of anyone excited about the E3's tricking potential. But no problem, I like Prism kites regardless.

Thanks for the nice pictures of the iPrey. Interesting that it is flying but there does not appear to be any air pressure on the sail fabric.

I started out thinking 50' x 50# lines were the shortest I would ever fly. Even that length seemed awful short with things happening quickly. But forum comments & small spots with a bit of wind inspired me to buy some 18' x 50# lines for my little 4D. A small twitchy kite on super short lines, wow! I was flailing away having a ball. Did my first ever 360's & even 840's till I staggered around laughing. But I digress. As the kite selection grew so did my line collection. Now I have 24's & 37's too. Strange lengths are from breaking longer lines. First consideration is how much space I have to fly in & second is the size of the kite. The bigger kites take more room to turn so a larger window is needed at my skill level. I set my bridle to turn quickly also. I now have some SUL kites the size of yours & the shortest I fly them on is 24'. I really like my 65' x 90# line set but consider it a medium length. As I wear out my 50# lines I may replace them with 90# as they seem to fly about the same speed, make me feel more connected & don't snag on weeds quite as much. But I am still pretty new to all this & just a solo hill billie kite flailer.

Hard to go wrong with anything from Ken McNeill IMHO.

SHBKF says "Them kids obviously have the kite gene."

The sky is half our world, I want to embrace the air.

With all the trees around here I'm lucky to find an outdoor site. But gliders have taught me to fly most anywhere. Now I fly two line all the small places too. Quads need a bit more room at my level of skill, but I'm getting there. Drove around with about fifteen kites in the old Yukon yesterday and a decent wind forecast for the area I was located. You can guess what happened.... yeah just little teasing puffs of wind. Of course I did not have a glider with me.