RobB

Randy G... https://vimeo.com/channels/randyg Martin's videos... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoIbMfp9IK48Sts89Pa0vcA

I love that Kymera video, so much that I bought a Kymera from the first batch that ITW had in stock. It still gives me inspiration to get out there and work on my stuff. I watched the only Kymera video that I made, and not one side slide. JB's slide is much better, no bobbles, more like the Prism video. Sliders will find that certain kites slide better than others. A full sized kite is a good start. Prism kites seem like they are designed to slide, I haven't flown a better kite at side sliding than the Prism Prophecy. There are slides throughout this video, but none really show my inputs to get into the slide. @ 4:26, though, there's a slide that shows my inputs to stay in the slide. Also note, the downward turn is not the only way to enter the slide, an axel or 540 gives the sideways momentum to slide, too.

I 'tap' my finger tip on the trailing line, it seems to help. There are constant micro-adjustments that you just have to feel as you're sliding. I'm still working on this trick, it's not easy like sliding a 4 line kite.

IDK, maybe you could see something in this, I got in the shot while doing a couple of slides in this video @ 2:28... I don't think about what I'm doing much, it tends to confuse me. The winds in the video were pretty low, around 5mph.

The Phoenix is certainly a better looking Rev. My understanding of the B-series is that the panels are optimally laid out for a perfect sail billow. If there's no sacrifice in achieving the perfect 'billow' with the new panel layout, then I guess the choice of getting a Phoenix is a no-brainer for me...

I found this... it was a couple of years ago. The solo flight has been a long time coming !

Second Week... this time it was my son's turn to spend some time on the beach with Dad... Mick is 8.5 years old, and he said (after watching a KL video) that he wanted to learn to fly like that. He's held the quad handles before, but this was his first solo flight. Oh, my poor MV ! No idea what abuse it's about to endure ! Working on his control with some ground passes... also learning the wind window. He got some inverted hover practice in, the biggest challenge is learning to keep those hands in front, in control, at this point... Another launch... too bad the sun is setting so early. we could've been out there for another couple of hours. OMG... hands in front ! Yeah, the patience level required with an 8 YO is much greater than with an adult... Another ground pass. I think he might've done better than I did my first time out with a quad. My poor MV had it's roughest outing, EVER. Totally worth the price of admission, and really, no visible damage to the kite after countless hits. The endcaps did not want to come off the spars when we packed up, that was the worst thing that happened...

The Nexus is going to be more difficult to slide. Use the full sized E2/E3. I don't have a Nexus, but I've flown one. It's smaller size makes it a little twitchy. There is also a big difference in the way the E2 vs. the E3 flies, but they're both capable of big slides. Once you get the slide with the full sized kite, you'll be able to do it with the Nexus.

#1... Universal Truth of dual line tricks... more slack ! Walk towards the kite right at the end of the downwards turn. You need very small inputs to keep the wingtips straight, I use my finger tips on the lines. #2... what kite are you trying to slide ? The kites in the example video are some of the easiest kites to slide. The smaller the kite, the more difficult it is to slide. It's a Prism video, but notice, they're not sliding Microns ! #3... winds... what kind of winds are you trying to slide in ? You want the winds that you can barely get the kite to fly in. The faster the wind, the more difficult it is to slide. Good luck with the slide. It looks like one of the easiest tricks, but, in reality it is one that needs the most practice to do well. It's one of the first tricks you'll learn, but one of the last that you'll master.

Don't worry too much about the I2K, it's a tough kite. It has a lot of built in tension when properly assembled, and I think that adds to it's strength. The leading edges should be curved when you have the proper amount of tension on the tips. I hope you have the Spoilerz for it, they make the kite fly comfortably in winds that you would normally need a vented kite for. I don't know if the Prism site has the documentation available for the I2K still, so I attached the field cards below... http://ferob.com/kites/prism-illusion.pdf http://ferob.com/kites/illusionHighWindSpoilers.pdf My I2K with the Spoilerz installed...

Just reading through... as far as the question about sticks in the I2K vs. the Illusion... Luckily for the I2K, the spars are Skyshark 5t, readily available still. I don't fly my I2K very much, and have stolen it's sticks many times to fix other kites in a pinch. http://www.skyburner.com/skyshark/pt-series.html

Nice idea... Especially because you had 9 spare bags laying around!

I broke so many lower spreaders, I couldn't even count at this point. I've broken every stick that's in a kite, but only one spine. Standoffs pop out & get lost in the field, I think I've only broken one or two standoffs, as the result of an unplanned water landing in the surf. That's the last place you want your kite to be, the water is not kind to kites, at least at the surf line. Don't let this info shy you away from tricking, learning tricks is very rewarding, and totally worth the price of admission. When you're in the market for your next kite, keep in mind that wrapped spars are stronger than pultruded spars. Of course, they cost more, though.

You're going to break the kite a few times learning to trick... it's all part of it. Lower spreaders... order a few ! Seriously, have a few kites in the bag, so when one breaks, you don't have to stop flying. Lower leading edges are common breaks, too. Upper leading edges and spine breaks are more rare, but do happen.

One thing I'd like to add... I don't get this 'high wind' setting that most people embrace... adjusting the nose back allows you to stall easier, but at the cost of increased sail pressure. You don't want increased sail pressure when you're approaching the upper wind limit of a kite... that's how things break. If you pull the nose in, there is less pressure on the sail, and if I'm flying (rarely) in 15ish mph winds, I adjust the nose all the way to the 'light wind' setting, nose all the way in. Thoughts ? This is only what I've found, and I know it's a balance, do you want to stall more & have more pull, or have to work for the stall but have less pull ?

I had a great time with my NewJam. I flew it to shreds, learned a lot from it !

I finally got a chance to watch your video all the way through. Looked like a nice flying session, and a great location. I think the high point of what I saw was around the 7 minute mark, you flew straight down and did a snap stall to the left, then again to the right. That looked really good. That move can easily be made into an impressive landing, or while the kite is stalled, it's a perfect spot for an axel. The move at the end looked like a turtle, I couldn't see the kite, but your input looked like the input for a turtle. That was my first trick... fly up while pulling on both lines, and right near the top, throw slack at both lines. The kite flips onto it's back... walk towards the kite, tug either the right or the left line, and the kite will rotate around. Boom... Lazy Susan. Once the kite rotates 360*, pull both lines, the kite will return to flying position, fly away. Two things I would suggest... I fly with my pointer fingers on the leaders for fine inputs on either line. This helps greatly during stalls & slides. Inputs when the kite is barely flying are micro inputs. Which brings me to the universal truth... more slack. Almost always, when you wonder why a trick failed, the answer is... more slack. Always walking (or at least a big step) towards the kite when you're trying a trick. Example... 1/2 axel, snap stall towards the side of the window, step forward, axel input to fly out towards the center of the window. If you're like me, the stepping forward is tough while the kite is in the middle of a trick. I kinda lock up out of fear that I'm about to crash. Very difficult to overcome, I'm still working on that. Last thing... patience. I worked on the axel for about a year before I really got it. It took me over a year to learn the 540. I know that I'm slow, but I didn't have anything but written advice and some uToob videos to learn from. I would read & watch, over & over, but most of that information would fly out of my head when I got out to the beach. I am happy to see someone else learning dual line, not the most popular, and certainly not the easiest kind of flying. Keep up with the videos, even if you don't post them, watching them in your down time will help you analyze what you're doing (right & wrong) and that will help greatly the next time you're out in the field. Let me leave you with this... and this...

The calm before the storm... well, not too calm, the winds were 10-15mph, but they were clean off of the water. My daughter, Bailey (7 years old), wanted to come out and fly her new Butterfly kite. The kids aren't as interested in kites as I am, so I always jump at the chance to fly with them. The Butterfly is made by X-Kites, and is better made than most kid's kites. It did fly well, right out of the box. It's amazing how cold a 70 degree day feels after weeks of hazy, hot & humid 90 degree days. Yay ! Sweatshirt weather ! Bailey also took a turn wrangling the Ultrafoil 15. It seems really big to her, and with any much more wind, would probably lift her off the ground. It was much easier to fly once it was properly lashed down to a convenient piece of driftwood. This is the one kite that I was itching to fly... the Joel Schultz Skyscraper. Yeah... this one's got some pull ! It's a very unique SLK that's going to get flown alot. It flew really well, even if it did make my arms a little longer. 300# line required ! Thanks, RC ! SO, Kite Season 2016 is off to a great start... hoping to get all the kids more involved this year, the other two seemed a little jealous when they saw the pictures. Bailey worked on her dual line skills today with the Snapshot foil. I think she'll be ready soon to fly the hot pink Action Kite that's been hanging from her ceiling since she was a baby. It will be good to see that classic in the air, it's 20-25 years old, but has never been flown !

Always !

I've been waiting for this since the end of May... the beginning of Kite Season ! I haven't flown much of anything since Memorial Day. If you count flying the SLKs that I keep in the car, OK, a few times... Yes, that's where my profile pic came from. People around here are programmed to go to the beach between Memorial Day & Labor Day. An Island with millions of people, and only ~100 miles long and 15 miles wide at it's widest. Yes, we have ~600 miles of coastline, but most of that is inaccessible unless you have a boat. So, nothing but crowded beaches in the easy to reach spots. I don't like to fly with anyone in my flight zone, unless they're also kite people, and tuned in. The general public around here is too tuned out to realize that it might not be a good idea to wander through the flight area.. maybe walk around ? Nah, this looks like a good place to setup a chair & umbrella... But, luckily, Labor Day & later, all the way until next May... the beaches are EMPTY ! Everyone goes back to the rock that they climbed out from under, and kites can once again rule the beach. I am excited to try out the Red Kymera, that I was so lucky to win in last month's drawing. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the original green one that I've had since they came out. Unfortunately, the maiden flight of Red will have to wait, since the weatherfolks say that it's going to be ultra-super-mega-vent four line flying weather here this weekend... Yup, thanks, NOAA ! That's OK, the winds will probably be good for flying for the next 36-40 hours, I plan to put some color in the sky before it gets too rough... The wind is all ready solid over 10mph, which is ruling out dual lines (for me), but I have a couple of cool SLKs to fly that I haven't seen in the air yet, and my Full Vent 1.5 is freshly repaired, better than new, ready to go. I'll follow up to this, the start of Kite Season is so exciting, sorry, couldn't wait until the green flag dropped... dizzy with anticipation !

I totally get that... wanting to get every kite that you put your eyes on. I bought about 1 kite per month for years. There isn't really anyone else around me who flies seriously, so if I wanted to try a particular kite, I had to buy it. That has left me with a number of kites that I don't fly, that have only been flown 2 or 3 times, even after selling off a couple of bags full. What I'm left with is a bunch of kites that aren't worth my time to sell & ship... mostly beginner/intermediate kites that didn't really measure up to their marketing hype. I'm hoping that they'll be good to hand out to kids at the beach, to be used & trashed as learning tools.

I agree with the learning curve thing, but, you've got enough kites to get through the learning curve. Flying a heavier kite in light wind will teach you more about light wind flying than flying something light as a feather. If I could go back, I would've saved a lot of $$$ not buying every kite that looked like it would help me out, especially $100-$150 kites. I have a bunch of kites that I only flew 2 or 3 times... that's a waste of Kite Bucks ! Looking back, I realize that I learned more about flying in light wind trying to get my Hypnotist to fly in 3mph winds than actually flying my Skyburner NikNak in those types of winds. The NikNak will fly indoors with a little effort, and you can fly flat-footed without moving in 2-3mph wind... That's not what light wind flying is all about. It requires effort, you have to at least walk forward & back... if not run. Even the best SUL kites require you to move when the wind is tough to find. I haven't flown all of the SUL kites (like the FW AirWave), but I do have at least 10 that I fly, and probably 5 more that I don't. Light wind flying is my kiting passion, I fly all kinds of kites, but enjoy dual line light wind the most. Benson makes a top-notch kite, I have a couple of those. They're finely crafted, and worth what Tim charges for them... especially with the exchange rate in the dollar's favor these days. I'm not saying that Benson is the only choice, but certainly not a bad one. Save your kite $$$ and do your research, you might spend the same money at the end of the year, but I think you'll be a lot happier with what's in your bag down the road.

Either a Phoenix or Schook Mesh. Rev burned my bridge... Before all the big changes, I was a little upset with them about the leading edge mesh issue, and they never contacted me back after a few emails & a call. I'm glad I had my 1.5s repaired & improved, I do love flying them, but I can't support a company that doesn't support their customers after the sale. I know they just wanted me to buy new ones, and I'm glad I didn't. Such sourness around the situation Rev created, I'm glad to distance myself from it. Kite flying is supposed to be fun...

I'm not sure about the Z, but the QPro has a two-piece spine. The Z flies best in low winds with the bridle knots adjusted towards the nose, no weight, no upper spreader and 50' lines. You should really only drop the upper spreader in winds under 3mph, as the kite isn't as strong with it out. I never fly my Z with the weight, the kite doesn't need it to roll up, and I always thought it threw the balance of the kite off. The only thing I changed was the length of lines that I flew on. Any flying with the Z in winds under 3mph is just flying, there aren't many tricks. Keeping the kite in the air is the biggest trick...

Congrats on the instant family! Hope everything's going smooth...