RobB

Thanks for the pictures, J. What spectacular scenery ! I know, you West Coasters are used to topography, but here on the East Coast, it looks extraordinary. I don't think I'd ever want to go home...

I made a new weight armature for my QPros out of threaded rod, a bunch of washers, and nuts at either end. I bent it up like the original armature, but the weight was highly adjustable by adding or removing washers. The diameter of the threaded rod was similar to the stock weight set, so it screwed right into the QPro center T. I thought the stock QPro weight set was way to heavy, even the smallest weight. This was a great solution that only cost a couple of bucks at the hardware store.

As I mentioned in the last post, I was lucky enough to get the demo Hydra from Fortuna Forms. I had actually forgotten that I put my name on the list for the demo kite, but really happy to fly it when it showed up. Like the Kymera, the Hydra is sold by Into the Wind. It's much heavier feeling than the Kymera, and seems to be built totally for the purpose of trick flying. I got to fly it in some good wind last week, but unfortunately the wind was a little low to really see what the Hydra could do. Like I said, it's heavy, everything is double or triple layered reinforced... it will probably last a long time. If you're into precision flying, straight lines & sharp corners, it's probably not the kite for you, but if you like tricks... it seems more than eager to please. I got a little video of me flying it. I was just experimenting with it, seeing what it could do, and even with the low winds, I was impressed. I flew it for a half hour or so, and then put something lighter up in the air. Notice the Ultrafoil 'windsock' hanging in the light wind. What a versatile kite it is... flying reliably in these light winds, and it doesn't get upset until the wind goes over 25mph. If you're looking for a nice SLK, big thumbs up on that one !

That's a nice looking Delta, as far as I can tell. I do like the colors... Good to hear you've got a group of friends to fly with, it's easy to have fun when your friends are around ! It's not like I'm seeing kites all over the place here, but I actually did see one SLK over the weekend I'm flying the Premier Widow NG. I'm quite happy with it, too. It tricks well, and I have a pretty good learning curve on it, if I do say so myself. It's got a bit of an oversteer, and I had to play with the weight to get the right one, and it does annoy me at times with it's fragility, but all in all, you can't beat the value for price. Here's something I got in the mail today, which I'll bet will come in handy from now on: That's how it is where I fly, too. I get excited when I see someone else flying something... anything, even someone with their kids flying a cheap SLK.

This is what I found out the hard way, too. I ordered a few of those too-good-to-be-true deals, and they never flew very well (anything will fly when the wind is high enough) and are currently gathering dust in my basement. The used market of quality kites is a much better way to spend your $$$.

If you like the GPS, I would stick with the GPS line. I'm pretty sure that I saw that Lam has developed the SUL at this point. My Sea Devil SUL is my favorite SUL trick kite, followed close behind by the Fearless SUL. You really can't go wrong with SkyBurner, either. I don't have a Widow Maker or Solus UL, yet, but the standard versions are great kites, and can fly in winds as low as 3mph without too much work. I've stayed away from the Ocius and Aura designs as they are smaller kites, and I like my kites big. Small just means fast & twitchy to me. The ProDancer is a fine kite, but it lacks in its ability to trick. I've only been able to get weak axels & 540s out of mine, but it will fly easily in the slightest of breezes. It is what I would call a 'true SUL' kite that could even be flown indoors. It really comes down to what you want, a kite that will fly easily in no wind (but no tricks), or one that can fly in no wind with some work, but is trickable.

Kitelife is blocked by many Firewalls that have content filters, I've noticed. There's something about the category of the site, or something in the header. The funny thing is, the Rev forum many times will make it through the firewall when Kitelife won't. From what I've heard, China applies a content filter to the entire country. I'm sure John doesn't have much time to web surf, but he might be able to get the Kitelife site through a 3rd party proxy. I've seen users at my customers sites get around the content filter that way.

Sometimes all you need is a good Zoomin' around ! It's all about the fly... I don't know... the kites in my bag seem to multiply... Glad to hear that Kite Month is an international event ! Finger straps are great, until the wind gets up there. What kite are you learning your tricks on ?

As far as the tangles in the lines... I just roll my lines out, hook them to the kite & fly a little. If there seem to be any wraps, I just try to fly them out, or as close as possible. Sometimes the handles have individual twists... I just land and spin the affected handle. To me, it's not worth the time on the ground trying to figure how to get the lines perfectly straight & untangled. I follow the Line Management tutorial pretty closely, with the exception of the straight wrap vs. the Figure 8 wrap.

Well, a really nice outing for the 3rd week of Kite Month. 60*, mostly sunny, and winds off the water at ~5 mph. I did something that I usually don't do... I don't usually let out much more than 100' of line for a Single Line Kite, but I was curious if I tied the line onto the winder. It's been years since I got the line & winder, and didn't remember. Well, only one way to find out... let all the line out ! The Ultrafoil 15 looks tiny up there ! Funny how much bow there is to the line, too. I counted my paces when I walked the kite back after pulling it down. I had at least 500' of line out. Winding it all up, I remembered why I don't usually fly very high. I flew this special guest, a demo from Fortuna Forms. It's an IntoTheWind Hydra. Very nice kite, even though I was flying in the bottom of it's wind range, it still showed a bunch of trickiness... more on that later. Hope there was a bunch of flying and good times this weekend !

Nice looking Mid-Vents. Is that some sort of attempt to produce more little Revs in the second picture ?

Spectacular action shot ! Love those old 90's colors... I've got snowboarding gear that would match that Rev. It sounds like you found some real treasures, it's got to be a great joy to fly them.

Here are some manuals for you... http://www.windsweptkites.com/Synergy_Deca_A-1_6_15_manual.pdf http://www.windsweptkites.com/Zero_Wind_Deca._manual.pdf Hopefully those are of some help. I would love to have an unusual kite like that, I have a couple of Guildworks' single line kites, had one of their 3 line kites. Really cool, please post some pics once you get it going...

I like the colors of the Rasta Jam... I haven't flown the SkyDog version of the Jam, but this is the one I have. Picture taken about 10 years ago !

Wayne, thanks so much for the inspiration. I just can't get the hang of it unless there is a steady light breeze. I got it in hopes to be able to fly in the lower range but if there is 0-4 or 5 I just can't keep it flying. I am also trying to do this without anyone's help out in the field. I did watch the videos but I still have bad luck every time. I tried different handles, line-sets, etc. still the same results. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Hey NS... I had the same disappointing experience the first time I flew my Zen. I thought that it would be able to fly in lower winds than my 1.5. Or at least easier in low winds. The kind folks here made some helpful suggestions, and it helped to make my attitude more positive towards the Zen. It didn't make it any easier to fly in low winds, but I still haven't gotten the magical 'hybrid' leading edge. I've flown my Zen probably 5 more times since, and just fly it with reduced expectations. I need at least 2mph of smooth wind to fly it, and have found that 4+mph it really comes into it's own. I like the slow motion flight, much different than a 1.5, and try not to give it too much input. Even though I have an open offer to trade the Zen for an Extra Vent (or even a full vent at this point), I'm still not too disappointed that no one has taken me up on that. It's nice to have the Zen in the bag to fly once in a while, but I wish I had gotten the all white one like yours.

I REALLY like the looks of that kite... and I'm sure it flies even better than it looks ! Nice Vision stack. I had a Vision similar to the blue one in the front, only with rainbow colors. The Rev parked on the little roof looks really cool...

That sounds pretty cool. I just went to the NY auto show a couple weeks ago, sadly, they didn't have any kites ! Safe travels & looking forward to seeing some pictures !

Lam's kites spoil the pilot, no doubt. I haven't flown a GPS yet, but it sounds like the pedigree of the Tekken & Fearless are in there, and probably even more improvements. If you ever get tired of that beauty, I'll be happy to take it off your hands !

The winds weren't as great as advertised, but there was still something to get some color into the air.... My youngest really enjoys flying the SLKs... bigger the better for her ! I want to fly the BIG one, she says... The 'BIG' one was the 11' Mesh Delta today. It came out of the sky a few times, but can hang in a surprisingly light breeze, considering it's half holes ! My boy had his turn flying the Mesh Delta. He also had some quad line training with the Zen. No solo quad line flying yet, but getting there... The Mesh Delta & KL Ghost Delta made the most out of the iffy winds... The Mesh Delta & the Zen wait out a lull. The wind was having a hard time deciding if it would blow off the water, or off the land. But all in all, a good day. It feels good to get some sun finally, and 60* temps feel like a vacation in the tropics !

Those Spiros look so nice... I'd have a hard time choosing one ! Looks like the wind was up judging by the bow in the LE.

Wow, that's a sweet looking kite ! Love the blue in it. I hope you get some good winds to fly that beauty !

I don't keep a log-book per se, but I organize my pictures by date, and can see what I was flying when by looking back through them. Yes, I always have my camera with me, photography is my other hobby...

I think a tip stab could be considered a vertical half-axel. While you're working on the tip-stab, make your approach at 45* instead of 90*. It makes the transition a little less critical. Also, use an imaginary line about 5 feet above the ground for practice. I learned 2 point landings at the same time, they're similar. Don't forget to be ready to lunge forward as the kite hits... You might be able to see that it's important to add some speed to the kite as you're headed down, it helps to have more speed to make the move work at the end. I know it's counterintuitive to speed up as you're headed straight at the ground, but it helps to stall the kite at the end.

That's how I was the first few years flying dual line kites, trying to learn every trick I could. Once I learned that dual line kites could trick, that is... I flew for a couple years just zooming around, stalling, and landing before I saw the DVD that came with one of my kites. Wow, tricks ! I gotta learn me some of those ! A while back, I hit a glass ceiling. I couldn't learn to do the Taz Machine or Slot Machine trick, so I started to learn how to do the tricks I could do better. I'm still in that mode, and I haven't learned any new tricks in a few years. I may have even forgotten some that I knew. My flying now is a mix of flying some, throw in some tricks, and then try to exit cleanly and fly some more. That could be partially due to the kites that I am flying now, not radical tricksters, but kites that have good precision and can trick when you ask them. My goal at this point is to make my flying look better, more fluid, with flow, from one segment to the next. Make it look like 'I meant to do that...' It's all about getting out, getting some fresh air, and getting a smile on your face. If you make it too hard, it stops being fun & you burn out. The great thing about kiting is there are single lines, dual lines, quad lines... so much variety, there's always something to fall back on.

It's true, I have to punch through the half-axels, too. Which makes me wonder, if punching is more for precision flying, are half-axels more a precision move than a trick ?