RobB

Paul, that sounds interesting. I've seen the Shook mesh, but never flown one. If it has a comparable wind range to an Extra vent, I would be interested. After all the talk about the Zen when I got it, I came to the realization that the Zen was redundant in my bag. I flew the 1.5 full sail and the Zen side by side the last time I had low wind, and actually preferred the flight of the 1.5 on the same lines, same wind. When I got the Zen, I was under the impression that it flew in lower winds than the 1.5 full sail, or at least more easily. But after 2 days this week over 20mph winds (not back to back) I realized that my high wind days outnumber my light wind days by a considerable margin. One of the main reasons I've been flying Revs so much recently....

Update... I sold the Zen all ready, but still looking for a Rev with holes for the high winds ! Showed up to the beach today for another 20+mph wind day, this week ! Wondering as I sat there in the car waiting for the rain to stop... why did I get a Zen ? I flew my full vent the other day in 20+mph winds, and was wishing for more vent, less sail. It may be a long shot, but maybe there's someone out there who got an Extra Vent that doesn't really have the winds for it and would be better suited with a Zen. Hey, you never know...

The Tekken is almost as tricky as the Seven, but the Tek cuts sharper lines. I really like the looks of your vent, BTW. It reminds me of my Fearless VL...

Looks like a nice place to play ! Especially with water that doesn't threaten to crush your kite when you land in it....

Wow, that is a nice looking kite. Wish I had a use for it, that's a good price. Also, pretty rare wing in the states, I'm sure you'd never see another one at your local flying field.

Well, there's good & bad in every gathering. I attended a stunt kite clinic years ago where people of all skill levels were invited. I knew how to fly, but didn't know many tricks at the time. Everyone had a space where they had their kites laid out, and space to fly where they wouldn't come in contact with the flier next to them. The 'expert' fliers in attendance just seemed to evaluate the lack of skills of the beginner fliers, and instead of offering any help, took the space for themselves. After moving a few times, I just rolled everything up and hung out with some other frustrated people on the edge of the field. We had a good time just talking about kites and showing off different ones to each other. That's the bad that I've experienced. Most of the festivals & gathering that I've attended, people couldn't have been more friendly. From the beginners to the Rock Stars. But one thing I've noticed, bystanders & onlookers watch for m-a-y-b-e a few minutes, and then just wander on their way. Kites are cool for those who 'get it', but most don't... I am always more than happy to stop flying and talk to an interested onlooker. I always try to put something in their hand to fly, and sometimes get taken up on the offer. Unfortunately, none of them have come back with their own kites... yet. I've come to accept that flying kites is perceived as a little kooky, even by close friends & family. Oh well, they don't know the joy that they are missing ! @smoothwind... nice web site, but I didn't notice any parts, line or accessories, I assume they're coming ?

Oh, wish I had a use for this, it's a super nice prize. You all keep stepping up the ante, I'm worried about having something good enough to offer if I ever win the Karma drawing !

Just a few days away from 2 years of not smoking. At $11 a pack, I've saved a little over $8300. I've probably spent between $500-$1000 on vaping products, though. I don't get real cranky when I can't vape, unlike with cigarettes.

I think in the precision department, both WidowMakers are pretty similar. I am more used to the 3 point, it seems to have a simplicity to it that didn't require 'getting used to'. The Turbo bridle isn't as easy to hold a stall or 'hover', but it does seem to like to side slide pretty well. The big difference that I noticed was in the input for a roll-up, the timing is much more critical (you see a botched attempt early in the video), and when you give the input to initiate a backspin, the Turbo bridle is less forgiving of timing, and it makes the backspins look wonky. If you hit it just right, the kite can easily do these tricks. One better than the other ? I don't know, it will take 5 years of flying this kite to make a good judgement. This is only the second time I flew this WM.

I lost some 300# line to a knot last week, and was considering replacing it with the Gomberg black line. I kinda like the way you can see the white line in the pictures, though.

My son just learned to ride a two-wheeler, so I decided that his first bicycle adventure was in order. We have this once vacation-home beach that was returned to nature by us. They knocked all the bungalows down, but left the road in place. The road is closed to cars, so it seemed like a perfect spot to ride without worries. https://www.google.com/maps/place/West+Meadow+Beach,+Stony+Brook,+NY+11733/@40.9274653,-73.1464788,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89e83ee5420053bd:0x55367d96cee17029 Once we got to the end, I broke out the KAP backpack to shoot a few shots. This one is my son flying the Ultrafoil from Nick, the smaller lifter in the backpack... My son letting out some line... A couple of boats passing in the channel... The only cottage they left standing, because it was historic... Looking North up the abandoned road... Looking North, the large body of water is the Long Island Sound. The wind was up & down... at times the camera came within 10 feet of the ground. That's my son practicing his bicycling at the end of the road... I put a few more in a folder... http://ferob.com/kites/KAP/WestMeadow/

Wow, I've never gone over 300-400 ft. ! Interesting perspective, I didn't see the Rok, though. I think it's pretty brave to let one spool pay out fully. Did I see that you got black line ? How do you like it ?

Thanks, Brian. This was one of my after-work sessions. Sometimes an after-work fly is better than a cold beer when I get home... My red/white WidowMaker is about 5 years old. It has the 3 point bridle. I don't know when they changed it, or why. For me, the 3 point is a lot more agreeable. It is very stable & predictable, when you give it an input, it just does what you want. The Turbo bridle has no noticeable improvements, and makes it tougher to roll the kite up, or to initiate a backspin. It also caused a bit of oversteer from what I can tell. Once again... it is just something to get used to... heck, it took me months to get used to the Solus.

If that's the Transformer SUL, you don't need that kind of wind to enjoy it. That flag could be almost flat, and you's still be able to fly, no problem ! All you need is a hint of a breeze, and you should have no problem getting it off the ground. I will take higher winds, but it'll be really fast. Lam rates my Fearless SUL to winds over 15mph. Not that I's ever fly it in winds over 5mph... just sayin' !

This is the other half of my recent Skyburner Obsession... The Widow Maker Spider. I have flown the standard WidowMaker for a while, but just recently got the Spider. The biggest difference is that the Spider has a Turbo bridle instead of the standard 3 point bridle. It makes for a totally different flying experience, and I'm still getting used to that. Change the bridle, or just get used to it ? hmmmm.....

Barton, I am convinced to try different sticks. It wouldn't hurt to have a few spares kicking around, anyway. I wouldn't say the kite flies bad, I just feel like I need more time on the lines to learn it's ways. At least I only pulled it out of the air once ! No hijack, this is where the conversation has led... People need to see this video, it saved me tons of time & frustration with my quad line sets. This isn't a huge issue to me overall, especially when I have a couple of hours to fly instead of a half-hour.

Thank you both. I wasn't really sure I chose the right colors until I saw the kite in person. I was relieved... who would believe that the kite's actually green ? The secret to 540s is to keep walking towards the kite while it's rotating. You'll notice that a lot of the time I remember to walk forward only after initiating the trick, and it makes it look awkward. Timing is everything, still working on mine.

Yes, I keep the duallies almost fully assembled, just have to put in the upper spreader and the lower spreaders into the center T. I check the leading edge connectors on the lower spreaders, and attach the standoffs. No, the dual lines roll off the winder 100# snag free, one handed at a good walking pace. The quad lines roll out like that maybe 1/2 the time, but the other half, the pay-out has to be tended with two hands. I've tried the straight wind and figure 8, the results are about the same. Does anyone leave their Revs long (LE assembled) ? Take out the verticals & roll it up ?

The late summer has marked the return of good winds here, I've actually been able to get some standard kites flying recently. There are two standard kites in my bag that get the most flying, both from Skyburner. The Widow Maker is more forgiving to fly, but the Solus has a little more radical feel to it. I've been working on the Solus for a little over a year now, and finally getting used to it. Here's what was flying last weekend while the wind was still up...

If I get a good unwind on the lines, I might be able to do it quicker. Half the time, my lines get caught on the winder and I have to coax them out with two hands. That's one extra minute, and the assembly of a Rev is slower. A duallie takes 30-45 seconds out of the bag, a Rev takes 1-2 minutes. I should just keep it assembled in the back of my car... 8)

oh, certainly no offence in anything I've said, hopefully. It takes me about 2 minutes to roll out a lineset and assemble a duallie, the Rev takes about double the time due to unfolding & assembling the Rev, and dealing with an extra 2 lines. Most wouldn't think much about that small amount of time, unless you consider total setup/breakdown time on a duallie is about 5 minutes, versus about 10 minutes with a Rev. When you only have 1/2 hour to fly, that makes a difference ! I've gotten over it, I fly Revs about half the time, now. Even if duallies setup quicker, Revs handle questionable wind better. The wind is the main deciding factor as to what comes out of the bag.

Well, that should work for a while... I hope your winds cooperate with your new kite. I have a set of his straps also, a gift from him for my birthday a few years ago. Great stuff !

Maybe the 'shortcomings' of the Zen just serve to amplify what I'm doing wrong. I could look at the silver lining of that, that learning to fly it as is will teach me better control. I will probably play with the leading edge sticks eventually, but I don't know about wanting to deal with the extra complexity of the Magic Sticks. Question on that... how important are the verticals ? Do they need to be swapped, too ? Most of my flying sessions are a half-hour, maybe 45 minutes. I resisted flying Revs for a long time because of the additional setup time vs. a duallie. The Magic Sticks seem to add complexity to the setup. I know it might sound crazy, but in my mind, every minute spent fiddling with the kite it one minute less of flying.

Yes, zero is super low. When you need the hairs on the back of your neck or a puff of smoke to tell the direction of the wind, it's super low. The thing about lines is, the shorter they are, the smaller your wind window is, and the faster you're going to have to react. It's very easy to overcompensate your inputs on short lines.

The inputs are definitely different. The Zen doesn't respond as quickly as the 1.5s, to either get going or to stop. When you give it a little 'whump', the springy rods do this strange 'double bounce' thing, and the Zen also tries to fight it's way to the side of the wind window and past, it takes a concentrated effort to bring it back in. Just a different flavor, I guess. Something new to get used to is always good.