RobB

It is true that the Oz was made before the Z, but the Oz is more similar to CB's NikNak than the Zephyr. The Zephyr is a bigger kite, and pulls strong in a gust. I fly my Oz on 50# lines in the lightest winds (less than 2mph) but even switch the Oz onto 90# lines if the wind is any higher. The Zephyr used to come with a hard case, and 2 linesets, a 50# set and a 90# set. I broke the 50# lines with the Z so many times that I ended up just throwing them away. Hopefully some bird is enjoying his spectra-line bird nest somewhere ! As far as the leech line & trailing edge issues... I think Prism may have sorted that out after 7 years of production. I preordered my Z when they were new, and mine is from the first production run. The trailing edge did wear out, leech line broke thru, all that good stuff. I don't care, the kite still flies fine, and that's the only issue I ever had with the kite. Oh, one more thing... I flew this kite A LOT, so it could just be I wore it out ! Dacron is a little frayed... but the kite still flies great...

Hey CB... The video in the middle... check out Gerardo's Youtube channel, I learned a lot from watching him fly. He has a number of Zephyr videos that you might be interested in... ~Rob.

Since you mention the QPro and Deepspace, I'll assume that's your budget. With that budget, I would strongly recommend the Widow Maker, made by Skyburner. It is more forgiving than the two kites you mentioned, and capable of every trick in the book. Of the kites you mentioned, I would put the QPro at the bottom of the list. It is a very demanding kite, although it is very precise & easy to fly figures, getting tricks out of it (properly) is very difficult. The one shortcoming of the Deep Space is that it is not very stable in the backflip (turtle) position. Quality wise... the Benson and Skyburner kites are top notch, and the QPro isn't far behind. One of my QPros was not assembled properly, and wouldn't fly. It kind of soured my opinion of 'Prism Quality'. Good luck with your choice !

You really can fly the Z in the lowest winds. If you leave the lower spreader & spine weight in the bag, adjust the bridle all the way towards the nose, and fly on 50' lines, that is. Also, 50# lines with the Z isn't suggested if the wind is the slightest bit gusty. I broke my 50' 50# lines so many times, they were 30' long when I got rid if them. Now you just need a vented duallie !

I think the Phantom is limited to old-school tricks like 540s & Axels. I haven't seen anyone doing more modern tricks with them. Not that that is a bad thing, I think the old-school tricks are prettier.

A guy I fly with uses those recycled shopping bags you get at the grocery store. I was skeptical at first, but easy to bury in the sand and the sewing on the handles is pretty strong. I imagine it's fine for lighter pulling kites, like your roto. I've been tempted to steal a couple of my wife's canvas 'earth bags' that we use instead of plastic bags, but I don't think she would be happy to find sand in the groceries the next time we went shopping ! The next time I'm at the store, I think I'll buy a few more, they are pretty cheap. Thanks for the idea ! In the past I've used the duffle bag that I carry all my line gear in before, that worked well.

Thanks, Nick. I wish there were more people here to help getting more kites in the air, there's plenty of room. I was out of sand anchors, anyway, if I had more time, I would've buried some driftwood wrapped with straps to anchor more... but like they say, too many kites, too little time !

I just got a few more from my Wife's phone... All the kites lined up... Helping my #2 daughter fly an SLK... She was digging the RotoBox kite ! All the kites in one shot... And one more with the Rev MV in the picture... Well, It's been a great National Kite Month, 2014. Every weekend had some kite activity. Hope the good winds are on us all for the rest of the year !

Last Flight of 'Kite Month'... Yet another good weekend for flying SLKs... a good steady onshore breeze kept all of the kites pinned to the sky. The 11' Mesh Delta got two tails, but for some reason, they caused the kite to pull to the right. I guess one tail had more drag than the other... The Frog inflatable came out of the bag and was used as line laundry for my replacement Power Sled 24. The original Power Sled was lost in a Kap accident last Fall. Got a bit of color up in the air. The KL Ghost Deltas are easy to assemble & launch. They don't pull very hard, so a small sand anchor is all that's needed. Even after centering the tails on the Mesh Delta, it still pulled to the right. Maybe the wind was a little high for it, I'm not sure. Couldn't find anything wrong with the way it was put together, and it flew straight last week. Closeup of the Power Sled 24 lifting the Frog Inflatable... The KL Ghost Deltas are so photogenic... A lot of luggage to get half a dozen kites in the air ! And a special ride showed up in the parking lot after the flying was done... I know it's not a kite, but it's not like you see one of these every day !

Depends... in light winds I use Finger straps (California Customs made by NormP (best straps I've used)) or in standard winds I use wrist straps around the wrists, and index fingers on the leaders for fine adjustments, like is suggested in the Prism video. I've tried, but I can't use the Dodd grip with straps, it just feels like there's a lot less control. If you haven't seen the Cal. Custom straps, they're in the first 10 seconds of this video... I think you can get them from Gomberg kites, or shoot Norm a PM on the GWTW forum, user NP. He makes them by hand, and they are hands down THE BEST straps I've ever flown with. He makes finger straps as well as wrist straps.

Bob, if you don't like it, I'll buy it from you. I gave my Flight School DVD to a friend, and years later, I would like to watch it again.

Safe travels, you two ! I hope you'll be posting lots of pictures of your adventures... I'm sure there are lots of us wishing to be on a journey as great as the one you're starting !

I think it's only a portion of it. My favorite part of the Flight School DVD was a bit called 'flying with Dodd'. It was just some freestyle flying with a bit of real life thrown in. I was lucky enough to actually fly with Dodd, hang out, talk about kites and stuff. Great guy, I look forward to the next time I see him on the field.

JB makes the best tutorials that I've seen. I've watched them all, many times over. I am anxiously awaiting him to continue the dual line series of tutorials. You mention Dodd's Flight School videos, and Prism videos... don't forget the Mama74 and RandyG videos. I also got alot out of watching everyday fliers' videos. We used to have a nice group on the ClassyKite forum that would help each other figure out tricks. I started making videos that were for the purpose of asking more experienced pilots 'what am I doing wrong ?'. I would also review the raw footage to critique myself. As far as learning from others that may not be the most talented.... it doesn't matter. The same guy that I taught the 540 taught me some inputs that I hadn't thought of, it really helps to see these inputs in real life & see what they do. Watching Mark Reed with his rhythmic snap stall advice makes great sense when you're watching it in the living room, but is extremely frustrating when you get out to the field and actually try to replicate that. I say, take it all in, whatever you can. It is strange to live in a dense population, and be the only one who flies locally. Believe me, I know. I've been lucky to convince a few friends to join me at the beach from time to time, but they just haven't been bitten by the kite bug enough to buy their own kites and fly seriously. It is good to have company out on the field once in a while, though. Bottom line, I wish you the best of luck, and hope you make great progress quickly.

It is not impossible to learn to fly like that on your own, using videos & youtube. It just takes a l-o-n-g time. I only got help in person with one trick, the flic-flac. The guy wasn't even teaching me, I just watched him for 5 minutes. It is a lot easier to learn from someone, no doubt... I have taught people in an afternoon how to 540, a trick that took me around a year of constant trying to learn on my own. When frustration sets in, remember to back off whatever you're trying to learn and do something simple, like flying box turns, practicing stalls, side slides. Every trick you learn is always going to need more work... the way I look at it, it's a lifetime endeavor to learn to fly like that. Kiting is supposed to be fun, after all.

If the kite didn't break, it's a trick. If you can do it again, it's also a trick !

The beaches are the reason I can stand to live in New York. We were flying at the public beach because the kids were there, and the playground is only a few steps away. Flying at this beach would be out of the question in a few weeks... if there are more than 10 people around, I look for a less crowded spot, which is easy to do with some 600+ miles of shoreline on Long Island. You really can't beat the short walk to the car when you're carrying 4 bags full of kites, though !

Oh, she would grab it if I got too close... Brother & little Sister chasing the Rev... Two Sisters chasing Rev... All 3 Kids chasing the Rev... Putting some color in the air, including my Son's Shark Kite... Teaching my Son to fly the Rev... And one more shot thru the windshield as my wife was leaving... Those shots were all taken with my Wife's phone. The first group were all shot with a real camera.... I think the phone does a pretty good job, considering it's a phone. It was an extra-special day, having the whole family come out and fly. Of course they left me to pick up the big mess on the beach by myself... but totally worth it !

SkyBurner also has a reputation for repairing damaged kites. They say openly that they'll fix SkyBurner & Blue Moon kites, but I hear that they do other repairs as well. I have always been tempted to try my local sail shop, but haven't because they're kinda busy, especially this time of year.

I think it said 'Flying', but I could be wrong. I haven't seen that jacket in about 5 years. I just found a picture of one of his sisters playing tag with the Rev...

If the kite has a straight LE, I leave the wingtips tied. If the kite has curved LE, I release the tension when storing the kites. Also, if the kite has bungees instead of lashings, I release the tension. I haven't noticed any issues with the kites that I leave under tension, though. For example, I tied the tips on my Widow Maker when I got it ~4 years ago, and they've been tied ever since.

Thank you, Nick. He is my reason to be. He's also been flying all his life, hopefully his interest continues on...

OK, update for the 'Kite Month' thread... Took the whole family out to the beach for some flying & fun. The kids had a great time flying small Single Line Kites like the Prism Eo6, the Prism roto-flip, the HQ roto-kite, and the Sky Dog Shark-kite. I got to fly some bigger SLKs like the KiteLife Ghost Delta and the 11' Mesh Delta. I even got to chase the little ones with the Rev a little bit. Nothing like Spring & Kite Month ! I hope everyone else is getting a chance to enjoy Kite Month.... but then again... every month is Kite Month !

My guess is 2-3 years with 5+ hours per week practice...

Well, I'm a slow learner (it took me months to learn how to axel, over a year of working on the 540 before I got it). It could be somewhat blamed on dyslexia, but it just comes down to the fact that if I think about what I'm doing, I screw up. If I just let the flying flow, I get it eventually. I learned to fly RC Helis that way... don't think, just do... I never learned any tricks on the Helis, just lucky to fly & land in one piece...