RobB

Other than a different flex rate, are black race rods more resistant to breaking ? Lighter ? Look cooler ? I need a good reason to make the investment... Is there a big difference in weight between 2 wrap and 3 wrap ? Do I switch to the 2 wrap on only the lightest wind days ? I'm used to my duallies, and on those I fly 3pt spreaders in all but the lightest wind days, and switch to 2pt spreaders when the wind goes very low. I've actually broken 2pt spreaders just giving inputs for tricks. Is there a correlation between 2pt Skyshark spars & 2 wrap Rev spars ? Do you fly 3 wrap in all winds except below, say, 5mph ? I have to say, I'm excited to think of how small my kite bag can be now. I usually carry a full roll-up bag in my car, and it gets in the way sometimes. Now I can keep just a small bag with 2 Revs & my Plutz, and be ready for any wind !

Yup, I've bought a number of dual line rainbow Berks from Tom @ Highline. He offered this to me when it came out 5 years ago, but I wasn't really into flying four lines, then. I was happy & surprised that he still had it. I know the 1.5b Pro is in my future, but just can't get the colorizer to come up with something that I like.

Yeah, I wish they had dual lines & quads when I was a kid... This is what I was trained to do when I was a kid !

Since the kite that I had chosen to be my 'kite of the year' (I am trying to only buy one kite per year) has been delayed in production, I couldn't stand it any longer and bought my second choice... a Rev that I can fly in single digit wind. I was going to buy a 1.5b to match my vent, but found this instead... It's a 1.5 SLE with 2 wrap spars. I all ready have 3 wrap and 4 wrap, and was told I can use the 1.5b spars in the SLE. I also bought a shorter lineset to match my beach & flying preference. What should I know about the SLE vs. the 1.5b ? I was told they're pretty much the same, and I won't know the difference. I was interested in Black Race Rods... are they worth the investment ? Can't wait to try it out... should be here next week. One more Q... Handles. I have the basic ones, and I have snagged the 'hogrings' a few times. Easy to get out of, but disturbing. What is my best handle upgrade ? If I'm going to do this Rev thing, I want to get equipped with the right stuff ! ~Rob.

Mets Fan ? We used to have season tickets at Shea ! Bought some bricks at Citi Field, but have never seen them. Hate what they did to the Mets... BUT, there is good kiteflying nearby. Flushing Meadow Park has a nice lake (Meadow Lake) to fly next to. You can drive all around the lake to find a good spot for the wind, park, and fly ! I think there is a shuttle that will take you over to see the game, too, if you park in the North lots. I fly there all the time on my way home from work...

You're lucky to have a kite store like that nearby. We used to have a kite store in my town, but the owner found that she makes more $$$ (and can keep the lights on...) by selling other things. So there are very few (less than 10) kites in her store now. Sad that so few people can take the time to appreciate simple pleasures like kites...

Norway looks really nice, I like the snow. The long days sound great, too. Here's some more Gemini inspiration... http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~adrianb/kites/Sleight%20of%20Hand%203%20-%20high%20quality.mov It's a 50 meg download, but Adrien can really fly ! You'll have to let me know what you think of the UL, I've been thinking about getting one of those. ~Rob.

Wow ! What a wreck ! You should be proud. I would just put a nice, neat tape patch over the hole once the rods are back in. A high quality fabric tape. You're going to beat this kite up if you're learning to fly, and especially if you want to learn tricks. You can easily tell my favorite kites, they're the most beat up. If you do try the arrow shafts, you need to use arrow shafts for both of your leading edges, don't mix & match, the kite won't be balanced. If it's even just a few grams off, it will mess up the balance. I'm going to guess the arrow shafts are heavier, but I wouldn't hesitate to experiment. I totally replaced the frame in my E3. Lots of purists cry foul, but I've modified my cars, my bikes, pretty much everything I've ever been into. Why not the kites ? Take careful notes, or pictures of your own before you take apart the good side. Take special note of the order of the APA connectors, bridle attachment points, do-hickies, etc. My kite is 4 years older than yours, and maybe different. ~Rob.

E3 Lower spreader & LE... E3 Upper Spreader & LE...

The APA tool just makes it easier to slide the fittings along the leading edge spars. The lines are attached to the spars, just look at the side that's not broken as a model. Hopefully both sides aren't broken, but if they are, I can post pictures of mine so you can see what goes where. As far as the E2 & E3 being a weak design, well, they aren't high wind kites. Prism rates them at 20mph+, but I wouldn never fly either in winds over 15mph, tops. My E2 is only flown in gentle, clean 5-10mph winds, and my E3 can take quite a bit of wind since I switched the stock frame out for a QPro frame. I will say that most leading edge failures can be blamed on the ferule that joins the upper and lower leading edges either slipping, or not being fully joined. It is something to pay careful attention to when assembling the kite from the fully folded position. One of the reasons I never fold my kites down to their short form, I always leave the LEs assembled. I'm going to have to dig my E3 out and give it a fly, it's been over 2 years since it's seen the light of day.

Nice score ! I hope you fly the wings off them, Robert !

Ian, that picture of the Q in the snow is awesome ! I assume that's taken in Norway ? You'll do great with the Geminis... here's some inspiration... http://wardley.org/kites/movies/stoked.html That's why I have 2 Geminis, and I'm still working on how to fly them like that...

No, there's nothing special to the E3. It's just that you have to remove the clips, the APA fittings (which is a pain without the tool), and the bridle. It's not rocket science, as you say, you always have the other side to look at as a model to put it back together. You gave the perfect advice, as well as keeping spare parts around in the future. I have 2 mailing tubes of different sized spars, and a tackle box full of small parts...

A local kite shop... Not in New York ! Another vote for fixing it yourself, though. Of course, fixing the leading edges would be the most difficult fix there is. That has been my big complaint with the E3, it seems to be Prism's weakest kite as far as it's ability to take a beating. In it's stock form, I would put it away once the wind got to 15mph. I replaced the frame in mine with the frame from an unused QPro. It's much stiffer and feels like it could really take a beating, now. SOrry to hear about your break, but fixing is part of flying !

The Quantum is a good first step kite, and the Crossfire will pick up where the Q leaves you off. Hope you win... you'll just need a light wind kite, and you would have an all wind trio !

I always go back to this simple trick that is so hard to master... the Side Slide. It's really easy on a four line kite, but on two lines... a real challenge of your control. This is the first trick I learned, and I'm still trying to get it right. Anyone else enjoy the Side Slide ?

Oh crap... the Kite Krazy is coming out ! I'm KooKoo for Kites ! Must be April in a few dayze... More kites, need more kites ! 3 B2s would be good ! Just gotta even up 2 sets of 75' duallie lines and get ready for the triangle box to arrive !

Glad you enjoyed those, JP. I fly every Sunday at a local beach, but could meet you somewhere in between if you're interested. The best time to fly is in between Labor Day & Memorial Day. It gets tough during the summer with more people at the beach & admission charged at the beach (some beaches out here are up to $50 for a day pass...) Come down to Wildwood on Memorial day, and you'll get to hang out with all the hard-core kite-heads... http://kite.org/activities/events/event-calendar/ I am so excited for WW this year, it's been a couple of years since I've been there, and it's a great time. I've got my place down there from Thursday-Sunday. Bringing the whole family & our friends ! I think John's going to be there, how many others ?

Only 3 more posts ! What line do you fly a B2 on ? I better order a lineset, so I can fly these when they get here !!! 259 ! 259 ! 259!

If the trial version of Winzip is installed, it must be removed before Windows will take over the handling of ZIP files. Just go to add/remove programs (or Programs & features), scroll to the bottom of the list, highlight Winzip, and choose remove. After a restart, you should be able to open the ZIP file. This happens with machines that are preloaded with Winzip from the manufacturer.

I was visiting my family in Boulder in the early 80's when I wandered into the ITW store on Pearl St. I had never seen kites like that, and was immediately hooked. They sent me home with a Sun Oaks DC that time, and have sent me a number of kites since. Gotta love their catalog. The kite stake is usually used at the ends of your lines, at the handles, but I used it up close to the kite just for the picture.

If you look to the left of my kite, you can see those 2 little trees that are in the picture with your friend. The all black kite is a Fearless, made by the same guy who makes the Sea Devils. And yes, that's a screwdriver being used as a kite stake. I had a nice 'real' kite stake, but gave it to a new pilot who happened onto my beach. I've been using the old screwdriver ever since.

Sounds like he got it at Into the Wind. That place got me hooked on kites, too !

Hey JP, It's good to see a familiar flying field in your pictures. I think the one you posted with your daughter flying the Switch is closest to this one...

They're Sea Devils... it's all John's fault that I HAD to have one of these... then 2... then 3, and still in the market for one more ! The video that hooked me...