RobB

Hey Russ... Glad to hear I'm not crazy. The Hypnotist (mine was called a 'Mirage' it was so long ago) was one of my first 'real' sport kites, and it stood up to tremendous abuse. I actually nose-dived it onto blacktop one time, and it withstood that without issue. I gave mine to my nephew to learn to fly about 10 years ago, but I have many fond memories of it. The Hypno is very strong with basic tricks, and will take you a long way into your journey. If you start to feel bored with it, there are some 'mods' that you can do to it to make it more capable. I think 'Alex B' on youtube documented these... He is an amazing talent from overseas who comes up with mods for the bang-for-the-buck kites like the Hypno. Check it out... ~Rob.

I think that people who are dumping $300+ on a kite know where it's coming from. If you find a cheesy looking knock-off, I think you know what you're throwing your $$$ away on. $100 knockoffs are obvious. I don't know what 'Rev' is charging for their 'eyes', but I think we can all agree, they look cheesy. If I were offered one of these for free, I am almost sure that I would politely decline.

Ground work and basic tricks, I would choose the Prism Hypnotist, it is full sized & built like a tank. I would stay away from the E3, it is an odd flier and not very strong. Save the E3 $$$ for a Zephyr, it is a much more predictable flier, and in my experience it is more durable. More advanced tricks, I would choose the Kymera. It is a great value right now, and quite capable. Along those lines would also be the ITW Hydra, also deeply discounted now. I've enjoyed every Lam kite that I've put my hands on, so his new offerings wouldn't disappoint, I'm sure. It is tough to find a Widow Maker right now, and I haven't flown a Widow NG. I would recommend the Widow Maker as a great all-around kite, if you can get your hands on one. Lots of people say good things about the NG, but I couldn't say for myself. I so wish I could attend, the last time we had a stunt kite clinic on the East Coast was 2008. I hope you all have a great time...

Aerobatx or Acrobatx by flying wings ? If you're asking about the Acrobatx, I would recommend either of the other two. I have flown all 3, and I liked the Kymera the best, but as mentioned above, that's subjective. The Acrobatx was the least impressive, build quality was lower than the others, and I broke mine a number of times. I haven't flown it in years, either.

I thought it was interesting that this Rev post was released a day or two after the posting about the new 'Eyes' kites coming from Phoenix. There are so many choices now, and I have as many Rev kites as I'll ever need. There are 3 non-Rev 4 line kites that I will be buying in the near future. After the lack of support from Rev, the less than pleasant run-in with the Rev rep, and the shake-up of the company, they lost me...

Seriously ? Aren't these 'Bazzer's Eyes' ? I'm not a big fan of Revs, I flew for years before giving in and getting my first Rev. OK, to me, the Rev was a necessary evil, something to fly when the wind was too high for anything else. I warmed to the whole Rev thing because of the great people involved with them. I have a few, know how to fly them (sortof). Recently, when the company was going through some changes, they really started to rub me the wrong way. I could elaborate on a personal experience I had with the 'new' Rep that came out to an east coast festival that was less than pleasant, but won't... But... is this payback to Phoenix ? *Sorry if this topic is a little too spicy, mods, feel free to censor me. But, I would like to say before getting deleted... the above looks like a cheap 'knock-off' !

There is a kit that is exactly what you're looking for... My family got me one for father's day a few years ago. They never finished the artwork, so I can't say how well it turned out. The rest of the assembly looked pretty easy, and the sail material was similar to Tyvek.

Sorry to hear that. Something similar happened to a friend, he lost a number of kites that are pretty much irreplaceable. We are still all keeping an eye out for them to pop up on eBay or Craigslist. One thing I would say is to search the area where the crime occurred... once the crackhead that broke into you car realizes what was in the bag, he probably just tossed it. I mean, what does a crackhead need with a bag full of a bunch of string, anyway ? Its not like its worth anything on the street...

Well, I'll get this done before I head off to bed... I'm sorry this drawing didn't gather the interest of my drawings in the past, I thought there were more Prism-heads here. Anyway... here it goes... Looks like #2- Mike Klaiber is our winner... Congratulations ! Let me know where to send this l-o-n-g box.

That is going to look super-sweet ! Make sure you post some pix, can't wait to see !

Did you get the kite in the OP ? What color fuzzies ? how long ?

Well, it's looking like I should just box this one up and send it down south... I thought the banner would be more popular. That's OK... saves time dealing with the RNG. 8)

I agree, save that 250# line for winds less than 10mph. All these 10'+ kites develop serious pull in winds over 10mph. I fly with mostly 300# and 500# line. This is what the double DC looked like yesterday in ~15mph winds. It was work to pull it back down !

That is freakin' amazing ! I love the way the design gives perceived depth to the flat sail...

Nice... I guess that's one way to use up a 1000' roll of LPG ! My carpel tunnel hurts thinking about winding that lineset up...

I have found that DC and double-DC kites fly WAY better than traditional flat Deltas. I have a number of both, and that's been my experience. I've talked with others who claim to never have problems with regular deltas, but I find that they have a smaller wind range, and are not very tolerant of anything but smooth wind. Ghost or Pyro deltas are a different story, they are very stable in a wide variety of winds, but the traditional triangle delta is not a set it & forget it kind of kite, they will end up on the ground if not constantly tended to. One exception to this in my collection is an 11' mesh delta, that isn't too bad, but still ends up on the ground unexpectedly. The DC and double DCs can be staked out and fly for hours, and will be in the sky where you left them unless the wind drops. By far, this is my favorite, it flies in 5-25 mph winds, bumpy, choppy, or smooth... all day long.

I can easily deal with lines that are up to 3" off, but would prefer them to be exact. Not that it really makes my flying any better, but it eliminates the excuse... That being said, I'm not a precision flier. I just free-fly for the fun, whatever comes out, as long as it doesn't involve unintentional ground contact !

The Quantum is a hard pulling kite, and in 15+mph winds, I'm not surprised the lines stretched. I have heard of Prism lines being off, right out of the box. Maybe as much as 6"... I would expect lines to stretch maybe 3". There is something terribly wrong if yours are off by 24", that's for sure. Like was said above, you need to stake these lines down, stretch them out and compare the loops at the other side. An inch or less of difference is what you're looking for, if the difference is more than an inch, you'll need to untie, adjust and retie. No fun, but it's gotta be done.

OMG... So sorry this was your first day out. It was so unpleasant today, I didn't think of venturing out. Oh, ok, I took the kids and dogs for a walk around town, but couldn't help but to think about how unpleasant it must be at the beach! Sorry, I've becOme quite the wind snob recently. Glad to hear you guys had a good session... Hope to catch up with y'all next time ! Sent from my [device_name] using http://KiteLife mobile app

I flew single line kites for years before buying my first dual line. Looking back, I wish that I had gotten into dual line about 10 years before I did... I missed out on all that time, and it also happened to be the height of kiting's popularity. Sent from my [device_name] using http://KiteLife mobile app

If Niagara Falls didn't eat your kite and drag you over, I'm sure anything's possible... Sent from my [device_name] using http://KiteLife mobile app

I think the KAP of the cemetery is awesome ! I see nothing disrespectful about that, either. I too have flown too close to an airport, but was not challenged over it. The spot is actually a popular kite flying spot (Canarsie Pier in Brooklyn) but it is inside the 5 mile radius of a major airport (JFK). I have only flown my own kite there once, but I have flown other people's kites when they kindly handed me their line.

All white, backlit by sunset is fun, too...

I think John described my method better above. The water at my flying spot is almost always rough, and it's important to get the downed kite out of the water as quick as possible. Also, the water is cold 8 months out of the year, and you don't want to go in to rescue the kite. This may leave you with the question... Why even mess around in the water when an unplanned landing could result in the destruction of the kite ? Well, because it's fun ! I really enjoy submarining the kite and then have it fly out of the water again, defying most logic... I don't have any video of flying four liners in the water, but I do have a video of my favorite water kite. It is made mostly out of mylar, so doesn't absorb water and become heavy as others described above...

Water is no big deal, the waves are your enemies ! I have broken many sticks due to the action of waves, but never lost a kite entirely. Practice your water flying in higher winds, it makes it easier for the kite to take off out of the water. Use a kite stake... when you land in the water & are unable to relaunch, stake the kite & walk the lines parallel to the water line, pulling the kite gently (!) to the shore. Watch out for the waves... If you pulling too hard, that's how the kite will break, take your time & pull it in slow. It's kinda a give & take procedure, like landing a big fish. Most of what I said above is related to dual line kites. I've flown 4 line kites in & out of the water all the time, but never had a problem relaunching the four line. It is super-fun to dunk the kite, let it disappear & then surface & take off ! I rarely come home with dry kites !