RobB

Hey John... I found to get the Pyro to stall, just fly towrd the edge of the window, and about 10-15 feet before the edge, give a quick little punch with the downside hand. If you're flying horizontally to the left, punch with your left. If you're flying to the right, punch with your right. This should cause a nice stall, or side slide. I couldn't really SNAP the pyro to do anything, it seems that everything my Pyro does is smooth and graceful. Drives like a Cadilliac. Like I said before, a bridle adjustment could get it to be snappy. Do you have a Flight school video to go along with your new Dodd kite ? Highly recommended. You're in the right place for questions, though, the kitelife community has really been helping me out, there are tons of people here with a wealth of info. Good Luck ! ~Rob. Here's a link for repair parts... http://www.goodwindskites.com/merch/list.s...pultrudedcarbon part# 020008 .230" 32.5” .228” .141” 20.30g I broke my Pyro after a few hours of flight, and this is the stock that I used to fix it. You can also write to New Tech if you believe it to be a warrenty issue, they have been excellent to me. I just like to be prepared, keep spare parts on hand instead of waiting for them while the kite's broken.

Hey there, I can recommend the Pyro XS, The New Jam, & the Big Bang. I fly all 3 and like the Big Bang the best, but it's a little fragile. When I broke it, it was easy to fix, but if you're more advanced, you probably won't break it too much. The adjustable wieghts on the spine are great for tuning to your preference, you choose, stall time or precision. The New Jam is next runner up, it's a little more durable, but slower than the Big Bang. The Pyro is really well balanced, totally predictable, but slow. This could be solved by a bridle adjustment, but I haven't gotten that far into it. Too many kites, too little time. I can also recommend New Tech's Spirit 4 line kite. I'm not too good at it yet, but it's a real blast once you figure it out. Good luck... ~Rob.

Hey Andy... I have to repair my kites ALL the time ! I'll me up front about it, stunt kites are fragile and break ALL the time, especially if you are trying to learn new tricks. And don't fall for the 'groud recovery' techniques... instant break-o. I ordered an assortment of replacement parts from Goodwinds kites. Your instruction manual probably describes the sizes of the different rods & spars, or check on the manufacturers' web site. Or, you could measure as a last resort... Being that you broke the spine, changing it to fiberglass probably won't upset the balance of the kite, but it won't be as light and responsive. I would say just buy enough original stock to make a couple repairs, that way you're ready next time. Try this link, they're a life saver... http://www.goodwindskites.com/ Good luck ! ~Rob.

Ed Shenk makes some SLK's and dual lines similar to what you're talking about... If it was a dual line it might be Dick Barns. He has sewed a few prism rainbow looking kites too. Hey all... Any idea where I could find out more about these leads ? The ultimate goal would be to get one of these flying works of art for myself. Some of my kites are really ugly, and this kite would help to balance the others out. Thank yous, ~Rob.

Hey John, I can’t say how excited I am about this ! I’ve wanted to get an Acrobatix for a while, heard they were great. I will be sure to send in some pictures of it flying over Long Island, probably the only one on the Island. Kitelife was all ready my favorite source of kite info, now you guys are off the chart ! Thank you… ~Rob.

Hey John... I've almost worn out my Dodd Gross Flight School video. Other than that, I have a store of computerized video. The only thing about the videos is that you can only see the trick in 2D. Or maybe the camera isn't looking where you would be if you were there. I've been told to take my laptop to the flying field, so I can watch, pause, and fly. Didn't get it, watch again... I don't have that kind of fly time usually. I grab a break from work, fly a little. I've got it to the point that all I need is 1/2 hour to set up, fly, and break down. That gives me ~15+ minutes of fly time. I usually get only a couple hours to get down to the beach at night before dark. If there's wind... I am really stoked about the Acrobatix, I've heard nothing but good about it. Thank You, ~Rob.

Hi All... The kite I saw was a dual line stunter, pretty big, like 7-8 ft. across. Two prism graphics, with the spectrum in between, just like the cover of Dark Side. That Rev kite is close, real close. I'm tempted, but I'm afraid I'd wreck a custom Rev, I am only a beginner at quad line. I can keep a dual line safe from the ground for the most part at this point. Thanks for your responses... ~Rob.

Hey Kent, Thanks for the answer back. I keep looking for others flying in my area, but there's not much more than kids with single line kites on the beaches by me. Rarely, I've come across an interested adult that asks a little bit about my kites, but that seems to be the extent of the interest around here. I'm going to try to get to the Niagara festival, so maybe I'll find some people up there to watch. I broke a line by crossing lines with a friend that was flying one of my other kites. Two beginners trying to team fly... I'm going to start playing with the lengths of my lines, I have a lot of factory linesets, so I'll try cutting some down to 50-60 ft. I don't know if a $50 lineset will benifit me that much, yet. Your description of doing the wrong thing at the right time is exactly where I'm at. I've been trying pancake landings lately, and they look like lawn darts so far... So I break a kite, get out another, and work on stuff I can do so I don't go home all bummed out. Take care... ~Rob.

Thanks for your inputs on the matter. The call to safety is sobering, but has been heard. We were just using paddles as a dagger board and rudder, I need to fabricate more permanent solutions. There was really no way to tack upwind using a kite that you can't change the angle of. It was kind of like a sailboat with just a spinaker. Using the four line kite surfing kite should solve this, and also make in-water launching easier. If you've ever pulled a big kite out of the water, with a drouge bucket tail, you know what I mean. I'll keep yous posted... ~Rob.

Hello... I have been looking for some time for a kite that I saw in some pictures a while back. It was a REALLY nice looking stunt kite with the Dark Side of The Moon graphics. Black backround, prism, little rainbow lines. Does anyone know who makes this ? I just want to hang it on my wall, it looked so nice. Bonus if I can fly it... Thanks... ~rob.

Hey John, No way to say, but the line may have been abraded (fuzzy looking) where it broke. I've found that when lines get that way, replace them, or replace the kite. As the kiting bug sets in, and you get another kite, and another one, you end up with lots of linesets, so breaking or retiring lines isn't that big of a deal. I had one of my lines break with my New Tech Big Bang kite (factory lines) and it did a spiral death crash that resulted in broken spars. I almost gave up on kiting right there, but thought differently a few minutes later... Good Luck ~Rob.

I wish I had pictures !!! I took my 17' Grumman canoe for a 4-5 mile sail (using a Power Sled 24) across the harbor yesterday with my wife & another friend. AWESOME !!! We were doing 5 knots, easy. Fully loaded with all our beach stuff and a case of beer. You should've seen the looks ! So now that I've seen that light, my next stroke of insanity is to hook a kite surfing kite to the nose of the canoe, so we can do more than down wind travel. Any advice ? I have a 12 meter kite that I'm planning to use, and I figure I'll be able to hook it to a cleat in the nose, and steer from there. Has anyone done this ? Maybe I should just use my harness and sit back ? Any ideas from experienced kite people would be appreciated... ~Rob.

Hey John, Thank you very much for the invite, but it's a big trip for me. I have always wanted to see Seattle, I've only gotten as far nort as San Francisco on the west coast. I can take vacation for a few hours at a time, that's why kiting works great for me. I haven't had a real week long vacation since 1999. When I finally do take that time, I'll keep an eye on the event calendar when planning my destination. Thanks again... -Rob.

Hello, I have hit a ‘glass ceiling’ with my kite flying. I’ve learned to fly the simple moves (loops, stalls, landing, side slides) but I seem to not be progressing much past that. I’ll pull something off by accident, but most attempts to duplicate what I’ve seen in the videos, or read step by step instruction, results in either an ugly wobbly wobbly arms flailing near crash, or a full blown catastrophic crash & burn. I’ve broken countless pieces (I’m helping Goodwinds kites to reach record sales this year) and I’m convinced the videos are a ploy to get you to break your kites & buy more. How about the video that shows an E2 landing in the water and then taking back off ?!? That’s the easiest way to break a kite, go ahead, dip a wing in the water… I have 7 dual line stunters now, because I can’t wait for the parts to come for the last kite I broke. I guess the best flying kite I have is a Big Bang by New Tech, and I can see a definite difference between flying that kite and my first kite. I’ve seen that I can buy some kites for twice the price, are they twice the kite, or is it just a designer label thing ? They seem to have similar construction & dimensions. I don’t imagine that they break less. Four of the kites I have are made by New Tech, so I have a limited exposure to other manufacturers. I stuck with New Tech because they have been really good to me in the tech support department, and I have the Dodd Gross Flight School video. I am geographically isolated from other flyers, so going to a club meeting and watching others who are better isn’t an alternative. With that said, how best to progress ? Just stick with it, and one day it will just click ? Is there a better video than Flight School ? How about lines ? I use the lines that come with the kites, as is. Most are in the 100-150# range, 80- 100 feet long. Should I use longer lines ? Shorter ? lighter ? Does a good (pro) lineset make a huge difference ? Thanks for reading… -Rob.

Hey All... Thank you all so much for the helpful suggestions and links. It looks like I'll be spending alot of windless time indoors, researching all those links. I am on eastern Long Island, too bad I don't go to Charlotte area for business any more, I used to travel there quite frequently. I know hooking up with a more skilled flier than myself is the best way to learn. Around here, when I fly, people look at the stunt kites like they never saw one before. I wish you all a constant 8mph breeze to your backs. -Rob.

Hello, I was wondering what the best resourses are for learning quad line flying. I know the best thing I can do is watch someone who is better, but nobody flys around me, especially not quad line. I have a NTK Spirit kite, and have had some good times, and some bad times with it. The last time out was good, but it seems like a finniky, fragile kite with a narrow wind window. I haven't gotten into adjusting the bridle, maybe that would help to increase the wind range. Is there a good video, or good written resource for information on quad line flying in general, and possibly NTK Spirit specific ? Thanks... -Rob.

Hey Kevin, I just started with the Spirit quad, and it's a blast. I had only the information that was downloaded from New Tech kites. It was really easy to learn, not that I'm an expert yet. I broke the center spar in my Spirit from flying it on a gusty day, SNAP, right in mid-air. It was easy to fix, it's really the only part that can break. Since then, I've crashed it every way imaginable, and it didn't break. If you've all ready got the quad line basics, you should have no problem flying the Spirit. -Rob.