Captainbob

Just got a voicemail from AWOC today, and the Freestylist UL in Red that I ordered last week, will be made by Skyburner in the color I want, and will be ready in about 2 weeks. I read a post about this kite on another forum, from a new owner, and he raves about the kite. Here is a link to his post. http://www.gwtwforum.com/index.php?topic=11326.msg99709#msg99709 Needless to say, I am very excited about getting this kite, which will be my 3rd kite designed by Jon Trennepohl , and if it flies as well as my Niknak and Widow NG, I will be one happy camper.

I just got a email pdf from Lam Hoac, and my AVG virus detector, removed it. It was a phishing malware. Be careful, his computer must be infected. Don't open any attachments from him without having a good anti virus program. This was his gmail address, which doesn't seem to work anymore either, as the email I sent him warning him about this bounces back. \ Update, His email Gmail address is working correctly again.

Just did this on my Zephyr. Works great!!!

Went to the park today next to my home to check out the wind, and a fellow was there with this 33 meter Parasail. It was huge. He has had it up to 10,000 feet in Europe. Quite impressive with all the control lines.

I went to the field today with my Zephyr and moved the tow point above the low wind knot by 3/4". It flies great now, launches, without stalling in low winds, still has a nice amount of pull, and no problems with turning. It's like a different kite now. Flew it for 2 hours straight.

I was experimenting with my new prism Zephyr yesterday, trying to play with the tuning for low wind flight. I started looking at the kite really carefully, and noticed that on the leading edge, if I flexed the edge back and forth, on one side, where the ferrule should be located, I heard a slight noise. It was not very loud, but something like cellphone crinkling softly. This morning I decided to bite the bullet, and take that edge apart and see what was going on. I had never pulled a kite apart like that, so was very careful and took my time. I got the lower edge out, and it looked perfect. Next, to get the upper edge out, which was easier than I thought it would be. When I got it out far enough to look at the end, I thought to myself, that's weird , there doesn't seem to be a ferrule there at all. Now keep in mind, I put this kite together, weeks ago, and have never folded the LE, so this has been from the day one. I tried butting one edge against the other, thinking my eyes were playing tricks, but they were the exact same size. I couldn't see a ferrule at all. I then got a wire coat hanger, straightened it out, and inserted it in the leading edge, and pushed, and before I knew it, the ferrule popped out the other end. It was just floating around inside the LE. I got some good CA glue, put it on the ferrule, and glued it in place. Let it dry , reassembled it, and it's done. I don't know how long I was flying it like this, or if it had just happened, but I will be checking those leading edges frequently from now on. By the way, the glue on the ferrule was spotty at best, which is probably why it came loose in the first place.

And where I live a steady wind of any strength is as rare as winning the lottery. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

No tail weight, I think I tried it once when I first got the Zephyr on a windy day, and haven't used it since. Immediately after launch, the kite is basically in a stall in very light wind. I can hold it in a slide at that point with the front spreader in, so I don't think it is an overcontrol issue. Without the front spreader, as soon as launched, it seems like any input at all, no matter how light, causes it to head for the ground. I have read numerous posts where Zephyr owners say they wait for 5 mph winds before the really enjoy flying it, which is what I am experiencing as well. Seems like the kite is just too heavy for winds under 4 mph. Now maybe, I am pulling to hard when launching it, like I do when launching a Rev. I will experiment with that next time I fly it. I do have a question about tuning. I have read a couple of posts that said the early Zephyrs didn't have enough range between the fixed knots on the bridle, to get enough forward adjustment, so fliers would actually move the adjustment past the upper knot by an inch or so. I then read that this range between the knots was remedied by Prism in the later models. I just adjust mine by moving it up to the limit knot closest to the nose. I just decided to experiment with the bridle adjustment, and move the adjustment on the other side of the low wind limit knot towards the nose by about 1/2 inch, which apparently Mark Reed has suggested for low wind. I figured it would be easy to return it to where it was, just by moving it back to the other low limit knot inside, if this makes matters worse. Will post the results. Much of this is discussed in this thread. http://www.gwtwforum.com/index.php?topic=8005.0

What I did this morning. Removed top spreader, already had knots toward the nose where they stay all the time, and I had it on 75 ft lines. With the spreader out, upon launching, the nose wanted to swing towards the ground with the slightest input. Put top spreader back, that problem disappeared, but still couldn't keep it in the air for more than a few seconds. Wind was about 2.5 to 3 mph. 4 mph and more, it flies fine. Surprised that Prism put that 1 mph in the spec. Seems like most of the experts on forums, call the Zephyr a "light standard" rather than even a UL. Only thing I could fly today, ( with a forecast of 12 gusting to 16 mph this morning, which of course never materialized ) was my good old reliable Niknak, but that is getting to be an old story with me. I've just about gotten to the point where, when I step out of the car, I grab the Niknak from the pile of kites in the back. I decided to order a real UL last night, and have a Skyburner Freestylist UL on the way ( in Red of course) .

I like my Zephyr when there is some wind, but my question is how many helium balloons do you have to attach to it to make it fly in 1mph wind, or even 2 or 3 for that matter? Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Looks like it flies and hovers pretty darn good to me.

I just ordered a set of 90# 75 ' for my Zephyr ( 92") for low winds. At first I ordered a 50' set but changed it after I read that the original Zephyr came with two sets of lines, and the shorter one was 75' . I figure if I feel it is still a bit too long, I can always shorten it to say 65' . Fifty feet just seemed a bit too short for a Zephyr sized kite. I don't care for 50# lines, and can't see that much of an advantage in weight over the 90# lines which are easier to handle and more durable in my opinion.

Well to quote John Chilese on his review of the Widow NG " I flew the prototype at Huntington Beach with Jon. We were both impressed with the overall feel, flight and tricks of this attractive, full-sized kite. For the price, it's hard to beat. John Chilese" Being on a somewhat limited retirement budget, that convinced me. But then again, I drive Toyota, and love that too.

I bought the new Widow NG a couple of months ago after reading some good reviews on it comparing it favorably to the Widow maker, especially when factoring in the cost which is about 1/2 the price of the Widow Maker, and of course it is designed by the same person. I love the way it flies, and is built very well. I'm not into tricks, but leaning more towards precision flying, and the NG is a blast to fly. http://kitelife.com/forum/topic/5948-premier-widow-ng/

I find that I am even dividing my flying time between Dualies and Quads. They both are fun to fly, and never get boring.

Niknak by Skyburner.

Delta Drive Standard, or if you can deal with 4-25, The Solus. http://www.skyburner.com/deltadrive.html http://www.skyburner.com/solus.html

Someone has flown an ABS on another forum and posted his impressions. http://www.gwtwforum.com/index.php?topic=11233.0

Pleasant surprise this morning. Got up, checked the local winds 15-17 mph. Grabbed some breakfast, and walked to the field. Have to work today so I just took the Widow NG. What a pleasure to have strong winds, set kite up, put the tail weight in, stood it up to launch, and away it went Flew for about 45 minutes. with some really high speed passes about 1-2 feet AGL. Love this kite, tracks straight as an arrow. Anyway, the gusts started getting stronger and stronger , so I stayed at the windows edge for awhile, and then it really started gusting, so I called it quits for the day. I have to get ready for work otherwise I would have waited for the winds to mellow out a bit. Wishing for a few more days like today, when I am off.

Lived 250 feet from the Atlantic Ocean, in Hollywood Florida for 10 years, but was flying Cessnas and Pipers back then rather than kites.

Well I guess the wind gods read my post this morning, cause this afternoon the wind picked up enough to launch my Zephyr and fly around for a couple of hours. Had some fun.

I tried the glider thing for awhile, and just couldn't get interested in it. Reminded me of my SLK days when I was a kid, which held my attention for a couple of hours. Love flying my dualies and Revs when the wind cooperates.

I have been flying kites for about 4 months now and I am realizing that having decent winds to fly in, is not the norm where I live inland. Since I am semi-retired, I can fly at least 5 days a week, but the time I actually get to fly in even a marginal wind conditions is a bit over 1 day a week if I am lucky. It is a rare week when I can fly 2 days. Now I am not talking about flying only a standard kite, I am including my Niknak, which is probably my most often flown kite for the past couple of months ( replacing my 4D) , followed by my Std Rev with Race Rods or my Zephyr. It is a pretty rare day when i can fly my Mid Vent B series, and I think last month, I flew it maybe twice. Thank goodness I didn't bother getting a full vent, it would have made a great wall ornament in my living room. I have flown my HQ Symphony 1.8 once in the last 3 months. When I first got into kiting I tried to get kites that would cover the gamut from a very low wind up to a bit over 20 mph. Now after experiencing the wind conditions where I live, I think a better route would have been to only get UL and SUL kites, and maybe one standard Rev or full size Dualie , and when it is over 20 mph, just sit it out. I guess I can see how discouraging the wind problem would be for someone that has a full time job, which only leaves the weekend to fly, especially if they are a newbie. In the last 2 weeks, I have only been able to fly 2 days, and this weekend looks like a dud too, with winds at the airport forecast for 2-3 mph which translates to dead calm on most of the fields. Wondering if other inland fliers share these experiences.

I sent an email from Lam's website, and he responded with the pricing. He also sent a color chart and said that they would be available mid July Here is the pricing that I cut and pasted from the email he sent me. The ABS available in UL, Std, are $ 320. Mid Vent: $ 350. Full : $ 380 and Super Vent is : $ 445. Here is color chart if this works.