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kitetarian

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    12
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Profile Information

  • Favorite Kite(s)
    things that fly
  • Flying Since
    2014
  • Location
    Detroit MI
  • Country
    United States
  • Interests
    Utimate Frisbee, Disc sports
  • Gender
    Male

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  1. I also experience those kinds of conditions. There is plenty of wind here, but it is only clean at certain times of the day, unless I can get to the beach. I often take out my widow ng in conditions that push well above it's rating. I just make sure the bridle is set to dump as much wind as possible, put on the wind screens, and have the tail weight in. The limits of safety for me is when the kite is just starting to drag me forward. It can handle a little more than that before snapping but I always run forwards when launching in the center just in case. The wind whistles wildly in the lines at all points of the window I should probably get a dedicated high wind kite... So I guess to answer your question: give yourself room to run forward if a big gust catches you in the center, and ride out prolonged gusts on the edge. also wind screens are a good idea, I really like the way they feel even at mid range speeds.
  2. Does that help with rigidity? My stock one is probably only 4 inches.
  3. interesting times in the bay area... great app though, I use it all the time. I've found the other various sites to be all over the place.
  4. Thanks everyone! I picked up some epoxy and did what you suggested Tom, minus the solvent, which I didnt have. Seems to be curing nicely. I also lost a sail tensioner today too due to a missing boot. aye aye aye!
  5. Great prize! I would be in, except I might need one of these instead
  6. My male lower spreader has been emasculated so to speak. The peg part has loosened and pushed into the spreader. I can probably find something to push it back out again but I don't know how to fix it in place. Epoxy? I'm sure this is a result of hitting the ground too many times the wrong way with a not-quite-seated spreader. Learning is frustrating... although, I did a flic flac today; which was pretty cool. Thanks in advance for the help.
  7. I fly for that first moment the kite leaps off the ground. Every time I crash or land or have to adjust the bridle or whatever I can feel the sadness and disappointment from the kite. It needs to be in the air and I took it down. The launch signals a return to it's home after what seemed like forever away. You can feel it in the lines, even in light wind, it yearns for the sky. I fly to be a part of the magic that occurs when the kite returns home/escapes/runs free.
  8. ok that makes sense. I was having the problem of having too much sail pressure in high winds and thus need to lower aoa to not break the kite (which I failed to do)
  9. I can attest to the necessity of flying kites well inside their wind range. I posted about my new kite exploding over in the beginner thread. Definitely don't risk it near the top edge of the range, one mistake and your left with a broken kite
  10. The high wind also explains why I had trouble doing push turns, the kite pulled so hard it was difficult to pull the line back in! I just ordered wind screens and a replacement spreader is on the way! I thought about getting a vented but that will have to wait until the kite fund recharges. Shouldnt the bridle be adjusted to the shortest setting to bring the nose forward and have the wind hit the sail at a shallower angle and reduce sail pressure? longer would bring the sail more perpendicular to the wind and increase sail pressure. That's how I visualize it anyway. Also, for the best service and kindest people, check out kitesandfunthings.com, the Trennepohl's have been super great to me.
  11. I recently visited the Trennepohl's store Kites and Fun Things in Plymouth MI and purchased a Widow NG. The trip to the store was surreal. I got to see the workshop and all the high end kites I had only seen in pictures, even a prototype glider Jon was working on. Remarkable stuff, and I learned about the industry and kite making process from talking to them. Super great people. I wasn't able to fly it until I got up to school in the Keweenaw Peninsula, where the wind off Lake Superior is constant and smooth. The first flight out was a learning experience, couple ground crashes, working on cornering and tracking and spin stalls. The second flight was Saturday, where I made a critical error in wind estimation. I thought it was around 4Bft, in reality it was consistently 20mph (the highest the kite is rated for) and gusting to 30 (that's bft 6-7 for those keeping score) Needless to say the kite pulled like a mack truck in the power zone and I could easily fly directly above me and to both sides of the window. The wind was whistling in the lines of my kite and the boat rigging docked next to me, so that should have tipped me off to stop flying. I was attempting to snap stall the kite at about 70% of the window when the bottom spreader exploded at the center. Whoops Now I have to figure out when I'm going to fly, because the wind frequently gets too strong for flying during the afternoon. I experimented with flying the snapshot late last night. Let me say, shooting stars and kites are a great combination. All in all, it seems I will be able to fly almost anytime here, which is awesome because I have a lot of things to work on.
  12. Welcome to the forums kitetarian :)

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