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Jim Mol

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About Jim Mol

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    http://

Profile Information

  • Favorite Kite(s)
    Prism Prophecy
  • Flying Since
    1998,99 started again in 2006
  • Location
    Genesee Twsp, MI
  • Country
    United States
  • Interests
    Kiting, bicycling, digital photography, video editing, DVD production
  • Gender
    Male

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  1. Oh, well. It turns out I have the Peter Powell stunt kites so I cannot help you. Best of luck.
  2. I have a stack on my kite shelf in the garage. I will see if it is a Tribly and if so, will get some picts and measurements. Hang in there.
  3. Shared your post with Jon Trennepohl of Sky Burner Kites and he had this to say: By looking at your photo’s, the spine and outside leading edges are not all the way into the nose. The cause of this is most likely that the leading edges are not pulled tight at the wingtips. If the lines that are holding the wingtips are not adjusted so it puts tension on leading edges it could have this effect on the nose. Also the spine needs to be tight with the Velcro pulled tight over the weight in the tail. All of this would then cause the top spreader to not line up with the rub patch, which in turn would result in the sail damage . If all of tubes are pushed into the nose like when you first got the kite, it should not have folded over like your photo shows. Did the stiches on the nose fail? If so this could also be the problem. Flying on the beach does create more wear but if you keep up with adjustments on the kite it should last longer than the time you have had it....I have been doing maintenance on kites for 30 years, as long as the sail is in good shape it has a lot of hours left on it. Suggest you contact him if you still have trouble after following his suggestions.
  4. I am going out on a limb and say it might be similar to a pancake landing followed by a belly launch. But that does not answer the hover question.
  5. Being a kite flyer and a former commercial pilot, let me try to shed some light on the issue. Since I do not know where the park lies in relationship to the airport, I can only speak in generalities. As a pilot, you are constantly looking out for other aircraft so as to avoid collision. You are also dividing your attention to maintain corse to the runway. As you begin your final descent, you may or may not see that kite at the 1000 feet above the ground, maybe pick it up at 500 feet above the ground - remember, as a pilot you main job is getting the plane safely to the ground - so you cannot be looking for the kite all the way down. Even if you know there is a person flying a kite, when you are going through your last 100 feet to the ground, there is nothing more disconcerting than catching something out of the corner of your eye - Was that an airplane coming in low and fast? An emergency landing by a small aircraft? It might distract you for a second, until you verify it is that kite. With two pilots, the non flying pilot can pay more attention to the kite, but the flying pilot could still catch it out of the corner of his eye, and for a moment wonder. I guess the question you need to ask yourself is would you want to be on an aircraft where the pilot(s) is distracted, for even just a moment, from his primary duty to land the plane safely? As far as the regs you reference, remember, with the FAA there is alway a catch all. I am surprised that the General Concerns # 8 did not point that out. Going back to the eCRF 0 Code... part 101.11(below) it is the "and" that limits you. "and with additional limitations imposed by the using or controlling agency, as appropriate." So if the control tower or approach control impose a not kite flying limitation, there is not much you can do about it except honor it and try to build some bridges with the appropriate agencies. As a kite flyer, I did fly a kite on airport property, once, on the softball outfields after talking to the tower and explaining that I had a 50 foot string and since I was working on stunt maneuvers it would be 40 feet off the ground. It was in an area where the planes would be rolling down the runway as they passed by and I was well away from the runway. Still, as I spoke with a controller afterwards, he mentioned he would rather I did not fly in that area any more. I get it. Imagine how he feels when he is bringing planes in and see something out of the corner of his eye... What to do: Now that you know someone thinks you are restricted from flying kites near the airport, I would suggest speaking to someone on the airport property as to why they think that - so you can begin to build bridges. Now if the airport manager tells you that, he has authority over the airport but may not be the controlling agency. Unfortunately, these days it is harder to talk to the controllers in the tower with all the extra security, but if there is a tower, ask for a tour so you can understand what is going on as they bring the planes in for a landing - look for a time where there is not much going on to do this. At the end of the tour, you might ask, "How do you feel about all those kite flyers over there?" pointing to the park. Then you will know. Controllers are truly concerned about safety and if a kite on a 35 ft line will not bother them, they will tell you, but if it does , then please honor their request and fly elsewhere. Sorry I am so long winded but I hope all have a better understanding from the pilot side of things. §101.11 Applicability. This subpart applies to the operation of moored balloons and kites. However, a person operating a moored balloon or kite within a restricted area must comply only with §101.19 and with additional limitations imposed by the using or controlling agency, as appropriate.
  6. Welcome to kiting, For me the best source of learning was Dodd Gross Flight School VHS from years back. I know it was in DVD form for a while. Now his instruction videos are on YouTube. I likes it as it was one of the first to show the kite and the hand inputs at the same time. Unfortunately, he brakes it down to categories of tricks instead of the progression you are looking for. But the basic video is a good start. There are more video by Dodd Gross so enjoy. He is sometimes stiff in his explanation on what to do, but he is a flyer trying to make a video to help the rest of us. There will be others that will have much more to share later. This is another video that covers the basics, some of which you may know, but it may help you as you get started.
  7. When I have flown the NikNak, I just used the factory set bridle setting. Since it flies so well in no wind, it will get going in a light wind. Have Fun.
  8. 50' tailtail on the WM would be fun to see. please post back if you ever get a picture of it. Back to the original post.
  9. I didn't think the WidowMaker was supposed to have a tail. Do you feel you need to add it for control issues or just for fun?
  10. Prism Kites still carries it http://shop.prismkites.com/index.php/catalogsearch/result/?q=Tedlar+Tape 20"x 3" for $5.00. Don't know about shipping cost.
  11. Thanks for the list. There was a wren or two. Jim
  12. A twist on a old phrase: Sometimes it is easier to ask permission than to beg forgiveness. I learned many years ago from an older cousin to make the security guard your friend. We were walking through a construction sight that would later be a mall. My cousin saw the security guard approaching, stopped and waved him over. He carried on a polite conversation with him and he explained why we should not be around the place. We never returned but we did not get in trouble either. Next time you are there with some wind, wave them over, ask them if they want to try out a kite. If you can, stop by the school office and ask what are the policies for public use. Explain what you want to do and why you need to do it there. If that does not work, visit central office and speak with the school superintendent. I know soccer fields are expensive to build and maintain and having extra feet trampling the grass may not help. If there are not too many bleachers between fields, offer to stay off the main fields and along the sidelines. Hope you can secure this place to fly! Jim M.
  13. Save your money for now. Start working on the basic tricks with the kite you have. There are other in the forum and maybe reviews of your kite that can tell you how far you can go. When you have learned the basics and most all of the tricks the Quantum can do, than take the money you have been saving up and buy the kite that you will not outgrow for a long while. I will be happy to share my thoughts on that when the time comes. There are only two times I might recommend going to a new kite: If the kite you are flying needs too much precision to get the tricks learned. Again, I do not know about the Quantum. Or if after you have a few tricks down you really want to try some tricks that your kite will not do. Even then, find a kite club or group of flyers, save up your money while trying some of their kites out, you will get to see what other kites do and will have even more money saved up for the really great kite you want. I am sure there are more comments to follow. Have fun flying Jim Mol
  14. I have been told that a Wren and INak are very different kites, the Wren being Old School and the INak new school. Thanks for the tip, I will give a try next time I fly. Jim
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