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MissRandall

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Everything posted by MissRandall

  1. Isn't freestyle a Prism video? I don't know if you would have any luck, but since FREESTYLE PILOT in "burnable", you might try some of the P2P programs out there. There was a whole thread on these programs recently on Gone with the Wind Forum. Good luck.
  2. Hi Sky Fish. My first question(s): Do you want to put weight on your kites or are you just trying to understand what the weight's do? I notice that your favorite kites are Detonator and Nexus... Are these the kites you're thinking about puting weight on? IMO I don't think weight would do anything for the Detonator except maybe cause problems but I could be wrong. Prism usually responds pretty well to weight but I have absolutely no experience with Nexus. Weight can do different things to different kites... Weight in the nose of a kite might cause it to go deeper in a turtle... that could help with lazy based tricks. Weight in the tail can do different things in different kites but IMO it's primarily helpful in "wrapping" the kite up. Some people increase the amount of weight on a kite in higher or lower winds (more weight to make kite heavier in high winds and vice versa) I think when Ant Man was talking about slack line tricks he was refering more to Axel based, wrapping, etc.... I don't know if added weight would help a kite with a stall but it might I guess. How you attach the weights depends on the kite. Some weights slip on the spine and you use some kind of "o" ring to keep them from sliding. You will also occasionally see weight's zip tied on to the spine. As well as weights being placed inside the spine. Another common way to add weight to some of the Prism kites is to undo the velcro at the spine and slip a nickel behind the spine and then retension the velcro. Hope this helps some.
  3. don't be sorry... we love to watch you run in circles
  4. Ive knotted the broken line but ive yet to test it out. I think the othe side is about to break though as I can feel some very rough spots in the line like how I did on the side that broke. So im not really expecting them to last much longer either way regardless. Ill probably give the lines a test tomorrow and see what happens. Try making a nice short line-set for those really low wind days.
  5. Are you able to salvage the line-set you broke? You don't need sleeving... sleeving is nice but you don't need it.
  6. Yes, I do get flat axels almost half the time. Im still rough around the edges with them, so they are not always flat, and sometimes the kite is a little bouncy coming out of the axel. But I have a good general idea of how to do them. Time and pratice will smooth out those rough edges. If your getting flat axels even a third of the time I would say that you are doing better than most! You've only been flying for a month? I would say that you are doing great... I was once told by a "Steep in old time" flying guy that many flyers don't learn an axel after years of flying. You are right. Just keep practicing and all of your axels will be smooth and flat The slot machine is one of my favorite axel based tricks... But I think your on the right track. Learn a good axel then half axel. You should be able to blend them nicely at that point.
  7. I was flying a NewTech Detonator till about a week ago. Now I am usually flying the Nighthawk, unless winds are lite, then I fly the Techno. As far as winds go, it can be anywhere from 5 to 9mph usually.. sometimes more if its gusty. For my Axel's, I usually do them anywhere between a 90 to 45 (or less) degree angle. If the kite is flying to the left, I will fly to the edge of the wind window till its almost ready to stall and ill push with my left hand just a bit to flaten it out, then ill pop it and immediatly give slack with the right hand with the left to follow (taking a step forward if needed), and once the rotation is done, ill pull back on the lines and fly off. Kinda similar to how Dodd does it on his video. It doesn't matter which hand you axel with on the edge of window... You should be able to axel with both hands on either side. It will seem strange at first but with time you will understand the position of the kite and what to do. Are you getting flat axels at least some of the time? If you are, then just keep practicing! If not, I would suggest trying to figure out how to set the kite up a little better. With any luck John B. will get in on this and give some good advice.
  8. I guess what I would want to know is: - What are you flying? - What kind of wind are you flying in? The only advice I can give you with getting your axels is: - Fly to the edge of window. - Point nose up. - Let the kite begin to settle back so you will have to move forward/release tension in line - As the kite settles, the nose will come forward a bit. - At this point you will "pop" your axel and at the same time... THE OTHER HAND GOES FORWARD - Practice the sweeping motion of one hand forward and one hand back... that always gave me enough slack. As your axels improve you won't be doing them this way.... You will know how they should look and start doing them a little more in the window (initiated with snap stall, turn stall, etc..) On the line... Give Theresa at the Kite Shoppe a call and get some Spectra Gold. She makes great line-sets and it will last much longer. I've been flying with some of the same line-sets for over a year... Just need to occasionally switch the left and right side so they evenly stretch. Good luck.
  9. Christmas is just around the corner... I'll look for a package from you.
  10. I guess there isn't huge differences unless you want to count these (and hopefully I won't get any of this wrong) 540: is a one and half complete spin. I've seen ugly ones and beautiful ones. Entry into a 540 is essential. This trick is all about finesse and skill. I think your confusing the nose being in a down position cuz you have to be able to flare the kite... It's still a flat rotation. Slot machine: Half Axel then do flat spin in opposite direction. Axel: Single flat spin May I suggest: http://kitelife.com/forum/index.php?showforum=114 The only thing that's similar about these tricks IMO is that they are axel based tricks.... Because doing each of them is very unique. And I wish they were all as easy as doing an axel
  11. Sea Devil Mid-Vent Sea Devil Standard Sea Devil UL Sea Devil SUL Q-Pro Standard Transfer French Connection And coming soon: Mohawk Disaster
  12. Ummm... Cuz I'm a girl and my last name is Randall
  13. MissRandall

    Half Axel

    half axel is not harder... it just seems odd "choking" off the kite. I've seen some people that have absolutely no trouble watching one tutorial and nailing it (you just want to choke em!)
  14. MissRandall

    Half Axel

    How's your fade? If you can do it a even for just a few seconds then you can easily learn half axel to fade. Don't know what kind of wind your flying in but I think axel to fade was easiest to learn when I could slow my half axel down a little bit. So I either wanted lighter wind or I would fly a little more at the edge of window (which can be tricky because if you go to far to the edge, as you probably already know, the damn thing just doesn't work to well). So, when the nose is directly away from you, you would "flick" both hands, give a little slack and mind the tension. Some people call the "flick" a "pop" but for me, when I "pop" the kite I find that it's just to much. I think the amount of input will depend on the kite. Good luck and keep us updated!
  15. MissRandall

    Half Axel

    WOW! This is great to hear! Keep practicing... They will continue to get better and better! Wait til you start doing cascades! (Cascades are one of my favorite "go-to" tricks)
  16. MissRandall

    Half Axel

    I have to say... for me the half axel was probably the hardest trick for me to learn. But once I learned it, everything got easier! I tried all of the tutorials with no success. I was talking to a friend (Steve Hall - GWTW) who is very good at cascades and asked him how to half axel. He told me to quit watching the tutorials! Think about what the kite needs to do (the top wing needs to tip back slightyly before you pop it... you can do this by giving a little slack to the top wing or a slight tug to the bottom). If you tug to much with the bottom wing then your kite will go into a turtle and that can be very cool too! If it does this give another quick tug and voila you have a snap lazy! Be patient and it will come! BTW....What are you flying? Oh yea... it's been suggested that it's better to learn the half axel with the bottom wing tug and the top wing pop. Once your learning more advanced tricks your hands will be in better flying position. Personally I give the slightest tension with bottom wing while giving slack with top wing then iniate the pop on the top wing. Cara
  17. Audacity and Garage Band are very similiar in what they do. I prefer Garage Band, its a little more intuitive, but, limited to Macs. Thanks for the information Monkey! Since I'm familiar with Garage Band... and I'm a Mac user... Well, I'm sure you can do the math.
  18. If you can step on a dance floor and shake it without a plan, you can fly the same... I LOVE mystery ballet, because it forces me to open up to the music and let it move me. I generally get all the new soundtracks that come from action/thriller/adventure movies, and listen close to whatever I might have on (CD, radio). Sometimes, there will be a song I've heard 1000's of times, then one day... I finally understand a way to fly with it, something clicks. Thanks John! I don't get out on the dance floor much anymore but I get what your saying. Now I have visions of you on the dance floor shaking it to "Dueling Banjo's" or "The Looney Toon Theme"
  19. How is this different from Garage Band? So the text form is only when you listen to the music in Audacity?
  20. I'm even more impressed! So how do you come up with your musical selections! For instance, I love the song "Red Warrior" but I would have never come across it unless I watched your routine that you flew to it. How do you find your music?
  21. I watch so many videos and I'm constantly amazed with some of the stuff people come up with... Everything from the music to the actual break down of the routine. I would really like to know how some of you come up with musical selections. Then how you start puting together your routine. For me, I find, that I just hear a song and will immediately picture doing certain things at certain points in the music. I just kind of "wing" the rest. I think I could really improve on creating my routines and hope that other peoples input will help me do that. Thanks!
  22. Well, I hope that you can teach him something good! Then again, maybe he can teach you something.... Have fun!
  23. Thanks for the info on best kites to learn this on.
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