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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.

After officially joining the dark side with the gift certificate I won here last winter, I had my first chance last weekend to fly in formation with a group of other (much more experienced) Rev. fliers. What a blast! I was kite number 10 of a 10-kite flight at the third-annual Illinois Kite Enthusiasts' weekend retreat. We did some follow-the-leader and a couple of static formations. I had more trouble than anyone else staying in position, but part of the time I did OK. The other fliers were very gracious and encouraging and I got a great deal out of the experience, which is why I'm writing. If you're a novice (like me) or future Rev. flier, take heed: If a group of experienced fliers invites you to fly with them, do not hesitate! Don't worry about whether you're good enough. They've been watching you fly and know what they're getting themselves into. Do realize that group flying can help improve your precision more than solo flying. This is especially true with speed control. Flying solo, it's really hard to know how well you're really controlling your speed. In a group, you know exactly how good your speed control is! And these training benefits, I suspect, are big part of what prompted the experienced fliers to invite the novice in. They knew what it would do for my flying, because they've been there. If you haven't had a chance to fly with a group yet, I recommend that during your solo flying, you work on holding hovers more than just zipping around the sky. Then, fly horizontal figures 8, slowly, without allowing your kite to speed up on the descents or slow down on the climbs. This is particularly difficult to judge when flying alone, but work on it anyway. Then, find some experienced people to fly with. I'm lucky that the IKE retreat happens only a couple of hours from home, but there are plenty of other kite clubs around the country who have fun flies, so find one. Believe me, you'll get a lot out of it!

Just returned from the Wildwood Kite Festival and discovered my teenage daughters had a great time learning to fly dual line stunt kites. While there, i pulled out a couple of old beetles to let them practice but that didn't last long. On both of them, the spreader connection broke after a couple of collisions. So now I'm in the market to replace them. I've had the Beetles for awhile and was wondering if any of you would chime in with first-hand experience with any new beginner models released since the Beetles. I'm looking for a delta, two-line stunter with a good wind range, not too quick, preferably under $80. Thanks in advance, Phil

Hello everyone! My name is Joel and I'm from the Pearl of the orient sea, Philippines! I'm droppin this quick inquiry since I am a newbie and will be ordering my first kite. It will be the Prism Quantum. I have chosen this as I've heard it's a good starting kite and since I am on budget. I will definetly love to hear from you guys who happened to play with this kite. In addition, any other kites and brand that you can recommend for a kite that's around $100. Thanks much! Soaring high, Joel

I am sorry if this is in the wrong place or has been answered already. If it is please direct me to the correct area. I currently have a Prism Nexus that I have flown for about a year and a half. I feel proficient with my basic control of the kite and can perform snap stalls and a few other very basic tricks and occasionally pull off a sketchy axel. I feel that I will need a different kite to progress to more advanced tricks. I am looking to get a kite that is advanced enough to do many tricks and that I will not need a new one soon. Price is an enormous factor to me. I want to spend as little as possible. I have considered the Prism Hypnotist, quantum and E3. I would like to know what alternatives there are and what kites you would recommend. My price range if flexible but I would really like to pay around e3 money or less. -Thank you ,