Welcome OldieButNewbie

[John Barresi]

Hello @OldieButNewbie,

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[OldieButNewbie]

Hello Everyone

Recently had a family vacation planned at the beach and felt I could not do a trip like that properly without a couple of kites. Being the collectoholic that I am, I quickly had a few dual line kites to start my collection. Enjoyed flying them along with sharing them with the family and friends. After getting home, I realized my back pasture would be great for continuing my new hobby. Boy, was I right. Have had a great time with the duals and then I stumbled upon the "quads". It did not take watching many videos, before I had my first one on the way. I mean, are you kidding, a kite that can fly forward, backwards, hover, twirl, dance across the ground, and shot through the sky. That is the kind of kite flying I want to do.  Really looking forward to tiptoeing on the freaky side of kiting (no offense to anyone).  I will keep you updated.

I have a number of questions and no one to ask the to, so I will be posting them as individual threads over the next few days. 

Any kite clubs, gatherings, or flying fields in Pasco County, Florida? I am aware of the Treasure Island gathering. Thanks in advance for your help.

[makatakam]

Welcome to the forum and the dark side. (Quads)

Definitely attend the Treasure Island Festival. There will be lots of folks there who can help reduce your learning curve. One thing you need to know is that a quad-line kite is a completely different critter and not as easy as it looks in the videos, but once you get the basics down you may forget about your dual-line kites for a bit. Flying in any direction while the kite is in any position is more than fascinating; it is addicting.

Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe.

[Exult]

The early basic sessions
If you flew your duals enough to know how to avoid hard (unplanned) landings by rapidly extending your arms that's excellent, because it carries over to the quads. I got by the first times with quads by pretending that the right brake line corresponded to the right line of a dual line kite and vice versa for the left side. Beware, I have not heard anyone else swearing by that method though.

The next set of sessions
At least if using a REV-like (Hadzicki wing) quad line kite start gradually ”extending the top lines”. I.e. start using the knots on the top of the handles that is as far as possible from the handle itself when you connect it to the top lines. When doing so, occasionally do a few leading-edge-deforming good tugs on all lines to get a feel for the sail (and to do a distinct start/stop). Continue to feel through the lines and be aware of the sail surface also when doing more gentle inputs. Avoid constantly fluttering trailing edges – Then your trimming of the handles/leaders/lines is wrong.

Good luck and welcome!

[OldieButNewbie]

On 1/7/2020 at 3:06 PM, makatakam said:

Welcome to the forum and the dark side. (Quads)

Definitely attend the Treasure Island Festival. There will be lots of folks there who can help reduce your learning curve. One thing you need to know is that a quad-line kite is a completely different critter and not as easy as it looks in the videos, but once you get the basics down you may forget about your dual-line kites for a bit. Flying in any direction while the kite is in any position is more than fascinating; it is addicting.

Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe.

Thanks for the welcome. I did not make it to Treasure Island this year since I usually work on the weekends, but I was ready to go up to the last minute. I hope to have many more years doing this to get there a number of times. Thanks.

[OldieButNewbie]

On 1/7/2020 at 5:47 PM, Exult said:

The early basic sessions
If you flew your duals enough to know how to avoid hard (unplanned) landings by rapidly extending your arms that's excellent, because it carries over to the quads. I got by the first times with quads by pretending that the right brake line corresponded to the right line of a dual line kite and vice versa for the left side. Beware, I have not heard anyone else swearing by that method though.

The next set of sessions
At least if using a REV-like (Hadzicki wing) quad line kite start gradually ”extending the top lines”. I.e. start using the knots on the top of the handles that is as far as possible from the handle itself when you connect it to the top lines. When doing so, occasionally do a few leading-edge-deforming good tugs on all lines to get a feel for the sail (and to do a distinct start/stop). Continue to feel through the lines and be aware of the sail surface also when doing more gentle inputs. Avoid constantly fluttering trailing edges – Then your trimming of the handles/leaders/lines is wrong.

Good luck and welcome!

Thanks for the welcome. One skill I learned from RC helis, planes, trucks, kiting, and various motorsports I enjoy participating in is how to unload a wing and minimize crashes. I hope to carry that skill to quads. It is really sad how much I got to practice learning this skill.

Your other advice will be used and appreciated  in the coming weeks. Thanks