Welcome Knuckles_616

[John Barresi]

Hello @Knuckles_616,

Welcome to KiteLife®!

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[Knuckles_616]

Howdy,

Thanks for the add.

Wanting to get back into kiting after a ~15 year break.

Learnt to fly on a Wild Thang, upgraded to one of Phil's (from Far Out Kites) kites, followed by an XnTrik (spelling?; Rare Air), then an Erazor (Flexifoil), and finally a 3-D (Prism).

Since those days I've moved to a city that has no beaches, and fewer windy days.

Looking to add a more modern model to the bag o' tricks (which is still at my folks place), or try something completely different and go for a quad!

Cheers

[Exult]

Regarding starting again, buying kites, low wind and no nearby beach:

To be near a spot where one can practice is of importance or rater getting to the field/parking/jetty can't cost much extra time to get any regularity of the practice sessions. So use what is close and don't care what what others think (and if you can't avoid thinking of it, think that it is way better than other popular pastimes such as streaming series and consuming fatty “potato flakes” and beer):

While I have never tested any of the kites you have I can only compare to my experiences of returning to kites when the children had (mostly) grown up: I learned new stuff with the new (about >15-year newer) models (initially 2-line then 4-line) I then got hold of. "Would this or that kite be the one that first gained me some insight/new trick" reasoning perhaps led to a few redundant kites. Well redundant in the sense that I didn't have time to "fully" learn from each one of them, but I still don't want to part from them. On the other hand the only set of same-model-but-different-wind-ranges (Rev B-series std/half/full vent) allowed for continuity and consistent practising in any wind. If you stop progressing get something new or start to use something already available in a new way (short lines, new trick, two kites, precision...).

Regarding the lack of wind in the new city, well a low wind session is a practice opportunity:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgwdJlX2ZfA&t=1995s (Prism: The Advanced Way to Fly, Light Wind Skills)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXavCyyJCog&t=890s (Prism : Freestyle Pilot, Light Winds)

Practice stuff like this and become a more complete kite pilot. E.g polish a series of pop-up launch followed by belly landing (for dual lines) and make it shine. Also low/no wind means less turbulence which can open up new smaller fields.

Though I’ve been on a bit of a kite break myself I wish you welcome here and Good Luck.

[Knuckles_616]

9 hours ago, Exult said:

To be near a spot where one can practice is of importance or rater getting to the field/parking/jetty can't cost much extra time to get any regularity of the practice sessions. So use what is close and don't care what what others think (and if you can't avoid thinking of it, think that it is way better than other popular pastimes such as streaming series and consuming fatty “potato flakes” and beer):

Thanks for the advice @Exult!

I learnt to fly at the beach, and was quite spoilt as my hometown has some of the best beaches (and winds) for flying kites.

There is a cricket field near my work that doesn't seem to be used all too often, so will enquire about being able to use the space.

 

9 hours ago, Exult said:

While I have never tested any of the kites you have I can only compare to my experiences of returning to kites when the children had (mostly) grown up: I learned new stuff with the new (about >15-year newer) models (initially 2-line then 4-line) I then got hold of. "Would this or that kite be the one that first gained me some insight/new trick" reasoning perhaps led to a few redundant kites. Well redundant in the sense that I didn't have time to "fully" learn from each one of them, but I still don't want to part from them. On the other hand the only set of same-model-but-different-wind-ranges (Rev B-series std/half/full vent) allowed for continuity and consistent practising in any wind. If you stop progressing get something new or start to use something already available in a new way (short lines, new trick, two kites, precision...).

I also flew a few of my dad's kites, especially a Flexifoil Stranger, and to a lesser extent a Prism Illusion (As a teenager, I was terrified of crashing and breaking it). I definitely plan to give the Stranger some airtime next time I go home. Rare Air's XnTrik was sort of a 2.1 m version of the Psycho.

The main reason for buying a new, more modern kite (as opposed to fetching my kites from my folks) is to add something to the bag that I don't already have.

I currently have my eye on the HQ Flow for the following reasons 1) it's wind range (3-18 km/h) covers the local conditions, 2) it has a 1.57 m wingspan with a 3 mm carbon frame (my other kites this size all have 5 or 6 mm frames), and 3) it's going for a pretty good price, with lines included.

Alternatively, I've been looking at plans for various open source kites. These look fantastic, but sourcing the materials locally might prove problematic.

 

10 hours ago, Exult said:

Regarding the lack of wind in the new city, well a low wind session is a practice opportunity:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgwdJlX2ZfA&t=1995s (Prism: The Advanced Way to Fly, Light Wind Skills)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXavCyyJCog&t=890s (Prism : Freestyle Pilot, Light Winds)

Practice stuff like this and become a more complete kite pilot. E.g polish a series of pop-up launch followed by belly landing (for dual lines) and make it shine. Also low/no wind means less turbulence which can open up new smaller fields.

Thanks for the links, I'll give these a watch this evening.

My dad bought the David Gomberg books "Stunt Kites!" and "Sport Kite Magic!" I want to dig these out and give them another read. I last read them about 25 years ago!

 

10 hours ago, Exult said:

Though I’ve been on a bit of a kite break myself I wish you welcome here and Good Luck.

Thanks again and steady breezes!

[Exult]

It sounds as if you already can go quite low in winds by the Prism 3-D. Have you considered a more modern full size sensible/non-extreme high end dual line trick kite (...that can also do some precision...) for lowish medium winds? If necessary using the old ones for a while (not so bad see the below video recommendations) and save up for a well researched one (there is always the opportunity later to do spending). (And I unfortunately don't know anything about the HQ Flow - might be an excellent one)

My path when returning to kites after the 15 year break was first to get the Prism kites I had been drooling over as a student. Mainly because I found them discounted at ~50% so I got an Elixir, Illusion, Alien and later the 4D... Now they didn't get very much use with time except for initially (with the exception of the 4D - great for learning to reduce inputs and very portable) and possibly the Alien. Well the Alien could do double axels (never managed to transfer them to other kites though) and offered great leading edge launch practice (i.e. was very difficult to launch in that way) so that kite's personality did contribute but wasn't what I build further trick practice on.

The first newer kite model from this millennium was an HQ Maestro 3. It was different from what I was used to, needed much input to do square turns and felt "chunky", so I didn't like it and used it for slightly more risk taking almost reckless trick practice. Only after I had got hold of my (bring to a deserted island) HQ Infinity I realised that they resemble (the feel, not the look) each other quite much. I believe that the one I didn't initially like paved the way for the favourite one. Sometimes when you feel uncomfortable/out-of-control you are just learning new things and possibly you just don't know it yet (polishing skills is something different though). What worked for me at least was something new and full-size and then gradually accepting the different feel of the kite(s).

You probably know of these videos, but since you mentioned that you had a Flexifoil Stranger and a Psycho-like kite:

(Now is a good time for those potato crisps and the beer and a pen and paper)

About the possibility to get a quad I'd say that it opens up tight spots when you get used to them. Today I have no problems with quads on a narrow jetty, but I wouldn't do it with a dual (or perhaps it is the (failed) slack line tricks over water that is the real problem?).

[Knuckles_616]

15 hours ago, Exult said:

It sounds as if you already can go quite low in winds by the Prism 3-D.

I think my 3-D has a punctured nose--something to check on my next visit. I didn't get much opportunity to fly it at the time, but when I did it was an absolute blast. It felt like it wanted to be on its belly performing helicopters rather than being upright and flying.

 

15 hours ago, Exult said:

Have you considered a more modern full size sensible/non-extreme high end dual line trick kite (...that can also do some precision...) for lowish medium winds? If necessary using the old ones for a while (not so bad see the below video recommendations) and save up for a well researched one (there is always the opportunity later to do spending). (And I unfortunately don't know anything about the HQ Flow - might be an excellent one)

Apart from the 3-D, my older kites need a bit of a breeze to stay airborne. Not a problem back home, but those drills from the Prism videos will definitely come in handy in the future.

I was looking at the Prism Nexus 2.0, but maybe the Hypnotist would be a better option though?

There doesn't seem to be any one who stock Prism in South Africa, and the custom duties will probably cost the same (if not more!) as the kite. I have work trips to Europe and the United States planned for later in the year, so that could be my opportunity to buy a few kites that would otherwise be difficult (and expensive) to obtain in SA.

Suggestions for other manufacturers are very welcome!

 

15 hours ago, Exult said:

You probably know of these videos, but since you mentioned that you had a Flexifoil Stranger and a Psycho-like kite:

(Now is a good time for those potato crisps and the beer and a pen and paper)

Thank you, I actually watched those two nights ago  Also watched the first part of the Stranger video. I remember watching this intently and learning to emulate Andy's arm movements. Sadly the footage from the wind farm wasn't uploaded by the user.

For a longest time the Psycho was my dream kite. I saved up for months, but eventually ended up buying an Erazor instead as it was newer. It didn't come with a VHS 😐

 

16 hours ago, Exult said:

About the possibility to get a quad I'd say that it opens up tight spots when you get used to them. Today I have no problems with quads on a narrow jetty, but I wouldn't do it with a dual (or perhaps it is the (failed) slack line tricks over water that is the real problem?).

For now I'm focussing on a modern dual line, but not entirely ruling out the possibility of coming home from my trip to the US with a quad