RobB Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Dodd could probably get up on stage and drum right along side of Mickey Hart, too ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Welcome to the forum Deadheadkeg! This thread embodies everything I love about this particular community. It didn't "get there" right away, but open discourse certainly paved the road - a pleasure to read through, all. As has been expressed before, you took the first solid step which is to obtain a reputable kite design (at any price). Indeed, check out Dodd's videos and others (multiple links below), the other thing I'd like to offer is regarding the quality of the included line/string. https://www.youtube.com/user/Doddtunes/videos https://www.youtube.com/user/michaelhart/videos It might be fairly low end and may be a little stretchy, but at very least, make sure both lines are of equal length, verify this by tethering one end of both lines to something solid, pull them tight, and fix any offset in the line lengths - this is paramount to making sure the wheels on your car are all the same size. Let us know how it goes, I'm sure we'd all benefit from hearing how the Freeboard works out for you. Again, welcome! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadheadkeg Posted August 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Well I got the chance to fly my skydog freebird for a couple hours today. Inland nw indiana winds...a bit gusty...with some lulls in wind...so not best conditions. But I gotta say it's definitely a fun kite for a newbie. Only had one pretty good crash but no damage... but got it flying fairly easily and was able to get some stalls and even got to where was doing stall and spin landings. Sure was an awesome feeling the first time I landed and was able to relaunch immediately without a walk of shame! I definitely have a lot of work to do on the basics. No matter how much I tried to square off turns I tended to round them off (especially when heading towards ground and turning...think I tend to panic and over steer..almost always pulling more of a u turn straight up instead of 90 degree turn parrallel to ground). But I am getting the feel and improving. Definitely takes way less movement with the lines than my parafoil. I did have a problem several times with doing fast spins and having the kite seemingly stall then start tumbling...several times with line getting caught on leading edge tip as i was trying to recover and then just fluttering to the ground. But all that said the kite was a blast and seems way more capable than me at this point. I think it's going to be a great kite for me to practice my basic skills on (my goal / approach is going to be really working on the dodd 6 steps and trying to get all those nailed). So far it seems to definitely be good enough to see and experience the fun of stunt kites and basic tricking...I am looking forward to flying it more and can't wait to get it in some clean air (I tried taking it to Warren dunes on lake michigan Sunday. while the winds were in a nice direction they could barely keep my parafoil up at times so I didn't feel it was good enough to try the freebird). Overall though I think I'm hooked and can't wait to take it out again and keep practicing. I am very pleased with the kite (nice craftsmanship and materials, as well as how it flies) and think it's a great value for the price based on the shopping around I did. Of course that's the opinion of a newbie...but let's be honest...it is a newbie-ish kite, so i am it's target audience. I'd recomend it. Peace Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil in Ottawa Posted August 21, 2015 Report Share Posted August 21, 2015 Hi Deadheadkeg, I also just purchased a Freebird and I've also had it out just the one time so far. Like you, I'm a newbie in the dual line stunt kite world. Heck, I'm a newbie to kites period, so you appear to have an advantage over me already owning a parafoil. I had a good time when I took the kite out and I'm really looking forward to the next time. The wind is good today so I may go out a little later. I'm also studying the Dodd videos and every other tutorial I can lay my hands on. At this point it all seems pretty daunting but I'm sure that in time it will all become second nature. Good luck with it all and maybe we can keep reporting on our progress to compare. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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