Greg Brouelette Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 Hi Folks: I'm Greg and I'm new here. Allow me to introduce myself. I grew up in Lakewood California and have many fond memories of flying a traditional paper kite in a field near my house. That field is now a parking lot but I remember flying my paper pirate kite so high I could barely see it. We moved to Huntington Beach and as I got older I often flew my no-name stack of three dual line stunt kites on the beach there after work. In my late 20's I moved to San Diego where I would fly kites down at Mission Bay. Little did I know that I have lived and flown at two of the most popular kite site in Southern California. At some point I acquired a Dart dual line kite from Action Kites in Sorrento Valley near San Diego (which I still have). That was over 20 years ago and I think it was an older kite even then. It looks like a modern kite with whiskers (stays) but I've always thought it felt slow and cumbersome. This may be because I've been flying that tiny 18" wing span 3-stack for so long. About ten years ago my wife and I moved to the foothills of the Sierra mountains. We love it up here but somehow I seem to have forgotten about kiting entirely. Well, a couple of weeks ago my step-grand daughter got a single line dragon kite for her birthday so I took out to her school field to fly it. I also dug my old Action kite out of the garage to try it. That's when I realized our problem. Trees. Wow, I love living in the mountains surrounded by pines and oaks. I love being 10 minutes away from a river where I can go fly fishing, In an hour I can be backpacking at 7000 feet elevation in the Sierras and in 2 hours I can be at Lake Tahoe. But those trees are everywhere. I can't find anywhere with a clear breeze and open space to fly. I work down in Folsom which is the lowlands so I've been scouring Google maps trying to find a spot where I could launch my kite. The bug has bitten me again but I can't seem to find a place to fly. I'll just have to go exploring. I've always wanted to get a quad line kite. When I stopped flying about 20 years ago an Axel was a big trick for dual line kites. I can't believe all the stuff people can do today. I think a new, better kite will appear in my near future. If only I can find a place to fly it. So here we are today. I've got my 2 decade old Dart and my little 3 stack has vanished in one of the many moves I've done in that time. But I still remember those days of hanging out on the beach flying patterns in the sky with my little 3 stack and I'd like to try doing that again. Greg Brouelette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHBKF Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 Welcome to KiteLife. I too live in a world of trees in the eastern temperate rain forest known as Southwest Virginia. Even finding a large open mowed area is a challenge here in the rural area where I'm located. I have a few spots that are actually hay fields. So when they are mowed I can fly until the grass gets about a foot tall. Then line snags start to become an issue plus I don't want to trample the crop. I also try to find little spots that may have enough room to fly shorter line sets. Kite flying is rare in this area & there does not seem to be any issue with people running me off their property but I usually seek permission in order to present a positive image. I primarily fly ultra light & super ultra light kites. But fall & winter bring stronger air. Then I can fly more standard kites but gusty wind makes it a bit more difficult than the beach winds you experienced years ago. Stay with it & let us know how it's going. There are many great fliers on this site who will answer any questions you may have. Join us in the chat room if you would. SHBKF 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 Hi Greg, welcome to KL! Your post totally tipped me over into making a new forum section for new member introductions, thanks for making it obvious enough (even for me). lol Have fun, you're in great hands with these folks! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbailey49 Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Greg, I, like Ralph, deal with trees and hills in East Tennessee. I'll tell you my secret. Vacations to the beach and waiting for the leaves to fall off the trees in the fall. Seriously, though, get a Rev that is set up for light wind flying and short lines. It will take time. It will be frustrating. You will want to break it and throw it away. I will promise you though, that if you stick with it, and get to where you are decent in choppy,tree and hill, swirly winds, when you get to an open spot with clean winds and room to roam, you will make the flat landed, beach flyers look like amateurs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glitch Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Hey Greg. Welcome from another new guy... Lots of good reading on here. Best of luck finding a field... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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