Washington Monument on the fly.

[FranckPG]

Great practice session. Next time I'm going to properly setup camera for better shots. Off again Tue, weather permitting I'm heading down again. You down April?


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[Wayne Dowler]

You might ask Paul L. what length he uses there. He also deals (I'm pretty sure) with the weekend crowd. He might have some tips on how to avoid the dreaded "obliviots"!

[Steve Jenkins]

3 hours ago, ACrop said:

Yeah it was fun. The wind was good, changing directions a bit but good. Tourists are pretty clueless. While the site is awesome for flying it is also just the right distance for selfies w the monument apparently. Had severalty to people walk past me and literally sit down in the grass in the "high crash risk zone" and do extensive selfy sessions. Changed from 120' lines to 80 just to give myself myore room to maneuver clear of the current selfy crowd. Was wishing I was good enough to photo bomb them without worrying that a gust would make me scare them on accident. . Thanks for taking photos Frank.

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AMEN, April. That was exactly my sentiment on Atlantic beach last month when two people set up camp directly under where I was flying. I was quite a distance from the rest of the group for a good reason, brand new to the Rev! 

I'm going out to fly in a bit, we have 15-17 mph winds today in central OH. I gave it a shot yesterday with the kite I bought my grandson for his birthday (Prism Quantum), but it was too light to really have fun. This afternoon will be a big improvement. 

[Steve Jenkins]

3 hours ago, ACrop said:

Yeah it was fun. The wind was good, changing directions a bit but good. Tourists are pretty clueless. While the site is awesome for flying it is also just the right distance for selfies w the monument apparently. Had severalty to people walk past me and literally sit down in the grass in the "high crash risk zone" and do extensive selfy sessions. Changed from 120' lines to 80 just to give myself myore room to maneuver clear of the current selfy crowd. Was wishing I was good enough to photo bomb them without worrying that a gust would make me scare them on accident. . Thanks for taking photos Frank.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using KiteLife mobile app
 

AMEN, April. That was exactly my sentiment on Atlantic beach last month when two people set up camp directly under where I was flying. I was quite a distance from the rest of the group for a good reason, brand new to the Rev! 

I'm going out to fly in a bit, we have 15-17 mph winds today in central OH. I gave it a shot yesterday with the kite I bought my grandson for his birthday (Prism Quantum), but it was too light to really have fun. This afternoon will be a big improvement. 

[Paul LaMasters]

it can be tough to keep an area clear of spectators in DC, we generally keep at least one kite in the air while lunching or using the bathroom break for a resting period of time.  

I also layout a set of safety cones (the short little paint can liners from Home Depot) into a circle (120 feet in diameter) and place the battery/music player at this center.  Then as the winds change direction you just rotate your flying position slightly to accomplish the revised mission plan.  Back-up when necessary and recover your field to get back to the center again.

Line lengths are a personal position.  My coach Jeff Burka is probably on less then 35 feet and flying UPWIND, likely one-handed and NOT watching the kite.  My travel buddy Paul Dugard undoubtedly has tow kites set up and probably on 100 ft 50# unless he can carry a set of 120's in each hand w/o undue efforts.  Myself?  I use everything from 50 foot/100# flailing 3-D movements to 135 foot/50# (zen or Reflex ~ both flown slowly.

what you want to learn influences the choices of equipment.  Throw and catch is best done on short lines to learn, more mass (weight) in the leading edge make it easier to pitch in a straight line.  Heck the throw can taught "off the lines" until it is second nature.  

Want no wind practice?,.. that is field management techniques of body positioning/movement and light weight framed kites.  Flick/flak REQUIRES lots of down in the tuning of your leaders.  Longer handle lengths make slack line efforts more effective/easier to acquire.  In big wind though these handles are down right painful, not just uncomfortable!  Team flying is about becoming proficient enough to fly over a trash can with perfect control. (now you can fly a Rev).  To be one of us you must remove the trash can and demonstrate your control over a soda pop can instead.  Is that 18 months of practice or does it happen in a single hour?,  (i've seen both!)

the most important part is to enjoy yourself, all the skills will come eventually with time on the lines.