Welcome Mikefule

[John Barresi]

Hello @Mikefule,

Welcome to KiteLife®!

Although this is an automated message, it is written with heart - I love kites deeply, and I believe the KiteLife community represents this passion with a very friendly and helpful environment for everyone. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

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[Mikefule]

Hi,  I'm Michael Wilkinson from Lincolnshire, UK.  I have been flying kites on and off since childhood and at various times I have done it as a "proper hobby" rather than an occasional pastime.

 I took early retirement a few weeks ago.  Looking for things to fill my time, I got my old kite bag out and sorted the various kites and lines out.  I was surprised to find I had 12 single line kites and 4 double line kites.  I don't even remember buying one or two of the SLKs and I'm pretty sure that at least one had never been flown.  The DLKs were given to me and I had never flown them.

Since then, I have been out more or less every second day and I have had up to 5 kites in the air at one time. I particularly like the feeling of satisfaction you get when you nurse a reluctant kite in a fitful breeze until finally you hook the wind a little further up.  I achieved this with my 11 ft delta the other day and the wind "up there" was so strong that I struggled to haul it back down!

I prefer SLKs but have some fun with my dad's old DLKs for a few minutes at a time before I get bored with them.

I am much more of a flyer than a builder, but I have started to experiment with simple plastic or paper kites using sticky tape and cheap dowel.  My proudest achievement so far is an 18" Eddy kite which, when adjusted right, can fly absolutely steady with a full length of line out.

A few years ago, I was a member of Midland Kite Fliers - a regional club.  Unfortunately, I am now some distance from where they have most of their fly ins.

You will also find me on the kit builders forum.  Other hobbies include Morris dancing, playing Anglo concertina, cross country and road unicycling, cycling, and riding my Moto Guzzi motorcycle.

Over the last few weeks, I have been struck by how friendly the kiting community is, with several individuals approaching me when I've been flying to tell me about their own kites or experiences.

[makatakam]

Hi, Mikefule, good to have you on board.