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Welcome Breezin


John Barresi
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Hello @Breezin,

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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Hello all. New to this kite stuff but so far really digging it. Live on the Colorado plains and it's a rare day when the wind isn't moving. Over the last 15 yrs or so grand kids have come to stay with cheap kites . None lasted more than a day with much wailing and whining begging for another one. Didn't catch on until about 5 weeks ago. Three grand kids and two great grand kids came to stay with 3 hq eco line kites. Needless to say I didn't know a thing but did have the sense to read the instructions. Still they didn't make it thru the day. Once again the wailing , whining and gnashing of teeth commenced. The great grand daughter sounded just like her mom years earlier go figure. So I started doing some research to see if it was worth buying a better kite. Boy howdy I guess. Didn't have a clue about this sport. Hope I don't come across as a cry baby but here it goes. In 2012 I got t-boned by a 18 wheeler running a red light. It really hurt lol. Very happy to still be here. I still have spasms that knock me to the ground at times. Used to be constant but I am slowly improving. About 3 months ago Docs wanted to start physical therapy again. Doesn't work very well because the isolation of different muscle groups starts the spasms. So I walk till I'm tired.  As I was researching kites I saw a post of a guy flying in a wheelchair. Light bulbs went off and I realized I could do this too !! What an inspiration. Many thanks to him. The kite makes me use all my muscles in unison and doesn't hurt so bad. Plus I'm thinking about the kite not me. If I ever see that guy I'm going to hug him. So after reading many posts of folks advising grow into the kite I got a Widow ng. Rob b is mostly to blame lol. The bug has bit though and I added an addiction and nighthawk. Haven't flown them yet. Yesterday I got a prism snapshot 1.4 sigh. Now I'm thinking about a hq fazer. I'd ask somebody to talk me out of the Fazer but this is probably the wrong place for that.:rolleyes:

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Great to hear from you.  Welcome to KiteLife.  Most of your questions can be answered quite thoughtfully by expert masters like RobB among others.  When I first got going on the kite forums I was somewhat inhibited by it all.  Then a bit later amazed that top kite fliers were really willing to help someone like me.  KiteLife is a friendly helpful place.  We want to hear all about your thoughts & experiences.  Many times new fliers have provided me with new insights.  

Welcome, SHBKFlarge.56f83b6f7b059_Intothesun(3400x2122).jpg

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Equalizing the lines is very important.. I looks like you may have forgotten to re-tie the second knot..

@John Barresi's line equalization tutorial shows you how to not only equalize but also proper placement of the double knot..

If you didn't connect the lines to the kite properly with a larks head knot, you'll get the same disaster.. Have patience, you'll get it..

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Salutations! Thank you for joining the beautiful kite flying community!!!! I have been flying for many years. I love your words, .. a few years ago while at my beach, I witnessed a man with no hands flying a stunt kite!!! Everything in life is beautiful and amazing, .. throw a kite into the mix and the skies the limit. Go fly a kite ❤️❤️❤️

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Hey, Breezin. Great to have you on board! Kites are a great way to deal with taking your mind off the pain, and are a form of rehabilitation also. You move all parts of your body that you can and some that will surprise you in the morning, so don't overdo it the first few times out. I look forward to sharing a field with you someday.

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10 hours ago, Breezin said:

New to this kite stuff but so far really digging it. Live

...

Plus I'm thinking about the kite not me. If I ever see that guy I'm going to hug him. So after reading many posts of folks advising grow into the kite I got a Widow ng. Rob b is mostly to blame lol. The bug has bit though and I added an addiction and nighthawk.

Thank you - I always enjoy a good story.

10 hours ago, Breezin said:

I got a Widow ng. Rob b is mostly to blame lol. The bug has bit though and I added an addiction and nighthawk. Haven't flown them yet. Yesterday I got a prism snapshot 1.4 sigh

Usually I'm the one who recommends to have different kites to learn tricks on, on what ever kite that is most prone to to do the trick in your hands. It also gives some more angles to experience than just what one kite can give IMO. However, now might be a good time to stop acquiring and start to explore the characteristics of each kite before the next purchase. Give it time to see what is not covered in the set that you got and be really prepared for the decision of your next kite purchase. Perhaps you then discover a missing wind range in your current set, find a size you would like to experience, have learnt much about a certain model, saved up for a high quality one...
 

10 hours ago, Breezin said:

Now I'm thinking about a hq fazer. I'd ask somebody to talk me out of the Fazer but this is probably the wrong place for that.:rolleyes:

Of course you are not going to get that "talking out of" here :)! The following was true until very recently, the only kite that ever made me laugh loud is my Fazer XL. Used in a bit high and gusty high wind it is like a happy mad calf. It is reasonably trickable (though not sold as a trick kite), got a really large over steer (which is not the case of the Fazer XXL for some reason) and a gust might make you suddenly end three steps down wind. The kite is robust, so that higher wind when in the air you don't fear that it will break. Tip stabbing is another issue, then the robustness, the higher wind you are prone to choose for this kite and the mass of the kite becomes its enemy. When a LLE of the Fazer XL broke I reinforced the inside of the new tube by gluing a carbon fibre rod where the previous one had broken. Unfortunately I have no experience of the Fazer (called std.?) to share. Could only guess that it could be fun to try in high wind. Guessing anything when it comes to turns would be difficult, since the XL and XXL appear so different here.

The second time I can recollect that a kite made me laugh was with my Infinity, when reaching a break through recently - more or less suddenly during a session, several flick flacks worked! And just before going home making a last attempt I managed four cycles and then exited from the fade and flow off. I couldn't believe that it was me and laughed out loud (there was fortunately no one to hear me or else they would have drawn the conclusion that there is a nutcase on the field). Why am I telling you this  example here (in a sense hijacking the topic)? To show that this was only a minor part of the story, to show the long term pleasant work of learning to pilot the kite: 

When returning to kiting soon three years ago "the flying had changed", the fade seemed to be some sort of starting point or at least very common. I had never done a fade (on purpose) before. In hindsight, to get to the flic flack a long time three step process (and the flic flacks has  never been the only goal) was required:

  • To learn and to learn to hold the fade. Found it lightly annoying that others seem to be quicker at learning this - this was actually good. Even though you wouldn't have any kiters around, if you can find someone that present a video of flying that is rather close to your level you can then chose to "race" against it.
  • To let go of that your flying always need to look good - Hey, you need room for learning! Constantly be around those positions/situations where you want to learn and reduce the frequency of the parts that are already familiar to you. To myself I called it "tricking en masse" - an observer would probably have said "just tumbling around".
  • Reconnect to the flares I already knew how to do since a long time ago, but in the flic flack context. Yes, once again the feet stopped moving forward when lightly popping the flare to start the transition to the fade, just as they did a long time before when learning other tricks involving a flare.

Sounds like learning is a lot of work? Yes and no, because it doesn't really feel like work. Also the process was not as focused as described above - one can work on several things in a more or less parallel way. In spirit of the above example, but in your way, making your story:

I wish you both long term and short term kiting happiness and above all I wish you welcome here!!!,
Exult
 

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Thank you all for the warm welcome. Sitting here looking out at 0 to 3 mph . Would be a great morning for sul I think. Glad I didn't buy the Fazer. That will be better served in the future. Don't think I need that kind of pull for now. Besides I still have to learn to breath then get my dance on lol. Going to save for higher end sul. From all I've read the niknak seems to be the best starting point ? Looking at my lines Ripstop was right. Thanks would have repeated next time flying and maybe more than that !!!

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I've been to the Skyburner site and did some coloring.Kinda like going to the Bentley site but more attainable for me. Broke lower spreader on my Widow this morning. I'll be calling them in the am. From what I've read and seen on video Pro Dancer is in my top 5. To soothe my bruised ego from the mornings tragedy I got a micron. I'll start saving tomorrow. Hit me up if you go to the Denver area kite meets. I'd like to see one in person. NO MORE KITES TILL SUL!!! Repeat as needed.

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Don't have a NikNak but have an iNak which is super close. Great kite. Well built and finished. I used it as my "no wind" dual. Good presence at the end of 20, 30 and 50 feet. Nice blend of tricks, precision and just flying around. If the NikNak is it's big bro, it will be a fun kite.

Big welcome to KL. We are a big friendly bunch of enablers...

In between Heaven and Earth, there are kites.

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Ha that's funny.  Went to the Doc for real this morning and told them about my new about my new affliction. The nurse and P.A. were pretty concerned. There experience with kites is watching traction kiters in the snow and on the beach. Explained the different aspects of kiting and they concluded this will be a good thing. Told me my med intake better not go up and I said to much Tequila makes me stupid and fall down. Don't worry about it !! Got my snapshot 1.4 and Micron today :). The Micron is the ugly orange one that I'll be able to see 100 feet away. Winds were blowing to fifty today.  Blew some of the siding off the post office Glad I didn't get a Fazer. Would have tried it and then you know. More Tequila than advisable.

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