Just Starting Out / Pittsburgh

[John Barresi]

Lots of fliers underestimate fundamental control as mere “precision” when it’s the very thing that allows you to set up your tricks reliably, consistently, in the right places in the wind window and with the right sail pressure. 🙏🏻

[toddnkaya]

Is it ok to leave my kites in a hot car for weeks?

the wind sucks in Pittsburgh!!! Frustrated!

[ACrop]

Come on... doesn't at least one of you famous PBG hills have wind on top? I feel your pain, and some would say that this is highlighting a gap in our quiver and/or skills.

Have you tried blowing at the kite yet? Purse your lips and blow hard, it works 30% of the time to call a brief teasing breeze....just enough to keep you trying for another 15 minutes.

Sent from my [device_name] using http://KiteLife mobile app

[Breezin]

I've acquired the quiver for 0 to 30. Skills, ahhh getting there slowly but surely. Had to go to town today. Got back and winds were over 20 and later hit 30 for a bit. Didn't have the poop to fly . Feel ya. I used to not have the choice. Yesterday winds were 0 to 4 for a good while.Had the choice. Chose to fly.As long as they're not in direct sunlight I don't see a problem. It'd make me paranoid though. Thieves and such. Mine are kept in a barn guarded by 2 Akbash Shepherds and 7 booby traps. 1st ones a fairly painful stiff blast of sand and small debris as a warning. Progressing to leg traps, amputations and ending in decapitation.Maybe the next 6 are getting a little extreme but hey the warning is there. Love my kites. Heard that Kaiju will fly if you do what Acrop  says 🤯. Might be well worth the try. Did that to my Pro Dancer once. Passed out hurt my head and haven't done it sense err since.

[makatakam]

17 hours ago, toddnkaya said:

Is it ok to leave my kites in a hot car for weeks?

the wind sucks in Pittsburgh!!! Frustrated!

I've done it with no issues. The materials they're made of will deteriorate faster just as everything else does when exposed to heat and light. Keeping them in a cool and dark location will extend their life. 

The wind sucks everywhere if you are inland. Ocean, Great Plains and Great Lakes winds are the only good winds you'll encounter. Miles and miles of flat land or water are the only things that don't make wind turbulent. Once you can fly consistently well in inland wind, you will look like a pro in decent wind. It will make you a better flyer so get used to it and let it refine your skills. If you can fly in crap you can fly in anything. Don't let it frustrate you. Have fun in it. It will make you better much more quickly.

[toddnkaya]

tried to fly yesterday. winds seemed good. It said 10 mph, but I can say wind was very spotty. I  struggled with tangled lines,  spinning kite to untangle lines. Wind died waay down .

I'm fully drenched with sweat. Two nose dives after only getting the kite in the air a foot or two. For shitsake , wrap everything up , go home pissed, tired, and dejected .😭 

Bummed !

[Breezin]

One of the hardest skills to learn for me is not pulling the air out of the sail in low winds. Your Freestylist should fly well in 2 or 3 mph with skills. This is one of those head trips where Makatakams advice starts hitting home. Don't forget to breath and have fun. It's good practice when winds suck to just pop the kite off the ground and see what it does and how you can control it. Until I got a Pro Dancer I did that a lot. Got very pissed at times too. My Addiction was really good at that. Yesterday winds were 0 to 2 and a little 3 or 4 in the morning. Took my new to me Tekken SUL out and it does not do that well at all. Still got a good feel of the kite. Hour of that I flew my Pro Dancer for about 11/2 hours. Winds came up a little and pow that Tekken  smacked me like a ton of bricks. Just awesome. Lams art work on a kite is fantastic.  Only saw one thing yesterday that was more bad ass than that kite . It was in the morning looking in the mirror while brushing my teeth LOL. Might have bonded so quick because of that hour just popping around. Top of stated range is 12. Winds kept increasing and when hitting 12 to 13 took a break. Came back out winds were 15 and going higher. Mind Trick vented time . Hour later winds started hitting in low 30's. Flew a little bit longer and got my ass wore out. Been there and it sucks you had a rotten day. Me I had 0 to 30 winds with 3 kites to fly. Had a absolute blast. When having some days like that and actually breaking things a wise one on here said this. Patience grasshopper you'll get there.You will. Got up at daylight to catch the low winds. Still pretty sore from yesterday and chickened out. Winds now 15+ and really want to fly. As long as winds aren't over 30 tomorrow my poop will be back. I'll fly and hopefully nothing will break . You might have had your bridle under a spreader or on the wrong side of a LE connector. To go up so low and spin to a nose dive doesn't seem quite right. One day I had issues like that. Got pissed and it took a broken center tee for me to figure it out. Was real sure it was the kite and wind combination not me. Boy was I wrong.

[makatakam]

3 hours ago, toddnkaya said:

tried to fly yesterday. winds seemed good. It said 10 mph, but I can say wind was very spotty. I  struggled with tangled lines,  spinning kite to untangle lines. Wind died waay down .

I'm fully drenched with sweat. Two nose dives after only getting the kite in the air a foot or two. For shitsake , wrap everything up , go home pissed, tired, and dejected .😭 

Bummed !

When you set up to fly, check everything! Visually inspect for twists and tangles in the bridle. Check the bridle settings and the Prussik knots to make sure everything is symmetrical and locked in. Verify that your lines are of equal length. Verify wind direction. Relax. Launch. Fly. Smile. Breathe. Rinse and repeat.

You'll have less and less days like that as time goes on and you begin to do some of the basics automatically, without thinking about it. You'll eventually be able to tell the lines are off, one second after you launch. It gets easier every time. Hang in there. You'll survive. Take frequent breaks. Choose your wind so it will help you. If the wind sucks don't fly.

In time you'll be able to fly in that crap and you won't realize it happened until you're flying in it. It's all about time on the lines. You'll hear that phrase repeated often. Experience beats the crap out of everything else. You'll get there. You've already covered a good portion of that distance.

P.S. -- There's only one s and two i's in shiitake (shitsake).

[toddnkaya]

Thanks for the advice Mak.  "if the wind sucks , don't fly" , that makes alot of sense.

I went out with my wife with the foil. The wind was not nearly strong enough .We did get all of the tangles out. Got told to move a couple of times by the frisbee golfers. But know I know where to fly, not to bother them.

I hope to be getting out for another lesson or two in the next couple of weeks. I can only progress and get better from here.

 

[toddnkaya]

Winds are up in the Burg!!!   Hallelujah !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting off work about 2 hours early!! :-)

[toddnkaya]

Yikes !!  I’m not sure if I’m not in a good field ?  It said winds were 10mph . Winds felt good , but direction seemed to be changing .  And not steady at all .I could not get my  Skyburner airborne at all. 

Switched to a different field . Not any better. Waited for my wife to help with launchings, not any better. Could get kite and foil up for a second or two then it falls .  I have been taught good launching techniques, and did much better with a 4d in very light to no wind . The Skyburner seems like a tank compared to the 4d, even though it’s an UL.

I’m pretty well frustrated!!!!😝😝

maybe this is not a good hobby for this city. Maybe I just suck . I feel like if I had a steady wind  I could do it . I have had a few lessons. Felt like I was making some progress.  

I may go to a group fly about 45 minutes outside the city this weekend .  

I am a good athlete, and I would say that I have excellent hand eye coordination.  

What gives??!!! 

I am not trying for tricks , I just want to get the kite airborne, keep it up,  fly it from right to left , maybe do a a couple of circles . That’s it.  Not so much to ask .

 

[Wayne Dowler]

Patience grasshopper - patience.

Going to the group fly is a great idea. Get some opinions on your setup and check out others too. Meeting with others can cut lots off the learning curve. Be open to listen and ask questions.

On a different note - funny how different kites feel to you, isn't it? Be aware that just because a kite is labelled as UL, it may be just as heavy as someone else's STD. There is no "standard" to compare to.

In general, light wind flying is a challenge for many, especially beginners. You really need a light touch and how to work with the kite, not fight it. And lots of movement! Can't fly light wind standing still! 

[John Barresi]

The name of the game in light or variable winds is continuity of line tension - kites require tension to fly, so using body / arms / hands to keep a constant connection (+ or -) is of capital importance... It’s a subtle game, requires some physical engagement and keen attention to your connection with (and through) the end of the lines but that’s where your success can be found.

Of course not all kites are created equal, some create / allow more constant line tension (like the Prodancer SUL) whereas other trickier, pitchier kites are meant to be unstable by nature which makes that connection more elusive.

[John Barresi]

Draw or walk back every time your kite is turning or flying upward, often leaning forward or lessening tension when turning or headed downward, always cycling that tension game.

[John Barresi]

When launching, make sure you’re raised your kite to “full alert” position, no longer leaning back at all, before you launch - if the kite is leaning back at all, it tends to kill the starting drive / power.

13 year old article, but there is some gold here...

https://kitelife.com/2004/12/01/issue-39-milking-the-breeze/

[toddnkaya]

thanks Wayne and John !! 

Both my foil and UL are on 120 ft line. It seems like a mile away !  I understand that shorter line makes everything faster, but when I have chocked up on the lines it seems easier to get in the air and keep tension on the line. 

Is this true? Maybe a 70 ft line would be easier to handle ?

thanks again !! 

[John Barresi]

This kite isn’t actually much faster on shorter lines except for a bit of line drag... It SEEMS faster because the kite is closer, and there is less sky / wind window to fly  in so the ground seems to come up a lot faster, not as much room for shapes, recovery, etc.

None of that is bad mind you, just a different playing field... If all you have is 120’ now, I’d definitely invest in something anywhere around 1/2 that length, I’d say anywhere from 60’ to 90’, every ten feet changes the feel of that window and also effects wind drag / response time (shorter = quicker and more connected), I myself usually fly 30’, 60’, 90’ and 120’ when I have a full quiver of gear.

[John Barresi]

With more connection to the lines (shorter) you may find light wind flying easier, counterbalanced against the reduced size of your wind window (need enough room to cruise a little).

[riffclown]

1 hour ago, toddnkaya said:

thanks Wayne and John !! 

Both my foil and UL are on 120 ft line. It seems like a mile away !  I understand that shorter line makes everything faster, but when I have chocked up on the lines it seems easier to get in the air and keep tension on the line. 

Is this true? Maybe a 70 ft line would be easier to handle ?

thanks again !! 

You should try 240' lines.. It's CRAZY fun..

 

[John Barresi]

Talk about a HUGE wind window. lol

[makatakam]

Also, be aware that inland, and especially city wind, really sucks most of the time. When the wind has to go between trees and/or buildings it gets turbulent and does weird directional and speed changes that can drive you nuts. Pretty much exactly what you described. When the wind goes over a building or a tree, it has to travel 8 to 10 times the height of it in the direction it's going before it begins losing that turbulence. It'll cause you grief as you're learning, but eventually you'll learn to cope and even occasionally use it to your advantage. And when you fly in decent wind you'll look like a pro because of your ability to read what the wind is doing. So in fact, flying in crappy wind will make you a better flyer faster.

[Paul LaMasters]

I live inland, the secret to wind forecasting on the ground level is division,... take the weather-person's prediction of speed that day and divide it by three!  They take measurements 300 to 500 feet up, so above all the crap we deal with routinely.

if the guys say 5 to 10 mph, ... to me that equals 1.5 to 3 mph on the ground, an SUL or maybe a full sail if framed appropriately is the best choice.

Turbulence is another factor of inland flying as well.  Decide which way you're going to go and make it happen, give ground and walk backwards when you need to, recover your field when possible.  

Some of the coolest tricks are actually easier in no wind, half axels done whilst walking forward for example.  Practice clam-shell roll-ups from that half axel.  How about 180 degree turns backing up from the bottom of the wind or on the ground in a column.  You need to walk backwards to make it look smoother. All hands is NOT the secret!

Once you can fly in the twitchy swirls or a dead calm, nothing is out of your realm for possibilities.  ENJOY the journey along the way, the sense of discovery,... what happens if you jerk one line or handle hard?  What about out on the edge?  Dead center down wind?  How does that impact the identical technique?

Get to a coach/more experienced flyer if you want to save money and improve the skill-sets most quickly.

-plm

 

[toddnkaya]

Thanks Makatakum and Paul.

[toddnkaya]

went out for a group fly. :-) 45 min. away

I actually was flying , with the help of some wind. 😁  Check me out!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Last two days were epic winds . I killed it with my foil!!!!!!!!!! 18mph gusts , 12 mpg, yesterday, way too windy for my UL!

I told my wife to film." Stay in the moment" Todd,  wife is my coach , she has never flown , but screaming bring in your wrists. lol!!                                 lol                 I was hauling ass!!!!!!!!!!!  great work out !!

I need her for take offs with foil, she throws it up. Untwists lines,I'm not sure how you guys can go solo?

I'm getting it !!!

Peace ... Todd

 

[Breezin]

You folks sure got a bang up nice kite. That move where your arm goes way up in the air. That's the Orangutan. Doesn't do much, makes you look funny and I still do it at times LOL. After all your frustrations really good to see you flying.  Nice job you 2.