Mongoose vs Tica

[BobL]

dont be too hard on yourself...you got a lot on your mind

[BobL]

dont be too hard on yorself...you got a lot on your mind

one thing that RobB said was that the widow maker was his desert island kite...

that kinda makes me want a widow maker...is the wm still available or just the wmpro?

you see where im going with this? i could be asking the same question about the ticca2020 next

november...kinda cool seeing the future and all...

Bob

 

 

[Breezin]

Well see if this makes sense. If in the Aleutian Islands it'd be the Mind Trick vented. Canary Islands the Tekken sul. Gili Motang some kite I could weaponize. There be dragons on that island. Even though I choose the Lams over the Widow Maker Pro the WMP is the funner kite. Biggest issue I have with it is staying level headed in the 15 to 20 mph range. Kite gets a verve in it and I start doing higher risk stuff like on a 3/4 kite. Kite gets these whee moments that is fun, fun, fun. Sadly the last sailmaker(Steve Tapp) that Skyburner used for the WMP died way to young in Nov. 2017. Hopefully they'll find another but Steve and Heads Up set the bar really high for those kites. My Lam suls have eyes. Look at them to long and they get very judgemental. On a off day they seem to have a look of disdain about them. When I'm on no atta boys from them. Just a resounding next please. When timing is on trick after trick keeps coming. The WMP has a elegance in flight that I really enjoy. Mongoose has a silky feel. It's glides and slides are really different. Very enjoyable for more studious type flying. Fun kite to just watch and feel fly. Lams are always on the hunt for the next move. They demand I get better. Since I fly to trick the Lams get a 10. WMP and Mongoose 9. Hydra gets a 8. It'd get a 9 if it were more durable. Took this advice from many people from around the world. Don't get kites that have the same characteristics. Variety is the spice. Figure out how you fly and what you want to accomplish. Then get as many kites as ya can LOL. Do have a lot on my mind. Worrying about when my Superfly will get here. Trying to NOT buy that Stranger Level 7. What the winds will be like from day to day. Will snotty Jubilee (alpaca) spit on me AGAIN today. Sigh. Life is good!!

[RobB]

On 11/9/2019 at 5:21 PM, BobL said:

 

one thing that RobB said was that the widow maker was his desert island kite...

that kinda makes me want a widow maker...is the wm still available or just the wmpro?

 

 

 

Post a wanted add here and on the Facebook marketplaces. I am sure you will find an original WidowMaker that needs a new home. I end up laughing while flying, you just can't upset the kite. I took this video at least 8 years ago, as you can see, the kite just lets it rip... 75' lines, light winds.

 

 

[BobL]

@ Breezin

yeah that totally makes sense...life is good...

the wind?...not so much  here about 2-3 with gusts to 6

that just goes to show i needed that Echo. even got it do a few axels, slides and turtles

 yesterday while nothing else would stay up. usually after an hour or so on the echo i can get the

Zephyr up  and then ease into the E3  or Hydra. 

youre lucky to have your flying field at home, my closest is about 20 minutes away - got the echo

all asembled in the back seat of the truck with 80' of 50lb attached - could be flying in about 21

minutes lol...yeah, life is good.

thanks for the reply,  Breezin, always appreciated,

 

 

@RobB

nice flying Rob thats just how i fly (but without the tricks, lol)  your style plus the music you add

is  just right...so many trick videos look like flying on two pots of coffee or worse, no disrespect

to anyone meant, just a diferent style. thanks for the advice on the Widow Maker. would there be

any unsold ones in stock anywhere? whats the going price? thanks much appreciated

bob

 

 

 

 

[RobB]

I would pay up to ~$200 for a used WidowMaker in decent shape. They were $300 new, when you could buy them. I bought the last new Widow Maker I found, but that was a few years ago. The video was made with my first WidowMaker, and I have another with a different design. The new one is still unflown, but only because I haven't had a lot of flying time lately. It has been moved to my car bag, waiting for the next chance to fly. The 'Electric Spider' needs APAs, so it's on the repair pile. 

I haven't been disappointed with any of the SkyBurner kites I have, and I'm sure the Tica2020 won't disappoint, either. The WM is a kite to have, but you can order a new Tica right now, it looks like. At least on one site there's a price and an order button. Well, I'm sure by the time I'm done playing with colors, they'll be ready to order !

 

 

[BobL]

thanks Rob

i'll figure out how to post  adverts and start looking for a  WM. as for the Ticca i think i'll wait on the reviews before i pull the trigger...even then it comes down to Breezin's original question...is the Ticca that much different from a Mongoose?  with 6 months and 10 kites into this hoby i have nothing to be ashamed of in terms of excess...just need to be a little more picky, hence the WM. 

bob

[Matthijs1973]

you might be able to work around shipping from Germany? found this on a German forum: https://www.drachenforum.net/boerse/index.php/Entry/6265-Widowmaker-Std/

 

[RobB]

38 minutes ago, Matthijs1973 said:

you might be able to work around shipping from Germany? found this on a German forum: https://www.drachenforum.net/boerse/index.php/Entry/6265-Widowmaker-Std/

 

That looks like a decent deal. The sails weren't sewn by the same team as Lam kites. The original sails were sewn by Pam Kirk (sp?) who has passed away. This looks like an original. Steve Tapp, who made the sails for the WidowMaker Pro has also passed away. That's why I would say to jump on the chance to buy either, there won't be any more.

[Breezin]

Speaking of Widows   Dropped my straps next to this hole in August. After resetting kite came back and reached for them. Few inches away saw some movement in the hole. She'd popped out to protect her egg sack. SOB moment for sure. No rattlesnakes in the flying field this year but 2 of those rotten girls. Probably be some Jack rabbit sneak attack that doesn't like kites that'll do me in though. If you get bit by a Widow Maker Pro it won't hurt.Doubt you'll even feel a little sick. I'm on my 2nd set of lower APA connectors. Lines keep cutting them (it's me) and this set is about done. Cheap easy fix but it is a pain. Even though I had a Widow Maker and 2 Lam kites for along time the Hydra/Zephyr was my most flown combo. Having the Echo/Zephyr combo I think you can become a good low wind flyer a lot faster than me. The only kite I've found like the Echo that could take the bumps around here is the VIP II Gravity Performance. 

[BobL]

thanks guys 

@matthijs1973 , RobB , Breezin: so far i have been able to go to the post and figure out he wants $185 including shipping...probly europe...not sure if the kite pictured is the one for sale or not. "und hier fotos von der spinne" translates to "here are photos of the spider"  i guess thats his affectionate name for his widowmaker... a german guy who names his kites...sounds familiar.  not sure where to go from here...register for the german forum i guess...BUT im gonna play this relaxed and cool (finding my WM, that is) not wide eyed and stammering like my previous kite purchases and then pacing the floor like an expectant father till i have it in hand...no, relaxed and cool this time... i remember when i found my zephyr in the closeout bin at prism.com...$150 with slight blems and  fell over myself trying to get it ordered  before it was gone...the next day they were gone. that put me on the hunt for a quantum pro and an e3...havent found a new Qpro yet but got the E3 brand new from some retailer for $150 on closeout... picked up 2 hydras at half price and still kicking myself for not getting a couple of Kymeras while they were around.  the advice by several members here to newbies was to fill voids in your quiver in order to fly in all winds...that resulted in 2 Echos...that brings us to the present...i want a WM...im probly gonna get one sooner or later but im pretty well set to just spend some time flying and make it to the next level...as JB has said, to fly with intent.  enough rambling the wind is picking up                       fair winds my friends

Bob                                                      

 

[BobL]

ho hum another windless day  winds 0 gusting to 2. not even the echo likes that.  i took some 50lb line scraps that are about 35' and sleeved them for days like this but that gets boring fast plus i have to run around like a little kid towing his little kite...undignified,lol  Breezin i dont think i'm catching up to you too fast in these low winds,  you got nothing to worry about. btw, my oldest son lives near Aurora...if and when we're out that way i'll look you up and we'll kill some snakes and spiders with you.  common spiders and garter snakes is about it around here. same goes for you if you ever get to long beach washington-international kite festival

on another subject, whats up with the widow maker and apas? i think i read something like that on one of RobB's posts... do the flying lines/leaders rub on them? since i'm looking for a WM. i probly should get to know the weaknesses

and on another subject: icouldn't find any technical info on Lam kites...that vip II gravity looked stiffer/heavier then the echo when he was flying indoors...looked pretty cool tho, nice graphics

and finally, the german guy knocked off another 10 euros on his wm...sprechen sie deutsch?  anyone?

 

Bob

[RobB]

Nothing about APAs and Widows. That could be any kite, lines cutting them up due to tricking. Mine just cracked due to age. I don't wrap much in my flying, so the lines didn't cut them. BUT... the 'Electric Spider' is 10 + years old. APAs fail. Seriously, I am not the original owner of the kite, but I'm sure Bobby wasn't a crazy flippy floppy kinda pilot. I've flown a lot of kites, and it doesn't get much better than the WM, even if you have to change all the APAs !

 

 

[BobL]

thanks rob, good to know,breezin did say it was his doing...are the apa's the rod/tube connecters, like spreaders to leading edges, stand-offs, etc?  

i've been watching WM videos and liking the kite more and more...seems like a kite you hang on to. is the spyder graphic from a special edition? 

on monday im going talk to ups about international shipping...if its a go i might bone up on my german skills and make an  offer to the guy. i'm not too big on the color but the condition looks good. speaking of colors, have you got some picked out for your ticca?

[RobB]

Ha, I wasn't a huge fan of the color combo of my first one, either (the same as the one you're looking at). I knew at some point I would get the one I wanted (the Spider) but I couldn't wait an indefinite amount of time. There are only 7 Spiders in existence, so finding one took a while. Funny thing is that I got a replacement of my first one in the same color, and had no reservations about that choice... I guess I got used to it.

And yes, the APAs are the spreader connectors. No Tica color decision , yet. I'm still digesting my most recent kite purchase (Moonie Mamba).

[Breezin]

Mamba is another kite that deserves some research. I'd have gotten one over the Superfly but already have the Mongoose. Read on the old GWTW that Tapp made 5 white Solus and 5 white WMP. Got one of the white WMP 2nd hand but it had never been flown. Pretty cool deal. Lines cut into the LLE connectors due to my heavy handed style and tricking in the upper wind range. On all my kites it's worse on the WMP with the Nighthawk a pretty close second. Remember though the high end kites aren't the end all. Yesterday winds were around 10 mph. Spent the day on my Nighthawk and Addiction. FUN, FUN, FUN!!! Not a worry in my brain about breaking something. Pushed really hard and lucky me nothing broke. That's rare on a day like that. 

[BobL]

i thought i should let yall know what happened with the widow maker over in germany:

it turns out the shipping to here is about $180, so one kite for the price of two was a no go.

i'm still going to post a wtb/iso advert for a widow maker here, just need to find some 

instructions on how to do it. i'm mostly stuck on inserting a pic off the web which is required

here. 

 

breezin you must have about the best setup there is for the flying you want to do, short of living  

on the coast... a rattlesnake or  black widow maybe but pretty sweet. just for comparison, my  

wife and i waded through 50 yds of miscellaneous muck to get out to my spit of sand in the 

columbia river. once there the flying was excellent...10mph at 2:30 tapering to 6mph at 4:30  at

which time the sun went down. we both learned some new stuff so it was def worthwhile  

 

sorry for how chopped up this turned out...im a newby

Edited November 22, 2019 by BobL
i'm still learning how to type messages...its pretty chopped up

[cjay]

On 10/22/2019 at 10:28 AM, RobB said:

If they're anything like the WidowMakers, there will be no use for an UL. The standard flies well down to 3mph with tricks, I can't see needing an UL for a wind range of 1-2mph.

 

On 10/24/2019 at 6:02 AM, RobB said:

That's the standard. As with the WidowMaker, I don't see the use of having an UL. Both fly down to about 3mph while still being able to trick.

i was wondering if that applies to the Mamba as well?

i was planning to get the UL but my gut tells me a standard would be the better choice.
 

Because it is hard for me to imagine not being able to use the Mamba except mostly UL winds.

 

if there was no use for a ul version, i would certainly choose a standard.

[RobB]

5 hours ago, cjay said:

 

i was wondering if that applies to the Mamba as well?

i was planning to get the UL but my gut tells me a standard would be the better choice.
 

Because it is hard for me to imagine not being able to use the Mamba except mostly UL winds.

 

if there was no use for a ul version, i would certainly choose a standard.

Yes, I have flown my standard Mamba in less than 5mph, and it flies beautifully. It seems to be good up to 15+ before the wingtips start to shudder. I am very happy with the Mamba !

[cjay]

Thanks for the info.

I ordered the standard Mamba and will get a different dedicated SUL kite for the 2-5 mph wind range.

[cjay]

On ‎10‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 11:53 AM, RobB said:

The Solus is a full-on trick kite, it's not as precise as the Widow Maker. I'm expecting that the Tica 2020 will be a good mix of both.

Hey RobB, I saw you got rid of your Tica, what did you think about the precision of the Tica compared to the Widow Maker?

I am interested in how well it cuts a straight line and patterns like squares.