Own Thy Wobble

Own Thy Wobble Own Thy Wobble Syndication Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:01:05 -0400 webmaster@kitelife.com (Revolution Forum) IP.Blog 60 Stokes Bay with Hampshire crew
Much fun was had, many doughnuts were eaten and we even got round to some flying. This is the second time I tried some team flying and I still can't get over how different it is. It's not just the fact that you're sharing the sky - that doesn't seem to be the problem, really. What throws me is that the wind is different and the kite behaves in unexpected ways. Or more so than when I'm on my own. And as someone pointed out, it really highlights just how poor control you have because the team is a good point of reference. You notice so much more if you're suddenly gently drifting out of place. Or that the whole team is waiting for you to get in the correct position. You can take your time when you're on your own, you can try and position the kite "just so" forever and a day, but when you're with the team that lack of control really shows.

Team flying also highlighted the fact that I tend to fly too fast. I mean, I kind of know that I often finish a maneuver quickly because I lack control. I just hope I can finish something before I crash. On my own I suppose I'm just happy I did something at all, where as with the others I try to match speed and crash. Well, most of the times when doing the whole "follow the leader" thing. Um. That was quite embarrasing, really, because I actually practiced the infinity loop on my own and thought I was really good at it. I was SO pleased how nice and even I could make it. I'm not sure is it just that the team flies slower or that I panic or ... don't know. Les says I have to remember to breathe. I think part of it is I try and think about what I need to do (because I'm panicking) rather than just fly by feel, which is what I normally do.

So. I've got a whole list of things I need to practice before we get together again. It all really boils down to slowing down A LOT with everything I do. And more practice with inverted flying and hovers. And downward diagonals. Slooooowly. Oh, and Benefits turns. Up is relatively easy, but down is a real pain. So... I suppose I could schedule another meeting with the guys in about 3 years time, when I'm ready to extend my list.]]> Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:01:03 -0400 Flying at Stoney Cross
I've been practicing doing various turns and things within an area of a cloud and apart from dropping when going inverted, I've been doing quite well. Also, controlled flight across the window in a straight line is much easier - I find the kite doesn't suddenly pick up speed any more like it used to. I'm sure this is partially because I'm flying vented and it's not so twitchy. I'd like to think that partially it's purely because I got better at it.

I've watched that DVD that comes with B-series and anything past the actual setup is beyond me. Snap turns? Bicycles? I tried a snap turn and yes, the kite turns fast - and overshoots! I kinda don't think I have that counter-twitch timed well. Oh well... at least I'm getting to a point now where I know I can control the kite enough it will never smash into the ground or even shoot off in a random direction and hurt people. And that's a good start as far as I'm concerned!

So, things to practice: reverse flight. Need to gain more control.

It's a bit of a shame I won't be going to Dunstable this Sunday, but I have so much stuff to do at home, what with the upcoming house move and all. I have to reign in my addictive tendencies and wait for Portsmouth!]]> Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:58:33 -0400 Brighton kite festival 2009
I went over to say hello to the Hamsphire crew and I was only there for 2 minutes when Kev offered me to try his fully vented B. Needless to say, it flew like a bird in that wind - so smooth, not feeling the gusts at all. I fell in love with it there and then. Jonesey immediatelly offered me his spare vented when Simon came over and said I should borrow some 120' lines as well as we're doing a mini-mega fly later. I can't remember whose rods and lines and handles I ended up flying with in the end, but before I knew it I had a complete vented B in the air.

And what a wonderful kite to fly. Everything was suddenly so easy to do, vented doesn't seem to feel the gusts nearly as much. Getting used to the longer lines was funny - it felt like going from broadband communication with my kite down to telegraph. I could almost feel my signals travelling up the line and the kite then slowly turning where I wanted it to. A funny feeling to get used to, but so useful when flying with other people. And before I knew it, that was exactly what I was doing. Kev, Jade, Jonesey, Les and Mike quite happily just set up right next to each other and I wasn't going to be left out. Luckily, they didn't mind me getting in their way and we had a lot of fun practicing some innovative crashing and tangling. I exaggarate, actually. Sure, there were some tangles and crashes, but not nearly as many as I expected. I very quickly learned not to panic when my lines crossed with other people and soon enough I was following the leader, swapping places and kissing kites. And as I know hubby reads this blog, it was only kites, honest!

So, the next highlight of the day was a little bit later when I decided to catch up with hubby. We had a little walk around, with me excitedly telling him all about how wonderful it is to fly a fully vented B and he said "So, you're getting one then?" Now, I have to state straight away I was a good girl and left my wallet at home. I did not expect, plan or anticipate to buy any kites. In fact, I was adamant I wasn't going to. So it's all his fault, he's the devil who talked me into it.

Not that it took much. About 5 miliseconds, to be precise. Kev, Jonesey and Les then took me shopping (ok, so the truth is the 5 of us were going to ambush an unsuspecting kite dealer... ), introduced me to wonderful Mike from Kiteworld and a little bit later I became a proud owner of a fully vented purple B and a set of 120' lines. And here it is, lined up with everyone else's. Apart from Mr. Jones who decided to take off just as I was getting my camera ready.

A lot of fun was had for the rest of the day. Flying with others was so very different. Everything is so much harder as people are in the way stealing your wind, but also everything is so much more satisfying. Just lining up 6 Revs in the air, or doing a wobbly potato and burst, it's simply not the sort of thing you can do on your own. Thanks again to everyone who was there. I know I'm only a beginner and I do a lot of stupid things, but because everyone was so patient I felt comfortable enough just to try stuff and not worry about what they will think. That counted for so much.

And in the end of the day, as the final show of the day, we did all go to the arena together. Simon joined us (but Mike didn't make it in time) and we had some fun. So it wasn't the most controlled display you've ever seen and some of the time my kite was everywhere apart from where it was supposed to be, but some of the time it was exactly where it was supposed to be. I was the best ever flying day for me. Can't wait for Portsmouth! (and until then practice, practice, practice... )

]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:18:40 -0400 Race rods in action
I packed Cal's BB guns into the car so all he had to do when he came from school is change clothes and go. We then quickly picked up my hubby and by 6.15pm we were at Stoney Cross. I realised I should have brought a jacket, it was quite windy and really, really cold. Well, cold considering what I was wearing, anyway, but I wasn't going to give up - I had to try out the race rods. And I am so glad I did!

I can't really find the words to describe how it felt to fly my kite with the race rods. It was so responsive, but not in the over-reacting sort of way. It gave more feedback, I could feel what I was going to do and it was easier to control. It sounds so trivial when I type it, but it was actually a huge difference. And the wind wasn't very consistent either, it would gust and then drop down to next to nothing, but the kite kept on flying... I can honestly say I never had so much fun flying my Rev as I did today. I was like a little kid, just laughing like a maniac at how the kite did exactly what I wanted it to. And the biggest achievement of the evening was definitely the inverted flight.

Yes, the invertedness was achieved and maintained for long enough to be photographed. In fact, hubby sneakily took a little film without me noticing and you can clearly see the kite wobbling backwards across the sky here.

Sure, there was a lot of wobbling involved, and a lot of attempts looked more like a slowly descending rocking chair, but at times I could actually get it to hover. Upside-down! I find it harder to actually take off inverted than to turn it and then hold it like that. I did manage several inverted rocking ascents and I'm sure it will get better with practice. With gusty wind like we had today and my fingers so frozen I couldn't really feel them, it wasn't really the ideal time to practice. We only stayed for an hour or so because I really started feeling the cold. But a dinner in a great pub on the way back gave me a chance to warm up

On the whole, it turned out to be a brilliant day. Flying may not make things better, but it certainly makes them look better. I'm ready to face the insurers tomorrow again!]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:37:10 -0400 I just had to say....
My race rods arrived this morning. Unfortunately, the weather has been rather rubbish so I didn't get a chance to try them out. I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunity soon enough, though. I am SO happy.]]> Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:04:05 -0400 What a beautiful day...
It all changed when we finally got there (partially thanks to my lovely TomTom!) - outside of the car the breeze made the heat much easier to cope with. We grabbed some food in a cafe and watched some guy kitesurfing for a while and just sat there enjoying the sun and the wind. Then back in the car and a little bit down the road to the actual flying place - it was easy to recognise as there were many kites in the air already. It always cheers me up, a sight of many different kites in the sky.

Close Encounters Team were there, with their unmistakable kites that I've learned to recognise over the years at Southampton Kite Festival. But they also had something new in store - when I arrived they were just setting up a pair of stacks in red, white and blue with beautiful tails - they should do a ballet to that song from The Italian Job! And if they do, you heard it here first

I had a little chat (I did mention the Italian Job), but they said those kites were a bit too twitchy and that they don't think they'll be flying them as a team. Shame - they looked so pretty in the sky.

Anyway, the conversation then turned to my Rev and how I was struggling with inverted hovers. We had a little lesson, I was given some tips on how to practice and I can say I'm already seeing the results. Not any sort of impressive results, but I did manage to repeatedly take off inverted, about a meter or so off the ground. Some attempts were quite wobbly, some were more stable, but I also noticed that when I inverted it in flight a few times, I had that little bit more control over it. Little being the key word here. Still, I'll stay optimistic about this - it was definitely a step forward.

After some flying in the most wonderful wind I have experienced this year, it was time to pack up and head home. We had a hungry teenager waiting, and not many things are worse than that! And this beautiful day also finished great, thanks to my hubby: he made great dinner when we got home and then we watched a film together. Aw.]]> Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:22:44 -0400 Mad? Who, me?
There was quite a lot of wind and 5-6 kites were there already when we arrived. Some funny shaped quad line too, I don't think I've ever seen that before. Basically it looked like two diamonds attached at one corner. It looked pretty cool, but I'm not sure what it can do. I watched for a while, but they didn't really do anything exciting. I tried to find a picture of something similar on the net to post here and ask what it was, but I couldn't find anything like it.

I ended up flying for 2.5 hours or so. Good music on my Zen, good wind and good scenery. I love New Forest. I was trying to practice control because the kite sometimes just shoots of where IT wants rather than where I want it to. It could be a gust, a small change of wind direction, the wind drops or I lose concentration for a moment and off it goes! So I tried to plan what to do and then do exactly that. Say, straight up and straight down. Or up at 45 degrees and back the same, etc. And while it often works, it doesn't always. I can do circles and figures of 8 just fine, but flying in a straight line is that much harder, so I struggle doing a box. It ends up being three straight sides and a wobbly one. What I was really pleased about is that I could go slide up and down while kite is facing sideways. Left easier than right, of course, but still. I managed to touch the tip and then lift it again gently and in a straight line. Better still, I can actually repeat it, so I know it's not a freak accident.

Hovering itself is getting easier, but not so easy that I can easily analyse what I'm doing. If I could understand exactly how each movement affects it, it would be easier to do it facing right. Right now I just fly by feel, so if the kite does something unpredictable, I'm not entirely sure what happened and how to stop it from happening. Also, I really have to look up how to fly/hover upside down. Whenever I try, the kite just flips upright within seconds. I obviously need to achieve better balance, but no clue how.

Still, all this practice is definitely showing. My son hasn't seen me fly a Rev since a couple of weeks ago and he was certainly impressed with control and hovers. Apparently, it was pretty epic. Um. Good. It sounded like a compliment anyway, so I hope that it actually was.

It was good to fly in winds of 12-15mph. It can get rather frustrating if your whole session consists of struggling to keep the kite in the air. Still, my race rods should be on their way and I hope that will make life easier.]]> Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:11:32 -0400 On how things go very wrong sometimes
In the afternoon I picked up my husband and my son and drove to Stoney Cross. I was hoping for some good wind that afternoon, but it wasn't to be. Never mind, it was a lovely evening, it was nice to just sit and chat and relax after work. We were going to go to a pub for a meal afterwards too. On our way back some idiot drove into my car, buckled my front wheel and I had to have to towed away

Yes, it wasn't my fault and I don't have to pay for any of it, but how annoying is that! No flying, no meal and no car! And what's worse, the wind is brilliant today but there's nowhere within walking distance I can go flying. Waiting to hear if my car will be fixed or written off. If they're fixing it, I should get a courtesy car at least.

Meh. The moral of the story: never admit your life is good - it's just tempting fate and you know it!]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:49:36 -0400 Keeping track
I usually fly at Lord's Hill sport rec (Southampton) - it's a nice, big field, but unfortunately it's surrounded by trees and that makes ground winds very turbulent and unpredictable. Not to mention lower wind speeds at ground level. Still, that is the closest place to home and ideal for sessions after work, like today.

When I arrived, I had the field all to myself. I put some Simple Minds on my Zen and started flying. The wind was really unpredictable and gusty, randomly changing direction and speed as it so often does on that field. Still, I suppose it was brilliant practice - try and keep the kite steady in such random conditions. I can't really say it went that well, but I noticed improvement from the last time (two days ago). I've had my Rev since May, but I didn't have that much opportunity to fly, so up until recently I could only hover straight up. Then on Monday I did really well facing left, but couldn't cope with facing right at all. And finally, today, I did quite well facing right too. Not perfect by any means, but a huge improvement.

I've done a lot of reading on the forums this past week and tried to take on board a lot of good advice that I found. One particular thing stuck in my mind and that is John B's "Own Thy Hover" post. Very funny statement, but very informative post. So, there I was, trying to hover and the kite wobbles all over the place as the wind changes suddenly and I'm thinking I've got to start keeping some sort of a flight diary. Write down what went well, what didn't, etc. Start keeping track of things. Maybe one day I really will own that hover and then I'll be glad I can read about my beginnings in Rev flying. So I decided to write a blog because I knew pen and paper style of log keeping is just not going to happen. And the title? Well... my hover is very much a wobble a lot of the time...

I flew for two hours. At times wind was steadier and I could hover really well - upright, left and right and also up-left and up-right. I even managed a few down-left and down-right ones, but it's so hard to lose control there. And one thing that really escapes me at the moment is upside-down flight. Or hover. Or anything! I can launch upside-down just fine, but the kite tends to turn the right way up all on it's own. It appears to need a more delicate balance than I can achieve right now. I also practiced some sliding left and right while kite stays upright as well as sliding up and down while facing left (well, right too, only very unsuccessfully).

Overall I feel I'm getting more control and can fly with less wind than before. Fingers crossed for some good wind tomorrow.

Additional snipet: When I finished writing the above, I checked Kiteworld and they had race rods back in stock. So I ordered a set. Woohoo!]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:38:00 -0400