17 replies to this topic

[bartman]

YES!!

Certainly not picture perfect, but double again the improvement from two weeks ago.

Warm day, nice wind for the vented and Race Rods this time. A little gusty at times, but normal for here.

Here's where it's at. I can do the reverse launch to about 10 feet with fair control. It isn't going up fast, but it's not wanting to roll as much now either. The nice thing is I can correct that roll most times now. I still get plenty of rocking motion, but corrections are starting to take hold.

Of course, from that comes the fact that during that wobble and correcting it is actually maintaining a hover and not driving into the ground (although I did that a couple times to remind myself I am not there yet).

From there is dawned on me that these inverted times, even when I got rocking, were going into the 5, 6, 8 and 10 second marks and generally ended when I decided to turn the kite over not when the kite decided to turn over. I even managed some close the ground rocking without touching.

So, I called today a massive success. Not rock steady, but hanging in the sky. I also had lots of distractions today. Friend brought wife along and she watched for a good two hours enjoying it so I talked to them while flying. I also didn't fly with my hands in my ears which is feeling way better. He tried to fly the Rev again, but kept trying to do the push/pull like he did with the foil so eventually decided it was better just to watch. He has is foil ordered and we'll take that out this coming week some evening. I have a feeling his wife will be flying the foil and getting her own in short order as well.

Now, the Race Rods. Either all the flying has just given me this or the Race Rods have or a combination of the two and my own desire to see something from the RRs, but I felt the kite was different. Hmm. More responsive I think. I was holding vertical hovers with the tip just inches off the ground and diving under control felt much nicer.

In general, I felt that today I had more control of everything that was happening, but oh so sweet to turn that kite over and know I had a good amount of control inverted.

Hoping for more of the same tomorrow. I can feel the pull in my arms as I type and my eyes following the kite. Should sleep well tonght!

Bart

[Windbag]

YES!!


Here's where it's at. I can do the reverse launch to about 10 feet with fair control. It isn't going up fast, but it's not wanting to roll as much now either. The nice thing is I can correct that roll most times now. I still get plenty of rocking motion, but corrections are starting to take hold.

Of course, from that comes the fact that during that wobble and correcting it is actually maintaining a hover and not driving into the ground (although I did that a couple times to remind myself I am not there yet).

From there is dawned on me that these inverted times, even when I got rocking, were going into the 5, 6, 8 and 10 second marks and generally ended when I decided to turn the kite over not when the kite decided to turn over. I even managed some close the ground rocking without touching.

So, I called today a massive success.
In general, I felt that today I had more control of everything that was happening, but oh so sweet to turn that kite over and know I had a good amount of control inverted.

Bart

Wow, Bart. Congrats. Nice to get in some flying before cold weather sets in. Getting the hover to come together is even sweeter.

Do you think talking to your friends took your mind off the controls a little bit so your hands just did what they should without too much thinking about the correct move?

Nice.

[Aerochic]

Mmmmm Hmmmmmm, I keep saying that Race Rods Rock for a reason. You fly better and learn so much more with them. I noticed immediate results when I first started using them.

Congrats on the reverse hover!!! I'm still trying to fine tune that particular skill myself! I'm finding it very tricky.

[bartman]

Wow, Bart. Congrats. Nice to get in some flying before cold weather sets in. Getting the hover to come together is even sweeter.

Do you think talking to your friends took your mind off the controls a little bit so your hands just did what they should without too much thinking about the correct move?

Nice.

Thanks. Yes, the distractions have helped a lot. It wasn't until the first time someone stood by me and we talked that I started doing things with less thinking before hand. After that I started plugging an iPod into my head when no one else would be around and, while not as effective as a person there, it is much better than nothing.

Mmmmm Hmmmmmm, I keep saying that Race Rods Rock for a reason. You fly better and learn so much more with them. I noticed immediate results when I first started using them.

Congrats on the reverse hover!!! I'm still trying to fine tune that particular skill myself! I'm finding it very tricky.

Thanks as well. My still needs a lot of fine tuning as well!

Bart

[Choccy]

Here's where it's at.
I can do the reverse launch to about 10 feet with fair control.
It isn't going up fast, but it's not wanting to roll as much now either.

Hello bart,

have you tried walking forwards as you fly inverted upwards ?

Sounds odd but really does help to relax the kite wobble as well as gain lift

all the best,
happy flying

[pudsli]

hi bart.
practice , practice, practice.
with or without race rods, have not got any myself, i'm a skyshark man.
all the best steve.

[bartman]

Hello bart,

have you tried walking forwards as you fly inverted upwards ?

Sounds odd but really does help to relax the kite wobble as well as gain lift

all the best,
happy flying

No, I've tried walking backwards. I hadn't noticed much difference and the part about helping gain lift by walking forwards really throws me. I have noticed that any inverted climbs I do try seem "heavy" and very slow. Trying to give them more brake just ends up flipping it. I just assumed more practice to speed them up. I will try walking forwards next time and see what happens for me. Thanks.

Bart

[bartman]

Another 2.5 hours today. Different wind direction, different wind (very up/down), different field (the field I do not like - unlevel, ruts, holes, all sorts of line snagging crap) and different kite. Had to go with the std sail "wild cat" blue one most of the time. Used 4 wraps at first then switched to the RRs at the very end. The goal was to improve on yesterday.

I can say for certain that I prefer my vented to the std. So much smoother in just about everything, but only had about 15 minutes today where the wind was right for it and me. Knowing that I had to eventually tame the wild cat I resolved to deal with it as best I could today. At times the wind was a little much for it, but overall it was suited to the wind speed and I had a a pretty big window to use out to the sides.

My "routine" now is to plug in the music and just randomly fly around for a bit at first then work on the hovers and anything inverted. If things get frustrating I go back up and fly around aimlessly or work on nice horizontal flight (foward and back) with no altitude changes before going back at it. If there are cars going by I aim to not set the kite down or do anything that will look like there is no control. If I am feeling in control I may try something "show off" like if people slow down.

As suspected the wild cat was a handfull, but after a bit I was getting hovers from it as well. Can't say they were any better than yesterday, but were certainly no worse. Actually, I can say they were better than yesterday because I was holding them well beyond 10 or 12 seconds and the rocking I felt I had a bit more control over. I noticed that when I hovered my handles were very still when I had the most rocking motion. Trying to incorporate those minute adjustments to keep things more steady is a tough one, but when I did find myself making little adjustments the kite was much better and holding a solid hover. Today I actually noticed the little tip movements when I was making adjustments so I felt I was more in sync with the kite.

At the end of the session I decided to get brave and try a couple power dives and stops. I can never do these without the kite immediately flipping over usually out of control. I'm not crazy though so decided the stops would be a few feet of the ground and not real close. I did two and both went very well. Kite stopped and remained in control long enough for me to turn it myself. I was happy about that! In some ways the hover was more solid at the stop point too.

The wild cat is not as wild after today. I got some really nice hovers that weren't really long, but didn't touch anything. Had a massive inverted hover last for 30 or 40 seconds. The kite wandered a bit sideways, but overall was good. I even had a fairly good slide about 20 feet up with the kite inverted except for one tip slightly higher in the direction of travel.

I was thinking afterwards that three weeks ago:

1) I could not launch inverted with any kind of control past take off
2) I could not do an inverted hover for anything
3) My dives usually ended in a crash or out of control

Now, inverted launches, even if just up 10 or 15 feet are always do-able, I am hovering well enough to have some control and can hover when I choose most of the time even if it is only measured in short seconds, I achieved a dive/stop heart stopper. And, a bonus one is only one wrapped wing today that required putting everything down and going to the kite. Usually if I get them now I can sort it out without making that walk. I assume getting them at all is because of an over control.

My sister-in-law was taking photos and video today. Should be interesting to see what she got. I can review my "game" and see what needs more work....

Bart

[Baloo]

Well I just got back from my Holls in South Wales near to the Pembrey Park, had a good time, flew most Days for at least an Hour. Made a new friend who flys dual line, unfortunatly he broke one of the spars on my Sea Devil, no problem though, it can be fixed.

My first extended fly with RR in. Risked them in a full vent in quite high winds. Well impressed with them.

Found the BEST thing was the more steady coast wind. will take a bit of getting used to the lumpy stuff here.

Good to read about your advances Bart. You will probably find the video fun to review.

Just keep on keeping on, that is the important bit.

[steveb]

There is nothing, nothing like flying in a smooth beach breeze. You owe it to yourself to make a trip out to the coast for a flying vacation some time.

I'm no Steve De Rooy, but nearly all my pics are taken while doing one-handed hovers. With a smooth, consistent breeze, it's really not that hard to hold a hover. There's no way I would feel as confident doing them in bumpy inland winds.

Taken this afternoon with the Race Rods Mid-Vent:



/flying day #184 for 2008.

[bartman]

There is nothing, nothing like flying in a smooth beach breeze. You owe it to yourself to make a trip out to the coast for a flying vacation some time.

I'm no Steve De Rooy, but nearly all my pics are taken while doing one-handed hovers. With a smooth, consistent breeze, it's really not that hard to hold a hover. There's no way I would feel as confident doing them in bumpy inland winds.

Okay. I'll make you a deal. Once I get, at least, semi-proficient so I'm not making a fool of myself and am able to do more than just basic moves I'll book a trip in your direction and we'll go flying for a few days. How does that sound? That gives me some time to save money for flight, hotel and food while there. I'll need to learn it with the winds I get so getting a taste of what I may be missing early on will not help here when the winds frustrate me. All in all, I think I am getting better with the wind conditions and I've seen iQuad fly here with the same crappy wind doing rock steady hovers and what not so I know it can be done with enough practice.

Oh, the flip side is you'll need to come and fly in my winds at least once as well!

Bart

[Aerochic]

Okay. I'll make you a deal. Once I get, at least, semi-proficient so I'm not making a fool of myself and am able to do more than just basic moves I'll book a trip in your direction and we'll go flying for a few days.

You really don't need to be semi-proficient in order to fly at the coast. Infact, coastal winds will immediately make things easier on you. I feel your pain on the travel funds tho...

[steveb]

Flying in a smooth coastal breeze simplifies things by taking the variables that you can't control out of the equation.
The wind's direction and strength remains constant, so it's just a matter of finding the balance point.
In other words, the goalposts aren't moving around and changing size, so you don't have to compensate for forces that you can't control and are continually changing.

[LS Kite Stakes]

If you are thinking of saving up for a west coast trip, why no make it to one of the kite festivals? WSIKF in Long Beach WA, Summer Heat in Ocean Shores WA, Lincoln City Kite Festival in (of course) Lincoln City OR are just some of the choices to choose from........

[bartman]

Flying in a smooth coastal breeze simplifies things by taking the variables that you can't control out of the equation.
The wind's direction and strength remains constant, so it's just a matter of finding the balance point.
In other words, the goalposts aren't moving around and changing size, so you don't have to compensate for forces that you can't control and are continually changing.

Yeah, I get that. I am only saying that 99.9% of what I will get to fly in has the moving goalposts (and the occassional tree blowing by) so I have to learn to deal with those conditions the best I can here. As people have said, if I can fly through the bumps then a smooth wind will be a joy to experience if or when I get that chance. The rest of the time I need to deal with the less than ideal conditions so continual practice in those conditions is best for me right now.

If you are thinking of saving up for a west coast trip, why no make it to one of the kite festivals? WSIKF in Long Beach WA, Summer Heat in Ocean Shores WA, Lincoln City Kite Festival in (of course) Lincoln City OR are just some of the choices to choose from........

As long as it is in Canada that may be what it is. It is the only way can try and keep it affordable and within a reasonable time frame to try and do.

Bart

[Love2fly]

Hi Bart...
Way to go !!!!!
As has been stated, practice, practice, practice.
One thing that Paul LeMasters advised me to do is to pick a spot above the horizon, say ten feet up (or whatever height you wish... ) and hover at that spot and hold it for a good amount of time. Then change the level and do the same. It is a great way to build your muscle memory. Also, play with the amount of reverse you are using. Move those lines in or out at the top and see how much easier it will be to have the lines all the way out for easier hovering!
Good luck.