327 replies to this topic

[brad]

John,

Thanks for the clarification regarding caps that had been used initially. I was worried...

As you may appreciate, zen and the art of low wind kite flying is very much on my agenda. I need 100 proficient fliers at short order and suspect that this kite is precisely what is needed.

<grins>

Felix

We have the 99 proficient fliers needed on this side of the pond.Felix ,get your butt over here and you can be number 100.

[Kitelife]

I've had a couple of good jammed wrists in my time, they come back to haunt me every now and then when I do heavy lifting on a bad angle.

A brace is always enough, eliminating all discomfort until it gets better after a week or two.

Thanks for asking.

Hehehehehe... WSIKF, damn I'm worked up, ready to rock out!

[Kitelife]

Hey John, do you need an interpreter ??

Que bien se los ve......
Mario

Ha, we did alright... "Mi gusta" and "mi hermano de cometa" seemed to work just fine.

Seriously though, I have a lot of fun with Espanol, and learn tons every time I go to South America, even for a week.

Would love to spend a month or so over there, probably within walking distance of Vicente Lopez.

A month in a hotel there is still way less than a month's rent here.

[Dean750]

First off, I get to fly it too right?
And second, other than the preferably not breaking the kite rule, are there any rules?
got a couple of thingies I'd like to give a whirl. Course that means I'm almost hoping for 2 or less But only when I'm flying the Zen. Then it can go back up to 5 to 8.

So who's ready for some Line Flyin'? Next Thursday seems sooo far away. I know,

Dean

[Felix Mottram]

We have the 99 proficient fliers needed on this side of the pond.Felix ,get your butt over here and you can be number 100.

Patience please... The kites aren't ready yet. <grins>

Felix

[Bazzer]

OK a lot of guessing going on here, let me answer as many questions as I can.

First of all a couple of flying scenarios:

#1
Your team is at a festival which you about to open.
It’s the 9 - 10am.slot. The wind is very light. The best you can do is pump the sail to the top of the window, gain and slide.
You launch and within one minute only the most experienced fliers are still sliding and gaining, the rest are on the ground.
Not a good feeling.

#2
The wind has been low all day. Everyone is frustrated apart from the very best low wind fliers. Even they are bored with sliding and gaining.
Kites have fallen out of the sky. Fliers are despondent. No mega team fun happened today apart from making nice displays of Revs on the ground.
Welcome to summer.

You look around…
Over in the corner of the field there is this kite that has been flying all day. The flier has good low wind technique, but does not seem to be losing so much ground. The flier is doing all of the normal moves.
Let’s take a walk over there and see what’s on the end of the lines.

It's the same size as a REV 1, except this is a ‘Neos Omega’ on steroids.
It looks familiar, just like your B Series, only expanded up to a Rev 1.
You ask if you can fly the kite.
You get ready to step back and pull.
The sail fills deep and leaps into the air.
"WOW"
"OH MY GOD!" seem to be the most used phrases from everyone who tries the kite.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls………………….the ‘ZEN’!

Ok enough story time, here are the twig & berries, so to speak;

What we have here is a REV 1 size frame set with a B series layout...(that sounds so easy...just make it bigger...if only if it were that simple!)
The frame we are currently testing is a hybrid. 2 wrap center, three wrap or even race everything else.
The kite does fly and look familiar to 1.5, only bigger.
You fly it on regular handles.
Feels very solid in your hands and loads up in low winds.
Gains ground easily. Sooo much less leg work.
Bicycle rotations have slightly more movement when executing due to the bigger sail moving from one hover position to the next.
Axles......oh boy! oh boy! It’s like having an auto ‘complete’ button. Slow and Majestic.
The speed? It is faster than you would think. Not ‘1.5’ fast, but surprising agile for such a large sail.
Tip pivots and rotations are just glorious. There is nothing like watching a big sail arc around a point in space in low wind.
‘B PRO’ leading edge and trailing edge finish work.

Bottom line:
When you are bored or frustrated in low winds, this will make your day better.
Nothing replaces experience and technique. So please remember that.
Wind range? Up to 8 /10MPH.. I won't give a low figure because that still depends on the flier’s capabilities.
Lets just say...lower than what you have flown in before and in a lot more comfort.
For Teams a must. All teams are only as good as the lowest denominator. This kite has just raised the bar in low winds for those fliers.
Weight...no idea! It works.

We have designed this kite is for a couple of reasons.
Low wind flying is difficult enough. This makes it easier, simple as that!
Some of us are not gazelles on the sand and cannot gain ground as fast.

Teams need to be able to fly in anything.
We get invites all over the place, organizations and cities have paid for the show.
We must make the show.
To all of you team fliers out there this is a must.
It’s all about the feel in your hands, which gives you confidence to put on a great show.

Although a release date has been hinted as being the end of the month, please realize this is prototype ‘Version 12.5’ as of this moment. More likely release date will be somewhere between now and January.
Yes, we in iQuad have a set. I wanted the sails to be used in anger (or should I say ‘joy’) to solve any bridle issues and see if we have breakage problems.
Team flying does seem to be the best and hardest treatment to test something new.
So far it’s looking very good, however that is with iQuad flying them (not to sound pretentious, but you know what I mean…).
So, PLEASE, all of you who are attending WSIKF, enjoy your first flight of the ‘ZEN Version 12.5’ and let us know what you think as we cannot go forward without your valued input.
I think you are going to like it. This one feels really good.
Bazzer

p.s. As for colours, anything goes…just like the ‘B PRO’. There will be standard issues (i.e. ‘fades’), however if vented panels are of different colours there will be a small extra charge (those panels really waste fabric and take extra construction time during production).
Myself, John, Stevie and JD have flown the ‘ZEN’ now at a couple of events, but the guys can tell you what they think in their own words.

Getting a tad off topic here. For all of those who have lost the point of this post read the above.
Bazzer

[Dean750]

Guess my question is Bazzer.....
Can I fly it with anger, I mean joy?
Probably don't have too. It's just that sometimes I have a kinda agressive flying style. Since Felix gave the pushing and pulling tip I've gotten a little more agressive at times.

Scared myself a little the other day. Balls to the wall across the window just about draggin a tip, turn up with a push on the non input hand (Snap turn up) immediatly flipping 180 with a kinda hard snap for the half axle to flic flak one vert tip landing. Probably a fluke that it all looked like one move.

So when flown agressivly, how does the LE flex compared to the B Pro's? I've flown Walt's Eye's on the 2 wrap frame once. Different kite that doesn't really compare, so I'm sorry. But there was an uncomfortable amount of flex in the center.

Sorry for all the dumb questions. I've been waiting silently since the Long Beach Clinic
Even got my colors picked out already.
Standard


Mid Vent


Dean

[Bazzer]

LE flex when you get to Hybrid frames is really in the feel of the flier. What we intend to do at WSIKF is set up 4 Zens with different spar configurations . try them all and see what you prefer. You may prefer an all three wrap frame. The next person may prefer a two wrap center and race outer.
We know our favorites but you guys @ WSIKF will serve as a good straw pole on what the majority of fliers likes. Hence what the finished version will be packaged with.
We all fly with different styles. Like I said its all about feel.
Bazzer

[quaa714]

All I wanna know is if it'll fit in my bag on the flt home??!!!!

[Bazzer]

All I wanna know is if it'll fit in my bag on the flt home??!!!!

Have to be patient there Rich, want to get response from you guys first before we go into printing for centers and all that production stuff.
John has come up with a really cool logo.
Hopefully will have something for you all at WSIKF if I get these orders done in good time.
I'll say no more on that. Your just have to wait.
It's going to be a fun time.
So excited to hear what you all think.

Bazzer

[Felix Mottram]

Guess my question is Bazzer.....
Can I fly it with anger, I mean joy?
Probably don't have too. It's just that sometimes I have a kinda agressive flying style. Since Felix gave the pushing and pulling tip I've gotten a little more agressive at times.

<Snip>

Dean

Dean,

It doesn't need to be aggressive. In light winds pull the moves slowly anticipating where the handles need to be at the conclusion of the move. 'Holding the pose' can actually [Edit] 'be' part of 'feeling the kite'.

Sometimes the lines can 'go slack' but it is still possible to 'feel the kite'. Understanding the visual 'feedback' obviously helps a lot! <grins>

Felix

Edited by Felix Mottram, 12 August 2009 - 09:45 AM.

[Jonesey]

Have to be patient there Rich, want to get response from you guys first before we go into printing for centers and all that production stuff.
John has come up with a really cool logo.
Hopefully will have something for you all at WSIKF if I get these orders done in good time.
I'll say no more on that. Your just have to wait.
It's going to be a fun time.
So excited to hear what you all think.

Bazzer

So I assume you will be sending one to Portsmouth for 'the guys' to try

[monkey]

Guess my question is Bazzer.....
Can I fly it with anger, I mean joy?

Thats what you have dual lines for.

[quaa714]

Have to be patient there Rich, want to get response from you guys first before we go into printing for centers and all that production stuff.
John has come up with a really cool logo.
Hopefully will have something for you all at WSIKF if I get these orders done in good time.
I'll say no more on that. Your just have to wait.
It's going to be a fun time.
So excited to hear what you all think.

Bazzer

Tic Tock, Tic Tock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bartman]

I want to see this thing fly in next to nothing wind so if you guys end up picking sticks ideal for something like 3 or 4 mph then stop it! I'm looking for the .5 mph range and usable in that range without all the leg work. If I'm going to invest in one come January it needs to be very, VERY low wind worthy. That will almost guarantee that we will never see the light wind and I can fly my regular B series for a change.

If that ends up being the case then consider a frame option for the extreme low end as well.

Oh what a wonderful west wind we have right now. Too bad I'm stuck indoors for another 7 hours. Sure to be gone before I get out. But there might be .5 mph winds by that time. Hmmm, wonder what I might be able to get for .5 mph winds??

I wish I could give this a try in my conditions. I'm really curious what it would do in the messed up stuff here.

Bart

[play365]

So I assume you will be sending one to Portsmouth for 'the guys' to try

We don't need it we have our own new toys

[Mr Git]

We don't need it we have our own new toys

Ooh, ooh, I think that I've just been told about that on a long distance phone call...

[JD]

I want to see this thing fly in next to nothing wind so if you guys end up picking sticks ideal for something like 3 or 4 mph then stop it! I'm looking for the .5 mph range and usable in that range without all the leg work. If I'm going to invest in one come January it needs to be very, VERY low wind worthy. That will almost guarantee that we will never see the light wind and I can fly my regular B series for a change.

If that ends up being the case then consider a frame option for the extreme low end as well.

Oh what a wonderful west wind we have right now. Too bad I'm stuck indoors for another 7 hours. Sure to be gone before I get out. But there might be .5 mph winds by that time. Hmmm, wonder what I might be able to get for .5 mph winds??

I wish I could give this a try in my conditions. I'm really curious what it would do in the messed up stuff here.

Bart

.5 We're rocking a full race frame. Granted you'll still have some leg work, but vastly less then struggling with a 1.5

Don't worry, the Zen is messed up wind approved.

[Simon]

We don't need it we have our own new toys

Yeah but never say no to trying a NEW toy Doh!!

If you keep this up we'll get the other Gary back

[play365]

Yeah but never say no to trying a NEW toy Doh!!

If you keep this up we'll get the other Gary back