[bartman]

Man, we had no summer here this year and the few days it was nice I was involved in my back yard landscaping project so flying time was just about non existent between April and June then after our local festival until WSIKF when I made up some time on the beach. Got back and was right back into the endless landscape project until the middle of Sept then had winter like weather until October.

Being a fair weather flyer it was getting very depressing here.

Then the yard stuff got done and the weather improved and some wind appeared and I got past the dreary blah crap that was dominating my life and found some air time. Probably every other day for 30 minutes or 3 hours.

I've started rearranging my shedule so I can dash directly from work to a park and get an hour in before it starts getting dark and cooling off too much. In the past I figured that an hour is hardly worth the effort, but when I started getting into the idea it didn't seem like such a waste.

Today I felt that I was on the edge of another one of those little Eureka moments when things start to click.

I've been trying the whole more brake thing even when it really starts to get tough to maintain forward. I just want to see if an extreme can teach me to not over control the kite. I figure if I am forced to make minute adjustments at the extreme end then when I dial it back to more "normal" brake my memory is going to still be making small movements. In turn the over control should be diminished or removed completely.

This, of course, is all theory and I've only been on this experiment a couple days.

Today, though, I think the results are starting to show.

The wind was already starting to fade when I got out to the field and I wasted time with the lines (last fly was at night so not one of the better take downs) so I just set up the mid with the 3 wraps it had in it. I never changed to the race rods as was suggested and will still try to do that. The wind was such that the three wrap was okay for now. I probably could have used 2 wrap actually. I maxed out the brakes and got it in the air.

I decided that since I did not have a lot of time I was going to really focus on problem areas. I generally do not consider "practice" to be "practice" at all, but I am sure anyone watching would wonder what I was doing.

I worked on the whole backing up cleanly thing. That included straight up, angles and horizontal. With horizontal I usually could get it about half way from and edge before it would want to flip (so it was flipping at the centre of the window), but tonight I was making enough adjustments to get from one side to the other with no flip! That is a first! Not the straightest line out there, but no darn wing flip or kite spinning around.

I am finding my angle up reverse is speeding up. No longer takes three times longer to back into a ball than it should. Still not always a nice line, but some were really good and no flips!

The other really tough one for me has been a nice hover transition from, let's say, vertical to inverted and around again to upright hover. A pain in the butt for me with the kite bouncing all over the sky. I decided today that if I can spin in place most times I try then what the heck is my problem with doing a transition and just stopping every 90 degrees? Duh, was like a light came on. I did two nice rotations before I started to struggle with the upright hover in the quickly fading wind. I had to do them about 50 feet up to get any kind of wind, but they happened. Hmmm, this almost appears to be the beginning of clockwork...

So I am, I think, at another breakthrough stage where I can see the effect starting to form and can manage it even if it is not looking perfect. I think a big part of this too is being able to get some serious time in so things are staying fresh in my head.

The other aspect for learning is smoother wind. It all seems to good in a smooth wind, but when I get the gusts it's a whole new game again. I know I need to work through all kinds of winds not just smooth stuff, but for learning I do believe steady and smooth is what is needed to make it easier.

Tomorrow I'm going to try it again after work if the wind is there at all, but will plan better to have more jackets and something to snack on. I was getting a headache when I did go in as I was way past the normal time I eat.

Before I pack things away for the winter I want to be able to say I've make some break-throughs that will still be there in spring!

Bart

[Felix Mottram]

bartman, on 13 October 2010 - 06:52 AM, said:

<snip>

Before I pack things away for the winter I want to be able to say I've make some break-throughs that will still be there in spring!

Bart

Sounds like you are doing really well. Once you can 'get' the transitions they will never go away <grins>

Felix

[quaa714]

Way to go Bart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Andy S.]

"Pack things away for winter".....What heresy is this?

What you need is a 4~8 Blast and a snowboard!

Glad to hear things are going so well Bart.....I'm hoping to follow you up that 'learning curve' before too long.

All the best
Andy S.

[Mike]

That's great Bart, I can't wait to fly team with you again.

[stroke survivor]

Bart - I agree with you, there is nothing like spending time flying to improve your skills and ability to control the kite!! I have this small park about 2 miles from home that has become my place to work on stuff and fly regularly! What a difference!!! Just spending time trying out things or working on something makes a ton of difference! I try to go at least 4-5 times week, or when the winds allow!! Nothing like time on the lines!!!!!!

[bartman]

Andy S., on 13 October 2010 - 06:21 AM, said:

"Pack things away for winter".....What heresy is this?

What you need is a 4~8 Blast and a snowboard!

Glad to hear things are going so well Bart.....I'm hoping to follow you up that 'learning curve' before too long.

Yes, 'fraid so. I only go outside in the winter if it is an absolute must. I hate it and being in it. Throwing a kite up in it just doesn't compute in my brain!

Mike, on 13 October 2010 - 08:43 AM, said:

That's great Bart, I can't wait to fly team with you again.

Thanks Mike. Hopefully when that happens next you'll see a lot less wobble and more confidence in the flying than you saw this past June.

Bart

[Mike]

bartman, on 13 October 2010 - 01:48 PM, said:

Yes, 'fraid so. I only go outside in the winter if it is an absolute must. I hate it and being in it. Throwing a kite up in it just doesn't compute in my brain!

I hear you. I grew up in Southern California. I was a fair weather flyer too, until I started team flying. They talked me into flying on a frozen lake and I had a blast. It wasn't cold if you kept moving...


(p.s. I didn't know the camera was filming, I thought it was a still camera)

[Kitelife]

Thatta boy Bart, you have another kiss owed now!

[bartman]

Ooooo, I'm all a tingle now John...

Bart