bartman

At long last the full view video of the world record is out for all to see thanks to Kelly and Katrina getting it to me for processing and uploading.  Thanks guys!

 

Everything is here, all kites visible less the time for getting it in the air and back on the ground.

 

Good luck to everyone to tries for the 100 this year at WSIKF.

 

Bart

 

Looks like fun to me, it's on my must go list..... Ben

You could have done Rev lessons all day Saturday easily.  I was quite busy with them.

Bart

Would appear to if this is what you are looking at:

http://www.apple.com...nes/vision.html

Bart

The light has a little clip that I could sandwich the line between it and the body for the unit.  I don't have a photo at work but can try and remember to take one later of the thing.

Bart

Katrina will make a great captain!  I don't know if I would so much in these groups as I tend to over think it.

Bart

For anyone interested I plan do do a daily blog from WSIKF again this year.  Will have the usual Rev slant on it as that is where I will be spending most of my time - field C.

If I get a good WiFi connection I'll also try to add some daily photos as well.

For those coming in - see you soon.  For those who can't make it hopefully I'll see you next year!  Make plans.  Really, it is totally worth the experience!

Bart

Well everything is a go.  Got enough people to share the room to bring it close enough to being on budget to make that work.  Got the travel all sorted out so I can get there for at least six days of the festival.  I will need to avoid JB and his kissing thing but it is a big beach so should be easy.

Bart

P.S. on the room.  While it is sorted and close to budget another person to share on a few of the open days would still be cool.

Who, from this forum, is planning on attending Windscape this year?

I am doing the rough count for my Saturday post festival BBQ.  If we're friends on Facebook I've probably already got to you.

Let me know here and if you are on FB let me know so I can hook you up.

This affair has a limited number of invites so let's hear from you guys sooner than later.

www.windscapekitefestival.ca

Great time if you can make the trip.  Lot's of well know flyers coming in from around the world this year!

Bart

any video of the black and lime in the air? I see it hiding in the corner of the one video.

I'm betting it flies just like the others on the video.

Bart

Thanks everyone.

All I have that was good enough to post is now on my YouTube channel.

This is the last.

Bart

Click on the photo and on the right side about the middle of the page there is a tab called "mod options" click that then "edit" and you should be where you need to be to make the changes.

Bart

I had an iPod on my cap.  This is how I saw the grid from the bottom right corner.

It was quite the experience and the first time I had ever been involved in something like this.  Previous to this week in Long Beach the most kites I've ever been in the air with was 11 or 12!

Everyone should try this!

Bart

LOL ... I'm pretty relaxed flying with my girlfriend, but that's 60+ kites away from what you guys did.

I'm certainly hoping to make it across the pond and do a group fly one day.

It is worth coming to WSIKF even if you do it only once in your life.  That was my plan and now I'm already planning for next year.  Just figuring out what to sacrifice to save the money.  Does the house really need to be above 50F in the dead of winter...

Haha! I love how this is coming from Bart! That is awesome! Actually doing it completely reversed his view on it. He sounds like the rest of us when we were trying to convince him to do it!

I freely admit that I was so wrong on this and so overthinking it that I must have set a new record for myself analyzing it all for six months.  I do did not need to do that!  But that is part of my mental process so it is what it is.  With one under my belt and time to digest it all I can also tell people what you guys told me - it really is not that hard to wrap one's head around.  I was a skeptic, now a believer.  I can hardly wait to give it another go!

Bart

Breath dude!

It only looks difficult.  Really, a lot of fun and not that bad getting through it.  Give it 5 years to evolve and the skill to ramp up and I think then it will be amazing to be in and to watch it!  This is just a baby step IMO of something bigger.

Bart

Oh where to begin...

I'll try not to make this into a book.... ah, who am I kidding!

First, have to say thanks to Paul who started talking me into this a full year ago and kept at it when he knew it was outside of my comfort level to do this.  Four of us lived together in a tiny motel room for the duration of this trip.  That is a miracle right there!  Love you guys!

Thanks to JB who also gave me a pep talk when the whole grid thing started to sound very overwhelming about six months ago.  I'd never know it was your first time announcing, you did excellent.  Everyone should know, though, that JB kissed me first and even tried to stick his tongue in my ear so watch out for him!  What you said above was so nice.  Love ya man!

Thanks to Felix who also provided a lot of positive reinforcement for me over the months leading up to this.  I echo what others have said about you.  Everywhere to help everyone all the time.

No doubt about it.  I suffered a major anxiety attack the Monday morning.  At least it was contained and not a melt down!  Between the weather which was not what I expected it to be, the sand which I just hate and the realization of this event really happening I did not start out well.  Very much out of my envelope.  I was wondering if there was a way to just get home ASAP even if it meant taking a bus!

Thanks to Mark who came up to me right away and asked if I was Bartman.  He liked my posts and said he wanted to fly with me because he felt we were of about the same ability and he was nervous about all of it too.   So we picked a spot well outside of the Rev area and set up.  This was like a life line to me as it got me flying and thinking of something other than my nerves.  But, as luck would have it, hiding in a corner wasn't going to work as the Felix somehow found me and from over my head floated in the Decorator's kites.  There was no getting out of anything and the next thing I new we were flying with Felix, Dave, Ashley and Martin.  Everything opened up for me at that moment and my anxiety level dropped to almost nothing.  Thanks guys, you gave me the confidence to push my boundries and feel I was part of something not just outside looking in.  It only got better from here.

Thanks to everyone that flew with me.  I know I forgot the waivers, but no one was seriously injured I don't think.  I'm terrible with names and I apologize not mentioning everyone individually.  I did make a point of hunting down teams and wedging myself in to gain whatever knowledge I could pick up.  I hope I wasn't too intrusive in that regard.  With all that talent in one place I couldn't pass up the chance.  I didn't get to bug iQuad and Island Quad enough, but there is always next time.

Stephen from the Flying Squad taught me the basics of "the tumbleweed" which has been rolling through my head since I left.  It was a perfect lesson in patience as well as confirmation that sometimes all it takes is the right wording for something to click.

Watty got me thinking about those axles and a starting point to understanding the physics.

Felix had me flying so slow while he kept his kite inches away from mine I was getting very comfortable with another kite in the same air space.  

So many others.  Rich, Scott, Laura, JB, Jim, Katrina all taught me so much that it will take weeks for it all to sink in!  Martin and I had some fun discussions outside of kites which I also enjoyed.  Alden giving me a new nickname "Pirate Bart".

The demos from the best teams in the world right there in front of us every day!  And we got to fly with them as an added bonus!  All excellent, but I gotta say I like the style of the Decorators and their slow is the way routine.  That's my new favorite song!

I was humbled by the number of people who told me they read my ramblings and blog and enjoy it.  I was also happy to hear from a couple people who really liked my b-series custom pro and took time to ask me about it and my pattern/colour choices.

I was able to verify what I suck at even in smooth winds (backing up) but also able to verify that my choppy wind does play a big role in what I can do at home cleanly.  I learned that there is a lot of things I can do well when I don't have time to think about doing it.

I have no idea what the big deal is with a grid anymore and I can't figure out why I ever did think that.  Thanks to all of you that spent a lot of time working out the details so the rest of us could just fly!   A class act all the way around with your sacrifices.  I'll have more on the grid later.

Four years ago I told JB I'd never set foot on a beach and this year had to eat my words!  I even have a reservation for 2011 if you can believe that, but could someone arrange for some grass over all that sand before then?  Thanks, that would be great....

Bart

edited to clarify and fix typos.