HedgeWarden

I don't think I would fully agree with you on that.

My best ballet ever, giving me first place in Quadline ballet at EuroCup 1997 was:

"It's oh so quiet - Bjork"

I don't think it is very danceable (or is it)?

It is a very challenging piece to fly to with extremes changes in speed and loudness.

Sounds to me, John, that you were "dancing" with the music if you comment on the changes in speed and loudness as making it difficult. I didn't mean to imply simple to dance to - rather setting a rhythm and mood for you and the kite's movements. Experts such as yourself can certainly "dance" to a wider spectrum of music than beginners.   

 

Myself - more stuck on very old rock and pop - my age and lesser talent showing.

 

If you want to dance to internal music, as btbt suggests, that is obviously fine.  If you've seen videos of a courtyard full of seniors performing tai-chi in synchronization - the rhythm is there, audible or not. And if you want to completely free-style with no rhyme or rhythm - that is probably very appropriate for freestyle flying. Although music could still set a mood.

 

My first experience flying a dual line to music was extremely emotional for me - it was so beautiful to connect that way. But everyone is different.

 

Short answer - try it.  If you like it, fine.  If not, fine.

For yur next "trick" - rods on the front side, and bridle on the back side!  (It's possible.) Looks right unless you notice that the bridle seems to have unnecessary twists, and the logo says something like "noituloveR".

 

So two rules:

1. You can read the trade name of the kite facing you (as you fly.)

2. You cannot see the vertical spars because they are BEHIND the kite.

 

I've always been in sync with #2, but #1 snuck up and smacked my reality.

, plus I'm not sure who or what team was flying across the "D River" but they did a
fine job.... So lets hope for another good day tomorrow and lets see what the wind gods have in store for us..... Ben

I believe, Ben, you were watching Katrina's nascent team.

Taking down my B-Vented yesterday, I noticed something strange about the setup. I checked it out on the living room floor today, and found I earned another star on my goof-up tally sheet.

History:

* I've managed to tangle the lines of all four of the Decorator's kites parked on the ground. During WSIKF.

* I've adjusted my lines on my handles for one more knot of brake, and had to completely remove the handles to sort out the resulting tangle.

And many other misadventures. But the new one may be a topper.

* I've discovered after several years and multiple clinics, I've been putting the vertical spars on the wrong side of my vented B. I had not noticed it until yesterday ... (drum roll) ... because the bridle was also on the wrong side of the kite.

Removed the two outer leading edge spars, and easily "turned the kite inside out" so the bridle is on the side that says "Revolution" again. I'm just hoping it flies as well, with the bridle not tangled on itself.

flew again today for a couple of hours in really good winds trying to make it all look smoother especially side slides, but could really do with some more advice especially with flying up side down it all seems abnormal and line management, seems to take an age to sort out lines so not twisted if someone can point me in the direction would really be great.

i can't believe how much fun I'm having, to have so much control is amazing.

Well, I'm jealous that you are so quickly doing side slides! Took me much more than a month.

Upside down advice, from Bazzer, in a clinic: park your kite upside down on the ground. You must relax, music helps a lot. Pop the kite gently into the air, and land. Keep this up - RELAX - and try to increase the length of time in the air. Increase the height from very low, to TOP OF THE WIND window. Slide the kite side to side while upside down (pull right to slide left - like squeezing a watermelon pip on one side to make it pop the other direction). Well, the idea here is to develop "muscle memory", since flying upside down cannot be done intellectually.

BTW, rising inverted from ground to the top of the wind window will take quite a bit of practice. For me months, for you probably several days.

But the strangest part of flying upside down - once you get the hang of it, it's easier to hover and slide upside down than right-side up.

Fair winds,

Have one, used it for several years until it decided that gale force winds are 8 mph. Washing the rotor hasn't helped yet.

For direction and some force clues, I use some tassels on a stick.

For basic wind speed - when I walk down-wind to layout my lines, if I cannot feel the wind, then I know it is about the speed of an old-man-walking (say 5 mph max).
If the wind seems cut in half, then estimate 8-10 mph.
I fly almost exclusively at the beach, since our local winds rate zero on a goodness scale of 1 to 10. So, I look at the sand.
Dry sand is noticeably moving on the surface around 12 to 15 mph.
Dry sand looks like the entire surface in moving around 20 mph and up.
Wet sand means go home - any wind would have dried the surface within 30 minutes.

Like other commentators, I found the wind gauge to be a valuable learning tool. It helps calibrate your senses. It explained to me why my dual line kites became unmanageable when the whole surface of the beach was moving faster than I could run. (Oh yeah - kite flies in 8 to 20 mph winds. In 21 mph winds, it either breaks or pull your arms off. )

If within your budget, a $50-$60 gauge will certainly help you grow in your hobby. But necessary? Not.

Just one opinion - please weigh with other opinions.

P.S. Just wait until those young whipper-snappers that claim they use their ear-hair reach my age! Then they will have to shave the darn stuff to become publicly presentable.

Fair winds.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=0gnl8PdFrq0

My video from the iPod I had on my cap. Means more to people who were in the grid than the general public so I tried to include some notes for non-flyers.

Tough to squeeze it down to under the 15 minutes as there really are a lot of cool moments.

Some of the conversation was funny!

Bart

Bart, thanks for taking a video of my personal kite in the Megafly.

Guess that happened by accident when I flew in the column next to a very inventive videographer.

Interesting aspect of aging, I confused the three days (Thur, Fri, and Sat). I remembered being the first casualty of the 64 grid, having to set my Lime B on the ground when my eyes rebelled against the bright skies by watering up until I was flying almost blind. Very early in the flight, but I chose to wimp out rather than risk taking out other fliers.

However, that happened, luckily, on the first (Thur) Megafly. The biggie on Friday was fine for me - I found some dark clip-on sunglasses to go on top of my prescription sunglasses, which saved my eyes on Friday and Saturday. [Hint: Friday kite was not Lime.]

So your video refreshed my memory and allowed me to see my contribution to the 64 Megafly. Thanks.

I'm glad you found you were more comfortable in the Megafly than you anticipated (over-thought). Heck, you did a better job than I and a lot of other fliers.

It was a blast. Again, thanks to JB, Felix, Peter (no, no, that was Steven or Stephan), and Baz, and all the other master fliers who all were fantastically patient with, and even more helpful to, us bottom fliers. I can hardly wait until next year - 81 definitely, 100 maybe!

Sep 3, 2010 - perfect smooth strong winds from NNW, on the Long Beach, WA pennisula... great day for a B vented.

Overcast, disappointing for spectators, had there been any, but great for this sensitive eyed guy who was the first drop-out of the 64 mega-fly because his eyes were strained beyond their total light quota for the day.

Great winds (did I say that before?) allowed my vented B to perform as if it had a talented pilot at the ground end of the lines. I just suggested what I wanted - it was delivered.

Then a flight of about four seagulls flying up-wind on a collision course with MY WIND-WINDOW intrude upon my MP3 enhanced euphoria. When flying duals, I usually chase these intruders too warn them away from my flight area. However, with the extra control of a Rev, the necessity for clearing the flight area was minimal. So, rather than chase, I followed the flight - about 10 to 20 ft away, no need to get dangerously close for their sake and the sake of my lines.

Most continued on their way, but one gull (in juvenile gray plumage) slowed and looked back at my kite. I went forward, it stayed a distance ahead obviously watching. I retreated, it followed. I looped below, and it watched. It was obviously comfortable with distances less than the width of the kite. Back and forth we danced for a half minute before it decided to catch up with its friends.

Another flight of seagulls a few minutes later allowed me to entice another curious youngster to dance with my kite for a time.

Dancing with wolves? So earth-bound. Dancing with seagulls - soaring with the spirits.

Priceless time!

Was he/she aware that they had cut your lines?

I still go wild-flight at times, and might cause such damage. Accident. And if I am clueless, I would not be able to respond appropriately.

So, be sure the perp knows the damage he/she caused. If he/she is a gentleman/lady, they should be willing to compensate. If not, it is up to you to decide how far you want to escalate the conflict. Personally, since I make my own line sets, the damage to one or two lines would not be worth raising a big stink. I would just cry "Oh man, you sliced my lines, dude!!", and leave it up to the perp to respond to the best of their ability.

Fair winds,
-Howard

Jynx,

When conditions are very unsettled - shifting, gusty winds and strange areas of dark clouds moving about - it is best to assume that electric charges are building up in the atmosphere. When they reach a high enough voltage differential, lightning will happen. When the voltage differentials are not quite strong enough to spontaneously spark a lightening strike, placing a conductive path (like a wire or a lightning rod) in the space can increase the local differential to the point that a lightning strike happens. Apparently, spectra lines (maybe with some moisture on them?) can act like a conductive path.

It has been reported that lightning can strike to ground miles from the actual thunderhead cloud. The fact that the cloud is miles away, and you have not seen lightning yet, does not mean that you are not in the path of the first lightning strike from the thunderhead.

Quickly shifting and/or gusty winds often indicate the presence of an unstable cell - a thunderhead.

Typically, the electric charge will "explore" paths between the + and - charges with preliminary minor discharges. If these discharges are enough to break down the air (you will see St. Elmos fire maybe, more likely sparks, or branches of violet or blue discharge called corona discharge) the electric field may use that path to perform a humongous discharge - a lightning strike.

In other words - any sign of tingling, any sparks or branching discharges - for heaven's sake speed your kite to the ground and get out of that area!!!!

I don't know who or why someone said tingling indicated AC currents and lightning is DC. They are not correct. Lightning is caused by a DC static charge. When lightning occurs, there are often several reversals of direction because the magnetic field causes the charge flow to overcompensate and reverse a few times (similar to AC) - think of a gong ringing after it is struck. But prior to the actual lightning, the tingling is almost assuredly a partial DC discharge of the differential electric field before the actual lightning strike. If it were a lightning strike - I hate to think of the consequences.

Thanks for sharing your experience. It should remind us all to remain safer under these weather conditions.

(P.S. I have a B.S. Electrical Engineering, but am NOT an EXPERT on lightning phenomena. I have played with corona discharge phenomena and sparks in the 15 to 30 kV range. which are 1 to 2 inch sparks. From what I have learned of lightning, it obeys similar rules over the range of 1 to 2 miles or more - kind of.)

Just keep piling it on.

Honestly, this is too much. It is un-nerving for anyone who has had no chance to fly in a group before. A few days before the big attempt to be whipped into shape and practice only adds to the pressure, it doesn't help to ease it. I've always had reservations about attending a week long festival and this is part of those reservations.

Those of us who are 99% solo flyers are the minority and shouldn't hold the rest of you back, but seriously this is not looking like anything I want to do looking at 10 diagrams and more added every day and rolling around the sky in big circles now. Jeepers, no. I don't need that kind of pressure in my life, that's why I fly, to escape some stress.

Sorry.

Bart

Bart.

I attended the Rev Clinic, and participated in 4x4 grid flying. Up to that time, I was (basically still am) a solo flier, low end of intermediate skill. If you can hold decently stable hovers and back up all directions without catastrophe, you will find this a blast! We did not have the benefit of diagrams before-hand, but John's patient direction was enough to get us (most of us) going the right direction with just a few tries. 4x4 or 10x10 - I think the main issue is remembering if you are even or odd row and column, and if you are center ring... outer ring. A little group practice will ease that anxiety.

Try it. I guarantee you will do better than I, and have even more fun.

I hope to meet you at WSIKF 2010, Bart.

Now this a really stupid question: Is the inverted flight in Australia easier than on the northern side of the world???????????

Tis the same, because the winds are also inverted like the kite - canceling out the hemispherical differences.

Now, about the seasons... Christmas in summer is just darn silly. Have a good'un anyway.