kwmf

Pro tip : get prettier models.

We'll leave the skirt wearing to you

Seeing as how the plan is to try and make some appearences at some events this year ... I had two AeroShark banners made up (just) in time for a 2 hour trip down the coast.

The sand spike is pretty heavy so I'll have to work on a lighter alternative, but otherwise these have been good so far. Now to find more and more reasons to fly them.

More photos from the weekend at http://www.facebook.com/TeamAeroShark

Interacting with people at very close quarters requires absolute unwaivering control of your kite ... but it is SO worth the effort in getting to that point when you get the response from them.

I mainly do this on 30' and 50' lines, but I've done it out at 80' and 120' as well ... but the longer the lines the more you're removed from the interaction ... I like it when it's the victim volunteer, the kite AND me in the interaction.

Here's 2c from the n00b peanut gallery....

When I'm practicing (even when just having fun and not taking it too seriously) I will, for example, fly squares in 2 or 3 different 'modes' so to speak. One is the would be line - stop - turn - stop - line - repeat .... one would be line - snap turn - hold - go - repeat .... the other would be a square with no stops - just maintain the pace thoughout the whole square while still keeping it sharp. I have a few more, but you get the picture...

In terms of my own style, I've basically taken elements from practically everyone and done my own thing with it. My preference is for things that are visually striking and appealing - for me it must look good to a casual observer who knows nothing. That's not to say I don't fly something technically challenging, because I certainly do (for numerous reasons) .... just that I like flying something visually striking.

What that ends up meaning is that a casual observer (and I've tested this with casual observers) get far more enjoyment out of something as simple as a dive stop or monkey bars than (say) a reverse octagon. The technical challenges and the shape is lost on them ... this is the age of instant gratification, extereme everything and as much style as possible .... and since that is who the audience is when not flying for yourself, that is also my preference.

The result of that is that things like Polo with all his wicked tip pivots (like a body popping dancer) looks very appealing. I've seen people that are more precise than Polo (and I openly admit I love his stuff and he's been a major influence on my flying), but his style has a lot of visual flair.

In my own experiments using 50' lines where I can see the peoples responses I get a big reaction out of things like monkey bars, snap 45 landings and anythign dramatic ... way more than anything else.

A classic example is a travelling bicycle vs doing a tip stand - cartwheel - tip stand - repeat right across the window. They are essentially the same thing, one just has a landing and pause in it ... yet I find the travelling bicycle more technically challenging to maintain and keep smooth. People don't even react to the travelling bicycle, but I usually get smiles and clear recognition in the tip sand version.

Like I said, I fly both styles and there are good reasons for both ... I just like visual flair over technical difficulty when expressing the art for an onlooker (including myself).

Just some thoughts from a sleep deprived guy down here in the bushes ... your mileage may vary

Just wait until you have the skill and confidence to use the kite to (safely) interact with people on those 30' lines

In the mean time, find something in your surroundings to practice with ... land on it, balance on it, cartwheel over it, slide past it, etc, etc

Not thought about doing a Blog.

If you think there will be interest I can try it.

Beginners offer the best insights because they're not afraid to ask questions and to learn.

As you gain knowledge and add experience so you will begin to reach a point of understanding. That is an extremely powerful position as you begin to be a bridge between still understanding the mind of the beginner while understanding the more advanced.

Unless you are actively teaching beginners you will eventually start to forget how their mind works and bridging that gap when explaining things becomes more difficult.

Doing a blog would be one method of preserving that bridge in thinking for others to refer to in their own journey.

Well, that's just my opinion anyway

No direct advice ... but I can give you some relative advice on Race Rods that may or may not be of use to you.

On my B2 set stack (vent, mid, std - front to back) I use 4-3-3 frames. I used to use 4-3-RR but even on the little B2 I could see the full sail at the back was flexing more than the other two. At no time was it a safety issue or a risk of anything breaking, I just didn't like seeing that extra load on the rear kite compared to the other two ... it just looked out of place to my eye.

Now that I have the 3 wrap frame in the back they all look uniform in their flight shape. I guess I could try a 2 wrap in the rear since that should be stiffer than the RR (and thats whats in 4/5 kites in Watty's stack so it's plenty strong enough - I've flown it), but I don't mind a little over engineering.

The 5, 8, 10 and 12' lines are for my indoors ... but they can be used outdoors for street flying -

General rule of thumb for me, short lines are for low wind, solo, 3D, crowd interaction, smaller spaces or any combination of those factors. If I want include bigger figures, longer patterns (like monkey bars), etc but still want to keep to short lines then I use the 50' lines instead of the 30' ones.

JB may think otherwise ...

 Could that be understood as maximum forwards?

No idea ... I alway found that more down / reverse / forward / pick-your-term to be entirely confusing and useless to me as a beginner. Now that I feel I am a more acomplished pilot I still just see it as something that is overly confusing to people and I just stick to simple english terms.

In the case of my Power Blast 2-4 I use roughly a 6.5 inch difference in setting between top and bottom leaders - longer tops naturally. That is to say, if the knot I use at the bottom is at 3 inches from the attachment point (or any other constant point of measure you wish to use) then the top knot I use would be 9.5 inches from the equivelent top point. My leaders allow for a range of adjustment for both more differential or less differential.

My 1.5 setup flies with more of a difference than that, about 7-8 inches when I last looked. However the number is not important to me anymore since it varies from person to person and will be influenced by line stretch. I now tune based on a constant hand position and the flight dynamics of the kite so that all variables are accounted for by focusing on the constants.

Back on topic ... I'm not sure how my setup fits into your terminology I'm afraid ... I just use longer tops on everything and the difference between the top and bottom measurement in this case is about 6.5 inches.

What can I say ... I'm a simple man

It's not much, but it's my first attempt at editing a video together ...

You can most definately tell the difference in overall flight and control between a normal production line B-Series kite and a hand made custom B-Pro produced by Bazzar.  The difference is not so much the material used, but more in the details and the tedius way that Bazzar assembles each kite.  Bazzar does things on the B-Pro that would just be too expensive and time consuming for Revolution to do on each of it's B-Series, things such as the extra details on the leading edge ends and the finishing details on the trailing edges amoung other things.

This always reminds me of my first Pro and of meeting Bazzer

In flight, I did not feel like there was much of a difference until I flew a Pro exclusively for over a month - when I switched back to the B-series the differences really started to jump out at me. Given the choice I will take a Pro in flight over a B every single time, but I am often on the handles of my friends B-series and can assure those reading that the B-series will not hold you back, but a Pro will make it that little bit nicer

In construction...

Lets just say that after making the trip to the USA and getting to meet Bazzer and have to opportunity to spend time talking with him and flying with him ... there is not another person I know of that I would rather have make me a kite than him. I'll skip the details since we really don't need to inflate the poor mans ego, but I'll just say that Bazzer is the man. You will likely never see or understand all of the things that go into the Pro, but they are there and they do make a difference.

For me, these things are worth the extra cost ... your mileage may vary