Sport, Trick and Freestyle Kite Flying Forum

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ljs1977
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Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:32 am

Hi. Re-introduction.

Thu May 30, 2019 10:29 pm

Hi guys.

Realised that I originally introduced myself nearly 5 years ago.

viewtopic.php?t=12676#p132169

Still not ventured back into kiting.

Since then. Revs have completely changed. GWTW forum is closing. What happened?

Anyway. Looking at getting either a quad or dual to start with. What are the thoughts on the Fulcrum? Is the Deep Space still the go to bit of kit from Tim as I’ve read a lot of people suggesting the SN and SF May not be the right kite for most people. Are there any other quad or dual line kites I should be looking at?

I am based near Chesterfield now if the Midland Kite Flyers the closest group?

Thanks in advance.
 
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Hawkerhunter
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Posts: 276
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:13 pm

Re: Hi. Re-introduction.

Fri May 31, 2019 8:16 am

Hi Lee. Not sure why GWTW is closing. The moderator Steve Hall has kept things close to his chest but we all have an idea as to the reasons but its not something that we should speculate on. Its just a tragic loss to the kite community in general. That said I think you have answered your own question with the Deep Space. Still a kite that is hard to beat and a good safe piece of kit to recommend to people. Tim is still going strong and its great to support a British kite maker. Happy hunting.
Steve

In the bag
Talon UL, Talon standard(x2), Talon vented, Talon SUL Prism Q Pro, Elixir, Zephyr, E3, E2, Hypnotist, Nexus, 3D, Micron


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Exult
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2016 6:21 pm
Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Re: Hi. Re-introduction.

Wed Jun 05, 2019 6:59 pm

There are two 2-line kites that stand out in terms of my personal DLK progress: HQ Jam Session and HQ Infinity. The Jam Session was my first proper kite that could do tricks during the end of the nineties. To be fair I didn’t have many other kites around that time to compare it to: a HQ Maestrale and a HQ City Session.

When I picked up kiting (and kite acquirements) again four years ago, that role of the kite I progressed most with was taken over by the HQ Infinity. The other kites I had or got (and used) at the time were the previous kites, an HQ Maestro3, some old models of Prism kites (an Illusion, an Elixir and an Alien) and later a HQ Shadow, Tramontana and a 4D and then…. OK I stop there...

Both the Jam Session and the Infinity are “fullsize” kites (precise definition?) that I consider “sensible” (not extreme and much in reach (and more capable than me)). The tweaking possibilities of the Infinity bridle are “endless” (and mostly unexplored by me). However, don’t miss out on the normal basic tweak – you should find that nose back angle that both makes (snap) stalling easy and also maintaining the height of the stall in most of the wind window easy. You need to adjust the bridle to match the wind conditions for your current session. For the lighter winds the Infinity will not do however.

Otherwise I have been leaning more towards that you learn something from certain kite (model) and that then you can work on transferring the trick (or trick detail/execution etc...) to other kites. E.g. my ITW Hydra can do axel cascades without setting them up “in the proper manner”. Doing a pop only on the top wing (i.e the main axel pop) can be sufficient here. Having the Hydra axel cascade going it was easier to set the axels up for kites that demanded the prior smaller lower wing pop before the major top pop (so that those other kites didn’t end up on their backs after a few cycles).

Perhaps I’ve been missing something here by not having the same DLK kite model for various winds (UL, std, vented…). I have been almost only “on the dark side” (mostly Revs) for almost two years now (till today's date) and I must say I’m happy with the progress I made during this time. By varying between std (meaning “low vent” in Revolution tongue – i.e. only that LE vent strip close to the LE), mid vent and full vent sail you are ready for most conditions. Also by using four types LE spar sets of different stiffness and weight, I have always been able to do some kind of kiting on all the times I have went for a session and this without changing the basic kite model (still a 1.5 Rev). I.e only rarely during two years I used anything else than a 1.5 Rev (not saying that there aren’t other quads that I could have progressed with instead).

I plan to return from the dark side (well Anakin could… :starwars: :-) ) to dual line kiting. This time I’m going to stick to fewer kites and my ace(s) up my sleeve are being shipped to me now – same basic kite model in an UL and a std version. My home fields are mostly low to moderate winds, so these two kites should work for most occasions I hope.

Another thing with QLKing that speeds up learning relative to DLK tricking I believe is repetition. For an example consider making forward/backward 180deg wing tip pivot cycles to really get the feeling of flying a wing (in both directions) and at the same time to make crisp start and stops as possible. You make your five repetitions in no time. Bicycle rotations, clockwork all the same, you can repeat what you practice with no delay. Compare this to DLKs e.g. when learning to enter a fade by a FA. Setting up the kite must be done before every attempt and especially in the beginning of you practise you might even need to recover from any previous failed attempt. For some reason repeating a thing five times appears quick in theory, but as a long time on the field. The more disciplined repetition to polish a detail or to increase the reliability and even more seeking of the feeling is something I hope to be able to bring back from QLKing to DLKing.

So what did I intend to (unsuccessfully) say by this and need to add? - Well something like: Doing it gets it done. Get hold of one (two?) decent full sized kites (or perhaps a quad) at least and then reach for the opportunity glasses. Wearing these you’ll see session opportunities like pre-work sessions (handy during the dark time of the year because it make use of the light) or the we-lack-the/some-NN-method (where “NN” is any object or food needed for the home) - “I can get it”, you say (after which you drive to quickly shop and then head off to the field…).

Looking back on the above text mass I realize that I got a bit carried away again when writing (one aspect leading to the other). I hope that you find something of use and not just obvious stuff.

Good luck with your return to kiting!!