Look Ma, No Top Spreader!

Date: 8/15/09, Sat.
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: E2 on 85'
Wind: 5 - 9 mph, SE
Weather: Sunny, 69º

I missed the actual sunrise by about 10 minutes. The grass was very wet again and the E2 very quickly got heavy with water. If I could only keep my kite off the ground!

Early in the flying session the wind was at that almost perfect speed where I could hold a fade with the E2 without me moving forward or backward. I was able to do almost all the sport kite tricks that I know, including some really good flic-flacs and one snappy Jacob's Ladder rung. I did one flat slowly-rotating 540 with my right hand on the left side of the wind window followed by a flat slowly-rotating 540 with my left hand on the right side of the wind window to unwind the lines.

The top spreader of the E2 came out and got wet by the wet grass causing it to subsequently come out more often that it should. So for a while I took the spreader completely off the kite. Without the spreader it didn't seem to fly quite as "snappy" -- a bit more mushy. But for the most part I was able to do the usual range of tricks that I can do.

Towards the end of this flying session the wind picked-up, got less stable, and more gusty. And the day started getting warmer, too. I'm glad I went early.