One-half of a sunset

Date: 9/30/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Zephyr on 65'
Wind: 4 - 7 mph, ESE
Weather: Sunny/Cloudy, 64º

I actually started out with the 3d but there was too much wind for it, at least, more wind than I prefer for this kite. But it was a good wind for the Zephyr.

The left half of the sky was solid dark-gray cloud and the right half had just a few clouds, the perfect amount for a nice sunset. Plus there was an almost full moon. It was a very striking sky!

I did a couple sloppy 540s, some 1/2 axles, yo-yo's, plus some good fades with the Zephyr.

Dark at 7:15 pm

Date: 9/29/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: 3d on 20', Echo on 12'
Wind: 3 ---> 0 mph, NW
Weather: Sunny sunset, 65º

I flew from after work (5:45 pm) until dark (7:15 pm). I was a very nice sunset with a gibbous moon.

With the 3d it was a little disappointing, probably due to the wrong wind for this kite. I did some low/slow axels and one more-or-less helicopter spiral, and 2 0r 3 me-moving-fast 360s, but was not able to do an up-and-over with this kite.

With the Echo all it's tricks worked well including a couple up-and-overs into fades!

On a little hill

Date: 9/27/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Beetle on 90', Micron on 65'
Wind: 8 - 15 mph (gusty), SSE
Weather: Mostly sunny, 70º

It was a nice sunny day at Cosmo and there was several fields of Little League Flag Football going on. I flew the Beetle (first time since it came back after the bridle was redone) and it worked just fine. I flew it with the "stock" Dacron line that came with this kite. It is definitely a good beginner kite, very forgiving.

Then I flew the Micron on a little hill (8' high) between a very small soccer field and a walking path. And there was "enough" wind for this little kite today! This little kite is fast, fast, fast! I did a lot of loops, 8's, dives, and traverses (and a few crashes).

Confusing Spirals

Date: 9/26/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: E2 on 85', Micron on 65'
Wind: 5-8 mph
Weather: Partly cloudy, 65º

I felt a little rusty with the E2. I was able to do some OK flic-flacs and a few sort-of-sloppy 540s. The saving grace was a single rung of a Jacob's Ladder.

There was not really enough wind for the Micron.


Place: Skye Wind backyard, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - 1 mph

There were some odd wind currents that left me confused on the directions of spirals. Otherwise, it was a nice short fly right at home.

Before the rain

Date: 9/24/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - 1.5 mph
Weather: Cloudy, 64º

Another after-work fly. I played "stay inside the circle." The wind was a little bit variable and I was tired (not enough sleep). I did a lot of the usual Echo tricks, and packed up and left with perfect timing just before it started raining.

El Papalote

Date: 9/23/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - 0.5 mph !!, SW
Weather: Cloudy, 68º (humid)

My Echo kite was extra fun to fly today (after work, before dinner). I did lots of all its usual tricks, and even a couple of nice running-backwards fades.

I talked to a Latino family that were watching the football (American football, not soccer) practice at the fields. I asked them what the Spanish word for kite is -- it is El Papalote. I like the sound of that word!

Until Too Dark to See

Date: 9/22/09 Sat.
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12', 3d on 20'
Wind: 3 - 0.5 mph, SE
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 68º

This time I started with the 3d and then when the wind continued to die down I switched to the Echo. There wasn't really enough wind to have much fun with the 3d. I did a few 360s and some lazy axels.

The Echo's abilities matched the wind and I had fun doing spirals, 360s, and up-and-overs until it was almost too dark to see -- definitely too dark to see the lines.

Red Sun Sunset

Date: 9/20/09 Sat.
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12', 3d on 20'
Wind: 0.5 - 2 mph, SE
Weather: Cloudy, 72º

This was an evening fly with a nice very-red-sun sunset. The Echo faded well this evening and also did some nice graceful helicopter spirals.

There was a little too much wind for the Echo so I switched to the 3d. I did three 360s, but had to run rather fast to pull them off. I did a nice downwind glide. The 3d pops into a fade and then flies well in it, but doesn't like to fly out of the trick. This could be one of those "faults" of the pilot and not of the kite itself.

Saturday Sunrise

Date: 9/19/09 Sat.
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - 2 mph, SE
Weather: Mostly sunny, 60º

Ahhhh, a nice quiet sunrise at Cosmo Park to start the day.

I flew a lot of nice lazy helicopter spirals, some 360s, and up-and-overs. I was able to fly the Echo into and out of fades!

Anyway it was nice until a lot of vehicles started driving by and parking, mostly vans with kids for soccer and football, and maybe even softball. So time to pack up and go to the farmer's market for a breakfast-burrito breakfast.

Zephyr Repeat

Date: 9/18/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Zephyr on 70'
Wind: 5 - 10 mph, NE
Weather: Sunny, 77º

This kite flying session was practically a repeat of yesterday's session. And yesterday's was fun!

I did one not-so-sharp 540 on the left (with the right hand pulling it), possibly the first 540 with the Zephyr without the tail weight. 540s work much better with a little weight in the tail.

Yo-yo's between Soccer and Football

Date: 9/17/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Zephyr on 90'
Wind: 5 - 10 mph, NE
Weather: Sunny, 75º

This session was after work and I ended up being wedged between soccer and football. They don't usually have both sports happening in the park at the same time.

I haven't flown the Zephyr in wind like this -- a stronger wind than I usually fly it in. I flew some nice flic-flacs, axels and 1/2-axels. I did some yo-yos with unwraps, one unwrapped into a fade!

A small hole-punch in my E2

Date: 9/16/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: E2 on 85'
Wind: 4 - 8 mph, NE
Weather: Partly sunny, 76º

This flying session was a good one for me with the E2. Except for the small (top spreader size) hole I punched into the E2's sail. I thought the spreader was going into the fitting just fine, when it slipped and punched a small hole near the other repairs in the the sail. I decided to keep flying even with the hole, but not try any radical maneuvers (like I really know any super radical tricks (other than a wicked "lawn dart"!)).

Left and right 540s went OK, but only right-handed backspins worked today. I did some "old favorites" such as backflips, lazy susans, fades, and flic-flacs -- I even got a really nice side slide.

Heavy Zephyr with a Lite Tail

Date: 9/15/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Zephyr on 65'
Wind: 4 - 7 mph, E
Weather: Cloudy, 65º

The Zephyr seemed very heavy in the lite-ish wind after the past few days of Echo flying. The Zephyr also has lost its tail weight (today?). Without the tail weight it doesn't do 540s and backspins very well. I was still able to do a couple 540s, but they were sloppy and not at all snappy. I was able to fly this kite into a few yo-yos and one even unwrapped into a fade! Axels and 1/2-axels were fun today.

The Wind Out of the Sun

Date: 9/14/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 1 - 4 mph, NE
Weather: Mostly sunny, 64º

The sun is getting up later and later. I flew my Echo mostly before the spectacular sunrise. The wind was coming straight out of the sun.

Several times to get downwind I had to fly 360s with a traveling circle pattern -- moving backwards faster when facing into the wind and almost turning in one place when facing downwind.

Backflips only worked marginally. I did one (accidental) backflip into a yo-yo. The Echo doesn't have yo-yo stoppers and it didn't fly well at all in a yo-yo wrap, and then wouldn't unwrap in the air. I had to unwrap it by hand.

I flew into a fade once, and flew out of fades fairly consistently.

Yellow Tevas

Date: 9/13/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO

#1
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - 1 mph, ENE
Weather: Sunny, 62º

I arrived at Cosmo Park just after sunrise. With the very light breeze I only did a few 360s. But I practiced lots of Helicopter Spirals.

#2
Kites: Micron on 65'
Wind: 7 - 12 mph, NE
Weather: Mostly sunny, 75º

The Micron flies mostly fast loops, figure 8s, and dives. It has some overspin coming out of spins. I was able to do very short 3/4-backflips.

My Teva's (not the usual Crocs) got very yellow from grass pollen.

No wind -- veeery niiice!

Date: 9/12/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 mph
Weather: Sunny, 65º

This was an excellent early Saturday morning fly. There was no wind at all, so the Echo shined! I must be getting better with the Echo because the workout seemed much less strenuous. I flew a lot of Helicopters, or maybe I should call them Spirals because they spiral down from the top of the wind wind usually twice, but sometimes three times around. Lots of 360s and up-and-overs, too.

I also flew the Tumbling Cube for a short while. I think I need to reinforce the tape on this kite.

After work

Date: 9/11/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: 3d on 20'
Wind: 2 - 4 mph, E
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 78º

I flew my 3d kite right after work. It was nice to fly a "non-electronic" kite after a long week of doing computer tech support. I practiced some very low-to-the-ground axels and tried to not touch the ground with even a wing tip. I flew a couple backflips. I pulled 2 or 3 360s and I had to run backwards fairly hard to succeed at those.

Usuals and Unusuals

Date: 9/10/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - 4 mph, ENE
Weather: Partly cloudy, 65º

The usual: 360s, Up-and-Overs, Axels, Helicopters

The unusual: Fades (plus flying out of the fade), one Backflip, one 1/2-Lazy Susan, and a few catches.

Three or four mph is getting to be near the upper end of the Echo's wind range.

Echo Demo for Annett

Date: 9/9/09
Place: Skye Wynd backyard, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - .5 mph
Weather: Sunny, 75º

This was a short fly in a very lite, but squirrelly wind. Annett (my wife) had not seen me fly the Echo. I was able to show her the usual tricks that I can do: 360s, Up-and-Overs, Helicopters, Throw Launch, Catch (from a helicopter).

Out of the three or four Helicopters, I caught two of them and one catch was dead-on by the nose of the kite!

My kite flew across the moon

Date: 9/8/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: 3d on 20'
Wind: 2 - 5 mph, NE
Weather: Partly cloudy, 68º

When I left the house I thought there was no wind. On the way to the park I saw some flags and thought that it would be enough wind to fly the Zephyr. But it turned out to be in-between -- a 3d wind. It was nice flying my kite so that it crossed over and flew around the 3/4-moon. At one point, one of the bridle knots slipped and it caused the kite to not feel right while flying. I fixed it and the kite flew true again. I was able to fly the 3d into and out of fades a few times.

The Echo Fade Secret

Date: 9/7/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - 1 mph, NEWS???
Weather: Lite fog - cloudy, 67º

At the start of this morning's flying there was a very light breeze from the NE. (It later changed to a lighter breeze that constantly changed direction). While the wind was mostly from the NE, I practiced doing Helicopters. And that went really well. I was initiating the trick much more consistently. At least with a very light wind, you fly the kite towards the side near the top of the wind window and then you initiate a turn towards the outside. This might be just a little different in a true no-wind situation.

I also discovered the secret to popping the Echo into a fade from the ground! The kite doesn't pop-up from the ground well. Trying to pull it into a fade from the ground usually just causes it to pop up vertically, and then lawn dart straight into the ground. But, if the kite's tail is about 30 - 40º up from the nose, then a quick pull on the lines pops the kite into a fade.

Micron's debut

Date: 9/6/09

#1
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - 1 mph
Weather: Cloudy, 65º

My lower back has been bothering me for the last few days so today I was a little more tentative with moving around while flying. Moving is probably better for my back than sitting. I worked on Up-and-Overs and Helicopters, rather than the more strenuous 360s.

#2
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Micron on 50', 3d on 20'
Wind: 2 - 4 mph, N
Weather: Mostly sunny, 74º

Today is my new Micron's debut. When I left the house I thought there was a good wind for it, but found upon arriving at the park that there wasn't really as much wind as I expected. The Micron did fly but it was a chore trying to keep it in the air. It will do much better with a stronger wind. And it will be very fast! With today's wind it was a little unstable with some over-spin. I flew it without a tail -- less weight and less stability.

With not enough wind for the Micron, I brought out my 3d kite which seems to excel in this type of wind. Sometimes during slow axels it seemed to almost pause while the kite was horizontal and nose-away from me. The 3d was very pretty with the clouds and sun today!

Sun/Moon/Birds/Jet/Kite

Date: 9/2/09

#1
Place: Skye Wynd backyard, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - .25 mph
Weather: Sunny (but flew in the shade), 58º

I woke up late and didn't have time to drive over to Cosmo Park. So I did a short fly in my backyard. I did the usual 360s, up-and-overs, and axels. Several times I wasn't paying attention and tried to throw the Echo out for a launch with the line still wrapped around a wingtip. This, of course, doesn't work at all.

#2
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Zephyr on 70'
Wind: 8 - 3 mph, E
Weather: Sunny, 71º

This evening's flying was while looking towards the setting sun. The green Zephyr looks great back lit. An almost full moon was rising. At one point the sky held a setting sun, rising full moon, a large flock of black birds, a jet contrail, and my Zephyr!

I did some fades, flic-flacs, yo-yo's, 1/2-axels, and two sloppy 540s. Twice I got a 1/2 yo-yo (only one side wrapped) which just settled all the way to the ground. And I had one fairly nice helicopter, a trick I've not done before with the Zephyr.

Catch That Helicopter

Date: 9/1/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: Echo on 12'
Wind: 0 - 1 mph, NE
Weather: Sunny, 55º

It was a peaceful sunrise and I had Cosmo Park to myself. I didn't see anyone else, no runners, no walkers, no cars, nor parked cars.

I worked on Helicopters with some success and even had a few that I caught.