Looking into the Sunset

Date: 9/30/2011, Friday after work Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Nirvana on 75' Wind: 4 to 6 mph, E Weather: Sunny, 62º

I was looking into the sunset and the back-lit Nirvana looked great! It was a nice easy wind, maybe on the lite side. So I was backed-up into the softball fence a bunch of times.

Tricks: Jacob's Ladders, fades, backspins, flic-flacs, 1/2-axels. I was able to do three (slightly sloppy) slot-machines.

A very nice evening. Nice sunset, though I did actually see the last part of it setting.

Sunset Until Dark

Date: 9/28/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Nirvana on 75' Wind: 6 to 12 mph, W Weather: Mostly Sunny, 77º

This evening had a very nice wind for the Nirvana kite. I flew from the start of the sunset until it was too dark to fly. Tricks that worked well today included: Jacob's Ladders, fades, backspins, backflips and lazy susan's, 540s, axels, cascades.

I ordered a quad-line Vented Revolution 1.5 b-series "Night" kite from "A Wind of Change" (in Las Vegas, NV). The vented kite will be able to fly in a higher wind range. The vented kite comes with both  three-wrap and four-wrap frames. I substituted a race-frame (+$30 extra) for the 3-wrap frame since I already have a 3-wrap that came with the Rev SLE kite and the frames are all interchangeable. I also ordered spare parts such that I will be able to fix most breakages without waiting for new parts to arrive. And I ordered a dual-line set, 100# by 100' to replace the 110' line-set that I broke last spring.

Dusty Harvesting

Date: 9/27/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: 4d on 12' Wind: 0 to 1.5 mph, SW Weather: Sunny, 75º

It was fun to fly with no wind again! The air was a little dusty due to farmers in the area harvesting. It was a nice 30 minute exercise session.

Tricks: 360s, spirals, axels. I did one 360 with the kite pointing straight up!

A Washer and an O-ring

Date: 9/25/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 75' Wind: 11 to 6 mph, S Weather: Sunny, 68º $25.8/flight

I started flying late afternoon. It was a very beautiful afternoon/eve. I jury-rigged the top caps with a washer and an O-ring which seems to be working for  now. I had a lot of fun flying today with a little better control of the kite.

I tried propeller spins with a "turn-tap" with one hand and a pull with the other hand at the same time.

End-cap and Top-cap Lost

Date: 9/24/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 75' Wind: 6 to 11 mph, SE Weather: Sunny, 69º $28.67/flight

I had a little better control at hovering in various orientations. But, I'm still whacking into the ground at times.

Somehow the top-cap (dust cap) came off. When I tried to replace it temporarily with an end-cap, I dropped that into the grass and couldn't find it.

(Back home I bought some washers and o-rings to temporarily fix the kite until I can buy some stock replacement and backup parts.)

Friday After Work

Date: 9/23/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 70' Wind: 11 to 6 mph, S Weather: Sunny, 62º $32.25/flight

This was a nice kite session after work on a Friday while Annett walked around the park for exercise.

Gentle End to the Day

Date: 9/22/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: 4d on 12' and 20' Wind: 2 to 5 mph, NE Weather: Sunny, 58º

There was a nice sunny sunset that I had to look into while flying this evening. I was mentally worn out from work so it was a nice gentle low wind peaceful end of the day kite fly. Annett walked while I flew my kite.

There was a little too much wind for 360s, but fades, axels, and a couple 540s worked well.

1st day of Work/Training at Volt/VMC/Microsoft

Date: 9/19/2011, Monday Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Nirvana on 75' Wind: 8 to 4 mph, S Weather: Mostly Sunny, 73º

This was an evening fly after my first official day of work (actually, being trained) at Volt/VMC/Microsoft.

The wind dropped to zero as the sun actually set (very nice) and then started picking up again. I tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to take some photos of the Nirvana and the sunset while flying the kite.  But this one turned out good.

Where I was flying the ground was very hard (at least to my feet) and dry. And of course with a dual-line kite I move around a lot more. I flew a lot of my regular tricks: Jacob's Ladders, fades, flic-flacs, back-spins.

Press the Shutter and Run!

Date: 9/18/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 70' Wind: 10 to 5 mph, S Weather: Partly Cloudy, 70º $36.86/flight

There was a sunset with very pretty clouds.

Once again the wind pretty much died down as the sun set. I took some photos using the timer on my camera. I had to press the shutter and then run 70' to try and get into the picture next to the kite. Most of the time I didn't quite get there in time.

It was very fun flying today. I tried and somewhat succeeded at doing propeller spins just one time around, with a goal of crisp starts and stops.

Half-way to St. Patricks Day

Date: 9/17/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 70' Wind: 7 to 15 mph, SE Weather: Cloudy, 60º $43/flight

Bit by bit, I'm gaining more control over this kite. Today I used the orange golfball stake - it works well for this kite.

I practiced sliding the kite up and down while flying back and forth. At the end I tried winding the lines up like I do for a dual-line set rather than with a figure-8 that Ashraf suggested. (seems to work OK)

Cooler Weather

Date: 9/14/2011, Wed. Evening Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 70' Wind: 11 to 5 mph, S Weather: Mostly Sunny, 51º $64.5/flight

I flew until the wind died down at the sunset. I tried to get the feel of sliding the kite sideways mostly while flying the kite back-and-forth. It seems that cold weather has arrived -- I wore a hat and gloves.

Martes Trece

Date: 9/13/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 70' Wind: 12 to 7 mph, N Weather: Mostly Sunny, 60º $86/flight

Nice sunset and moonrise! Annett walked in the park while I flew the "Hawk" kite. This was the first time I showed Annett this new kite. She took a few photos, which are a bit dark.

Flying this kite this evening was an exercise in just keeping it in the air -- the basics of flying a quad-line kite.

Nothing unlucky happened. "Martes Trece" (Tuesday the 13th) is the Latin American version of our "Friday the 13th."

9/11 - Full Moon Night fly

Date: 9/11/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: 4d on 20', Skate on variable Wind: 2 to 6 mph, S Weather: Clear, 70º

I arrived at the park just as the sun set. The full moon came up, but it was still a clear fairly-dark night. Ashraf was there flying his Revolution kite with a race-rod frame. The wind was too light for my SLE Rev, but I tried out Ashraf's kite. It flew well with the very light frame. But as the wind died down and with my lack of quad-line flying ability and the dark flying conditions, I found myself continuously backing up.

My 4d on 20' flew just fine in the light wind. I only did a couple of 360s (too much wind) plus the usual axels, spirals, and fades.

I got out my Skate (single line kite) and it flew just fine in the very light wind. But, I got bored enough after a short while that I switched back to the 4d.

Sky-Date: 9-10-11

Date: 9/10/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 70', E2 on 65' Wind: 6 to 12 mph, W Weather: Sunny, 84º 2 flights at $129/flight

I did well flying the Rev. I practiced diving down with an abrupt stop near the ground -- this needs a lot more practice. I didn't use a stake, but I can see where using a stake could be very useful, especially for re-launches. Flying the Rev is fun. I can see it will take a lot of practice to have a lot of control.

I tried the E2 at the end of the flying session, but there was too much wind for most of its usual tricks. I did only a few fades, a 540, one Jacob's Ladder rung, but no back-spins. And a few wing-tip wraps.

Interview with VMC

Date: 9/9/2011, Friday Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: 4d on 12' Wind: 2 to 4 mph, NW Weather: Sunset and nearly full moon, 80º

This was a low-key end-of-the-day flying session. The nearly full moon that came up was very beautiful. After flying I noticed some red dust on my feet and sandals. I later found out that it is a type of fertilizer for the grass.

I did  only one 360 (too much wind) and a buch of axels, fades, and spirals.

1st Flight For My New "Hawk" SLE Revolution Kite

Date: 9/6/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 70' Wind: 9 to 4 mph, S Weather: Sunny, 75º 1 flight at $258/flight

I "accidentally" bought a quad-line Revolution SLE kite on sale at KotiKites! I found out later that the sale was a pre-going-out-of-business sale and that I bought the last Rev SLE kite that they had. I had no choice about the color. I am dubbing it my "hawk" kite since its colors are black and red, the same as the colors for the Bozeman Senior High "Hawks", the high school I attended.

I flew it the same day I bought it. Ashraf was available and came out to the park to show me how to set it up, and give me some basic flying tips. I think I did well for a quad-line beginner.

I also flew the Prism Nexus kite that Ashraf "accidentally" bought on sale, too. It appears to be able to fade, back-flip, lazy susan, and flic-flac. I didn't try some of the other tricks I know because the wind was very light. I'm not sure that the Nexus would be an ideal first stunt kite for a beginner for learning tricks. A larger kite would move more slowly and be more trickable.

Too Much Wind!

Date: 9/5/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: E2 on 65' Wind: 10 to 15 mph, S Weather: Sunny, 82º

There was too much wind for the E2 kite, or any of my dual-line kites. I maybe need to buy a kite that can manage flying in Fargo/Moorhead winds. I was able to do a couple of 540s and even a short fade a few times, but most of my usual tricks were not possible.

Yin-Yang Debut

Date: 9/3/2011 Place: Fort Snelling Soccer Fields, Minneapolis, MN Kites: Yin-Yang on 75' Wind: 10 to 18 mph (gusty), N Weather: Partly Cloudy, 78º

I was visiting the Twin Cities for the Labor Day weekend and since the weather cooperated for kite flying, Justin and I went to the Fort Snelling soccer fields. It was the first flight for my new Yin-Yang kite. It flies OK, though I won't know which tricks it can do well until I fly it in a lower wind. It seems to axel OK, but with some overspin upon exiting. A back-flip also worked.

I flew Justin's Prism Jazz kite and his Prism 1.2 Snapshot parafoil. The parafoil was fun to fly with this wind, though I doubt I would buy a parafoil. At one point we tied a large sheet from my van onto the parafoil to see if it would fly with it -- it did! I took some photos of Justin's kites: