Happy Halloween

Date: 10/31/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 70' Wind: 15 to 20 mph (gusty), S Weather: Mostly Sunny, 57º 14 flights at $23/flight

Today's wind had lots of gusts, more than I've dealt with before. It felt a lot more gusty even with the vented kite. I just flew the usual types of patterns, mostly trying to maintain control in the variable wind. There were heavy clouds to the west so the sun set early behind them rather than at the ground horizon. I'm not sure how many more evenings after work I'll be able to fly outside, probably only the rest of this week. This coming weekend is the change to DST and then also on Monday I switch to a 10am - 7pm work schedule for the rest of November. I could them fly in the morning before work, but then, of course it will be much colder. Brrrr.

Halloween Eve

Date: 10/30/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 70' Wind: 14 to 17 mph, NW Weather: Cloudy, 41º 13 flights at $24.77/flight

It was a very windy and cold day. The vented kite did great with this wind, though. After a while my fingers got cold and so I took a break in the middle of the flying to warm them up in my van. I tried flying some squares again, but they weren't very square. Flying back and forth with downward turns at the ends and a propeller turn in the middle did go well. Also, hovering upside down worked pretty well. Some geese flew over very low (below kite level), but I didn't have my camera with for photographing them. It is nice, though, to have a kite that I know I can land easily and quickly without crashing upon moments notice.

120' x 4 = 480' of Line

Date: 10/29/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 120' Wind: 11 to 17 mph, S Weather: Cloudy, 50º 12 flights at $26.83/flight

It was a blustery late afternoon fly. The wind was a bit cold, but I was able to do more of the kite setup with gloves on. This was the 1st time I've flown a Revolution kite with 120' lines. The kite appeared to be a lot farther away from me, but it was nice having a bigger wind window. I can see why teams would want to fly with the longer lines. I also used the newer handles that came with the Rev 1.5 - b-series which have about five knots to attach the lines to so that you can adjust the forward/reverse controls. I tried two settings and I think I'll try these settings when it's warmer out, or if I feel the need to practice a lot of backward flying.

I flew a few new patterns  such as some square shapes. The vented Rev is the only kite I have that can fly (relatively) safely with this amount of wind. It was a fun afternoon session. I packed-up before the sun poked out of the hazy clouds before approaching the actual sunset.

Last Training Day at Work

Date: 10/28/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 70' Wind: 15 to 10 mph, NW Weather: Mostly Sunny, 50º 11 flights at $29.27/flight

Today was the last day of the 6-week initial training at work (Volt/VMC/MS). We got off earlier so -- time to fly my kite! The wind was a bit cold so I wore the only hat in my pockets, a blue hat that says, "Microsoft Fargo" on it.

The wind picked up since I flew yesterday so I got to fly the "sunset" kite again. As usual, I practiced getting more control over different flight patterns. I practiced turning where the axis of the turn was an end of the leading edge.

Spinning This Way and That

Date: 10/27/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Nirvana on 75' Wind: 10 to 6 mph, SW Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 49º

It started out with a little too much wind for the Nirvana, but it slowed down to a very good speed. I seemed to get a lot of wing-tip wraps this evening, especially when I was trying to do Slot Machines. I wasn't able to successfully do any Slot Machines at all today. Maybe next time. Back-spins worked well and I even got the start of a back-spin cascade (spinning one time around then switching directions, then repeating that). Flic-flacs worked well and I did a few combos of various tricks. As the wind died down I ended up against the softball fence a few times. This was a fun flying session, except for the tip-wraps which were frustrating.

Surprise - It's Not Windy

Date: 10/26/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: 4d on 20' Wind: 0 to 2 mph, W Weather: Mostly Sunny, 51º

Today had the 1st no-wind conditions I've had in a long time. I guess a good measure of "no-wind" is if the conditions allow for 360s, then it's "no-wind." I did quite a few 360s this evening. Fades take much more effort with no-wind. I thought about flying with 12' lines but was doing OK with 20', and was too lazy to change lines.

I watched some beautiful storm clouds in the distance as the sun set.

On Longer Lines - It's a Different Kite

Date: 10/25/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: 4d on 46' Wind: 1 to 3 mph, NE Weather: Cloudy, 52º

I flew the 4d this evening, which had almost identical flying conditions to yesterday, on 46' lines instead of 20' and it felt like an entirely different kite. I was able to do some dives, flare out to a pancake then pull to fades. Once I got the kite to yo-yo then un-rolled it to a crash. Also, a few times it almost did a flic-flac. I did do a few back-spins (with both hands), but only one at a time, recovering to a fade. A fun session.

Lots of Wind for Hard Dives

Date: 9/16/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 70' Wind: 10 to 17 mph, S (gusty) Weather: Cloudy, 57º $51.6/flight

This is the most wind I've flown the Rev in! I did OK with this wind, and only dived into the ground (actually, not too hard) a few times. There was not too much fine control, or any hope of it with this wind. But, I still had fun.

A Switch to Low-wind

Date: 10/24/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: 4d on 20' Wind: 1 to 3 mph, NE Weather: Cloudy, 54º

Flying the 4d in low wind was a nice change from the Revs and the Nirvana. It's almost always a pleasure to do a different style of flying with a different kite and that has not been flow for a while. And to get a bit of good exercise while doing so.

Tricks: Axels, 1/2-Axels, a 540, lots of nice floaty spirals, and nice fades. But, it was too windy for 360s :^)

I Learned a Way Not to Swap Frames

Date: 10/23/2011, Sunday Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap and Race on 70', Nirvana on 75' Wind: 11 to 8 mph, W Weather: Mostly Sunny, 58º $32.2/flight Sunset"

This late afternoon fly was nice but a little confusing about which kite to fly. I started with the Nirvana and immediately found that there was too much wind for any tricks. I switched to the vented Rev with a 4-wrap frame (which was already in the sail from last time). It worked OK but there was not enough wind and the kite seemed heavy. So I swapped to the race frame. I inserted the race frame into the leading edge without taking out the 4-wrap first. They kind of got stuck in there together and I couldn't get the 4-wrap out. I ended up taking all the leading edge rods out and then successfully inserting the race frame. Oofda. At the end of the session the wind died down and I flew the Nirvana again and though it was still a little too much wind some tricks worked better than earlier.

Extra Spins in the Middle

Date: 10/22/2011, Saturday Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 70' Wind: 10 to 15 mph, S (gusts to 20 mph) Weather: Sunny, 64º $35.78/flight

The wind switched 180º since yesterday and so the sun was at my back today. And it's warmer, too. The vented Rev was again the best choice for the wind that insists on regularly blowing fairly hard in the Fargo/Moorhead area. This fall has actually been very nice without any snow or nasty cold fall rain. The days have been almost all sunny with some wind.

I practiced the usual and added some spins. On the horizontal passes I tried to add a single propeller spin in the center exiting straight sideways. I also tried figure eights (actually infinity signs), first as usual, then with an extra spin in the center.

Sunset Nirvana

Date: 10/21/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" Race on 70', Nirvana on 75' Wind: 12 to 5 mph, N Weather: Sunny, 57º $40.25/flight (Rev)

A very nice after-work evening kite fly. It was warmer than the last few days, so my fingers didn't freeze setting up and putting away the kites.

Since the wind speed went up and down and dropped off in general as sunset approached, I was able to switch back-and-forth between the Nirvana and the "Sunset" vented Rev. Near the end of the session there was barely enough wind to fly the Rev.

With the Nirvana I did most of the usual tricks including some nice back-spins (both hands) and Jacob's Ladders. I also did one very nice slot machine. (I looked it up and that is the correct name.)

Race Through the Sky

Date: 10/19/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" Race on 75' Wind: 8 to 10 mph, NE Weather: Sunny, 45º $46/flight

This was the first time I used the race frame with a Rev kite. And it worked great! Even though the wind was on the lite side for the vented sail, the frame made the kite light and responsive.

For some reason I really like practicing horizontal flying with downward turns at the sides without losing altitude.

I drove directly to the park after work. During this flying session I was looking almost directly into the sun and the kite's sunset colored panels again shimmered with the backlight of the setting sun.

Only One-half Handle Twist

Date: 10/18/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 75' Wind: 12 to 18 mph (gusts to 25), N Weather: Sunny, 44º $53.67/flight

When setting up this kite, when I picked up the handles there was only a half-twist to undo with one hand before the handles/lines were read for launching the kite. Usually there are several handle twists and the left and right sets are also twisted, and many times one handle has been passed through the lines of the other handle. It's usually a challenge getting the lines untangled -- Urrrg.  Today was happily easy.

The setting sun made the "sunset" kite shimmer as different panels in the sail caught different amounts of backlighting from the sun! Very beautiful!

It was quite a bit colder today than yesterday. Brrrr. I drove straight from work to the park to fly.

Hang on to Both Handles

Date: 10/17/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 75' Wind: 15 to 21 mph, NW Weather: Sunny, 52º $64.4/flight

This was a nice wind for the vented Rev. And it was a very pleasant evening, sunny and not too cold. I flew until about 20 minutes after the sunset.

At one point I lost hold of one of the handles. I'm glad the wind wasn't too high at that time -- the kite just settled to the ground.

I practiced moving the kite in different directions without changing the orientation of the kite. I also practiced diving the kite (leading edge first) and then braking right at the ground then letting the bottom lines go forward so that the kite is basically "parked" on the ground. This is a fast way to land the kite. Another skill I worked on is to have the kite upright on the ground and then take-off, immediately do one propellor spin and then land the kite again upright.

One more skill I worked on is to fly the kite back and forth across the wind window with a downward turn to switch directions, but without losing altitude. I pull on the "top" hand lines to slide the kite up a little just before the downward turn. Then a pull with the new "top" hand as it comes out the turn. This seems to work well.

A fun evening!

Lots of Wind! (20-30 mph)

Date: 10/16/2011 Sunday Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 75' Wind: 20 to 25 mph, NW, Gusts to 30 mph Weather: Sunny, 53º $80.5/flight

This afternoon was probably the most wind I've ever flown a kite in. The Sunset vented Rev handled this wind with ease! I had the kite mostly under control most of the time. I even practiced hovering the kite upside down and sliding it in different directions without changing the orientation of the kite. I wasn't always very successful at this, but it was fun trying. Sometimes I flew it without any tension on the lower brake lines -- it flys forward fairly fast and makes a buzzing sound.

Photo Opportunity

Date: 10/15/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 75' Wind: 10 to 17 mph, NW Weather: Mostly Sunny, 52º $107.33/flight

I flew for about 45 minutes while Annett walked. She took some photos:

 Annett really liked the "bouncing" trick. It was fun flying this kite again. It has a really nice feel while flying. It looked great back-lit by the sun. Some of the panels looked shimmery in this light. I practiced flying backwards in an up direction and sliding the kite sideways.

Flying With Geese

Date: 10/14/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 75' Wind: 10 to 17 mph, NW Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 53º $161/flight

There were lots of geese flying around the park tonight, some directly overhead and not very high above the kite. I did take some photos:

This evening Ashraf was able to come to the park and try my new vented Revolution kite. He really liked how it handled. There was plenty of wind, including some gusts to demonstrate how a vented kite flies well with higher winds. He also took a few photos of me flying this kite.

 Ashraf flying my vented Rev.

I learned a new trick (sort-of a trick) with this kite from Ashraf. You dive the kite down and brake the dive near the ground, but let the kite bounce of the ground a little. Then back the kite up to either stop and hover or fly away.

It was a fun afterwork kite fly. I got off work a half-hour early (4:30) due to a half-hour lunch. The extra  daylight for flying was very welcome. The sunset was again very nice.

Pink Thunderclouds!

Date: 10/12/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" 3-wrap on 75' Wind: 8 to 12 mph, W Weather: Mostly Sunny, 62º $17.2/flight

It was a beautiful evening after a frustrating day at work (training). The sun sat behind me and illuminated some thunderclouds to the east making them pink behind the flying kite.

 I tried to take some photos while flying the kite and sort of succeeded, though it's extremely hard to hold the control handle and camera in one hand at the same time and snap a photo that turns out OK.

The kite flew fairly well with the 3-wrap frame, but was near the upper range of wind for that frame.

It was a relaxing and fun evening. There won't be too many more before it gets dark too soon to fly after work.

Competed For Sky With Model Airplanes

Date: 10/10/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" 3-wrap on 75', $18.43/flight Wind: 4 to 9 mph, SSW Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 60º

This was the first time I flew a Rev with a 3-wrap frame (the carbon-fiber spars are made with 3 layers). The grass was a little wet from the rain earlier in the day, but not too bad. My back was to the sunset so I didn't see much of it. Two people flying model airplanes were at the park, too, or should I say parking lot. They didn't really compete for the same airspace, but did get a little close once or twice. I practiced the usual moves, trying to get better control with the four lines.

Starting today, but it will be retro-active for all my earlier Rev flights, I'm calling the red and black Rev the "Hawk" because red and black were my high school colors. And the Night Rev will be called "Sunset" because of its bright sunset colors.

This Way and That

Date: 10/08/11, Sat.
Place: 100 Acres, Moorhead, MN
Kites: Nirvana on 75'
Wind: 8 - 0 - 5 - 8 mph, SE - SW
Weather: Mostly Sunny, 66º

It was a nice afternoon for flying my kite while Annett walked for some exercise. The wind kind of came an went and switched directions over 90º. It was a good day to practice some back-spins in both directions and even did a few sloppy slot-machines. Lots of the usual tricks too, such as flic-flacs, jacob's ladders and axels.

First Flight For Night

Date: 10/5/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5-b "Sunset" 4-wrap on 75' Wind: 8 to 16 mph (gusty), S Weather: Mostly Sunny, 88º (Hot!) $322/flight

Sunny, but hazy, and very hot for October. This was the debut of my new "Night" Rev 1.5-b Vented kite. I think I will call this kite "Sunset" because of its colors. This was very fun to fly! The kite, even with 4-wrap spars flexes a lot more than the Rev with a Super Leading Edge. The vents made for less pull and softened up the gusts. The flex allowed for greater precision and control, more forgiving on the inputs. And it's very pretty (Shiny)!

Monster Tangle With Four

Date: 10/4/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 75' Wind: 7 to 14 mph, SE Weather: Sunny, 83º $19.85/flight

There was a nice sunset, but it seemed to get dark quickly. I did "waste" a lot of time untangling a monster knot with the four lines during the setup of the kite. (first big tangle with a quad-line set). The wind was a bit gusty, but it was still fun flying.

A Big Water Bill

Date: 10/3/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 75' Wind: 6 to 11 mph, SE Weather: Mostly Sunny, 82º $21.5/flight

I flew on grassy ground that was very hard. The sunset was very nice. Flying was fun and my kite attracted the attention of the groundskeeper and his son. I demonstrated some of its maneuvers, not super precise, but not too bad either. I talked to him for a while and found out that the water bill for just that park for one month last year was $45,000!

I Can Rake the Leaves Another Day

Date: 10/2/2011 Place: 100 Acres Park, Moorhead, MN Kites: Rev 1.5 "Hawk" SLE on 75' Wind: 10 to 15 mph, S Weather: Sunny, 82º $23.45/flight

A beautiful and warm late Sunday afternoon kite flying session. I can rake the leaves another day!