Indoor-flying Outside

Date: 6/30/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: 3d on 12'
Wind: 0 - 0.5 mph
Weather: Sunny Sunrise, 67º

I flew lots of 360s and tried some up-and-overs, though they didn't work so well possibly due to the kite being heavy with dew from the grass. I don't fly it in the grass, but it does land there sometimes. :^) An up-and-over is where you start with the kite somewhere medium low and then pull on the lines so that the kite flys up over your head and then you turn around 180º and fly it down towards the ground and then turn out of the trick.

The air was very still and it felt like I was flying indoors (except for the sunrise, fresh air, sounds of birds, etc.) :^)

Sunny Sunrise

Date: 6/29/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: 3d on 12'
Wind: 0 - 2 mph, SW
Weather: Sunny, 66º

360s and axels. I did get one axel-into-a-fade combo. And I got the kite into a helicopter with me moving forward to keep enough slack in the lines to do the trick.

He's fading, he's fading, ....

Date: 6/28/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: 3d on 12', E2 on 85'
Wind: 2 - 9 mph, NW
Weather: Sunny, 74-80º

I flew my kites from 7:00-9:00 AM. It was a beautiful morning! (even taking into account the very wet grass and the kiddies playing football nearby)

With the 3d, I was only able to do 2 or 3 360s. Two mph is too much wind for 360s. But, 2 mph was great for fades. I got the 3d into a fade and held it there for a very long time!

By the time the wind picked up and I switched to the E2 the grass mostly dried out. I flew lots of 540s, backspins, flic-flacs, fades, and axels.

Football :^(

Date: 6/27/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: 3d on 12', E2 on 85'
Wind: 2 - 7 mph, SW
Weather: Sunny, 75º

There are little (dwarf?) football players all over my kite flying field! :^( OK, they have a right to be there, too. But it seems a little strange to me to dress kids up in football helmets and pads to play a "silly" game with the adults, watching, coaching, yelling, and mostly trying to get their kids to be just like the pro football players. And there was room for me to fly on an adjacent field - so stop grumbling, Neil!

The 3d kite holds a fade really well. In fact, it's a little hard to get out of a 3d fade.

With the E2, I got one rung of a Jacob's Ladder. And generally flew the usual medium-low wind tricks (fades, flic-flacs, backspins).

Backwards Fade (by accident) - a "Yo"

Date: 6/25/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: 3d on 12'
Wind: 0 - 2 mph, SW
Weather: Mostly sunny, 75º

I mostly flew the usual no-wind tricks I know (360s and axels).

I did a backflip with the kite and somehow (I have no idea how to repeat this) I got the kite into a half yo-yo, or maybe just a "yo," and then with me moving backwards the kite was in a backwards fade for a short while! The lines were somehow wrapped near the wing tips. This would be a great trick to learn and do on purpose.

As I was packing up I saw Chester and Harry (and their master, Cris Wood) again. Harry is the Great Pyrenees dog that bit through my kite line last winter/spring.

Sunrise at Cosmo

Date: 6/24/09
Place: Cosmo Park, Columbia, MO
Kites: 3d on 12'
Wind: 0 - 1 mph, NSEW
Weather: Partly Sunny, 75º, humid

I'm getting up extra early so that I can fly/exercise before going to work. This also means that I'm out during the cooler (relatively speaking) part of the day. And I get a nice sunrise!

I flew: 360s, loops, axels, and throw starts. I think I'm getting better at the low/no wind flying -- I'm walking backwards more slowly than before.

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