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About this blog

My personal observations

Entries in this blog

30/08/2015 Blackheath

We flew the new 1.5 JMH sails on 100ft lines for a short while on Saturday in a light southerly breeze at the Aquarius event. Jacob then had to go and play his set with Jonah’s Raft. By the time he came back onto the flying field the rain had set in and wet lines and kites were not going to work. Today on Blackheath there was a consistent Easterly breeze, about 6 – 7 mph under featureless grey cloud cover. After the disappointing conditions over the last few weeks it was a real pleasure to ‘

Felix

Felix

30/08/2010 Portsmouth

It was an excellent event at Portsmouth this year with 'slightly' demanding conditions on Sunday afternoon. <grins> Thanks to everyone who took up the challenge of the grid fly in the arena on both days and also for all those who took advantage of the dedicated Rev field on Saturday, Sunday and Monday as well. Having flown alongside Herman van den Broek in kite arenas in many countries over many years I was very touched to have been awarded the Portsmouth 2010 trophy by the event organis

Felix

Felix

30/07/2017 Blackheath

The Cycle events of the weekend meant that our arrival at Blackheath was a bit delayed this morning.  I must not complain as a spin round the City and Westminster yesterday was, as ever, a bit of a treat! Slightly blustery SW breeze today so we were on full vents with race rods. Some called moves today produced some very enthusiastic responses from passers by!  Eventually it becomes a bit difficult to know exactly how to respond to “I’ve never seen anything like it before”. There

Felix

Felix

30/06/2019 Blackheath

Only revs today as there was a running event taking place and the wind forecast did not look great. The high cloud was receding so fair weather cumulus but not very developed most of the time.  The westerly wind was typical summer Blackheath, on the strong side this time, but consistently variable.  Opting for mid vents with green race made a certain amount of sense until the arm ache set in! Very little called as the variability of the breeze really was not conducive to team flying.

Felix

Felix

30/06/2013 Blackheath

The forecast was for a proper summer’s day and that indeed was how it was today. Arrived on Blackheath at 10:00am and initially the breeze felt fairly light but I set up the full vented with green race rods. Over the next 2 hours the breeze gradually increased and by the time we wrapped, heavier spars, or the Xtra Vented sail, would have been more comfortable. Needless to say the new Diamond rods stayed in the bag. The current forecast for next Sunday looks promisingly light but such forecas

Felix

Felix

30/05/2021 Blackheath

A chilly easterly breeze and a featureless grey sky greeted us onto Blackheath today.  We flew full sail1.5s with an accompaniment by Trilok Gurtu to get warmed up. A bit of brightness appeared on the south eastern skyline and gradually the flat grey cloud became more articulated and brighter.  Finally the disc of the sun could be seen through the cloud and hints of a blue sky followed. The temperature notched up and eventually we were flying in full sunshine and a mostly blue sky.

Felix

Felix in Decs Sunday

30/05/2010 Blackheath 1.5 Vented Variant thoughts

Some time ago we asked Jørgen Møeller Hansen to produce a graphic for a 1.5 vented kite based on the B Pro sail panel layout. He duly came up with a design which we eventually, (when we were able to afford funding), forwarded to Revolution asking Bazzer to sew the sails. What we had not expected was that Bazzer would follow Jørgen's drawing exactly and so produce a variant of the vented sail with astonishing attention to the detail of Jørgen's design. We have now used these kites in earnest at

Felix

Felix

30/04/2017 Cervia

Suddenly it is Sunday and only one day left to fly.  The JMH Rokkaku flew well today! Felix

Felix

Felix

30/04/2014 Seventh Day Cervia

It was a bright start and on the beach at 9:00am there was a light onshore breeze probably 1-2 mph. After some line adjustments we flew through to about 10:30 before breaking for a coffee. <grins> We took to the arena for a while and then took an early pre-lunch break! Early afternoon and we were back in the arena watching the cloudscape developing. At around 5:00pm there was a call for a mega-fly against the darkening sky. It was 12 up this time! Soon afterwards the rain started and

Felix

Felix

30/03/2014 Blackheath

Hazy and grey today with a variable light SE breeze. With the temperature hitting 20 degrees C it was almost T shirt weather. It certainly was a treat to fly the 1.5 full sails with Diamond Rods again today. The ‘two turn’ pull to the top of the window and the long, long downwind walk are just great. We dropped in and out of formal team flying as conditions dictated today and saw some fluent close form free flying albeit with the occasional snagged line or stalled sail. Sometimes it is poss

Felix

Felix

30/01/2011 Blackheath

Another cold day with a variable NE breeze that just about justified the use of the mid vent 1.5s. Sometimes too light, at other times too strong. I was on 'long handles' so the light was easier to cope with than the strong. The 'not called' free flying is becoming more 'elegant' as the capabilities of the fliers increases. This will be a source of increasingly complex team moves but for now we looked at the possibility of rolling kites 1 and 3 back over 2 and 4 while continuing the overall lin

Felix

Felix

2nd August 2009 Blackheath

Light to start but a Three Kite day on Blackheath, Standard, Mid and Vented. I was intent on noting handle position and can confirm 'palm down' with minimal grip. The line pressure holds the handles against the fingers... I am very conscious of enabling a full pull past legs at thigh/knee level and making an effort to avoid 'body blocking' such moves. I have also found that the archery stance, one leg forward, one back, is good for anticipating movement on the ground. Be prepared to be mobi

Felix

Felix

29th March 2009

Clock change weekend so an early start seemed appropriate given the forecast for gradually reducing wind speed. 3-5 mph translated to nothing really so it was a bit of a waiting game. Fly when you can and expect to respond to 90 or 180 degree shifts was the order of the day. Jacob arrived around midday and we eventually put 4 wrap Rev 1s up. Caught a thermal under a Cumulus cloud at one point simultaneously with both kites on vertical lines. You have to be careful not to pull the kite ove

Felix

Felix

29th - 31st August 2009 Portsmouth

A great weekend which included getting the 16 JMH kites (8 x 1.5 and 8 x 1) in flight with help from The Flying Squad and Sailor. (Thanks again J) I hope that images will be available somewhere eventually. There was limited space off arena during the festival after the special provision last year but we did manage to get some time between the funfair and the road to begin to put together the obligatory 'new move' sequence for the weekend. This was refined on Monday morning in the more friendl

Felix

Felix

29/12/2019 Blackheath

Southerly breeze, some sunshine and blue sky in parts today.  The forecasts were about right with a base speed of about 4mph - 8mph.  Full 1.5 sails with race rods and a mid-vent, just because!  Nothing called as is usual but we did get to discuss events for 2020, just a bit. We put together the Peter Malinski Flare Kite (ex Hamburg) with its substantial tubular frame in c120cm units, so c240cm high in the four vertical sleeved pockets with press stud closures and the c360cm horizontal secu

Felix

Felix

29/12/2013 Blackheath

Clear blue skies today with occasional high cloud out to the west indicating the approaching but still distant weather front. A SSW breeze was good in the main to put up a mixed set of 1.5 Mid Vents including Rowan’s new blue fade Pro with green race. A very relaxed fly today with few incidents. The bright sun was just strong enough to keep the cold at bay. Some of us will fly on New Years Day weather permitting. Happy New Year! Felix

Felix

Felix

29/11/2020 Blackheath

A damp and dark grey morning.  The cloud was not thick enough to filter out all the UV light so it appeared to me even darker through the filtering lenses.  There was a breeze though, 4-8.5 mph as measured but with a few lulls as well. Zens with green race with Miles Davis In a Silent Way and Kind of Blue to keep the silent flying moving.  It will probably be good to try these tunes with a larger group at some point. I’m going to be doing a bit of metal work with the 3mm stainless stee

Felix

Felix in Decs Sunday

29/11/2015 Blackheath

The forecast was not very optimistic but we did make the journey ‘just in case’. Arrived later than usual and the wind was much as predicted, mostly 25mph with gusts up to 38-40. Xtra Vents with 4wrap were OK most of the time and as at South Shields the other year we decked the kites during the stronger sustained gusts. There were a few moments of ‘brightness’ and the contrast between buildings and sky to the south was somewhat remarkable. The occasional squally shower eventually sent us pac

Felix

Felix

29/11/2009 Blackheath

Some of us (Felix, Ashley, David) had a great weekend at Ainsdale last week. The weather was tough but a bit of extra 'brake' was sufficient to keep us flying. This weekend was our team meet event. A short fly on Saturday, late afternoon, saw the other 4 ex iQuad SLE kites checked out. A succession of squally showers were the theme today. I will try to get some images/video of 'long arm/input' in the next few weeks. I noted recently that even an absolute beginner may intuitively adopt th

Felix

Felix

29/10/2017 Blackheath

We were on site at the normal time despite the clock change!
 Northerly breeze, probably 10 plus mph gusting higher so full vents with race rods. While the temperature did reach double figurers (centigrade) today I was glad of an extra layer, just in case! The clear-up after Blackheath Firework display may impact our regular flying site next weekend but the plan is to be there as usual… Felix

Felix

Felix

29/09/2013 Blackheath

With the wind from the east we do not get planes bound for Heathrow overflying Hackney (or Blackheath). So it was a late start this morning! No early morning drone… Arrived just before 11am and set up vented with race. Eventually switched out to four wrap which simply felt more comfortable in the gradually increasing breeze. Rowan appreciated the difference that the firmer spars made in controlling circular side slides in the pendulum. Late September sunshine broke through as we wrapped up

Felix

Felix

29/08/2021 Blackheath

A light northerly breeze was what we got today; 6mph and sometimes a bit higher! Full sail 1.5s and an accompaniment by Bill Frisell ‘Valentine’ got us under way.  There was a dark cloud to the SE but it was local and eventually it drifted onwards. I had hoped to fly the late JMH Composite Kite (Della Porta): Four Squares but knew that the wind was on the light side.  We set it up and I got a few pre-launch snaps but even if there was enough breeze to get the kite into the air there wa

Felix

Felix in Decs Sunday

29/08/2011 Portsmouth

A great weekend in Portsmouth even if the promised arena boundaries never arrived and the PA was only 'fully' operational on Sunday thanks to the efforts of Jon and Gill. The 2pm Mega Fly on Sunday drew the crowds and did not 'interrupt' the main arena events especially after the 'prolonged' shower had curtailed the time available. The 'mini mega' team format in the main arena also seemed to work very well. Felix

Felix

Felix

29/07/2018

The long hot dry summer spell ended this weekend and the Blackheath regulars decided to take a break rather than cope with potential transport difficulties, rain and high wind. It does appear that ‘summer’ will return shortly so we should be on site as usual on 5th August for final ‘preparation’ ahead of the Portsmouth event the following weekend. I probably need to tackle LE degradation on the nearly 10 year old full vented JMH 1.5s in the meantime.  They are next on the list for re-

Felix

Felix

29/07/2012 Blackheath

By way of the D6 (bus), the DLR (docklands light railway) and a 20 minute walk up Royal Hill and Hyde Vale we did get to our usual site. It is currently protected by some military hardware as well as police with automatic devices. A bit surreal really given how quiet the roads were in East London on the way over and how little traffic was passing on the A2 up on Blackheath. Vented kite with race rods was the choice on arrival at c11:00am. It soon became apparent that there were some heavy showe

Felix

Felix

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