The forecast sunny day did not materialise after a large 'shower cloud' drifted across London, north of the river in the main, mid morning.
Switched from Vented Race to Full Sail Race and back to Vented Race as the peripheral affects of the shower passed through.
With four fliers plan A and even plan B got a look in as well as some free form flying which at one point evolved into a very good rendition of the rolling ball. The leading kite has to be the one rotating down to LE down from the ver
A quiet last fly in 2011. Full vented with green race rods handled the occasional stronger gusts just fine. In the lulls moving on the ground was not too energetic.
One year we rotated face to face pairs in the arena at Berck. Not something to be taken lightly in a formal demonstration. Today we tried the 'not touching' version rolling across the window. Sliding transitions are 'a state of mind' rather than explicit control. The flier has to see the picture and demand that the kite complies! &l
A Happy New Year to everyone!
A gentle start to the new year. 4 fliers, nothing called, warmed by mulled wine for some. (thanks Martin!)
Full vented with race rods once again fitted the bill. Only occasionally the frames felt stressed or there was a need to move on the ground.
The cloudscape was particularly dramatic as it can be occasionally on the heath but eventually the rain started with the look of settling in for the rest of the afternoon. 2 1/2 hours later it is still raining steadily.
Another grey day but lighter breezes meant standard 1.5 sails with Race rods for the first time in a long time.
Four fliers settled into some neat 'free form' flying with some good slow and close flying. Somehow linear flying as in 'follow the leader' seems so 'yesterday' after 'free form' but we did fall-in for some 'V' infinities and then some parallel switched 'two to four' infinities before trying some parallel figure eights. I have in mind the possibility of interlacing all of these moves
A bright sunny morning looked like an opportunity to get some time on the Zens but soon after setting up c10:45am the breeze picked up and we switched to the standard 1.5s. It was not long before these were feeling overpowered and so we were back on the full vented 1.5s with Race rods.
Following on from last weekend we tried the parallel figure eights with wing tip turns and a stop on the diagonal with five kites diced. That is definitely a move for a confident grid one day. Finding the form of
Watching the weather forecasts during the week it appeared likely that mega vented sails would be needed today. As often is the case on a windy day the median may have been about 15 mph but the gusts were probably much in excess of 30 mph.
So having set up the standard vented with 4 wrap initially it was not much of a surprise to find that really the mega vented sail was the more comfortable option even if the standard vented was still flyable.
We ended up flying a four person team with two re
The construction next to the Olympic stadium was shrouded in the low lying cloud as we drove towards Blackheath this morning as were the towers at Canary Wharf.
On the Heath wet grass meant bound lines after the initial winding out. Always a puzzle, that one, especially to 'beginners'! <grins> It's not so funny when it happens in the middle of complex team wraps...
A lazy Zen day, in the best sense, as in flying the Zen kites following or 'ad hoc' without the need for rehearsal. Rolling
I had go out and check the local road conditions before deciding that it would be OK to set out to Blackheath today. In the event traffic was lighter than usual. Only five inches of snow...
Blackheath presented a bright white field under a gloomy sky. The breeze was slight but remained steady between 10:30 and 12:30.
The Zens were the kite of choice today along with the Robertshaw with a race frame. Powering the kites to the ground provided a curious bass thump with a higher pitched sail rattl
The remains of last weekend's snow was still lying on the heath this morning but our usual pitch was occupied by a 'half term' fair, generator trucks, bouncy castles 4WDs barking dogs and all... Not a pretty sight!
The forecast 6-7mph NW breeze was not in evidence so we made do with the 1-2mph SW one that was in place most of the time. The dull grey low cloud cover occasionally showed shifts of colour and slight precipitation. Rain, not sleet or snow.
It's great to have the Zens/CR1s in the ba
Not many isobars on the map and the projected 4mph did not materialise in a consistent direction for more than a few minutes during the time we were on Blackheath today.
Mostly it was a shifting 1mph perceptible only as a directional cooling effect in the warming sunshine.
It was occasionally possible to get the Zen/CR1 to the top of the window and hang on the rising air but the cumulus effect only became fully evident later in the day.
I am looking forward to hearing reports from Spain next
The weather did not look promising this morning, it was raining lightly and the forecast was for more rain.
On the way to Blackheath I saw two cyclists doing the Blackwall tunnel. Crazy people!
I was not quite sure which 1.5 kite would be best today but the bag that came to hand was the mid vent and with green race rods it worked very well. As the team do not all have mid vents it is not a kite that I fly very often. There were only a couple of moments when the gusts stressed the frame to any
The forecast weather duly arrived and so we were able to fly white kites in respect of the event in Japan on the 11th March last year. During my last long visit to Japan we travelled to Sendai in NE Japan and on to Matsushima and saw the islands that are the inspiration for the placed stones in the raked gravel gardens.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Sendai,+Miyagi+Prefecture,+Japan&hl=en&ll=38.365988,141.070998&spn=0.011222,0.015535&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=17.361197,3
The Canada Geese flew across a couple of times c10:00am today as a reminder of their previous presence on our regular pitch.
Just across the A2 the Olympic fence has now been firmly established.
Casual flying only today switching from green race mid vent to standard race full sail. The white race rods in Maggie's mid vent felt very light and responsive. Removing momentum from the flying equation will demand further specific input from the flier so it will be interesting to see how the very lig
Clock change weekend so late on the field. 11:00am not 10:00am!
First green hints in Greenwich Park beyond the fenced Olympic preparation area where temporary buildings are going up.
Checked out new Xtra Vent sails today although wind speeds were more in line with standard 1.5 sails with Race Rods. The new sails with red or purple flashes look neat alongside the production grey fades. Thanks Lolly and Bazzer for delivering these in time for Berck.
Tried some 'in linear' odd/even opposing 180
Another late start but there is no point in making kite flying a chore.
A light wind day with lowering dark grey clouds and occasional drizzle lifted by lighter spells and the greening of the trees in Greenwich Park.
I'm still puzzling over the white spars. They certainly seem to work for me in terms of flex and weight in the standard 1.5 sail.
Later today I pulled a spar from a bag with a view to marking it ahead of Berck. When rolled across a flat surface it was obviously curved. With a bam
The team flew Thursday 12th and Friday 13th April prior to my arrival on Friday evening. They had been flying the Rev1s but on Saturday morning it was evident that conditions had changed and Rev1.5s in various configurations were used through the rest of the weekend and on Monday when the four remaining fliers were on Xtra-Vents for most of the day concluding with a final arena spot before the close of the event at 4:00pm. (Just as well we took delivery of some more of the Xtra-Vents kites a few
I left the laptop at home for both events...
Cervia was great in the special way of that event. I certainly hope that we will be able to get back next year. The c160ft circular arena with a hard barrier perimeter was interesting and occasionally challenging.
Weymouth was very good as well, not least because of onshore breezes on Saturday and some of Sunday. On Monday we had the usual prevailing winds over Nothe Gardens and the town but the rain on Monday morning cleared by 11am followed by a g
Back to the home site today after four weekends away. The Olympic preparations are well under way here on Blackheath but no sign of those 'pointy' things today.
A typical early summer breeze accompanied by swifts today. Standard 1.5 sails with race rods were only slightly stressed as the thermal gusts blew through. There were a few moments when the breeze dropped away completely before or after 90 degree, or more, shifts in direction.
We did not quite match those moments to getting the team ki
We had to re-arrange plans for this event rather late in the day but everything came together finally and we had two very different days in terms of flying conditions on this very scenic site.
Saturday was clear blue skies with a strong blustery easterly breeze. Initially we used the JMH vented sails with four wrap spars but then switched to race rods. Later in the day we ventured out onto the estuary sands for some 'relaxed' flying. Geoff Strangeway had joined the five regular team fliers afte
The holiday weekend in the UK, steady light drizzle with a cold (12C/54F) NE 9mph breeze.
With a wet 1.5 kite with green race this is just fine for a while. And then, solo flying today, I become aware that the foam on one of my handles is rotating on the handle. This would have been bad news at a team event but a simple fix would be available using 'brown parcel tape'. I will now have to figure out a more elegant solution and decide which adhesive would be best and how to apply it!
The Canary
Gentle breezes from the South East on Blackheath today. The light rain forecast held off until later in the afternoon but while we were on the site the cloudscape looked increasingly inclement.
I flew the Carl Robertshaw Rev1 with 4 wrap centre and 3 wrap the rest switching to the JB 1.5 with Green Race rods when the CR was 'borrowed' by other fliers.
We learned during the week that the event at Margate will not go ahead in 2012. Our schedule is somewhat reduced as a result of this and the dem
We are wondering how much the Olympic events will impact on our usual routine. The Blackheath site is covered in tents and has expanded to the south side of the A2.
Today was vented 1.5s with race rods for most of us. I set up the CR Rev1 as well with four wrap and it did not feel over powered but I do want to extend the brake options for this sail. The wind speed was sufficient to fully engage the top line to LE attachment point line with the resulting LE curve. I'm wondering if the bridle ex
The temporary footbridge over Shooters Hill Road (the A2) now spans onto the north edge of our usual field.
After heavy overnight rain conditions were blustery on the heath this morning. The 1.5 Xtra vents proved to be just right for some informal flying.
I set up the CR Rev1 again this week with additional brake settings and was very interested to find how viable it was in the relatively extreme conditions. Not something to set a novice loose on but an interesting pointer to situations where
I set off for Blackheath this morning in a deluge and did not expect to get much flying today.
On arrival the rain was settled but there did appear to be some brightness to the north and west. Half an hour later wandering across to look at the temporary 'footbridge' at the entrance to the now closed Greenwich Park the rain eased. A quick fly seemed in order; standard 1.5 sails with race rods and full brake worked today.
It wasn't long before the rain started again and it became evident that
A bright start today but the clouds gradually thickened.
Full 1.5 sails with race rods were fine with the changing NW to SW breeze.
Drachen Foundation will be putting out a message soon regarding JMH.
So sad.
Felix
