Some of us didn’t quite manage to arrive at 10:00am but it was not by much <grins>.
Who would not want to be out flying on this spring like day with the temperature approaching 20C?
Vented kites with race rods worked for most of the session but we switched to full sails with race in order to do some ‘team’ flying including the six person ‘sprocket’. (Rowan was the exception here, he just flew his mid-vent with race) The sunny conditions meant that there were plenty of visitors to the He
A sharp clear blue sky today, almost cloudless at c10:15, wind from WNW so the sun was not in the middle of the wind window. Similar temperature to last weekend but felt cooler occasionally given the relative direction of sun and wind. <grins>
Mid vented with Race Rods only occasionally felt over powered.
We took advantage of the mild conditions to do a kit check ahead of the Berck, Cervia and Weymouth events. Ferrules, spar sets, leading edge mesh and lines were reviewed and various c
I did get to Blackheath today but only to see if any of the team were still there. It appeared that the thundery showers had sent them packing.
I was on my way home after taking part in a bicycle ride from SE23 (Devonshire Road Nature Reserve to be precise) on the 23rd March led by Jacob who had estimated the ride as 23 miles. It turned out to be 28 miles (with a coffee break in Orpington).
My total for the day was 52 ¼ miles. The new set of wheels, a Genesis Equilibrium 20, worked a treat
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
Another, post clock change, late start today. Heavy rain at about 8:30am didn’t exactly help matters.
Soon after 11:00am the question was whether to go Xtra Vent with green race or Full Vent with 4 wrap. We went with the latter option and flew some slow, no calls, close, rolling patterns.
The greening of the Greenwich Park trees was in contrast to the low grey clouds today. We’ll not be on Blackheath next weekend as the London Marathon takes over the whole site. We may go to Victoria Par
The London Marathon took over Blackheath today, hence the change of venue.
The field to the west of the River Lea and the Velodrome is in the shadow of the media building but clear of obstructions in other directions. As luck would have it the NW breeze today was affected by thermals as well as the building so occasionally we were well and truly becalmed or subject to rolling turbulence and down draft which is not good when flying four line kites…
That being said we had a relaxed couple of ho
Getting to Berck on Thursday 17th April in the evening proved to be quite difficult. Delays in London meant that we would have missed our booked time on the Channel Tunnel. 5 hour delays at the tunnel meant that rather than arriving at Rang-du-Fliers at Midnight we got there at 5:00am on Friday morning! (This was the late contingent, 5 of the team were in Berck earlier in the day on Thursday.)
Despite the difficult start it proved to be a great weekend in the Berck style; team flying early in
It has been a stunning first day. Light WNW breeze to start with so a bit bumpy over the trees. We took a break at about 11:30am and within a short time the sea breeze cut in as smooth as we like. Not much more than 3-4 miles an hour but plenty for the 1.5 sails and the Diamond rods.
We did take lunch at bagno 111 and continued flying through the afternoon.
We were due to do an arena turn at 5:00pm and arrived to find that the breeze was dropping.
The event was formally closed but we staye
Sunny all day today (c23 degrees celcius) and the wind turned onshore at about 10:30am. We flew Robertshaw and Zen kites against the 1.5 sails with Diamond rods all on 100ft lines initially today. The preference was for the latter in the light breezes. We went into the arena c11:15am and had some good flying ahead of the presentation of the fliers at 12.
Lunch was 12:30 at bagno 111 which was very busy with the first sunny day crowds.
We were back in the arena in the run up to the UK presen
The clouds did not clear until about 12:30 today so the onshore breeze did not cut in until about 1:00pm.
We spent some time in the arena this morning and Lupo put ‘Take Five’ out on the PA. Occasionally the breeze was very light and we resorted to free flying.
Late afternoon was very crowded and we moved back to the arena ahead of the allotted time but were quite quickly involved. Alternate performances followed and we ended flying with Team-4-Fun in a ‘mini mega-team’.
Felix
We arrived on the beach at about 9:00am to find that there was a very light c1mph onshore ‘breeze’. As the morning progressed this breeze gradually increased. The afternoon session saw enough wind speed to switch to the vented sails with green race rods.
We flew with Team For Fun in a 9 and 10 person format in preparation for the 4:00pm expected presentation in the main arena. The approaching wet weather, however, sent the audience packing and the rain actually arrived at about 4:30pm.
Alo
The forecast was for rain today. We had decided to head for the beach for 9:00am regardless and were ‘rewarded’ with a period without rain and a NW breeze which was momentarily strong enough for us to set the standard sails with normal race rods and try the vented kites with green race.
Before the first rain arrived we had gone back to the standard sails with diamond rods in order to cope with the lulls.
We flew 11 in a mini ‘mega’ team before lunch and that was the point that the rain set in
The forecast was not promising for today and although we had a good hour flying from 9:00am the rain then set in. The wind was WNW so not very consistent. Soon after 12 the sun began to break through. We began to set up to fly with Team For Fun but it became clear that it would not be viable so ‘went for lunch’.
From bagno 111 we watched the clouds burn off and the wind turn to the NE. From 2:00 to 3:00 pm we flew in the arena with a little encouragement from Lupo. A great session with som
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
We were on site at 9:00am for our final day. The breeze was from the NW so the usual turbulence slightly constrained our efforts. After ‘coffee’ at about 10:30am we headed to the arena and ran through a couple of track before being joined by Stephan Versteegh for a couple more.
We had booked an early lunch and watched the wind direction turn to onshore at about 12:30.
We had a quick visit to the arena after lunch and then spent some time at the north end of the site before retuning to the ar
We arrived on Saturday afternoon and might have flown if the arena areas had been secured. In the turbulent southerly breeze it did not seem sensible to take any risks.
Sunday and Monday we had SE breezes which were occasionally difficult but overall it was a very successful weekend.
Sunday was the sunnier of the two days… The mini mega flies at 2:00pm on both days were executed quickly and effectively <grins>
Felix
It was a cursory visit to Blackheath today as we had not anticipated the wind chill factor on a grey May day. Gloves and leggings would have been appropriate…
Xtra Vents with three wrap worked today but we would have to have been much more energetic to keep the cold at bay.
The swifts may have followed us back from Italy but, as is often the case, their arrival is followed by seemingly unseasonal conditions.
Felix
In contrast to last Sunday today was a ‘full on’ summer’s day on Blackheath. We arrived soon after 10:00am and I suggested that this might be the one and only summer Sunday here for 2014. <grins> The Dandylion and Plaintain heads have sprung up over the week just to add to the amusement or irritation level as the case may be.
It was a typical summer Blackheath breeze, as well, with plenty of thermal activity around the basic SE direction. Green Race in the full 1.5 sail was just about
True to form it was a bit cool on Blackheath this morning from about 10:30am in the southerly breeze especially when the sun was obscured by the lines of cumulus.
Initially mid-vents with various frame sets worked OK but there was a gradual increase in the variable breeze and we switched to full vents, again with various frame sets.
I had started with the Diamond Rods in the mid-vent and should have tried them in the full vent as well for completeness.
That will just have to wait for next t
The light breeze was from the NW today but turning intermittently through about 90 degrees. Most of the time we were facing the sun… This was our second summer Sunday <grins>
Six up today and we flew standard 1.5 sails with Diamond Rods. Rowan was on the line today and we flew repeated Sprockets as well as the Mercedes without issue in the marginal conditions.
When the breeze failed we switched to ‘free flying’ and saw plenty of interesting silent interaction with only an occasional ‘f
Martin, on site first, as is often the case, suggested that mid-vents would be the right choice this morning. He was right, so the rest of us flew mid vents with race but, Martin, not having one, stuck with the full sail.
The predominantly southerly breeze occasionally dropped away and it was interesting to see how well the mid vents reflected the light wind characteristics of the full sail.
It was occasional ‘fluffy white clouds’ today but although it felt very dark in the shade there was
Arrived at about 11:00am under low cloud with occasional brightness in the NE breeze. This was not a summer’s day and although it did not actually rain it looked imminent all the time.
It was mid vents with standard race rods again today.
Lots of free flying with just a few called interludes before the wind chill sent us packing. Hats and jackets in June! Whatever next? Maybe the mid summer weekend will be better…
Felix
Leaving Hackney this morning was slightly complicated by the Half Marathon route that encircled the borough.
It was quiet on Blackheath today as the light SE breeze meant that we were not in the flight path of planes bound for Heathrow.
Full 1.5 sails with a mix of Race and Diamond kept us entertained today with some neat and sometimes slow motion interaction.
I set up a Zen today and switched rod sets around in an attempt to figure out what to do with the larger sail given that the 1.5 Dia
12,500 runners did the half marathon around Hackney last weekend. I’m not doing the Dunwich Dynamo next weekend. (EDIT actually the weekend after on the 12th July!)
Saving it for next year <grins>
Typical sunny summer Blackheath wind today. All over the place, certainly until the abrupt transition at about 1:00pm from sunny day to gray and overcast… The breeze was generally from the NW so we were flying into the sun until the cloud cover consolidated.
Mostly mid vented 1.5 with race
The runners were out on Blackheath today in the form of 'Race for Life'. We had to park in Greenwich Park so a slightly longer walk to ‘close by’ our usual pitch.
It was a high grey cloud day after the early rain cleared to the east this morning with the sun finally breaking through as we left the site some time after 1:00pm. (A slight variation on rain before 7 fair by 11)
Mid vents with race or full 1.5 with 4 wrap today. Maggie flew the 1.5 pink/black/grey iQuad training sail in respect o
