The London Marathon takes over our usual pitch at Blackheath so a few of us met at the cricket field area at the eastern end of Victoria Park just the other side of the Motorway from the 2012 Olympic Stadium.
At the start there was hardly any perceptible breeze so it was Zens with Race and a Rev1 with Zen spars. Most of the time any wind movement was shifting continuously so the simple objective was to keep the kite in the air in order to avoid being at the wrong end of a 180 degree shift. The
A quiet day on Blackheath in terms of the number of fliers and an easterly breeze that was a little above that was forecast earlier in the week. There was an opportunity for me to check lines and casually compare kites and spars. Today the full sail 1.5 JB Pro with green race rod against the mid vented version with standard race rods. Too many variables, I know, especially when longer handles were in the equation as well, but sometimes it is best not to be too serious.
Some journeys take on an
After a late start last weekend due to the start of summertime we did better today and were rewarded with mild and sunny conditions with plenty of evidence of the greening of the trees in Greenwich Park.
Standard 1.5 Sails with race rods, to start with (four fliers), and, for us (The Decs that is), the almost complete novelty of flying to music when not 'at a formal festival'. OK, it was only from a mobile phone in my pocket but it seemed fairly radical at the time.
As conditions were on the
Summertime started today so it was an 11:00am start on Blackheath with the first green tinge evident on some of the trees beyond the wall of Greenwich Park.
High hazy cloud gave a 'summery' look to the scene but the easterly wind was not exactly warm. It was race rods and full 1.5 sails again. Some consideration in flying planning was given to the line-up of the team for the first three days of Berck which will not be one we have flown before. All being well we will have four fliers for Tuesday
10:00am start and the first Spring weather fly with a light south westerly breeze and some warming high cloud broken sunshine.
1.5 full sails with race rods were only occasionally stressed or left without direction. The fliers were taking the lazy option as no one could be bothered to call so mostly random flying followed by some silent following. Some interesting close proximity moves may inspire 'designed' moves eventually but on the day it was great to simply share the sky.
Four weeks now u
Murky grey start c10:30am gradually resolved into a short spell of rain followed by a lifting cloud base and a moment of spring sunshine.
A smooth light breeze so full sails with race rods, plenty of random flying before we fell in to a couple of runs through 'Plan A' the first of which was attempted without familiar team order. That is always a challenge.
Home to replace failing rear derailleur cable on the bicycle; a simple procedure in the light of things. (Noticing that it was failing is t
Only an occasional glimmer of sunshine through chilly North Sea blown anticyclonic cloud cover today. The sunlit patches scudded across the heath without so much as a warming pause. The current forecast for next weekend is heavy snow...
Anyway, another chance today to explore the sparing options for the 1.5 vented Pro. The Green Race Rods seemed to 'spring back' more quickly after being subject to stress/gusts. I am reminded of the bamboo fighter kite once again where recovery before the next a
A low turnout today despite the promise of early morning sunshine. The sunshine proved to be unreliable with a band of high level cloud drifting to the east but regenerating on the upwind edge. Just when you expect the clear blue sky to arrive another band of cloud appears limiting the effective warmth of the sun.
Standard vented with race rods fitted the variable wind speeds today. Light wind inputs appear to work very well with this configuration and the long arm moves help in keeping warm.
In contrast to the last two windy weekends today was a light wind day with intermittent fine drizzle. Saturated lines tend to magically bind together, locking tight, even without wraps so there were some interesting fire drills today on the muddy field.
The seven fliers alternated between flying six and seven and re-visited some of the themes developed over the last couple of years as a very informal 'rehearsal' for the 2011 events. Berck and Cervia are 'set up' and we hope to get further news
The forecast was for rain all day but happily it held off between 10am and 1pm. The wind was stronger than expected so once again we had the opportunity to fly the Xtra Vent 1.5s today.
I have speculated that given the right balance, low wind techniques could be applied to higher wind conditions and that 'long arm' methods could be beneficial in all situations. Today, flying on the 120ft lines but with the extended handles I found a sweet point where, as with light wind flying, I was not 'gripp
So the parcel arrived on Friday 4th February and the forecast for today was for 'up to' 25mph.
The Rev 1.5 Xtra Vent certainly felt rugged and very well constructed (what do I know? <grins>) straight out of the bag. Having the chance to try it out 'for real' today was a very timely treat. The usual 90lb 120ft lines with 4 wrap spars felt comfortable in the gusts that were probably more like 30mph. The standard 1.5 vented kites flying alongside were definitely over stressed. In the bluste
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
A grey day on the Heath but the low anticyclonic cloud did not deliver actual precipitation, just a damp chill in the Northerly breeze.
4 standard JB 1.5s and 1 ex iQuad UL SLE, all with Race Rods flew spoked ladders and rotations and 'all kites benefit' (The Bigot) in the horizontal plane. We also worked on the leading ladder up/down vertically and then horizontally and noted the immediate transition to threads. This was following on from the sequential launch for the Super Sixteen as establis
Driving to Blackheath today was uncomfortable due to the onset of a 'mild migrane'.
On the heath the symptoms subsided and four fliers ended up flying silent following ladders up/down and spoked rotations.
We also looked at the possibility of 'reversing' or 'inverting' a sequence of moves to very good effect.
The wind got progressively blustery and rather that persisting with heavier spars we retired gracefully.
Felix
A cloudless day on Blackheath today.
Jacob led six fliers through parallel Leader's Benefits/Felix and threaded 180 linear moves. We looked at some developments to the 'Ladder Up' start move which leads directly into the threaded column moves. Starting from the centre seemed to be quite effective. I must remember to follow through to the equivalent landing sequence.
A westerly breeze was good for full 1.5 sails with 4 wrap spars. It has been a few weeks since conditions had been so bright and
Arriving slightly ahead of schedule we had to wait a few minutes before the Cafe opened at 10:00am for 'breakfast' for some and a quick 'expresso' for others.
Out on the field there was one thing missing, as in, the 6-8mph breeze that had been forecast. However, in the circumstances a valiant effort was made by everyone and we did get to fly 16 in some of the moves that had been suggested, most notably the square to diamond rotation and the following diamond threads. We also established the lad
On the Blackwall Tunnel approach the flags were static, as if frozen.
There was a slight air movement on the heath, even at 'c1 degrees Celcius below' hard to discern but at least it was mostly consistent. Although the bright sun did have a warming effect prior to high cloud filtering the effect there was little or no rising thermal circulation.
I guessed that the air movement was between 1 and 2 miles per hour... Who knows? Anyway the Zens with Race frames and 3 wrap centre worked fine and a
Arrived soon after 10:00am to find Martin already beginning to feel the chill. It may only have been 1 degree below freezing but it was a lazy wind.
Full sail 1.5s with Race rods were just about at their limit but we flew some neat 'wrong order' following moves after extensive 'free for all' flying.
For the uninitiated 'wrong order' is when the fliers and the kites are not in the same order. 'Free for all' is when the kites are flown independently with the intention to interact spontaneously.
Managed a 'soon after 10:00am arrival' to find Martin flying his Zen. Set up in line but as the sun came out there was a distinct change in the wind speed so we switched to full 1.5 with Race Rods for some!
We flew four and looked at the ways that a four block could be formed and the possibilities that follow from a 'different' order of fliers that we might have arrived at habitually. My suspicion is that a fundamental switching of focus to 'mirrored pairs' rather than 'a following line' will m
The remains of the snow that arrived in London during the week was still lying on Blackheath today.
1.5s with Race Rods was the set-up today and we flew mostly 'randomly' with the occasional 'following line' and the odd call.
It is interesting to learn how to watch the other kites and to move to the appropriate 'space' in the sky, interacting and avoiding in equal measures. Having confidence in the ability of the other fliers ability to stop and 'bail out' if needs be is of course of the essen
The snow that was forecast for today earlier in the week did not arrive but the Canada Geese made their first appearance close to our regular field.
It was another 2mph day so the Zens were put through their paces again along with a Rev 1 with Zen spars.
Once again I was surprised by the way the Zen can fly to the top of the window and with some care, in rising air, beyond the zenith. Even though the temperature was below zero (celsius) in the shade the sun had a warming effect and was obvio
More worm casts underfoot with a northerly breeze and low cloud never quite breaking to brighten the scene. Martin lined us up with the church spire as the centre of the window and two lamp posts as the edge of the frame.
Having started with Race Rods and the full 1.5 sail there came a point where the Standard Race Rods were looking stressed but the Green ones that I was using were still holding up.
We switched to full vented and Standard Race Rods, always a treat!
We flew parallel - vertical
Another 'soon after 10:00am' start and dry to begin with Zen focused day. We tried the Zen spars in the Decs JMH Rev 1s and they added a further twist to the range of kite/spar possibilities. With lightweight handles the lines transmitted a significant buzz from the kite, quite electrifying...
Flying 5 in 1-2 mph was working well today with parallel 360s, ladders up/down and Figure 8s as well as 'dice 5' block moves.
Gradually the rain moved in and it became apparent that the 'flexibility' of
A bright start with cooler breezes from the North, light to begin with (soon after 10:00am) today. Forgot the sunglasses again!
It was one step up from Zen conditions at the outset today so the sequence has been broken. At this stage there is nothing special to 'show' (as in video) for the Zen flying. They have the capability to carry on going for longer up to and including those 'over vertical' moments in 'rising air'. There is a point at which the Rev 1 or 1.5 kites stop going forwards. The Z
There will be one day in every Autumn when the colours of the trees are most dramatic. With light breezes and wet grey skies I think that the day was today.
That it was the clock change weekend simply made it even more enigmatic.
Wet kites and lines are not great in low wind conditions but the Zens with Race and 3 wrap centres felt comfortable today. The 15 inch handles once again seemed to fit the bill apart from the clip issue. Most of the time the handles are well apart with the lower ends
