Jump to content
  • entries
    666
  • comments
    76
  • views
    234,768

About this blog

My personal observations

Entries in this blog

21/11/2010 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

28/11/2010 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

05/12/2010 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

12/12/2010 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

19/12/2010 Blackheath

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.

Felix

Felix

26/12/2010 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

02/01/2011 Dunstable

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

Felix

Felix

09/01/2011 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

16/01/2011 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

23/01/2011 Blackheath

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

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

06/02/2011 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

13/02/2011 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

20/02/2011 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

27/02/2011 Blackheath

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.

Felix

Felix

06/03/2011 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

13/03/2011 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

27/03/2011 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

03/04/2011 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

10/04/2011 Blackheath

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

Felix

Felix

17/04/2011 Victoria Park

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

Felix

Felix

25/04/2011 After Berck

A great week in Berck with mostly light breezes except for the final day, Monday 25th April, when the vented kites came out of the bag for the first time at c9:00am and we stayed with them until leaving the field finally at about 3:30pm. (OK there was a short break for lunch <grins>) I just checked, in so far as I can, and it looks like the team have attended the festival 16 times since 1990. I do not know why we missed the other years! Off to Cervia in the morning so will probably be o

Felix

Felix

02/05/2011 After Cervia

A great week in Cervia following on from Berck. Two weeks of intensive kite flying has been a great start to the year. Mostly light breezes in Cervia, apart from the first evening we were there, the vented kites were not used. The Zens helped us keep kites in the air, particularly on the final day! The team first visited Cervia in 1997 following up in 1999, 2000 and 2010. It is a great event with a specific focus on the 'creative' side of kiting. Felix

Felix

Felix

15/05/2011 Blackheath

It was Lee Sedgwick who suggested that we tighten the bungees back in c1990. 'More brakes' was a consensus which arrived very early on. Hovering horizontally with the leading edge up should never be easy... <grins> Today on Blackheath the breeze was variable in that confounding inland summer way. Vented 4 wrap one minute, full sail race the next. (Not as bad, though, as Sunderland/Washington last summer where the extremes were unbelievable) I had a lucky break today just when it really d

Felix

Felix

22/05/2011 Blackheath

Another blustery day but no question about framing. Four wrap super vented was OK but flying alongside 4 wrap standard vented it was clear that conditions were marginal. Last year at Washington/Sunderland and Margate we experienced summertime conditions where the only viable kites were the ones that we were flying. The SLKs could not cope with English summer weather... I do not feel comfortable when equipment and fliers are being tested to their limits and so was glad today that we did not prol

Felix

Felix

×
×
  • Create New...