The prospect was for a typical June summer day on Blackheath so I had planned to do some further configuration on the ‘not-tent’ that we often use on festival sites as a cover for the kites and bags.
The green race rods for our personal Zens had arrived before Scarborough, now was also the opportunity to distribute them and fly the kites which we did, taking advantage, or not, of the 180 degree shifts in direction. The only safe place was at the top of the window but when that is really ‘
The drive north on the Friday before the holiday weekend took about six and a half hours. We followed a weather system and eventually encountered some rain.
There was time for a look around the town before heading to the local YHA. We noticed that the castle was enveloped in the low cloud.
Saturday started with a much higher cloud base which remained a moody presence for much of the day. The brisk northerly breeze was not warm but it was mostly consistent.
JMH Mid vents worked
I could only cope with a relatively short flying session today after tackling part of the Cornwall Coastal Path yesterday. Two and a half hours from Eagles Nest to St. Ives was quite a challenge.
The weather today, like yesterday, was sunny with clear blue skies. There was a typical Blackheath summer breeze from the east. Light and variable sums it up.
Full sail 1.5s with diamond leading edges and race uprights mostly. There was a bit of called flying but I was definitely not able
The forecast had not looked promising but the expected rain arrived further east and was somewhat less than expected.
There was some moisture underfoot but not enough to wet the lines. The breeze was light and variable. We flew full 1.5 sails which seemed very small and light on the 120ft lines compared to the Not Zens on 100ft lines we had used so much in Cervia.
We de-sanded the 20 square metre parafoil and checked the location of the small tear which needs to be ‘repaired’. It is
We were intent on checking the team kites post Berck/Cervia, mainly to dispose of any accumulation of sand. In the event there was surprisingly little but we did shake the kites out before re-packing them loosely.
We also took the opportunity to fly the original Zens against the ‘Not Zens’ especially with the green race rods that had worked so well at Berck and Cervia. I had also intended to compare the bridles but that will have to wait for another time.
We did get to fly some calle
02/05/2018 after Cervia
Somehow the note making gets neglected towards the end of this event.
The first clouds appeared on the 10th day. The eleventh day had a difficult offshore breeze, known locally as ‘the mad wind’ as I understood it… There was a little rain at the end of the day.
The twelfth day was cloudy with light wind which eventually strengthened sufficiently to allow us some great final arena performances.
In summary we had 10 perfect Cervia days out of the 12! W
Delivery of the new Rev sails occurred on Monday 9th April. 41 Rev kites were duly packed ready for Berck and Cervia.
We had an excellent four days in Berck.
The 20 square meter parafoil flew beautifully, initially just from the bridle point, hand held, and later on the 100m x 5.00mm spectra which was wonderful to handle, and again, basically hand held. Our older (to us) parafoil needs some tuning.
The new ‘1.5 proportioned Rev 1 format sail’ with green race rods worked very wel
The rain/drizzle almost stopped for a while but there was little or no breeze so we did not really get any flying today.
Rowan persevered walking and running 360s…
I ran out a set of 150ft lines and briefly flew a Zen using longer handles. Typically I needed a small increment of extra forward, much less than the leaders offered.
The new sails have arrived in the UK. I hope that delivery will be as advised on Tuesday. I will then have to shuffle the team kit box ahead of our dep
Last week the slow recovery from ‘flu’ and the clock change conspired against me so I did not get to fly…
Today the Easter Circus was on our regular field so I set up on the ‘church’ field just before the footballers arrived. They were intent on using the marked field so there was no conflict!
A light northerly breeze was not particularly consistent and I was not in the ‘mood’ for running around so full 1.5 sail, diamond LE and race uprights…
The forecast had indicated higher UV
There was an easterly breeze again today c10mph but it was arriving from the Iberian peninsula not the Siberian north!
Full vented 1.5 sails with race rods and the RSS kite once again.
I have been filling a gap in my music history so today we had c1970s classical at length…
Not too bad against the low grey clouds with brighter interludes, only a hint of higher humidity keeping it cool.
Felix
Southerly breeze 6-8 mph, about 9C and only a light occasional shower today! Quite a contrast to the weather during the week…
I did not switch spars in the RSS kite today but it did keep on flying, albeit with a lot more input than a standard 1.5 sail with black race rods.
Line sets ordered, kite sails in hand, events listed and just under six weeks before Berck…
‘Time to relax… and fly kites’
Felix
Almost cloudless today but the sun couldn’t really help much in the strong easterly breeze. We did notice some possible thermal effect when the breeze dropped after shifting direction slightly.
Xtra Vents again today and after re-adjusting my line set ‘considerably,’ in the case of one line, the RSS kite performed very well indeed. We switched kites around between fliers to understand a bit more about the ‘variable’ settings in use…
New sails, Zens and 1.5 mid vents in JMH designs sh
Probably 8 mph gusting 15 mph today from the South with the temperature about 10C, so fairly benign for February in London…
Mostly full vented 1.5s with race rods and the RSS with standard reflex spars. I am interested in the line settings for the RSS as it seems more sensitive to precise adjustment or maladjustment as the case may be with my current set. Time to get the ‘equaliser’ out really!
Another flier put the RSS kite on their own lines and seemed perfectly happy with the over
Sunny to start but the convection clouds soon developed and eventually became an almost continuous cover. The westerly breeze was about 15mph but gusting considerably higher.
Mostly Xtra Vents with four wrap spars (which were occasionally overpowered) but once again I was flying the RSS kite with the standard Reflex spars. In the higher gusts I definitely needed additional brake and it was clear that the ‘tractor’ like stability of the Xtra Vents did have some advantage that may or may no
There were a few sunny intervals today when there was a perceptible warmth from the sun but it was mostly thick low clouds in the brisk and cold NE breeze. The forecast was for 13 - 26 mph but I don’t think that the gusts really approached 26 mph.
Full vented 1.5s with green race and the RSS again but I went with the standard Reflex spars today. Speed and window were mostly consistent given it was mostly called flying today. The edge of window lulls had me needing to move quickly to get
Mostly stable WSW breeze under cloudy sky today. 12mph (probably) gusting to c18 plus but only briefly.
Mostly on 1.5 full vented with green race, (I didn’t look closely). I was flying the RSS with the ‘Diamond’ rods.
There certainly seemed to be a good wind window match between these kites and when I added 2cm ‘forward’ on my line set others in the team found that this sail and configuration worked fine. I had also tightened the bungees reducing the sail profile deflection to about
For a while this morning it looked as if the forecast rain was going to arrive late. The radar showed a shadow effect persisting from St Albans down to East London. It was not to be; the initial rain really did close in and then turn to snowflakes in Hackney…
Our plans for a mid vented 1.5 sail are almost finalised and they should be ready in time for Berck. We also have other sail projects in the pipeline for later in the year.
The forecast, however unreliable at this distance, loo
From the web cam it looks like it was sunny all day in Berck. The initial brightness on the horizon just about reached Blackheath by the end of our session today.
The predicted 2mph gusting to 0mph was about right so not a lot of called flying today.
We were six up again and then Tom and Frances appeared en route to the north of England. It was an opportunity to catch up on planning details for 2018 events and for Tom to get back in on the line albeit briefly.
Events for 2018 ar
A bright day with a blustery NE breeze probably averaging about 15mph. Mostly Xtra Vent sails with race rods and the Reflex Super Spider with its standard frame.
Six up so mostly called flying today against a ‘random’ musical background. The RSS was very light compared to the Xtra Vents. There is a slight issue with the RSS when it is stalled at the edge of the wind window at the end of a move. Getting it moving again requires ‘a lot of input’. With so little sail area there is inevita
The weather turned out to be fairly benign today compared to the forecasts, 10-12mph or less and no rain during our usual flying time.
The new kite had arrived on Wednesday having spent the previous few days in Leyton. On Thursday I flew it for a short time in about 4mph with the new Diamond rods. Today it was flown for somewhat longer with the standard Reflex frame alongside an Xtra Vent with 4 wrap frame. Today the ‘Reflex Super Spider’ felt light and quick especially through wingtip t
The low ‘anticyclonic’ clouds did not break but the SW breeze was mostly consistent. We were mainly on full vented 1.5s with race rods which were only stressed a couple of times.
The UE device software has been updated and now has a ‘stereo’ option when using two units. There were plenty of called sequences today with this improved sound system.
The new kite arrived at the courier transit facility in Leyton early on Saturday morning according to their tracking. That is about 3 miles
High cloud and a light SW breeze to start today. Mostly 1.5 sails with diamond and race rods but I put up the standard Reflex as a reminder for the ‘feel’ of a larger sail.
Just a small bit of called flying today with some musical background. We should be on site as usual on the next two weekends and hope to have a new kite to test fly at some point!
The fast approaching slightly lower clouds partly prompted our departure today. It didn’t look particularly threatening but as soon as
The forecast was such that we had decided against any attempt to fly today.
The rain turned to snow shortly after 8:00am in Hackney and it was still falling at 1:00pm. There is no real accumulation as the temperature has been just above freezing point…
A slow trudge in the slush proved the be hard work, not least because of the ‘age related slip fear’. I may have to forego the usual bicycle circuit on Monday if conditions do not change.
Felix
Low grey clouds and heavy drizzle at times today!
The breeze was from the NW and mostly about 5mph so there was some lift available for the wet kites and lines. Full 1.5 sails, mostly with race rods worked with occasional wet face down moments.
There were some issues with wet line wraps; somewhat inevitable, I guess…
No calls and no tunes today, just the hiss of the traffic on the A2.
Felix
