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  • Felix

    2012 events, provisional list

    By Felix

    Oh well, another year! <grins> Nothing is confirmed, as yet. 1st January 2012 12-16/04/2012 Berck-Plage, France 21/04-29/05/2012 Cervia, Italy 05-07/05/2012 Weymouth 26-27/05/2012 Exmouth 25-27/08/2012 Portsmouth Margate
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    • 2,008 views
  • West Australian

    Flight Log and Thoughts about My Rev Kit.

    By West Australian

    No Arvo Flight Yesterday, Responsibilities are beginning to creep in on my flying time Well I Joined up to KiteLife… Very Happy about that. I feel that the Contribution that KiteLife makes to the Community needs to be supported. And all those Sweet Tutorials are Pretty good too I have been Downloading them onto My Ipod Touch. To Paraphrase SparkieRob, I have a John Barresi In my Pocket. This morning was nice, Light to Moderate winds when I set up the STD with 3 Wrap and 80# lines I got i
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14/09/2014 Olympic Park, East London

No parking on Blackheath today so an alternative venue was needed. The easterly wind directions are good for the site at the north end of the Olympic Park just to the west of the Velodrome on the west bank of the river. Plantains and other flowering plants had been left uncut in the sparse grass so launching was sometimes snagged but we mostly survived… A reasonably steady breeze so mid vents and race rods were good today. An early finish was required in order to get back into central Hackne
Felix

Felix

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07/09/2014 Blackheath

Arrived on the heath today at 10:00am not having appreciated the likely effect of the tall ships event down at Greenwich. Our early arrival was in the hope of catching the lighter breezes not competing for the limited parking spaces. 1.5 sails with diamond rods felt great in the c2-5mph breeze which was present for most of the time, only really failing when the sun finally broke through the previously dense high grey cloud base some time after midday. Today I set more appropriate leaders on t
Felix

Felix

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Buying spares for my rev.

Hi all I'm getting the hang of these kites now folks they are awesome, great fun. I've just bought another one but it needs a few parts to get it 100% where's the best place to get spares. Thanks. Royboy.
Royboy

Royboy

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31/08/2014 Blackheath

We were back on home turf today after a relaxed afternoon at The Aquarius Festival in London SE22 yesterday. Six up, we flew 1.5 sails with green race rods. Rowan was on the line today and we occasionally had a vocal and appreciative audience. Ashley and Martin are attending the Dieppe event in France 6th-14th September in collaboration with Fusion so they prepared appropriate sails and rods today. I put together two Rev 1 team sails with the Diamond rods and 150ft / 47.7m lines but did not
Felix

Felix

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25/08/2014 after Portsmouth

Two very good festival days and then it rained on the Monday… 1.5 JMH sails with diamond frames were good for the midday session on Saturday. By the later session full vented JMH sails with race rods worked very well. On Sunday the breeze was much lighter at the start or the day so we had an opportunity to try the diamond rods in the Rev 1 JMH sails. These worked very well indeed but we did not get to stress test the spars on this occasion. We flew the 1.5 JMH sails with diamond frames in t
Felix

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18/08/2014 after South Shields with Fusion

Our journey back to London proved to be easier than the northbound one. 5 hours rather than 7 1/2. Despite challenging conditions this weekend we had a very useful time flying in 8 and 9 flier format as well as preparation for the 4 flier team that will be going to Dieppe. We are hoping that there will be opportunities for flying the larger format team, 12 or 16, next weekend at the Portsmouth/Southsea event. Felix
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10/08/2014 Blackheath

Prospects were not good for today. I headed for Blackheath at about noon in order to avoid the A12 closure for the London Bike Race. There was a last band of heavy rain on emerging from the Blackwell Tunnel which mostly cleared in the short time it took to get to the ‘heath’. Thought about full vented but quickly decided that xtra vent with four wrap was the only realistic set-up. The sun did break through but with it came a further strengthening of the breeze. A few late swifts were fly
Felix

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03/08/2014 Blackheath

I had hoped to check out diamond rods in the Rev 1 sail today but the forecast earlier in the week was amended on a daily basis further away from the ideal 2-4mph! It was a SW breeze today and partly sunny. c8–18mph was forecast and 1.5 full vented with green race felt comfortable. In over 25 years of kite flying I have never used an anemometer so it was quite amusing to try one out on Blackheath today. While confirming the basic forecast the range of inconsistency in the breeze as measured
Felix

Felix

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27/07/2014 Blackheath

Thick high cloud bands over Blackheath occasionally thinned to a sunny sky with a gloomy backdrop. Variable light N-NW today so full 1.5 sails with race/green race to start but eventually we decided that diamond rods were the better option. The plantains had raced ahead over the last week so the field was occasionally treacherous at ground level. <grins> I’m looking forward to my summer break from work (which may involve some longer bicycle excursions) and especially our informal kite
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20/07/2014 Blackheath

Very grey, humid and warm leaving Hackney this morning but it was much brighter on Blackheath, sunny almost, with varied high cloud. The NW wind was stronger to begin today so we started with full vented and diamond spars. Eventually, in running through some four person team moves we decided that we had pushed the full vented sails far enough in the lightening air flow and switched to full sails with mostly green race. The cumulus clouds were bubbling up as we left at about 1:00pm and thunder
Felix

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13/07/2014 Blackheath

Beef forerib with chips and béarnaise last night at Mayfields seems to have meant that neither Ashley or Rowan were up for a fly today. I can’t think why. It was ‘very’ good food! Mostly gentle westerly winds today so full 1.5 sails with Diamond rods or Race. Some slow-mo moves early on but there was a gradual increase in the air flow over the two hours that we were on site. The showers passed to the north and south of Blackheath except for one that sqeezed a few drops as we left the site.
Felix

Felix

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06/07/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

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29/06/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

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22/06/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

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15/06/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

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08/06/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

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01/06/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

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25/05/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

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18/05/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

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11/05/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

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05/05/2014 After Weymouth

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
Felix

Felix

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01/05/2014 Eighth Day Cervia

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
Felix

Felix

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30/04/2014 Seventh Day Cervia

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
Felix

Felix

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