Jump to content

Blogs

Featured Entries

  • 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
    • 0 comments
    • 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
    • 3 comments
    • 4,524 views

29/04/2014 Sixth Day Cervia

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
Felix

Felix

0

28/04/2014 Fifth Day Cervia

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
Felix

Felix

0

27/04/2014 Fourth Day Cervia

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
Felix

Felix

0

26/04/2014 Third Day Cervia

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
Felix

Felix

0

25/04/2014 Second Day Cervia

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
Felix

Felix

0

24/04/2014 First Day Cervia

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
Felix

Felix

0

20/04/2014 After Berck-Plage

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
Felix

Felix

0

Progress conclussion.

Hello my fellow dark siders. It's been a while since my last entry. Well what can i say. Just over 10 months since my first quad line flight. I did improved a lot (i guess), it just needs a fair bit of fine tuning that will last a lifetime..... A bit late, but i did my first real steps in team flight on the "just-4-fun" recipe and indeed it's so much fun. A big thx to Roelof and Will for their big effort in spreading "the virus" I must admit, it's the next step in the learning curve and a
Nathan Netten

Nathan Netten

0

13/04/2014 Olympic Park, East London

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
Felix

Felix

0

06/04/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

0

30/03/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

0

23/03/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

0

16/03/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

0

09/03/2014 Blackheath

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
Felix

Felix

0

02/03/2014 Blackheath

It was bright to start c11:45am but the low cloud gradually thickened and the variable breeze rose incrementally. Xtra Vent kites again but because of the lulls we went for green race which mostly coped except for some of the more sustained gusts. The GB Foreign Office and USA State Department seem to be in concert regarding Turkmenistan so it looks like we will pursue the possibility of attending the event at the beginning of August subject to ongoing political issues in the region. Intere
Felix

Felix

0

23/02/2014 Blackheath

22mph gusting to 38mph* is not really very comfortable for team flying so we did not attempt too much today with the Xtra Vents and 4 wrap rods. However, a neat rolling ball materialized at one point before a gust prompted a quick but elegant un-winding fire drill… The Xtra Vents ‘side slide’ and ‘reverse fly’ very smoothly and some outward facing counter ‘pendulums’ looked very neat as well as the close knit rolling rotations that have become central to our ‘not called’ flying. That 'indicat
Felix

Felix

0

16/02/2014 Blackheath

Clear blue skies today with a few ‘fluffy white clouds’ in contrast to the gales and torrential rain up to yesterday and meant full 1.5 sails and race rods. The occasionally shifting breeze allowed us to ‘perform’ for the passing Blackheath audience who were particularly vocal today. It is strange, though, to have to tell someone that, yes, we have been flying on Blackheath with these kites since 1989. We did get to test the initial ‘pass by’ of the ‘free flying’ project but Rowan suggeste
Felix

Felix

0

09/02/2014 Blackheath

Xtra Vents with 4 wrap rods today for most of us but Maggie flew her vented Rev 2. It was blustery but not quite as extreme as at Washington Tyne and Wear one year when almost all of the single line kites had been brought down but we still went ahead with a demo… In difficult conditions ‘free flying’ can be the most viable option and watched closely can produce some excellent interaction provided that the fliers are suitably attuned. Figuring out how to direct fliers who are all flying indivi
Felix

Felix

0

02/02/2014 Blackheath

Didn’t travel last Sunday as the rain was due to start at 10am and continue until 3pm. The forecast was correct. Mid Vents with Race Rods seemed appropriate today initially but the increasingly blustery airflow eventually meant that we switched to Full Vents, still with Race Rods. The low cumulus built up gradually while we were on the ‘heath’, no doubt reflecting the turbulence at ground level. The cloudscape was curiously three-dimensional today. Driving home one of those ‘warning’ indic
Felix

Felix

0

19/01/2014 Blackheath

Another 10:45am arrival today but it was warmer and drier than last weekend in the light, fairly steady, westerly breeze. Full 1.5 sails with race rods worked fine except for one short interlude. We ran through some of the four person routines in anticipation of the Cervia event. Blackheath is great for watching the clouds and we were treated to some long regular bands of cumulus today appearing from the SW apparently heading N and E. Having finalized the line-up for Cervia today I went on-
Felix

Felix

0

Back into It.

I Hope everyone is having a great start to the new year. I am getting back out there and flying. Holiday Flying: Well I actually got a chance to fly twice in my 2 week Christmas Holidays. MGower was out there with me both times, always great company. Both times were super light winds. SparkieRob had his Rev Indoor outdoors on the day he joined me. Even though conditions were light it was great to get out there. Back into It: I am going to do something different to cover my First week bac
West Australian

West Australian

2

12/01/2014 Blackheath

It was a bright frosty start in Hackney but by the time we arrived on Blackheath c10:45 the grass was frost free. On the way the flags were hanging down but the forecast breeze cut in as we walked onto the field. Mid vents with race and full vents with race worked today. Rowan flew his new sail* and eventually found that inverted hovers were a bit difficult with the gradually increasing wind speed. An extra ¾ inch brake step made the kite much more controllable for him. We went on to run th
Felix

Felix

0

05/01/2014 Blackheath

We did not fly on New Years Day but flew six today from soon after 10:30am. Full sail 1.5s with Race Rods and 3 wrap worked most of the time but there were lulls when the Diamond Rods might have helped keep the team work going in the southerly breeze. The darkness of the weather front approaching from the west, dampness in the air and increasing wind speed led to an early end to the session today but not before Rowan was introduced to the six person sprocket. Sometimes it’s a good idea to qui
Felix

Felix

0
×
×
  • Create New...