Sometimes it just isn't meant to be
A long weekend, no big plans, should be perfect for many hours of flying. NOT!
Friday brought icy cold howling winds. Managed a frustrating couple of hours with the vented, four wrap rods and tons of brake. At least I wasn't being yanked around the field, but it was like being on a bucking bronc as the wind gusted and switched direction.
Saturday, a perfect breeze. Had the kite at my parents farm and set everything up on the 50 foot lines to try them out. No sooner was I ready than zero wind. Waited and waited then packed things up. Back in the city the wind was blowing a bit more so tried it again. First time on short lines and light wind brought frustration and after an hour that wind was gone as well.
Sunday, a nice wind. Had the standard out for 60 seconds before it turned to howling and shifting directions again from W to N and back again. Out again with the vented and four wrap and a lot of brake. Wind sort of straightened out and calmed a bit so had about an hour before it started getting too cold for what I was wearing. At least no bucking bronco this time out.
So, three days and barely four hours of flying. A little frustrating.
But, there were some positives.
The short lines were frustrating but by the end I was over-controlling less and over control has always been a problem for me so using them more often should help as others have mentioned.
I was able to fly the kite in some pretty high winds which I would never have attempted a year ago. Half the time it was a battle, but one that I was winning.
I had some amazing slides in the higher wind. Really wide and nice and parallel to the ground. I was also able to do them a lot lower than I had been which always looks super cool. Same with the inverted hover. The vented makes them so much smoother. I can't believe how much time I spend inverted now when just last fall I thought I'd never do it!
I pushed my boundaries and looked towards the more complicated idea of an axel. This will be my goal for 2009 along with a decent snap turn!
So, the weekend wasn't what I wanted it to be, but I took another small step forward. I'll take another one the next time out as well.
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