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Felix

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Blog Entries posted by Felix

  1. Felix
    The advanced party attended the event from the beginning. Those less fortunate mostly arrived on Wednesday 27th April ready for the final four days of the event.
    We were on the beach early every day and thoroughly enjoyed our flying and using the full selection of team kites. It was great to see the eight 1999 JMH sails together in the air again!
    Possibly a highlight were the two routines with six fliers using the Xtra Vents after which the comment was that we should make sure that we have eight sails in the future… Having the right kit available is as crucial as being able to decide when to use it <grins>
    I really hope to be able to attend the full event in 2017.
    Felix
  2. Felix
    And then it was all over.  Monday started with a light onshore breeze.  All very encouraging.  We went to lunch hoping for a classic Cervia afternoon. 
    What we got was a quickly increasing breeze which was probably a consistent 30 mph which simply closed the event…
    We managed to get the kites and kit safely stowed without loss or accident but it was a close call…
    We will hope to be back next year!
    Felix

  3. Felix
    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!  We often had the ‘right sails and sparing’ just when we needed it… Altogether an amazing event.
    Felix
    27/04/2018 eighth day Cervia
    There was a real 9/10 mph easterly across the Adriatic today so there was no issue with the morning breeze.  We started with full vents local to our base.  We switched to mid vents for the second after lunch session with our sound system in the North arena.
    Typically, even though it had been a steady breeze all day by 5:00pm we had to switch to ‘Not Zens’ for the second part of our arena presentation and the mini mega fly of 15 kites.
    Felix
    26/04/2018 seventh day Cervia
    It was supposed to be a ‘no arena’ day today but did not quite work out that way.
    Not Zens first thing from some time after 10:30.  An early lunch and we had anticipated going to the North Field but the organisers did not think it necessary.
    We did a short time in the arena and then the announcement regarding the North Field was made.  The request was for the ‘designated’ fliers to move for the rest of the event.
    We did do a bit more in the arena before being asked to move on for a formal event.
    Come 4:30pm it appeared that the ‘no arena’ idea had been dropped so we diid a presentation.  We opted for the mid vents which were at the top of their windspeed range really… No harm in getting to know the sails.
    The sand was beginning to blow.  We should have been flying the RSS kites!
    Felix
    25/04/2018 sixth day Cervia
    National holiday in Italy so very busy on the beach.
    Short fly in the morning after the breeze began to build at about 10:30.
    We had anticipated using the main arena after an early lunch but the organisers asked us to occupy the north arena which we did for about an hour and a half.  We were able to utilise our sound system for much of the time.  I did remember to take the units back to the hotel for a re-charge.
    ‘Not Zens’ in the morning,  mid vents early afternoon and full vents for the 5:00 pm arena spot.
    A good 12 flier routine with Team For Fun
    Felix
    22/04/2018 third day Cervia
    The parafoils, rokakkus and ‘tent’ had arrived the previous evening thanks to CR.
    We pitch the tent on the Bagno side of the beach as there was still space.  A slightly ‘rusty’ set-up but I am sure it will get better during the following days.
    There was not quite enough breeze to get the Parafoil aloft but our efforts were sufficient to dry the sail from the previous evening.
    We had a morning session in the arena followed by an after lunch session.  We decided to stick with the ‘not Zens’ after lunch despite the gradually rising breeze.  We were just set to change sails when the formal presentations started somewhat after 2:30pm.
    Our next session was with the RSS kites and we found them to be fine in team.  We even managed some fairly radicle 3 stack rotations in the sky.
    The 5:30 arena presentation was with the full vents, not least to be compatible with Team For Fun in the ‘mega’ team fly at the end.
    Felix
    21/04/2018 second day Cervia
    Notable for the night fly after the evening meal on the beach.
    We flew the 20 sq Metre JMH Parafoil from the bridle.  Various people took a turn and much to their surprise managed very well.  The breeze was ‘just right!
    Felix
    20/04/2018 first day Cervia
    We secured Bagno storage and set up all the Revs first thing. Setting up the kites is a ‘one off’ for this event…
    The new ‘not Zens’ worked well on the 100ft lines.  We did check the 1.5 full sails with Diamond LE and Race uprights and there really wasn’t anything in it.  Either kite worked but our preference was for the larger sail for the remainder of the day.
    Lunch was followed by a fairly long session in the arena before the formal event started at 2:30pm.
    The breeze which had been from the north eased around to the east and eventually pretty much died away in time for our 4:30 arena spot.  We set up a bit early and did some slow flying but there was little else in the air on the festival site.
    It was a great start to the event but the strength of the sun left some evidence of over exposure…
    Felix
  4. Felix
    I had decided not to make notes during the event and do find myself somewhat at a loss to find the words and details to summarise Cervia.  It was a very good event, needless to say!
    Caterina made it known that she wanted to talk about our ‘location’ for the event and had planned to reduce the size of the single line art kite area where we have been for quite a few years now and add a new area to the south of the main arena for the displaced art kites with us as a buffer before the large ‘inflatable’ kites.
    On the first morning of the event we set up immediately out side Bagno 111, Adriasol, our lunch venue from previous years.  That was to remain our location for the entire event, setting up the ‘tent’ and newly acquired JMH banners depending on the weather prospects.
    Apart from Robert Brassington and Joel Schultz the single line fliers did not take the opportunity to migrate and so we utilised the area along with Team 4 Fun.
    We did fly some of the JMH collection kites as requested as and when the conditions were favourable.  We also set up the 2007 JMH Rev 1 and Rev 1.5 stacks with special help from David Hathaway on the Rev 1 bridles.
    The team did a very effective relay effort in flying the stacks especially when the conditions were not good for normal team flying.
    The final day of the event included our participation in the ‘Black Sail’ project with Ashley looking after the music selection and calling the routine.  This was deemed a success and the response outside the immediate Rev community was very positive.
    Felix
  5. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    There was very little wind forecast for today and there really wasn’t much more than an occasional breath!
    We might have flown Zens but as showers were more likely later we set about pulling out the 23 sails of the lower half of the Peter Malinski Hexagonal Kite Train in order to fit the missing sail and attend to the broken central bridles.
    We took the precaution of securing the top lines at both ends.  At one point a small gust from the side set the whole train rolling and with the available sail area (about 24 square metres) one could sense something of the power of the train.
    There were a couple of light showers while we were working and when all was done we waited a while for the sails to dry before stacking and securing all 24 sails.
    As it was then past our usual session end time we did not get to fly the Zens.
    Felix
  6. Felix
    Another sunny summery Sunday on Blackheath even if the temperature was not consistently in the t-shirt range. Two in a row must be good!
    Another 'mostly wrong sail' day today with some careful line adjustments thrown in for good measure. It's amazing how 'wrong' line sets can be and how much better it feels flying on correctly set lines. Light winds, dropping off completely sometimes, made for occasional hard work but we did get some neat 'no call' interactions going in the air.
    I have been setting about tying top handle pigtails with much shorter adjustment gaps, aiming at about 1/4 inch intervals. Not quite got there yet but today's effort at about 3/8 inch using 1.5 bridle line as supplied by Revolution proved quite effective. Not that I change very often, of course! More brake for high winds and more brake for low winds means that the setting usually remains the same. The exception may be 'more forwards' for Mega Team and those 'Leading Edge Up' hovers.
    Some of the team will be at Weston-Super-Mare next weekend but I will be working!
    Felix
    PS And Damon was flying kites on Blackheath as well. FJM
  7. Felix
    I had hoped for 8-10mph today but it ended up more like 13-15 with significantly higher gusts.  Full vent 1.5s with green race were ok most of the time.  I had not taken the RSS kites so that was not an option.
    During the week I had prepared a light wind frame for the large JMH delta and also modified the frames for the two Rok and Rev JMH Rokakkus which need further bridle adjustment.
    Today I opted to put together the JMH Edo from 1995.  The fact that the bridle took a considerable time to untangle should have been an indicator that this was not really the right kite for the day.  In the event there was too much breeze.  This really is a light wind JMH design!  Good to spend the time looking at the configuration anyway.
    Felix
  8. Felix
    Clear blue skies today with only an occasional small cloud…  Wind supposedly from the NW but we were seeing 90 degree plus shifts in a typical Blackheath summer breeze.
    Full sails with ultra light, race and diamond spars.  Nothing called, just winding down from the last two weekends!
    The annual race/stroll event was taking place today so we did not bring the broken kite box to re-distribute team kites.  That will have to happen another day.  Plenty of opportunity ahead of Exmouth, the next calendar event!
    Felix

  9. Felix
    It was a really delightful weekend in Ireland…  The local aviation authority had designated kite flying permission up to 500 feet between midday and 5:00pm.  So that is basically what we did.
    On Saturday the breeze was initially consistent from the SE but became minimal later.  We kept the show on the road flying the Not Zens.  A PA system was provided and we eventually found the audio connection and set about mirroring our recent Blackheath ‘method’ of running a medley of the teams familiar musical accompaniments along with some recent additions.  Overall we had a lot of airtime.
    The breeze on Sunday was initially much stronger offshore NNE.  During the course of the afternoon the potential onshore sea breeze occasionally prevailed but between times there were moments when the wind direction was changing by the minute.
    On Saturday we flew the JMH 1991 parafoil for an extended period from a ground anchor but on Sunday the turbulence early on proved to be too much.
    The CR ‘sun shade/kite storage facility’ in its new configuration worked perfectly even in the early blustery conditions on Sunday.
    Felix
  10. Felix
    A bright start to the day but a sports event meant that the Blackwell tunnel was closed first thing in the morning so there were a few anxious moments looking for confirmation that the route was clear before setting off.
    A light southerly breeze switched direction and strength periodically but 1.5 full sails on race and diamond were OK. I realized that one issue with the diamond frame is that it is possible to fly the kite ‘out of the wind window’ to the point that a reviving breeze will flip the sail. It really is unlikely that recovery will be possible in these circumstances…
    We hope to have new 1.5 sails ready for next weekend and then we have Portsmouth, Bristol and a slightly formal event in London to see us through August.
    Felix
  11. Felix
    Lighter breeze today, 8mph was forecast but it was often less.  Full sail 1.5s with race rods were very comfortable and as there was not actually much in the way of thermal effect the breeze felt steady.  (Quite a bit of sun and I did remember to keep the hat on after last weeks scalp burn!)
    There were some directional shifts that caused issues when we set about building the JMH Asymetric Stack 1995.  Part of the problem arose from some tangling or looping of the sets as we laid them out and checked alignment.
    I set a peg in one of the power lines to set the angle of attack of the front set of sails.  This was a crude intervention and I will sew in a couple of attachment loops as a more permanent solution to the issue.
    The wind was just a bit light for a fixed anchor point but we did get enough airtime for some very good photographs by Marian Linford.  A longer flying line may be practical with this stack.
    When we packed the kites we made sure that there was no tangling of the sails.  There will still be a moment when extending the stack without all the spars where tangling could occur but the 3 dimensional maze should be minimised.
    Felix
  12. Felix
    After the excitement of the super-16 windmill counter rotations and the arms of the windmill rotating last Monday it was back to the more relaxed, positively lazy flying on Blackheath today.
    However, under mostly complete low grey cloud coverage we did look at some configuration issues in respect of the Rev1 and the CR version. We know that reducing the billow in the 1.5 sails by tightening the bungees 'just so' (thanks to Lee Sedgwick many years ago) freshens up the response of the sail. I have always been reluctant to make changes that may alter performance to the extent that there might be incompatibility with other fliers in a mega team environment but with the Rev1s this would not generally be an issue.
    Maggie, having recently tied a CR bridle took the initiative and shortened the centre attachment link on her Rev1. This appeared to reduce the billow in the sail to a similar extent as tightening the bungees. It seems that this also reduced the tendency for the kite to 'over steer' to a significant extent. We were flying 1.5B kites with race and CRs with 4 wrap centre and 3 wrap the rest as a benchmark. Maggie's modified Rev1 felt much more comfortable than Martin's unmodified Rev1 flown side to side given that both were being flown in higher wind speed than would be usual, for us, for these kites.
    Potentially, a bit of a result as the bigger kites have more visual impact. Extending the comfortable wind range would be good.
    Felix
  13. Felix
    Travelled to Kendal on Friday and on Saturday walked out of Sedburgh up Winder on a circular route.  Later in the day travelled up the River Brathay valley and over the Wrynose Pass.  The cyclists that we saw at the top of the pass travelling in the opposite direction looked very excited to be heading downhill…
    It was a brief re-introduction to me of Cumbria.
    On Sunday we stopped off at Lytham St. Annes to see the event in action before heading back to London.
    We are all set for the early start on Friday heading to Dieppe!
    Felix
  14. Felix
    Back to Blackheath today but obviously conditions were a little unusual for October with the thermometer at 29 degrees Celcius! I left the Heath at about 1:00pm to seek shelter from the sun.
    Stephen Versteegh has proposed Scheveningen as a Mega Team event for 2012 which is very exciting. I hope that everyone will be able to commit...
    Today was almost a 3 kite day - I started with 1.5 SUL (Ex iQuad) as I did not have the Zen in the bag. Subsequently Zen and then the Race 2. I'm more convinced now that the Zen suits our Rev 1 flying style with the stiffer/heavier frame set that we have been using by default. Next time out I will try the Race centre but I am sure that I did not find it comfortable the first time out. I must try Carl's kite on my own handles sometime to get a feel for the larger sail and alternative bridle...
    By the time I left the Heath today the wind was overpowering the 1.5 sail with SUL rods. The Zens had been put away sometime earlier...
    Felix
  15. Felix
    Another late start but there were some sunny spells…
    Full 1.5 sails with race rods in a Northerly breeze so straight into the sun.
    I had hoped to put up the JMH roks and did fly the 3m kite and one of the 2m kites as well deciding that they really are ‘light wind’ kites now. I would not feel comfortable tying them off, they are ‘hands on’ kites!
    Ashley has been calling various quick sequences recently and this continued today. It will be interesting to see how a complete routine will develop.
    Very sad to hear of Corey Jenson’s passing. He was a friend of the Decs from the early days and a great supporter/contributor to the 2008 Mega Team project.
    Felix
  16. Felix
    We have had a long run without a very wet ‘flying day’ but today was it! The early forecast this morning suggested that the rain would clear soon after 11am but it was late starting c10:30 and was still steady at midday. No flying today...
    Other priorities for the afternoon including a quick ‘spin’ through Victoria Park and around the post Olympic site which was mostly deserted. The field to the west of the velodrome has been mown since we were last there…
    Felix
  17. Felix
    As Fusion had decided to travel south for the day we just had to get to Dunstable in case the opportunity for a Super 16 did occur. We would have been happy to fly 9...
    We, (a small sub-set of the Decs), arrived a little before 10am. While greeting a slightly puzzled Stephen Hoath in the car park a car did an aerial manoeuvre off the local road, landing on its roof on the embankment. The driver walked away but was very shaken according to those who had run to help.
    We set up in the bright sunshine and found that the light breeze was smooth and steady. Vince and crew arrived soon after and we quickly had a good group doing some following and figures.
    We did get to fly 16 and put some effort into the windmill/mercedes counter rotations. We also flew 12 and did the circular leaders benefit with the split circles exit. We need to figure out a clear conclusion to the move once the lead kite has done the return circle. The breeze was occasionally not quite as much as we needed!
    We wrapped up soon after 3:00pm as the breeze finally faded. It was a great day with special thanks to Fusion, The Flying Squad and all the other fliers who turned up and took part.
    A special mention for the birthday people <grins>
    Felix
  18. Felix
    There was drizzle in the air on the hill up to ‘Sun in the Sands’ roundabout but it had stopped by the time we got out onto the ‘heath’.
    The wind was forecast at 13mph upwards so I had extracted the team RSS set so that we could get some ‘hands on’ time if conditions were appropriate.  That was certainly the case today and I think that we all appreciated the ‘forgiving’ wind range of these kites.
    Nothing called but there was a lot of close and slow interaction interspersed with faster broader moves as well as some interesting stacking.  Curiously the holes in these kites allow an element of ‘overlapping’ in a way which would not be possible with ‘full’ sails.
    We were treated to some ‘silly coloured’ dramatic cloud scapes as well as a persistent rainbow and a couple of light showers before most of the low cloud cleared and left us in very bright sunlight!
    Felix
  19. Felix
    David Ellison did the Devon/London/Devon trip in order to attend today. "Kudos" Thanks David...
    Most of us were on the Heath at 10:00am and the light breeze was OK for the standard 1.5 sails with UL or Race spars. David led us into some slow reverse ladder up/downs to great effect, either wing tip or double kite width. Jacob joined us a little later having recently returned from visiting JMH in Denmark over Christmas. A bottle of Gammel Dansk was broached to toast the new vented sails.
    We continued to fly the standard 1.5 sails and worked on the six person Burst Felix/Compound Benefit where the original move is extended with bursts to edges, step by step... A Radar and consecutive global 360 rotations complete the move.
    The breeze lightened so we switched to the JMH Rev 1 sails and installed our favoured 3/4/3 LE with 3 Verticals spar set for the first time with these sails. We continued to work in a similar vein until the breeze freshened again at about 1:30pm.
    (Note to self - must organise lunch on Blackheath during the winter in order to extend the flying day)
  20. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    There was a bit of rain in the air on my way up to the Sun in the Sands junction but it had passed by the time I arrived on Blackheath.
    The NNE breeze was light but steady 6 rather than 8mph but I didn’t measure it.  Full sail 1.5s with race rods were just right and we flew for an hour or so before the cold crept in to Martin’s finger tips.  He was more than ready to stop but was determined that it should not be his call.
    I had taken the Hex Pilot kite that I made in 2019 and flew successfully last spring but was not inclined to get it any more ‘muddy’ than it is already.  It was one of those days underfoot!
    Berck will not be going ahead and I’m thinking that Cervia must be unlikely given the current state of the Pandemic.  I would expect to hear about Dieppe sometime in March if not before so there should not be any great urgency to get a new passport now.  My current one expires in August.
    Felix
  21. Felix
    It looked like a high cloud grey day travelling towards Blackheath this morning but the cloud base was soon below the Heathrow approach flightpaths over the 'heath'.
    Another Xtra Vent day although somewhat more marginal than last weekend. It was a less consistent breeze so occasionally the 4 wrap spars felt very heavy. Cold again so occasional spells of energetic long arm flying kept things comfortable while making lazy, though occasionally intricate, uncalled moves. Especially interesting today were times when the kites would be drifting across the window rotating individually but also as a group.
    Plans for the year firmed up this weekend with attendance at Berck and Cervia basically confirmed. Just got to book the channel crossing and the flights now. Looking for inspiration for the projected Super 16(12) event in March now, 16-17th that is...
    Felix
  22. Felix
    A light WSW breeze and mostly sunny session today.
    Zens with green race and a couple of CR sails were eventually a bit overpowered but to start it must have been 4mph, if that, ending with 7 or 8mph, I guess!
    Some excellent silent and close flying today along with relaxed called sequences and musical accompaniment.
    It might have been good for the stacks but I was intent on checking out the 100m of 2.5mm diameter red sleeved spectra with the large JMH Rokakku and especially the line grips that arrived during the week.  It may take a bit of practical experience to figure out the best way to get the grips to engage but they certainly take line handling to a different level.
    It was a ‘from the hand’ launch of the 3m kite which is always amusing and while it might have been a bit risky the kite did handle the full line length and a walk down was required.
    Felix
  23. Felix
    On Blackheath this morning we had a tantalising ten minutes of spring sunshine. The low convection cloud that soon re-formed burned off later in the afternoon just to prove the point by which time we were long gone home.
    Full sail 1.5s with race today but when the sun was shining the easterly breeze dropped dramatically. Mostly free flying today interspersed with episodes of called elements as well as almost spontaneous pendulum and rolling ball rotations. For four the paired arc right followed by the full arc left, paired arc left and then full arc right needs a bit more work on hitting the transitions for what should be a great holding move. We finished with a re-run of plan-A.
    Berck and Cervia are not so far away now, a different world altogether. <grins>
    Felix
  24. Felix
    The weather for the 10th March still does not look promising.  We didn’t even try today given the rain and wind!
    All set for Aarhus, Wednesday.  The prospect of so many unique kites to fly is a bit exciting.  A whole new chapter, even.
    Felix
  25. Felix
    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 light side, breeze wise, we checked out the Team Rev1 (red and green sails, Italian set) Kites and found that one notch on the brakes basically gave us a viable setting as compared to the 1.5 sails. The turning interval is an issue as well as flier familiarity but we were happy with the run-through of one of the team's 'choreographed' routines.
    Some ladder up/down sequences helped re-establish familiarity with the turning interval issues.
    Only 'so-many' 'get-ups' before the Berck/Cervia events...
    Felix
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