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Felix

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Blog Entries posted by Felix

  1. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    The forecasts had indicated high temperatures and a slight northerly breeze.
    The northerly breeze was occasional so we occasionally flew Zens.
    Pino Palladino & Blake Mills were accompaniment for a time followed by Ron Miles.
    I flew the Malinski Modell Deutsche Seewarte 1904 x 0.65 aka Hamburger Diamant Drachen initially on 3mm braided line and then on the deep sky reel with 1.5mm line. We remarked again, how little evidence there was of flying wear and just to prove the point the bottom bridle leg detached and had to be re-tied.  I have to admit that I had not examined the original tie point or knot closely but the new one worked… On looking at one of the photographs back at home I can see that it was one of the mystery knots that I had made a mental note to look at more closely!  Too late now.
    I am still puzzled by the exact configuration of the main wing spar and the tensioners but the kite flies well in a light breeze.
    As the temperature was still rising and there was little prospect of any more breeze we packed a bit earlier than usual.
    Felix
  2. Felix

    Decs
    Today Blackheath hosted the start of the London marathon and I had decided that a rest would be a good idea.  Alternative venues could have been available…
    I have acquired a pair of upholstery pliers which may help with the replacement of D rings on the JMH kites.  Slots in the blades and a spring hold the open ring prior to closing into the end cap.  The Composite Kite (Della Porta): Eight Rhomboids 1993 is the next one to tackle.  It has 12 caps so reasonably manageable.  The Asymetric Kite Stack 1995 has 72 caps so I will have to be sure of the method before undertaking that project.  I need to figure out heating treatment to relieve stress in the cold worked stainless steel first!
    I’ll probably have some simple repair work on leading edge mesh to keep me busy in the meantime.
    One Sky One World next Sunday so I wonder what the weather will bring.  At the moment one of the forecasts looks promising.
    Felix
  3. 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
  4. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    Light winds were forecast again so I had taken the JMH Edo thinking that I might get some photo practice as well as flying.
    The clouds were thickening after a sunny start as we approach Blackheath.  There was less breeze than expected, 3 gusting 6 mph probably though I only measured the 3 mph moment.
    We set up Zens and started to fly with Pino Palladino & Blake Mills as accompaniment.
    When the moment seemed right I set about running out the Edo bridle and setting the spars.  Managing the 17 bridle lines gets easier but there is a challenging moment when a single line is seen to be ‘out of place’ and the whole bridle set has to be looped through to resolve it.  Every time I have done this it seems like magic when the lines all come free, un-entagled!  https://youtu.be/fdnSHHPOzWI  Preparation and flight.
    The breeze was just right most of the time and I only came close to a line burn once when letting the kite run free.  I did manage to get some photos and then put the camera away in order to simply enjoy the flying.
    At a lull I landed the kite and packed it followed by a final Zen session.
    It was towards the end of July last year that our Blackheath sessions really got underway.  This year we have the Portsmouth International Kite Festival taking place on the first full weekend in August.  Let’s hope that it can go ahead as planned.
    We have pulled out of the Shropshire event as they have an attendee numbers limit.
    Felix
  5. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    Light breeze again, from the SW this time.
    We set up Zens and were flying some of the time to the accompaniment, once again of Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan.
    Jake arrived as the wind took a break.  We transferred team kites and JMH Parafoils to his car and then proceeded to have a session of called flying even as a light shower passed over.
    Then, picking up from last weekend, I set up the late JMH Delta as a target for video recording.  The c6mph breeze was perfect for the kite and happily I had figured out some of the camera controls so that I could record video on auto levels and switch back to manual for still images.
    Over the last couple of days the forecasts for the Portsmouth/Southsea weekend have been a bit troubling.  4mph from the north for two days initially, then 20mph from the west for two days more recently.  That just did not feel comfortable.  The latest was 8mph from the south west but this far out it is still likely to change!
    Felix
  6. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    It looked as if there had been heavy equipment in use after last weekend’s event but the site was mostly litter free.
    Low grey clouds and a westerly air movement were the precursor for eventual fine drizzle.  I was pre-occupied with setting up and flying the JMH Sanjo Rokkaku kite from 1991 with a lightweight frame.  The very light breeze was almost enough to get it airborne on 200ft/60m of spectra line with a four strand bungee at the line anchor point.  Zens were flown on standard team lines today!
    Eventually the breeze did pick up from the north to about 6mph and while the drizzle increased the Rokkaku had a settled flight.  I was even able to walk away and get the camera, catching a few minutes video of the flight!
    Felix
  7. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    A northerly breeze was forecast again but there was also the possibility of thundery showers today.
    The Blackwall Tunnel southbound was closed for maintenance today but we did not know that approaching from the north and assuming the warning lights were left on from the normal Saturday night closure.  The queue for the Rotherhithe Tunnel extended from the exit lane but it moved steadily, if slowly.
    The road to Deptford was carrying the same traffic so we arrived at Blackheath somewhat over an hour after leaving Hackney.
    Full sail 1.5s with race rods for a while with Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan as accompaniment.  That combination works well still, after all this time since we first started to free fly in this way.  There was the odd swift and a couple of showers.
    I had hoped to do a bit of digital movie recording but had not fully understood the configuration I needed to set on the camera.  The late JMH Delta felt very comfortable in the c6mph breeze on the centre tow point.  I’ll look forward to targeting it again at some point.
    Back in Hackney I found the basic clue, that, whereas for still images which I do completely manually, I needed to switch to full auto mode for movie recording!
    And then the storm arrived, torrential rain and a multitude of thunder claps.
    Felix
  8. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    Last Sunday we didn’t actually get to fly a kite but considerable progress was made towards the eventual flight of the Peter Malinski Hexagonal Kite Train.
    This week I had anxiously watched the forecasts as the near gale force winds subsided to something more manageable.  We got 13-15mph gusting upwards but mostly fairly steady.  This was, I considered the optimum for the JMH Composite Kite (Della Porta): Eight Rhomboids which I have been hoping to fly again.  This was in part to get some good images for the web site, filling one of the few remaining gaps in contemporary images of the kites.  It is also an amazing graphic and the only way to fully appreciate it is in the air!
    It was, as another measure, an RSS Rev wind and although we didn’t fly for long it was clear that we will know when conditions are good for the Composite Kites.
    The one downside to today’s flight was seeing that the metal components on this kite need replacing at some point with stainless steel.  That is one for a rainy day…
    Felix
  9. Felix

    Decs
    The team had an early start on Saturday 7th August on Southsea Common.  We were flying soon after 8:30am on the car park field with a medley of team tunes…
    We re-located to the Art Kite field before the 10:00am start of the event proper and set up the JMH banners.  Flying the RSS Revolution kites continued beside the field until a call was made for us to do a session on the main arena.  A technical issue meant that this was a PA free performance.
    Soon after midday I decided that we could try and launch the Jørgen Møller Hansen Double Malay Stack 1994.  I thought that the wind was at the high end for this kite but that we should try the upright tethered preparation.  This did work very well and although a couple of spars were broken along the way it was a great result.  The train was brought down for spar replacements and then launched again.  Finally a broken spine meant that the stack was brought down again but once replaced we gathered the kites from the top end removing the cross spar as we went.
    There was then an arena presentation with the Revs, this time with a PA.
    The final performance on Saturday was followed by a torrential downpour.
    Sunday was a later start, again with c20mph wind throughout.  Performances were on the same schedule as for Saturday and proceedings concluded before 5:00pm.  By that time we had re-packed my car for the return journey to London.
    Felix
  10. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    A breeze from the NW was forecast and it was likely to be on the light side so nothing too challenging was planned for today.
    Full sail Rev 1.5s were very comfortable throughout the session.  I think that the breeze was about 6mph but it was reasonably consistent.
    Tread on the trail by Terry Riley was the starting accompaniment.
    I had found a very old set of spectra stack lines and had re-sleeved it with a view to trying out various lengths with the 1992 JMH Rokkakus which now have the new frames.  I wanted to include a shock absorbing bungee in the line for anchored flying and had wondered if it would be practical for a Rev flier to be walking a rokkaku at the same time as flying!
    I tried the yellow rok on a short line with the bungee and after a bit of tuning, doubled the line length.  For a light wind we did get some steady flying so it seemed logical to try harnessing the kite and flier.  We did get one rok and three revs in the air but there were no additional hands to catch that on video this time.
    We did catch a few moments here:- https://youtu.be/ONDGikbhLF0
    We finished with another rev session accompanied by Steve Reich Quartet I,II,III.
    Felix
  11. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    So, today just topped off the last few weeks of low breeze with an almost absolute calm ‘gusting’ occasionally to 2 1/2 mph.  Little more than a cooling effect from one compass point or another.
    We did wind out long lines for the Zens and had them in the air for a few minutes.
    I decided to get on with preparing lines for the 1992 JMH Roks and re-set the two sets of spectra line to equal lengths and attached the second anchor point bungee element.  The configuration of the bungee element allows for the simple addition of extra lengths of bungee or shortening the length whichever turns out to be optimal.
    I have prepared six standardised bridle lines, 3m each plus 20 cm knot space.  I will replace the shorter lines in the bridles of the two kites and replace the prototype bridle bungee arrangements.  The longer existing bridle lines will be shortened accordingly!
    The attachment points for the standard bridle lines were set on the two kites here during the week and elements prepared for the other two kites.
    I would like to try stacking the four Rokkaku kites with a 3m interval as I think that this could be a great target for the eight Not Zen sails in the 1992 graphic.  If it does not work there will be no loss and the idea of standardised bridle replacement lines seems like a good one.
    There was a threat of rain in the forecast and given the lack of wind we wrapped early so that some of us could attend to the temporary relocation of the Peter Malinski Hex Train.
    Felix
  12. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    A gentle 10:30am start on Blackheath, slightly drizzly and overcast to begin with but then clearing to a sunny SSW airstream with some cloud blowing past!
    Full sail 1.5 Revs today with Bill Frisell ‘Blues Dream’ to start.
    After a slight shower and with the sun beginning to appear I set up the blue 1992 JMH Rokkaku on 2.5mm spectra, about 30m and after a test launch and a slight adjustment it flew, anchored, with only the occasional moment when it veered off to one or other edge of the window.
    I set a peg in the top bridle connector and later added another half hitch.  We flew the yellow sail but hand held it and caught some still images and possibly some video.
    I did fly one of the 1.5 Revs in between the Roks which seemed relatively easy.  Back in 1992 we only had the Rev 1s which might have been a bit ‘heavy’ in today’s conditions.
    We concluded the session today with another 1.5 rev flight.
    Felix
  13. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    Following on from last week the wind was a bit lighter and from the north east but there were breaks in the cloud cover even as we travelled towards Blackheath this morning.
    An event on the heath meant that our usual site and local parking were not available.  Parking inside Greenwich Park is expensive and the walk to the flying field is longer but once a year is not a problem.
    Zens were just fine but I was not sure if the 1992 Rokkakus would fly.  A quick test suggested that there was enough breeze so I set about making a bridle bungee as well as a flying line one based on an initial attempt two weeks ago.  This time I was using new 6mm bungee cord from a marine supplier.  I had some longer spectra and flew on about 35m of 90kg line.
    We did catch a few moments video of set-up and flying here:- https://youtu.be/29EHyAqkmA0 Blackheath today 5th September 2021
    I had taken 45m Rev flying lines which would have worked but the 35m lines couldn’t hold the same altitude as the Rok was at today.  Having said that it did fall off when pulled at the top of the window so there may have been some thermal assistance.
    The 1992 Rev design is being re-made for 2022 and so the hope is to fly eight of them alongside the four 1992 Rokkakus.
    Felix
  14. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    Happy to have a proper southerly breeze today on Blackheath.  It might have been in double figures some of the time so plenty to try the new bridles on the 1992 Roakkakus but not too much for the Zen sails on 150ft/45m lines.
    I was somewhat surprised when preparing a launch for the first re-bridled kite as it seemed that I had hit the right spot in the configuration.  Only a slight adjustment was needed after a settled period of flight.  The second kite was good too, a slightly different small adjustment was required.  I could not see any significant difference in flight so may settle on the slightly longer bungee in the lower bridle leg.
    The Roks were flying on the 100ft/30.5m lines which was as short as I though would be possible for stable flight.  The Zens interacted comfortably on the 150ft/45m lines with the fliers standing 20-30ft/6-9m upwind of the ground anchors for the Roks.  The Roks were on 2 strands of bungee at the anchor point and I will probably add a strand for single kit flying and more for stacked flying.
    The two kites came down at one point and I decided to go with a trial stacked flight today.  Switching the bridle lines of the rear kite to the lead kite using larks heads was quick and easy.  Best of all the two kite stack performed beautifully.  There is some video but it is a bit unsteady.
    The London Marathon takes place next Sunday starting from Blackheath so we will need to decide on a different venue.
    Felix
  15. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    A light northerly breeze was what we got today; 6mph and sometimes a bit higher!
    Full sail 1.5s and an accompaniment by Bill Frisell ‘Valentine’ got us under way.  There was a dark cloud to the SE but it was local and eventually it drifted onwards.
    I had hoped to fly the late JMH Composite Kite (Della Porta): Four Squares but knew that the wind was on the light side.  We set it up and I got a few pre-launch snaps but even if there was enough breeze to get the kite into the air there was not enough to keep it there.  These flat kites will slide off towards the edge of the wind window if the breeze is light.  I have noted previously that if it does not feel as if the kite needs to be strongly anchored there isn’t enough wind!
    So, no spars were broken in the couple of ground impacts that followed the initial attempt and the kite was wrapped in the normal way.  I did notice some spars that needed some attention to splitting ends so that is a task for an autumn or winters afternoon!
    We flew another Rev session before leaving the heath ahead of the Bank Holiday fair opening.
    Felix
  16. Felix

    Decs Sunday
    Another almost windless morning with 2mph forecast but no clear notion of direction.
    There was occasionally an indication of a breeze, a cooling effect one side rather than the other.  Zens worked some of the time and we had set up with 150ft/45m rather than 120ft/36.5m lines and long handles so as to maximise the reverse sail control for floating downwind.  This was also to have the required altitude to interact with the 1992 Rokkaku, potentially.
    As there was less wind than last weekend I was not sure that I would be able to get the next 1992 Rokkaku launched at all.  I had set the bridle bungee yesterday and expected further bridle adjustment would be needed.  Putting extra loops onto the upper bridle peg was not sufficient and had an adverse effect of putting twists into the 3 bridle lines so the main loop was untied and shortened.
    It was very satisfying to get a launch and make it back to the ground stake and then control the line just above the bungee.  An unexpected benefit here was to be able to make a short pull on the spectra line and get the bungee to catch the slack ready for the next short pull.  There was enough breeze at 130ft/39.5m, the approximate length of the spectra line, to keep the kite stable for short periods.  Just enough to launch a Zen and get it to the same height a couple of times, anyway!
    As the 1992 Rokkaku s have been flying in very light breezes with the new frames and bridle configuration I am confident that we should be able to get stable flight in somewhat higher breezes and get some interaction with the Zens and the ‘Not Zen’ format sails.
    Flying the Zens on the longer lines today was interesting, all over again and I’ll look forward to seeing a full team of eight in this format.  It is a big sky full!
    Felix
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