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Obliviots


albroswift

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Aye.

Another thing to remember, all it takes is ONE jerk who happens to have a seat or pull on the city council, then kite flying gets banned.

Again, we've got to be the bigger people, it's our responsibility, for everyone else's sake.

Well said John.

On our home field (Dunstable Downs a local beauty spot) many of the regulars are quite kite aware and often stop to watch. Our biggest problem seems to be the toyshop kiteflyers constantly walking backwards in a vein attempt to keep £8s worth of plastic in the air.

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I've been having a problem with people walking their dogs unleashed at the park I like to fly lately (because the park isn't officially open yet). :/ Last time it was someone with 2 big dogs barking at my kite. Basically when they started to cross my path in the field, I put it up at the top of the window and let it hang there until everyone was bored and went away. :/ Obviously not what I wanted to do but it's better than having an incident.

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When you make something idiot-proof the world comes along and builds a better idiot. :)

Perfectly stated.

This last Saturday I saw a few different classes of idiots. And while chasing them may not be the best thing to do, it's what I was doing. Testing the waters a little.

The look on the two young boys faces as they noticed the Rev in reverse following them across the field was pretty funny. Close enough that one spazzed and flung an arm out and smacked my kite. :P He got a load of crap from the other boy and friends at the park for it.

The mother and two kids who parked right under the kite. That was the best. Stayed within 5 feet of them the whole time with a few bicycle turns directly over their heads and then the youngest put his hand out. B) He obviously wasn't sticking it out there expecting a kite to land on it. He froze with a look of terror on his face and his mother soothed him while she tried not to pee herself from laughter.

Quite a few people came up to ask about Revs after that.

Dean

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Leave it to Steve to come up with the line of the day!

With few exceptions I find most people don't realize what they've stumbled into and are mostly apologetic once you point out what to us is obvious but not so much to them. Once they're down field, approx 120 ft away, I generally get into a hover right over them and follow them away for a bit. It usually elicits a smile and a wave. B);):P

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I don't know if it's just me, but a lot of people around here, really don't like it when I fly near them. I often like to follow close behind people while the jog along the side walk, but I have had many times where the person grabs the kite and throws it away with a very upset look on their face. They need to lighten up.

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Hello FRP's-

I can understand not seeing the lines... how many folks are looking down when they walk; especially if it's a nice day at a park or beach. So, we just have to kill them with kindness as we advise them of possible injuries (to our kites... ;) ).

QUESTION:

Myself, Rich, Scott and maybe six others were flying in a roped off section of the beach at Rockaway, last October. It was later in the afternoon, so it was well established what we were doing at this Kite Festival, all day. A middle aged gentleman proceeded past the ropes toward us. He literally walked right through Scott's kite that was parked. The kite flipped around as this guy walked right over the center of it. Amazingly, the guy NEVER broke his stride or slowed down at all. He kept walking never acknowledging us, apologizing, or anything.

The question: Would this person be considered an "OBLIVIOT" or a "SUPER IDIOT" 11.gif?

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I don't know if it's just me, but a lot of people around here, really don't like it when I fly near them. I often like to follow close behind people while the jog along the side walk, but I have had many times where the person grabs the kite and throws it away with a very upset look on their face. They need to lighten up.

Sorry Watty. I disagree. Some people will be amused; some people will consider it an intrusion. Consider that old cliche of kids annoying each other by *nearly* touching each other ("stop touching me!!!!")

Takes all kinds, and well, I would be upset if my kite was damaged, but on the other hand, I'd say it was my fault for annoying some passer by.

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He literally walked right through Scott's kite that was parked. The kite flipped around as this guy walked right over the center of it. Amazingly, the guy NEVER broke his stride or slowed down at all. He kept walking never acknowledging us, apologizing, or anything.

The question: Would this person be considered an "OBLIVIOT" or a "SUPER IDIOT" 11.gif?

Had that been my kite he would have most likely been considered a statistic B)

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I don't know if it's just me, but a lot of people around here, really don't like it when I fly near them. I often like to follow close behind people while the jog along the side walk, but I have had many times where the person grabs the kite and throws it away with a very upset look on their face. They need to lighten up.

Spence it might be the fact that your young, they probably get the impression you're being a punk you how people can stereotype without thinking.

Most of my Rev flying involves interaction with people, where I fly has a bike/walking path around the whole area and some actually get mad if I don't mess with them. One gentleman in his 70's will not pass unless I tipland on his hand multiple times :lol:

Once they get used to you it will change people have seen me playing with others and the next time they come by they expect me to mess with them, some days I can't even fly on my own it's spent interacting with passer by's :blink: Little kids are my favorite to mess with I can run them ragged all day and never stop laughing.

Then there are the dogs that love to hate my Rev B) but out of respect for antmans still healing wounds I won't go there.

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The crowds in DC during our First Sunday Fly last week were off the hook. I've never personally seen so many people in DC. This was due to the ongoing National Cherry Blossom Festival, forecast peak blossoms, and gorgeous weather that day. But the winds were up and down. When they were up, we were in the air. When they were down, the kites were on the ground. Unfortunately, the multitudes had no clue and were constantly walking and tripping through, over, and among our lines. And un-schooled little kids had no compunction about laying hands on, picking up, and/or moving around the kites. In smaller numbers, these are all manageable things, but with the mass of humanity we were faced with on Sunday, we finally gave in and rolled up the Revs early-afternoon. Discretion is the better part of valor or something like that.

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Wow, first time I have ever had a thread pinned. Woo hoo, look at me!

We were doing some street work, sidewalk closed signs, sidewalk closed please use other side signs, and guess what, obliviot moms that had no qualms about ignoring the signs and pushing their strollers or with their kids in tow right into a lane of traffic rather then crossing and using the sidewalk on the other side. Unbelievable.

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  • 7 months later...

And no camera...

Just set the power blast down for a second, little mexican girl comes out of nowhere and grabs one of the lines about mid point. Didn't want anyone to get hurt, so I held it grounded. Then, I assume it was her little brother, goes running out to the kite, grabs a corner, and starts flipping it up and down trying to get it to fly. Poor mamasita comes running, doesn't know what to do or which one to grab first, I was dying laughing, but, alas, no camera. Not sure if they qualify as obliviots or not, but would have been the Kodak moment of the trip!

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And no camera...

Just set the power blast down for a second, little mexican girl comes out of nowhere and grabs one of the lines about mid point. Didn't want anyone to get hurt, so I held it grounded. Then, I assume it was her little brother, goes running out to the kite, grabs a corner, and starts flipping it up and down trying to get it to fly. Poor mamasita comes running, doesn't know what to do or which one to grab first, I was dying laughing, but, alas, no camera. Not sure if they qualify as obliviots or not, but would have been the Kodak moment of the trip!

Hi Albroswift...

That's funny stuff!

Here's one then:

We had the Lilberty Sport Kite Championship in Liberty State Park, NJ, this past July. There were a good number of Rev Flyers around. I go off to practice, close to the water and walkway when I see a father holding a Rev over his head, trying to toss it (to fly) and a little girl holding the handles upside down. I'm thinking that there's no way someone sold them a kite and didn't show them the basics, so I walk over and immediately realize who's kite it is. They had taken the kite that was staked down, walked a distance and decided to fly it. I told them how expensive they are, but that anyone would gladly give them a lesson; and that you just can't take someone's kite like that. The father said something about, but "it's a little girl and she likes it...." I took the kite back, got the stake it belonged with, and parked closer to the rest of us!!!

Is that an OBLIVIOT or what????

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Hi Albroswift...

That's funny stuff!

Here's one then:

We had the Lilberty Sport Kite Championship in Liberty State Park, NJ, this past July. There were a good number of Rev Flyers around. I go off to practice, close to the water and walkway when I see a father holding a Rev over his head, trying to toss it (to fly) and a little girl holding the handles upside down. I'm thinking that there's no way someone sold them a kite and didn't show them the basics, so I walk over and immediately realize who's kite it is. They had taken the kite that was staked down, walked a distance and decided to fly it. I told them how expensive they are, but that anyone would gladly give them a lesson; and that you just can't take someone's kite like that. The father said something about, but "it's a little girl and she likes it...." I took the kite back, got the stake it belonged with, and parked closer to the rest of us!!!

Is that an OBLIVIOT or what????

Sounds like the obliviot breeding program is alive and doing well, at least in the Americas...

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  • 8 months later...

So you get 'em with Revs too! angry.gif

I was flying my 4.9m Blade III on saturday and wound up attracting a veritable horde of sub-teen yoofs.....Most of them seemed fairly level headed and they asked all the usual questions and got me to demonstrate a few jumps and some scudding and so on. There was one daft little blighter though, who seemed hell-bent on experiencing decapitaton by 300Kg kite line, running directly into the line of flight whenever the kite was close to the deck. I recently got myself insured for third party 'incidents' so the urge to go ahead and 'nominate' him for a Darwin Award was tremendous, but in the end I opted against giving natural-selection a nudge and kept the kite high in the window until he lost interest. No doubt he'll be riding his pushbike the wrong way down the motorway before too long, so I've probably only delayed the inevitable! smiley-devil.gif

All the best

Andy S.

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