Martin's Legs and Pyro Delta
We're pleased to yet again announce the next prize being given away to our most appreciated supporters, the Kitelife Subscribers... For roughly 10 cents per day they play a major role in keeping KL growing in every way.

This is a combination prize of both a 6' Martin's Legs kite (red shorts as pictured) from New Tech Kites and a white 7' Pyro Delta from Gomberg Kites, roughly a $120 value!




(click either picture for a link to more information about each kite)

You can sign up here.

Odds of winning for this prize is currently 1/234, and will be drawn on March 18th, 2010, just three weeks away!

Our thanks, and the very best to you... Let the drooling begin.

Ferrule on Middle leading edge pushed flush
I was giving a friend some latitude and let her set up the kite as I was laying out stings. She inadvertently pushed too hard and pushed one of the ferrules in flush with the outer tube. I went ahead and ordered a replacement but do want to fix the problem.

My first infallible method is to try to hold the rod firmly enough without crushing it and strike the hold down sharply. Hopefully the inertia will move the ferrule rod out far enough to grasp it. Then I can epoxy it back in place.

If that does not work, my second infallible method will be to use a screw extractor with a left hand drill to put a small hole in the middle of the ferrule, insert the extractor and hopefully gently pull it out. Reverse it and re-epoxy back in place.

I am sure I am not the first that this has happened to. Am I on the right track or is there a secret method of getting things right that I have not figured out.

Thanks...

Mike

New Back Wheels (ForMyRocketLaunchingKiteCaddie)
Sometimes "Good Luck" just falls in my lap!!

My neighbors mower "died" and he put it out for trash pick-up and it had the greatest back wheels I've ever seen on a push mower!! Now they are mounted on the rear of my "Rocket Launching Kite Caddie" (which my "dear" wife refers to as my "beer wagon", for reasons unknown--heehee!) And NOW it can go through SAND!! "Look Out Beach" I'm on my way!!

Keep It Up!
Duane

Video Tutorials
Went out filming on Thursday and Friday, we probably got enough footage again to do 8-9 more tutorials but intermittently throughout we've got some fairly heavy wind noise on the microphone... Problem is, we don't have professional equipment, just shooting on a little Sony SD780 PowerShot which doesn't have wind protection or an external mic input.

Bottom line, we did HOURS of filming and ended up with nothing usable.

Even if it did have an external input, the wireless mic I've got is piss-poor quality and crackles pretty badly...

I've tried noise reduction in audio software in a number of different ways to no avail... Looks like my best step is to secure another HD camera with external audio input and a directional microphone with a "deadcat" (furry cover) to go over it.

Funds are extremely tight at Kitelife right now, and after being encouraged to do so, I've set up a donation link for anyone who would like to assist us with getting some much needed video equipment for our tutorial filming... Once we've reach our goal of $900, I'll be giving away one brand new Zen Revolution and two Kitelife subscriptions (or renewals) at random to three of the folks who donated.

http://www.learnkite...m/donations.htm

All donations will go towards this equipment, selected with a balance of both budget and performance in mind.

As of this post, we've received a little over $600 in donations (thank you so much)... Very close now, hopefully we'll be back out filming very soon.

You know we'll put it to good use... Already, we have a total of 30 tutorials planned (5 done) with many more still in development.

Eventually, probably later this year, I'll be expanding my tutorials to include dual line topics as well.

I know funds are tight everywhere, such assistance is never expected but always greatly appreciated.

iQuad @ Kite Party 8
Our practice on Friday was WAY better, but here is one of our sets from Saturday.



Loving the new routine, great fun to fly it.

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (memory of Erv Crosby)
Just passing on a note from Steve Tisch regarding this upcoming event, mid-April...

Quote

Review your kite...............
New kiteboarding review site just launched:

http://www.kiteboardingreview.com

Hit it! Then tell me what you think

A Personal Touch!!
Hi,

I was reading about you’all painting pictures on kites and decided to add a little personal touch to “My Most Beautiful Elvira” (1.5 Rev. Mid-vent). So I got some of that Design Master Paint you'all recommended and made a stencil of “OM” & “Black Dot” and spray painted them on "Elvira’s" Cheeks! (And she likes them too!)

OK...So, it's no Rembrand, but I think it looks pretty good. And now it's not just another "Most Beautiful Black Rainbow" Rev.! It now has "my" personal touch on it!!

Keep It Up!
Duane

Harness for snowkiting and landboarding
Well it's fall time and the leaves are turning - Lake Michigan is cold! So I've turned to landboarding until the snow comes.

I'm using a harness made by Ozone that I like a lot. It not only secures you at the waist, but also around each leg - sort of like a climbing harness. The effect is that it won't ride up and makes getting air as comfy as launching in your sofa rocker. It's a D-Ring harness, which means that your chickenloop goes through it instead of a bar, which hooks onto the chickenloop.

The harness fits nice over clothes, and adjust easily so you don't feel all bound up when in cold weather gear. I was at the airport in about 15kn wind having a blast, and felt like I had really good body control when getting air...the balance point of the harness was good and the straps around my legs felt real secure but didn't inhibit my range of motion at all. If you paraglide, the sensation of air time is similar.

HQ makes a harness that doesn't ride up, but I don't think it's really meant for land or snow use. - I don't think it would fit over clothes very well.

I can't wait for snow...riding up-hill in the back-country instead of hiking it sounds really good to me!

Kitesurfing Videos
Have a look at these two cool videos of kitesurfing, both have some really nice editing

kitesurfing videos

Quad line kites suck
I've previously posted that I find duals more graceful than quad kites, but less versatile. My analogy, and I think JB also used it, dual = jet fighter, quad = helicopter. (Well, "=" is not quite right, read "similar to".)

Now I find I can control my Revs well enough to get loops, spins, and horizontal passes about as well as I could with my dual line kites. However, the Revs have the speed control lacking in dual-line kites, and hover options that are unthinkable with dual-line kites except at the edge of the wind window.

In other words, I can do most of my dual-line maneuvers with my Revs, plus many additional.

(Background - I am NOT a slack-line trick flier, beyond the occasional sloppy axel, turtle, and a two time fade accomplish-er. Nor do I wish to be.)

In other words, the dark-side is sucking me in, deeper and deeper.

Last week, I was 50% dual and 50% quad enamored.

Now it is 25% and 75%. Will it go to 0% and 100%?

In any case, for other newbies like me, be assured that graceful quad flight is possible for us pilots more mortal than iQuad.

Now, I need to go practice my clockwork and inverted hover.

(JB, sorry about the title - you know my "sense of humor" is hopelessly twisted - don't mean to offend.)

From: Mega-Fly Lessons(ForTheAlmostBrainDead)
PPS One slight difficulty I have with things, in my audibly distorted world, is the "Benefits" and "Blender" both start with a "B" so distinguishing them apart is a little difficult. The only saving grace is that "Benefits" has an extra syllable. (But then I wasn't around when they names this stuff---"Foxtrot" would have been nice!) heehee!

Keep It Up!
Duane.

New Kite
One of these appeared under the "tree" this morning!

Sky Bird

My wife ROCKS!

Rev.ElasticBungeeCords
Hi,

I'm not sure about this, (could have come from one of my "Elvira" dreams!), but I think I remember someone saying they removed the "elastic bungee cords" from their Rev., but I can't remember where, who, when or how that got into my head.

Does anyone know anything about this and if it is a good idea or not and what they might have replaced it with.

Keep It Up!
Duane

Vented Inverted Hover Stabilizer
I flew the "Vented Inverted Hover Stabilizer" prototype today for a few hours and everything I have to report is positive to amazing! But the name is now just "Vented Stabilizer", because it improved the performance of the kite all around.

The wind was very gusty and according to my wind meter was running from 0 to 12 mph. And the stuff in between, you could feel hitting the kite like a shotgun...bam...bam...bam. Lousy wind for trying to do inverted hovers, but great wind to check out the prototype.

The kite flew more stable then before, not only in the inverted hovers, but all around. But, the most impressive thing was in rising up while in an inverted hover. I was able to do things I just couldn't do before. I could back the kite up, while inverted, all the way to the top of the wind tunnel with out the least bit of flap. And backing up from any position was straighter, and I could do it faster, without any flapping.

I took "Elvira" (my mid-vent) out to check the STD against her because she always does better in wind like this, the vents seem to smooth things out a bit, but not today. I couldn't do with her what I was doing with the STD B with the vent add on.

Of course this isn't "proof positive" that it's a great thing. And I take no responsibility for anything that might go amiss from someone putting one on their kite. Someone that knows what they are doing like JB or Watty, or other top dogs, would have to try it out to get a true evaluation and also see if they find anything else coming up negative in doing other things because of it. And I'd sure like to hear from anyone that checks it out...to know what they think! But, when I asked my wife to sew it for me I told her just to run one line of stitching, because I might have to take it off. But, when she gets home I'm having her run some more lines of stitching to nail it in place! (And “Elvira wants one too!)

I posted a picture at the top of the forum to show "about" what I was doing, but I actually made it smaller then shown in the picture (I'll post another picture tonight when my wife brings the camera home.) In stead of going to the second seam, away from center, of the semi-vertical panel, I went to the first one closer to center, thinking that would be a better stress point and also I didn't think it needed to be that big. Actual the addition of this vent will probably take a lot of the stress off the center of the kite and spread it around a little, but I'm no Rev. R&D person...just my impression!

I used plastic window screening, which is what I believe they use for venting material, and laid it over the center of the kite forming a triangle below the center and cut it 1/2" larger then the area all around. The only edge that needs a straight is the base of the triangle running horizontally, so use the “factory cut” for that edge. Then take the screen triangle off the kite and fold the base edge over 1/2' and sew across the base to strengthen that edge. I used 100% polyester thread (looks like fishing line momofiliment, but real thin). Then, pin it in place on the "BACK" of the kite with the bottom of the triangle aligned with the first contact point, closest to center, of the first semi-vertical panel, which will give an extra 1/2", or so, on the other 2 sides that are going to be sewn. Sew it in place sewing on the overlapping edge where the kite was sewn in the first place. After sewing in place come back and carefully cut off the excess screening on the 2 upper legs of the triangle. And That It!

Should the Rev. Guys and Gals decide to incorporate this in any of their kite designs, it’s for sale! It will cost them (1) Rev. B-series JB w/ handles and the DVD and 2 & 3 wrap rods...sent to James M. in Missouri! (with the color of his choice!) heehee!

Keep It Up!
Duane

PS I will repeat again...if anyone does this...it's at their own risk and I will accept "no" responsibility for any damage that may occur to them or their kite or the neighbors dog!