Power Kite Forum - General Born-Kite discussion.

Hey, I've got a terrible idea. I could stop getting a little bit lifted by just strapping myself in.... :evil:

By all means

I have found limitations. I was using my number 2 spot that is a soccer complex near one of my customers that is a little further away and usually my weekday spot. It is bordered by trees and not fields. Wind is much more turbulent and I find I sometimes lose air and crash very occasionally (yes even with stars or peak) If this is the case then I would advise against hot wire as it is much more difficult to relaunch. My spot surrounded by fields is still turbulent but I rarely lose wind all together so once flying, the kite doesn't come down at all unless I make a gross error. I've thought about combating the hard relaunch with hot wire my making a very very minimal harness comprised of a belt and biner to get things situated quickly, launch, land, launch again from the buggy. More likely, I will only use the hotwire at my choice spot or when leaves fall making both spots equal again. Sorry that was a mouthful

Windstruck - 26-8-2015 at 11:21 AM

Sean - all good points. I've been tempted but think I will stay away from the sort of hot wiring you've been playing with. My conditions are most certainly akin to your #2 spot as just described.

An idea I've had (maybe not a good one) would be to attach simple left and right webbing straps across my lap that in turn attach to the side rails. These straps would have a small Velcro strip attached to them such that the two straps would lay on top of each other (not doubled back through a ring or anything like that). I thought of sewing a couple of fist sized rings of the webbing material onto the top strap to act as quick release handles if I had to get at it in a hurry.

The idea here would be to provide enough resistance to keep me from being lifted vertically but not enough to keep me trapped if I turtle the darn thing or get yanked by the kite in such a way that it would be better on my body to get OBE'd than staying fastened in.

Spencer and others have called out the side rail design of various buggies as being nice such that they sort of hold you in during lifts like this. My Bigfoot seat is the simple sling seat of course that offers no such hip-hugging benefit.

Thoughts anybody?

robinsonpr - 26-8-2015 at 11:47 AM

Yeah...get a mahoosive buggy with a big a55 deep seat. I heard this English dude made some nice ones. His name slipped my mind but he loves a bit of spinach...

Windstruck - 26-8-2015 at 12:11 PM

Hey Paul, quit feeding my beast; can't hardly keep it on the chain as it is! :mad:

robinsonpr - 26-8-2015 at 12:55 PM

Seriously Steve, The difference with a buggy that you sit "in" rather than "on" is amazing. Gives you much more confidence to really push it. Not just false confidence either, it really is so much safer having those high side rails and a wide axle. Worth keeping half an eye open for something used down your neck of the woods. Not sure what you get stateside but you might be able to pick something up without dropping serious cash. Libre Dragster maybe.....? :evil:

soliver - 26-8-2015 at 03:57 PM

Yeah,... ditto that, fo sho!

Windstruck - 26-8-2015 at 07:01 PM

Geez... Friends like you who needs enemies?:evil:

I'm already on my second buggy having upgraded from a PL Folding to a PL Bigfoot. I drive a Ford Edge and as things stand now I can fold the back seats down and get the whole shooting match easily in the back (buggy in two parts, all kites, harness, pads, helmet, etc.).

I think I'd be looking in the rear view mirror at my second and final marriage if I sold the Bigfoot to buy an even bigger buggy and the tow rig to haul it around in! Best to leave (barely) good enough alone in that department.

soliver - 26-8-2015 at 08:52 PM

Bigger buggy Steve... You know it's what you need :evil:

Then a trailer hitch buggy rack... You need to have TWO buggies!!!

See how EASILY they fit on my Honda Element :evil:

robinsonpr - 27-8-2015 at 12:17 AM

Axle off, maybe headstock off too, and a bigger buggy plus all your gear will EASILY fit in your Edge!!! No tow hitch required and just a little more to breakdown (only a few bolts!)

Just use stealth tactics and lie through your teeth. Just say you bought a "slightly" bigger axle and a different seat. For safety reasons of course. My wife raised an eyebrow when I mentioned I needed to move onto my 3rd buggy in less than 6 months (first had a Peter Lynn, then a wide axle flexifoil) but when I said it would be infinitely safer she was cool. I likened it to riding around in a little Smart Car vs a Hummer...and asked what would she prefer I was in? :cool:

Windstruck - 27-8-2015 at 05:24 AM

You guys are incorrigible. Enough already!

Spencer - great set up on the Honda. Side benefit - you can now pop wheelies in that Element and not have to worry about bringing the front end up to high.

Paul - Safety first. Good actual philosophy and the ultimate tool of choice in wife lobbying!

This is it for this season. Believe it or not, the leaves are starting to turn around where I live at 7,000 ft above sea level. Dreams of snow are in the air! Then it will be time for my (anticipated) winter obsession.... snowkiting! Who knows what may end up in the garage after a Spring melt? :evil:

3shot - 27-8-2015 at 04:54 PM

Just get it over with Steve and snag that Sysmic S2 over on XK. We'll build you a buggy rack :thumbup:

Windstruck - 27-8-2015 at 05:33 PM

If you guys are waiting for me to buy another buggy you're going to need to pack a lunch. I actually think I'm done for a while. Done, that is, until Steffen released the fabled UltraStar! :evil:

3shot - 27-8-2015 at 06:53 PM

Hey Spencer. I like that!

I'm not technically thread drifting here. There is a Born sticker on my glass :P

Windstruck - 27-8-2015 at 07:03 PM

Dang, that is a sweet looking buggy! Nice Born sticker too...

3shot - 27-8-2015 at 07:54 PM

Thanks Steve! Explaining to people that don't have a clue, it is wind powered never gets old :D

soliver - 28-8-2015 at 04:50 PM

In all seriousness Steve, the trailer hitch buggy rack has been such a time saver for loading and unloading and I can't recommend it more. I have mine set up to where I back whichever buggy up to my kitemobile, set the back axle on the mount pick up the front end and strap it on,... saves me having to lift the whole weight of the bug and goes on and off super easy and super fast. I can pack my kite and load my buggy off the the field in 15 minutes. If you don't have a trailer hitch on your Edge already, they are pretty affordable from uhaul.

Sorry for the veer, I now return you to your regularly scheduled Nasa Star thread... Man, those Nasa Stars are awesome aren't they!

Get your Long Star yet Steve?

Windstruck - 28-8-2015 at 06:56 PM

Spencer - thanks for the continued great advice. Your buggy, buggy rack, buggy hauling machine, and yes, that Born-Kite sticker are all outstanding! My Edge is a fleet vehicle and I could get in a lot of trouble for modifying it because technically its not mine. It doesn't come with a hitch, presumably so folks won't tow boats and other heavy stuff. Honestly, I'm doing great with my BigFoot and plan to stay with it for a good long while.

Now.... back to our regularly scheduled topic! To your question do I yet have my LongStars? No. They are actually coming in two installments. The first is currently in the DHL/US Customs/USPS Vortex. Here is my latest and greatest on it:

"Status from Sun, 23.08.2015 07:52 The shipment will be transported to the destination country and, from there, handed over to the delivery organization. (Homepage / online shipment tracking: )"

I know other readers of this thread have also stared at comparable and completely uninformative text themselves. Last time I ordered from Steffen this was eventually additionally populated with a USPS tracking number for the package's journey from Jersey City to Utah.

My 7m LongStar is in the Vortex along with my 10m NS3 and some 7m lines destined to become my short lines for asphalt buggy fun run off an extra Born bar that I'll hold in my hands (no chicken loop). My 5m LongStar is waiting patiently on Steffen's bedstand for the "tailors" (Steffen's word) in the Czech Republic to finish sowing my 12.5m NS3 before he ships them together, hopefully by the end of next week. They will then enter said Vortex. A nice Christmas present to myself perhaps? :D

John Holgate - 28-8-2015 at 08:30 PM

Quote:

"Status from Sun, 23.08.2015 07:52 The shipment will be transported to the destination country and, from there, handed over to the delivery organization. (Homepage / online shipment tracking: )"

Mine said that from the 10th of August until the 26th August. Then it suddenly updated and appeared at my local Post Office. It'll make it eventually!

Windstruck - 30-8-2015 at 04:31 AM

Another fantastic LongStar video, both from the perspective of the kite as well as the magnificent pilot (way to go Steffen)! I really admired how well the kite shot up into the air both during nose-up and nose-down take offs.

Thanks John Holgate for your original posting over on XK.

ssayre - 30-8-2015 at 04:20 PM

Just watched this and showed my wife. I demanded she wear tight jeans and fly my kites. She promptly left. still waiting on response

3shot - 30-8-2015 at 05:46 PM

:lol:

Windstruck - 30-8-2015 at 06:52 PM

:piggy: :lol:

Windstruck - 8-9-2015 at 09:45 AM

LongStar in the House! :smilegrin:

robinsonpr - 8-9-2015 at 12:18 PM

DUDE!!!!

John Holgate - 8-9-2015 at 02:51 PM

About time! Let's hope the dreaded new kite curse doesn't settle over your area now. :D

soliver - 8-9-2015 at 03:08 PM

Sean, ... Dude... :lol:

Steve: AWESOMESAUCE!!!!!

ssayre - 8-9-2015 at 04:45 PM

Nice Steve, the extra lone wait just adds to the excitement when you finally see that package. :D

10.0m NS3

Windstruck - 11-9-2015 at 06:04 PM

Fellow Born-Kite fans! I had a chance to get my new 10m NS3 up in the air today for its first spin. It was an interesting session. This kite is BIG! Quite a bit to manage on the ground and the bridle lines are proportionally longer, so all around just more fiddling. In the air it creates a lot of grunt as you would expect. It turns and moves across the sky a lot slower than smaller NS3 as you'd expect. I flew it at a 60 CM bar width on my custom bar which I'm sure helped things.

Off camera I had a fair number of back stalls and collapses as the bottom dropped out of the wind. The stronger the wind the better the kite behaved. It would be easy to get overpowered and get pulled sideways being as the kite is so big.

Fun to fly to be sure. I would say that the day would have been a toss up performance wise with this kite and the 12m Peak-2, but the P2 would have the DP safety valve. P2s cost about twice as much so you might expect some performance differences.

Bonus points for identifying my tank top! :lol:

John Holgate - 11-9-2015 at 06:41 PM

Ah ha. I know exactly what that tank top is! Geez, those fences sure come up quick. There's not too many 10m kites that will pivot almost on a wing tip like that. I don't suppose you gave the 7m Long Star a whlrl on the same day? Will be very interested to hear the comparison to the 10m.

Windstruck - 11-9-2015 at 06:59 PM

Sorry John, no LS today. I certainly agree, the fences come up very quickly at this site. I would call this site my fourth choice for buggying in my town. The better three were all in use. This one however does have artificial turf so the rolling resistance is really low, which was a good thing on a light wind day like this.

I'd like to get some flying time in with this kite with some higher winds. It just seemed to behave a lot better when the wind picked up.

soliver - 12-9-2015 at 05:40 AM

That looks AWSOME SAUCE!!!!

I'm Loving the 10m color combo! It looks like it'll suite my crappy wind for sure. My last RII sale looks to be finalizing, and I'm waiting to sell one of my shop tools on CL... anybody wanna buy a jointer :D

You got me all 10m jazzed Steve!!!

Is it a Converse All-star tank?

Windstruck - 12-9-2015 at 06:05 AM

Spencer - way off on the tank top guess. Come on, use your nogin! :P

soliver - 12-9-2015 at 11:59 AM

Is Steffen offering a new Born-kite series of Nasa Star wife-beaters?

3shot - 12-9-2015 at 12:10 PM

Another nice vid Steve! That bar looks to be serving its intended universal service!

Short-line Born Porn

Windstruck - 12-9-2015 at 04:55 PM

A little more 10m NS3 Born Porn. You know you can't get enough! :lol:

I put together my original B-K NS3 bar as a free-hand set up with 7m lines. I had it left over after I set up my custom adjustable width bar as my main bar for hooking in.

I thought the winds were going to be lighter! Average winds turned out to be about 12 mph with gusts clocking up to 16. WAY too much wind for the 10m, particularly for holding the bar in my hands. I was super pressed for time; otherwise I would have gone back to my car and gotten the 8.5m. As it was I completely Popeyed my forearms. Had I left the video sound on you would have heard me grunting, huffing, and puffing. :o

I think I'll reserve my hand held sessions for rides on artificial turf or other surfaces without much rolling resistance. This was a lot of work!

I did prove to myself that short lining was possible with the NS3s. The kite behaved like a champ; it was just me that was overpowered!

Enjoy!

ssayre - 12-9-2015 at 05:09 PM

Great Steve, glad to have another short line flier! I've had a lot of fun that I otherwise wouldn't have due to short lines making certain areas accessible. Also, useful as you did to tame higher wind for the kite size

Windstruck - 12-9-2015 at 05:23 PM

Thanks Sean, though I'm not too sure I "tamed" the 10m today. It was a bit more like it xxxxx slapped me! I would have been a lot better off with my 8.5m in the air. One thing about the 10m (and the 8.5 to a certain extent and I can only imagine the 12.5 once I get it) is these bigger NS3s are a lot to handle on the ground. The bridle lines are longer, there is a lot more rip stop flapping around, there is a lot more to wrestle into submission when folding them up under wind pressure, etc. Every bit as much to handle as the 12m P2 and that can be quite a handful on the ground as well when working alone.

Completely agree about shorter lines making small sites more accessible. This and the last video I posted were both taken at sites that are essentially single soccer fields with fencing around them a little bit beyond the side and end lines. The fences are rough cut logs with thick wire link fences. Kite killers! I don't want my kites anywhere near these carnivorous fences so the short lines buys me more running room before each turn. Sweet.

Windstruck - 12-9-2015 at 09:42 PM

Spencer - the nice thing about a red wife beater is that it doesn't show the Spaghetti sauce you spill on it. You got it - a B-K beater! :D

Windstruck - 12-9-2015 at 09:44 PM

Jason - the bar is doing great. So far I'm really pleased with it.

The beauty of packing away single-skin kites!

Windstruck - 1-10-2015 at 07:35 PM

IMHO, one of the true benefits of a single-skin quiver is how small they pack down and how light the final package is! My Born-Kite quiver is now complete (yeah, right). From right to left in the picture below: NS3 2.5, NS3 3.2, LS 3.0, NS3 4.0, LS 5.0, LS 7.0, NS3 8.5, NS3 10.0, NS3 12.5, bar bag with long line and street kite set ups, and bar bag with 5-line LS set up. All this fits in nicely into one fine PL Lynx backpack. All in, the backpack weighs 16.4 lbs. Pretty impressive on Steffen's part!

I just got the LSs and the 12.5m NS3 in the mail today so they have yet to be flown. We've got rain in the forecast the next two days (of course) but hopefully Sunday will open up or early next week late in the days. I'll try to get some GoPro footage of the LSs or 12.5 in my buggy depending on conditions.

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soliver - 2-10-2015 at 11:41 AM

Officially just virtually plunked down the money for my 10m... WUHOO!!!!

Steve, I love the set-up you have there... where'd you get all those little stuff-sacks?

soliver - 2-10-2015 at 11:49 AM

"Officially-virtually"... that might be an oxymoron :lol:

Windstruck - 2-10-2015 at 11:53 AM

... where'd you get all those little stuff-sacks?

Spencer - here is a link to where I got the little sacks:

http://www.backcountry.com/granite-gear-toughsacks

They are of nice quality. They come in different sizes and are sized by their volume in liters. If you want to go that route I can recommend which sizes to get for which kites. I could have gotten away with slightly smaller ones in a couple of cases and hit it just right with others. To get them in the sacks I fold the kites until they are the width of the sacks and then roll them up tightly as you would a sleeping bag.

I use these sacks with my Peak2 quiver as well. As you will see there are two sizes of longer sacks. I have my 4m and 6m in the smaller long sacks and my 9m and 12m in the larger long sacks.

MORE IMPORTANTLY - congratulations on your forthcoming 10m NS3 ownership!!!! :thumbup:

soliver - 2-10-2015 at 01:44 PM

MORE IMPORTANTLY - congratulations on your forthcoming 10m NS3 ownership!!!! :thumbup:

uh... YEAH!!!!! Whoop whoop!!!!!

I'm interested to hear how the 12.5m does!

3shot - 2-10-2015 at 04:53 PM

Officially just virtually plunked down the money for my 10m... WUHOO!!!!

Steve, I love the set-up you have there... where'd you get all those little stuff-sacks?

Congrats Spencer!!!

ssayre - 2-10-2015 at 10:24 PM

Awesome Spencer, you beat me to it. :thumbup:

Steve, the stuff sacks and bag look very orderly and neat. Nice job.

I was forced to consolidate my kite wad into a bag this week because a customer had to ride with me and I didn't want him to see a back seat full of kites. Not quite as neat as your set up.

Jason, your kite ocd would have a fit. Worst of all because I have all four wadded up in there AND the bridle pig tails are not in their transport loops :o That ones actually driving me nuts at the moment.

Windstruck - 3-10-2015 at 06:43 AM

AND the bridle pig tails are not in their transport loops :o That ones actually driving me nuts at the moment.

I've never seen an NS2 in the flesh before. I take it the transparent loops you refer to are on the top middle of the leading edge for securing the three bridle systems? On the NS3s these are color coded to match their respective bridle pigtails (red, yellow, blue).

If I am interpreting this correctly then I think I might break out in hives just thinking about your STARS in that chaotic state. :no:

ssayre - 3-10-2015 at 08:16 AM

Well here you go steve. Still not in the flesh but just showing the transport loops and a rainbow of ns2. I had to sort them out anyway.

The last picture is the bridle leaders hooked to transport loops on my 2.5. I have longer leaders than stock on it so I don't have to adjust anything on the bar side for its small size

ssayre - 3-10-2015 at 08:24 AM

Spencer, what did you find out about the vat stuff and is bigmike still in the born-kite game?

Windstruck - 3-10-2015 at 09:06 AM

Sean - thanks for the clarification. For some reason I read "transparent" when of course you wrote "transport". I'm with you guys by the way - I too think the nS2s look better than the ns3s. Something about the vertical stripes just works better than the horizontal.

That is a beautiful quiver you have yourself there. If I get up for it on a sunny day I'll lay all my STARS out on my back yard and take a picture of them from above on my deck. I also want to take a picture of the 2.5 next to the 12.5. That should be dramatic!

3shot - 3-10-2015 at 09:36 AM

Um.... yes Sean. OCD overload....
Don't forget the longboard and it's grip tape all mingled in with the rip stop!!!! :wow: lol

I'm sorry.... But I still prefer the colors on the NS2....

soliver - 3-10-2015 at 11:51 AM

Spencer, what did you find out about the vat stuff and is bigmike still in the born-kite game?

Steffen would not remove the VAT... Said he'd only do that for dealers, so I contacted Big Mike and he said he was no longer dealing in NASA Stars, ... Steffen worked with me on the price a little to offset it (but not a lot). If I wanted to, I could probably get refunded by the German Gov't but I imagine it's a royal hassle for $80.

I even had a little left over to invest in some stuff for the Mandolin :D

soliver - 3-10-2015 at 11:53 AM

I like the stack Sean, but I actually prefer the colors on the NS3's better.

I keep all of mine in their original bags and the bags live together in my PL buggy bag. I have a spare bag cuz the one that came with my 7m had a bad zipper so Steffen sent me another and I keep my harness, weights and ground stake in that one.

ssayre - 3-10-2015 at 01:03 PM

Spencer, what did you find out about the vat stuff and is bigmike still in the born-kite game?

I wondered if that was the case since he had removed them from the website.

Jason, I too really prefer the colors of the ns2 but I like the black star on the ns3's

3shot - 3-10-2015 at 04:23 PM

Sean, wait till you see my custom solid black one with a white star in the middle..:evil::evil::evil:

Windstruck - 3-10-2015 at 04:44 PM

New Kite Curse in full effect today. Had a small break in the rain we've had the last few days this afternoon and some wind at the house. I loaded up my gear and went in search of space and wind. Couldn't find either in the same place to save my life. Got set up with the new 12.5m NS3 but only managed to launch it twice but never long enough to get my butt in the buggy before it died. Some wind finally started to come in, just in time for a soccer team to show up and take over the field.

Hope springs eternal. Tomorrow is a new day! :D

ssayre - 3-10-2015 at 05:43 PM

What the flip Jason, you got something cool on order you've been holding back?

soliver - 3-10-2015 at 07:29 PM

What the flip Jason, you got something cool on order you've been holding back?

Yea,... what the cr@p... do tell, do tell!!!

3shot - 4-10-2015 at 06:24 AM

Lol. My wish list that hasn't materialized just yet..

12.5m NS3 Buggy Footage!

Windstruck - 5-10-2015 at 12:23 PM

Alrighty Born-Kite fans, here's a quickly assembled video of my first day flying with my new 12.5m NS3.

Interesting kite. It's BIG! As such there is more fabric and longer bridle lines to deal with on the ground and during set-up and put-away. It rolls down nicely to fit into a 7L stuff sack. Could probably get wedged into a slightly smaller one.

As the largest NS3 in the quiver it is most certainly a low-wind option. As such it poses special issues, particularly for an inland rider such as myself. At least for me, when the wind is blowing softly enough to make this kite the right choice among multiple options the wind has got to be light. It may not be obvious from the opening footage of this video (shot from a helmet cam) but I had to wrestle with it just to get back to my buggy and sit down. At around 210 lbs I was really close to getting lifted off the ground a few times with the kite up at zenith.

I purposely left in some pilot-issue footage in this video as it demonstrates some of the issues with the larger NS3s. I started to notice stall and back flying issues with the 8.5m, saw it a little more with the 10.0m, and not surprisingly, saw it a little more with the 12.5m. The rub of course is that for the wind to be light enough to use this BEAST then for me it is also quite variable. The kite simply can't stay aloft at some point. You'll see me "sining" to keep things going, but it all takes place sort of in slow motion.

I look forward to flying this kite more with just a touch more wind. I think this Big Lady will behave better in just a bit more wind.

Hope you like the music too. I particularly like Stanton Moore.

John Holgate - 5-10-2015 at 02:59 PM

Nice one, Steve. Bought a smile to my face :D

soliver - 5-10-2015 at 03:41 PM

Very nice Steve!... Loved the music!

I missed it if you said but what was your wind speed?

What wind speed do you use your 10m at vs the 12.5m?

Windstruck - 5-10-2015 at 04:19 PM

@ Spencer - I would say the wind was consistently sub 10 mph for this session. Probably closer to 5 mph most of the time. Too early to tell when I'd use the 10m vs the 12m.

@ JH - thanks!

3shot - 5-10-2015 at 07:11 PM

Nice!!

soliver - 5-10-2015 at 07:29 PM

Thanks Steve,... those are exactly the conditions for which I ordered my 10m

3shot - 6-10-2015 at 06:12 AM

@2:41 really puts this big bird into size perspective!! Love the tunes as always too Steve!!

Windstruck - 6-10-2015 at 07:37 AM

@ Jason - thanks for the shout out of my static shot. I was given a Chinese GoPro knock-off as a sort of swag-bag gift at a national meeting I attended last week and that footage was the first I'd tried with it. I set it up on a little tripod and just left it on. That particular video shot was taken at this camera's 1080 x 30 fps wideview setting. The rest of the video (and all my others) are shot from an actual GoPro Hero4 Silver edition. I leave this GoPro set at "1080 S / 60 / Wide". I bring up all this detail because the shot from the China Doll was sort of herky jerky in the beginning, something I attribute either to it being a cheap knock off or maybe because it was shot at 30 fps. I have the choice of setting this China Doll at "1080 x 30" or "720 x 60" and I'm thinking of setting it to the 720x60 setting and seeing if that smooths things out.

The truth of the matter is that I end up looking at all my videos on a computer monitor, iPad, or iPhone 6 (and I suspect 99.9% of PKF viewers look at them on similar small screens) so 1080 is serious overkill resolution wise as it is.

I am starting to experiment with different camera mounts and want to expand my tripod view options. The 12.5m NS3 is HUGE, but I agree that it is hard to appreciate that from the viewpoint of the helmet cam. Patience my friends, all good things will slowly come your way. I've got a day job too! :P

ssayre - 11-10-2015 at 10:06 AM

Nice work giving us a look at the 12.5 Steve!

My nasa star batteries have been recharged. Check out these custom colors

Windstruck - 11-10-2015 at 01:10 PM

Yowsa! Love the stealthy colors of those kites (and everything else about the film)! Who and where?

Randy - 11-10-2015 at 02:54 PM

Love those color schemes. I'll have to try to make something like that sometime. Thanks for posting Sean!

soliver - 11-10-2015 at 04:28 PM

Nice vid Sean, thanks... It's starting to pick up around Atlanta and if I had more availability it would have been a stellar day yesterday ... Winds around 11 mph gusting into the low teens,... But I was tied up,... Looking forward to finishing up this Masters Degree and having all the stars align so I can do some buggying

ssayre - 11-10-2015 at 05:22 PM

Yowsa! Love the stealthy colors of those kites (and everything else about the film)! Who and where?

I don't know who they are, but I believe it's in Denmark. Not positive.

Yeah Spencer, availability and wind are tough to get at the same time.

Windstruck - 14-10-2015 at 02:54 PM

Got a nice present in the mail today, my final two NS3s! I had a big hole in my STAR quiver between 4m and 8.5m. I had been hopeful that the LongStars were going to slot in there, but alas, that wasn't to be IMHO. 5.5m and 7.0 NS3s to the rescue! I got both up in the air for some quick static flights just to get them out of their wrappers. Both flew beautifully and were well constructed. I snapped a couple of quick photos so my fellow STAR fans could see what they looked like.

The 5.0 reminded me a bit of McDonald's colors with the red and yellow and to me was fine, but nothing special. The 7.0m NS3, on the other hand, was a beauty in my opinion. While my heart is in College Football (Go Ducks, Utes, and Game#@%$#!s!) I am sort of a closet Seattle Seahawk fan. The 7.0m has my new favorite color scheme.

Enjoy the Born-Porn! :D

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soliver - 14-10-2015 at 03:25 PM

Awesome sauce, Steve!... 5.5 and 7 are my 2 fav's.... Looking forward to the 10m,... The 7 has always been my favorite color scheme too!

3shot - 14-10-2015 at 04:24 PM

Wooooo...
Nice!!!!

Just watched that vid you posted Sean.
Black Stars!!!!!!!!!!!:o

ssayre - 14-10-2015 at 04:32 PM

The most complete born kite quiver the world has ever known. The force is strong with this one.

ssayre - 14-10-2015 at 04:34 PM

Yeah Jason. We are a bunch of boring guys. I saw that video and thought it's worth it for the custom colors. Especially for us since we have to wait so long.

3shot - 15-10-2015 at 03:45 AM

I think its safe to say we all live vicariously through Steve!

soliver - 16-10-2015 at 04:15 PM

I had a stellar static session today with the 4m.... First time I've really gotten to fly the pants off that one!... And the first time I've flown a kite in about a month+.... Deffo had some cobwebs to work out.... But it was lotsa fun that 4m... Maybe one day I'll get to do some bugging before the end of time :lol:

ssayre - 16-10-2015 at 04:23 PM

Glad you had a fly today. Don't feel bad about not making it out lately. We finally have had great wind around here and I haven't had any time to kite.

Windstruck - 16-10-2015 at 05:18 PM

Great to hear that you guys have started to feel the breezes that come with the Fall months. Y'ou'll have your cans in buggy seats before you know it. Spencer, glad you got to put some good time in under the 4m.

soliver - 23-10-2015 at 08:00 AM

Just got my shipping notification... my 10m is on the way!!! whoop!

Windstruck - 23-10-2015 at 08:45 AM

Just got my shipping notification... my 10m is on the way!!! whoop!

Prepare for the dreaded DHL/USPS Vortex! Have to say though that my last few shipments from Steffen came quicker than my first few. May the Force be With You. :alien:

3shot - 23-10-2015 at 01:18 PM

Yes my little 10m Star. Wish you safe travels through the DHL and NJ customs space-time continuum.... :alien::alien:

ssayre - 23-10-2015 at 01:29 PM

May shipping be fast for you Spencer! You didn't get custom color did you?

Jason, do you have one on order?

Please tell me someone is getting custom color. I regret not getting custom but I do like the stock colors

3shot - 23-10-2015 at 01:57 PM

Not yet Sean. I was poking at Spencer. Lol

Adjustable width bars for LongStars

Windstruck - 2-11-2015 at 02:58 AM

Born-Kite fans: not that I'm saying you should rush out and buy a quiver of LongStars, but I personally find it interesting that Steffen has changed bars for the LongStar from a single fixed width bar to the exact bar that I modified for use with my NS3s.

Check it out here: Adjustable width LongStar control bar

Earlier this summer I had sent Steffen a write up about my experience with the bar and a link to the supplier. Looks like they hooked up! This added width would be a welcome addition for the LongStar lineup. The 7.0m does turn a little slowly at 50cm bar width; the extra 10cm would be a welcome addition!

Steffen still lists the same standard bar as before for the NS3s. I really hopes he adopts bars from this supplier for that line of kites as well. I find it makes a big difference to have different width bars for different STAR sizes, particularly out at the edges of the quiver (both large and small).

ssayre - 2-11-2015 at 03:23 AM

Wow, that's cool Steve.

soliver - 2-11-2015 at 04:47 AM

Cool!... Way to influence the Manufacturers there Steve :thumbup:

We'll see how the 10m flies with the standard bar here soon!

Windstruck - 2-11-2015 at 06:32 AM

We'll see how the 10m flies with the standard bar here soon!

Curses Red Barron! The dreaded DHL/USPS Vortex!! :mad:

soliver - 2-11-2015 at 10:05 AM

We'll see how the 10m flies with the standard bar here soon!

Curses Red Barron! The dreaded DHL/USPS Vortex!! :mad:

I'll probably call DHL and get the USPS tracking number today or tomorrow

Windstruck - 2-11-2015 at 10:35 AM

I'll probably call DHL and get the USPS tracking number today or tomorrow

For my Born-Kite orders Steffen has always sent me a DHL tracking number. If you go on the DHL tracking website and look up your tracking number the USPS tracking number should eventually show up. You can then take the USPS tracking number and find it stateside.

soliver - 2-11-2015 at 01:55 PM

No need...the Vortex did not claim another victim!

ssayre - 2-11-2015 at 01:57 PM

:thumbup:

alright, now your ready for some light wind.

3shot - 2-11-2015 at 02:09 PM

Holy cow an intact box???:o

Windstruck - 2-11-2015 at 02:21 PM