RPW. Of course. I should have thought of that. I actually have 2 RPW now

I have a lot more than that. I've lost count.

RPW... awesomeness... Randy gave me an awesome single line kite I may be able to use for KAP at JIBE and it is outstandingly made... he is a craftsman for sure you guys!

Still no kiting for me, but just starting to get ready for JIBE... I ordered a new splash guard fro AWOC and finally received it today (back ordered I s'pose)... gonna get it on the Stinger tonight!.

Getting excited y'all!!!

Got word my 2.2 is done and will be heading back soon. Sporadic rain thwarted any flying but i had a great time wrenching on the bikes with my son and gave him a ride on the R1 in the driveway and rode next to him down the street while he ripped down the sidewalk on his big wheel trying to "beat me".

No, I didn't fly today (again). Hey, at least it didn't snow. What I did do was rig my three-line adjustable width B-K bar with easy-to-use width adjusters and a chicken loop (it had a trapeze before that I wasn't that thrilled with. I used a bunch of spare parts and cobbled something together that I think will work quite nicely.

I also took soap and water to two more of my unwashed kites from IBX last month. The smell coming off the kites with all that fine playa dust on them is so distinctive! Brings back great memories. I still haven't washed my 9.5m LS2 or 12m P3. I've been putting that off as they are so bloody big! I need a warm day with no wind so I can dry them outside after getting them all sparkly again.

In preparation for JIBE, a couple days ago I installed my new PL Splashguard on my Stinger buggy (now an interesting mish mash of parts).

And today I unfurled my 6m P1 to untangle the lines that got a little flip flopped last time I went buggying because the kite luffed and turned in on itself then came out the other end, so to speak.

Super excited to cruise the JI and SSI beaches over the next 2 weeks!

Hi all!

I'm Ron/locomote, newly joined here, and freshly back into kiting as an adult. Last real flying was done with cellophane kites of the '60s (and vinyl deltas)....thinking the cello ones were called something like Hi-Miler, a little larger than the average paper diamond kites, and had a plane imprinted on the material.

I had mentioned getting a Synapse and an Ozone Ignition over at silverfish and member
B-Roc invited me to check out PKF. Glad I have, as it has been real helpful, thanks to all the great posts sharing what others have learned.


I spent an hour or so flying the Synapse 200 last evening in a different, less cluttered local lot (see below), than where I had been flying. There was just barely enough wind when it gusted, to keep it filled, give a good pull, and stay aloft. We've had lots of rain, and inconsistant winds. Lot size and orientation to the wind gave me just part of the window to work with. Couldn't go full left for a bank of trees there.

I had tree'd it elsewhere, the week before, but after a few days was able to retrieve it with a pole trimmer at about 26' up. Kite and bridles survived the ordeal, tree only suffered a few small (and properly done) pruning cuts to untangle the lines. I lucked out, in that it was just within reach of my equipment.

Glad to be here, and THANK YOU ALL, for sharing your knowledge. It will help greatly as I move forward. I don't see water or beaches as part of it at this point, but do hope to eventually get a landboard.

I looked at my kites... yup there they are, sadly sitting in the back of my car. (I haven't had time to finish unpacking them yet.)
After getting so much attention last week at WBB, they are now truly unhappy with me. Maybe I'll wash a couple of them to let them know that I still care.
Only 161 days to wait 'till we see the sand at Wildwood again, in the meantime it'll be little kites at my local park :wee:

BTW: Welcome to the addicition locomote!

Recieved my Symphony 2.2.4 from riffclown today! The conversion looks great! Now for the rain to stop so i can fly it!!

Finished sewing and started bridling my 3.75 Sq. M NPW 21. Rainy days help with productivity.

Finally took warm water and soap to my two final kites from IBX. They were my two largest (9.5 and 12m) and I guess I was putting it off because they are both so darn big! They are now sparkly clean and crispy as their first days. Whippee! :D

Not to go too far off topic, but do you just let them soak in warm water or do you scrub it (gently, I presume)?

Thanks hiaguy.

Quote: Originally posted by Randy

Not to go too far off topic, but do you just let them soak in warm water or do you scrub it (gently, I presume)?

For a large kite like this I get a big plastic tub and use a about 1/4 cup of liquid laundry detergent and fill up the tub about half way with warm water. In goes the kite. Once I get it completely submersed and worked around a bit gently I let it sit for about 15 minutes. I do work the kite in the water, but I do so quite gently, sort of moving it around and gently rubbing one part of the kite with other parts of the kite.

Dump it out on my driveway and then get all the soapy water out with a garden hose. Final step, lay it out to dry.

Important note: I've only done this single skin kites. I'm not sure how easy it would be to get the soapy water out of a traditional foil.

You might want to check the instructions for your various wings. I know that my Ozone and I'm pretty sure the Flysurfers
both specifically warn against detergents. I think that the playa dust responds well to vinegar and water. There was a thread on the subject a couple of years ago. Cue the beloved Indigo.

Wait, I shouldn't be cleaning my kite in a laundry machine? You're method sounds like it would result in less tangles in the bridal lines.

Just to be clear I am joking.

Best way to get off that playa dust is to head to the beach.
After a few inadvertent ker-splooshes they were dust free.
No detergent needed.
Good thing for me that single skins fly wet!
Air dry in a minute.

"Finished" my NPW 21 today so that it is now ready to fly. Hope to check it out before I leave for Jekyll. Do have to verify the bridles and trim before its done.

Loaded both cars for JIBE ... Leaving tomorrow... see you there Randy!

Jekyll bound!!

Hey everyone giving this thread a whirl. IBX was like yesterday,yes? Headed from there to Corpus Christi. The people at fixmykite gave me great info on where to camp and where to kite. Wheee haw I figured out the water!!! By day 2 I logged over 8 miles. Didn't feel quite confident to attempt bay crossing to the aircraft carrier with the fixmykite crowd. But joined them by car and had beers and BS on the beach. Grand Times. Fast forward a week Gulfport Mississippi logged another 20 miles or so on the water and started working on looping turns. Fast forward to last Wed, my kiting buddy Todd had met a professional film crew on the Mesa a couple of days earlier and they were all excited about doing some filming. Windstruck the season is far from over here. 6" of fresh on really solid base combined with 14 MPH with gusts to 20 burned it up. My tracking app said 23 Mph and another 10 miles HD shoulder mount camera, Drone, and point and shoot 35m, hey we even got two of the crew out with a 3 and 5 foil on skies. What a day can't wait for more wind.

My 3.75 NPW 21 flew "right out of the box" today. Also did a little kite sailing at the local lake with one of my other NPW's.

Oops... wrong thread!

i had 18/28 onshore day...got 3 hrs of lowtide riding in....foam all over the place almost 2ft thick in spots...faceshots
filthy stuff

Three hours non-stop buggy seat time on the beach.
So happy season is coming on!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/321067984609701/permalink/13...

We were invited to fly for the tall ship festival at Garry point.

It is noteworthy since we were banned from the park completely a couple of years ago. If nothing else we have shown all interested that we can share even I tiny section of the park with our Rev' team and paragliders kiting their sails.

Back today but I don't think the wind got the message?

Well...yesterday I officially blew out several cells in a kite. Wind was 30-35mph I decided to try buggyin with a 1.5m Alpha. Only because I'd never tried using it to buggy for. I was trying to keep an eye on a car on the beach. Took my attention off the kite for a moment and pile drove it into the hard pack. Blew out 3 cells. While this kite has survived many years of abuse and has chopped a lot of wood. I'm not sure Its worth repairing. After that I switched to a 2.0 Pansh legend. I forgot how much that kite sucked. I had hoped my initial opinion was due to lack of experience now that I have had close to a year of buggyin since the last time I used it and after spending 3hours and over 18 miles with it in the buggy. I can safely say that this kite is still garbage.

I flew my 7 Flux for the first time yesterday. What a hoot! It was work, in higher winds than I maybe should have been in for a first flight of anything bigger than 3m, but kept it under control straining at the brakes. I let it go to the kite killers twice as practice, did a couple reverse launches successfuly out of several tries. It didn't pull me off my feet but I think I ran faster and lighter of foot than ever before. Enthralled by the torque and slow turning of it. Braking seemed a bit less efficient that it ought to have been. I reckon I need to check and adjust lines based on an experience with another kite. Twice I dropped to the ground to increase my odds of keeping control, scudding a short ways once, leaping into a run another. Never really went up in the middle of the power zone but crossed it a couple times trying to play low and to the sides. Most of it was working on small ground movements just off the ground from side to side, lifting a couple feet then reparking, righting its orientation, and hanging out at the side. Oh, and untangling after the releases. But a total riot was had. Happy to have survived it unscathed and with no bad memories. Gotta have more, but will throw on some skate gear for sure.

Editing mistake, sorry.

Quote: Originally posted by locomote

I flew my 7 Flux for the first time yesterday. What a hoot! It was work, in higher winds than I maybe should have been in for a first flight of anything bigger than 3m, but kept it under control straining at the brakes. I let it go to the kite killers twice as practice, did a couple reverse launches successfuly out of several tries. It didn't pull me off my feet but I think I ran faster and lighter of foot than ever before. Enthralled by the torque and slow turning of it. Braking seemed a bit less efficient that it ought to have been. I reckon I need to check and adjust lines based on an experience with another kite. Twice I dropped to the ground to increase my odds of keeping control, scudding a short ways once, leaping into a run another. Never really went up in the middle of the power zone but crossed it a couple times trying to play low and to the sides. Most of it was working on small ground movements just off the ground from side to side, lifting a couple feet then reparking, righting its orientation, and hanging out at the side. Oh, and untangling after the releases. But a total riot was had. Happy to have survived it unscathed and with no bad memories. Gotta have more, but will throw on some skate gear for sure.

Sounds as if you are having a blast. Great that you are working the kite as described. This will pay big dividends down the road for sure. If you haven't already done so please be sure to don a helmet. Doing what you're doing may lead to its practical use. :karate: