I have a PL Viper and I'd like to fly it at night, where do you guys put the glow sticks? Any other tips/recommendations?
Thanks!

Glow sticks. Ha ha ha ha
That's cheating all u need is the moon and the force Luke

Never thought of using glow sticks before
Just thought it would be really nice to put the kite up so I did

Let us know how the light sticks work
If no Sharp edges just drop them in the cells
Or try attaching at the lark head

We had a night flight during a star party up here a couple years ago. The guys reached in through any openings they could to hang these little red LED turtle lights inside their kites (mostly Flysurfers). I hear it was a pretty spectacular sight to see. I hope to try it one day here in my neighborhood....we just don't get many breezy evenings.

one thing for sure is that you really will rely on feel in the dark (no lights on the kite). In day light you have the full ability to see your entire kite in the air. I found I crashed my access a few times until my eyes kinda came accustomed to the dark, or something like that. The feeling really reminded me of driving a car with both side mirrors folded in you know where you're going, but it still doesn't feel right. Either way, if you flew in the dark enough, your skills would be better from it.

We had a few night sessions during the full moon last month. We bought regular, necklace, and bracelet-style glow sticks. Using zipties, we attached them to our bridles (all of us were on LEIs), bars, boards, and put them on our wrists/ankles/necks/harnesses so that we could see each other. We were being sure to use Red/Orange/Yellow for left, and Blue/Green/White for right so we could judge direction from a distance.

The glow sticks didn't really brighten the water or anything; they mainly helped us see each other and our kites. They also helped us easily find our boards if we lost them. The full moon really helped illuminate the lake and you could still even see where the gusts were/the wind wasn't. What was really awesome was looking up at my kite and seeing it move around with the stars behind it.

Everything worked out perfectly. We even had lots of people stopping by to see what the lights were about and they were calling us the Tron kiters. I like to refer to those sessions as The Tron Sessions :bird:

What I'd really like to do is invest in some EL wire and permanently mount it to a kite or quiver of kites and have that quiver rigged specifically for night sessions.

My Tensor 3m have modified christmas LED lights last winter ..... Amazing view when kite is in air ..... I install battery enclosure in center of tail edge and run wires to the sides with 3 LEDs in each cell ..... 4 AAA batteries weight a bit too much so I modified case to hold only 2 ......
Kite did look awesome and did bring attention of 2 park rangers ....

Sprang Thang saw a bit of twilight and evening action. Marc was using a blinky diode set up on one bridle for his reference and I stuffed a cheap charlie Coleman chemlite in each dirt out on my 10m Crossfire, orange on the left, blue on the right. The dirt outs are right on the TE of the Crossfire and that portion is black on the underbelly so it was a very muted glow, just about right for reference without being obnoxious and distracting. On the other hand, the rescue strobe on the back of Scout Buggly and the blinky jester hat... Yeah, that might have been just a bit over the top. Sorry, Marc...

Wbb last fall led glow sticks in the wing tip cells works really well to.

I bet the little glow sticks used in night golf balls would work well.
Also, you might could try little LED throwies: http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Throwies/
I have about a dozen or so of those, and each one ends up costing about $1. I even bought some of the UV/blacklight kind and magnets so I could throw them up and have them stick on metal. They weigh next to nothing.

Most of my kites have dirt outs so it should be easy to shove a couple in the kite. Neat idea. I'm gonna give it a whirl!

Hope the kite doesn't feel too violated though...:shocked2:

I've used those glowing bracelet things a couple of times. I usually just toss them down a few cells, glows more then enough to see through the fabric. I've also circled them around bridle lines, using the bracelet clip to make them round. Moves a lot during flight, but works nicely too. They cost 50 eurocent for a 10 pcs tube here, so they're really cheap.

Wow, thanks for all the ideas everybody! The Viper has dirt outs so I'll just try putting them in there. Supposed to be 10-15mph winds tomorrow night so it should be fun!

photon lights in the dirtout

Krug a la Feyd

Wow that looks awesome. Reminds me of those LiteBrite toys

Did that once...,got the cops called on me

Not one... But per the cop "several ufo calls"

Ahahahaha! We had a good laugh

Went out at 9 last night, not enough wind for any real fun so we didn't try the glow sticks. Played around for an hour and left. Today is looking good, though! Will have to see what happens later on tonight, hopefully the wind cooperates.

Quote:

Originally posted by Kamikuza Krug a la Feyd

Wow! How did you get that effect? That's not just glowsticks, is it?

I'd also like to know what you used to get that effect, Kami. I don't know what "Krug a la Feyd" means.

Went out a couple nights ago and put glow sticks in the dirt outs. They actually worked pretty well, although they weren't all that bright. I got one green and one red, the green was quite a bit brighter so next time I'll just get two of them. Had a good time, though!

Quote:

Originally posted by Looking_Up Glow sticks. Ha ha ha ha That's cheating all u need is the moon and the force Luke Never thought of using glow sticks before Just thought it would be really nice to put the kite up so I did Let us know how the light sticks work If no Sharp edges just drop them in the cells Or try attaching at the lark head

Jedi is the best way!!! Makes a person enjoy a good day sess much more

oh yes nothing ! is the way to go

very small on YOU if others are in the mix , a small light ( most cell phones glow is ample)

ANY light will lesson your night vision. the kite? you KNOW where it is! tiny finger lights on the FRONT line leaders for reference can help you get started.

for light i recommend the moon! and know your spot !

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisH I'd also like to know what you used to get that effect, Kami. I don't know what "Krug a la Feyd" means.

Feyd is a member of the forum. Rider for Peter Lynn.
Name: Chris Krug
Blog: http://hardwaterkiter.blogspot.com/

Night kiting thread that was taken from: http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=8285

Thanks labrat! Those Cyoglite Millions sure are expensive, damn! Looks awesome, though.

I've been looking for glow-in-the dark ripstop for a while now to make my own night npw. I haven't had any luck, but I love the idea. Does anyone know if this stuff is even made anywhere?

Slightly off topic but Mac' filled his Phanny and set it in his front yard with a light behind for halloween a few years ago. Looked cool. I'll ask him to repost the picture.

Led finger lights X4, one at each line/bridle connection. Works great. I even made my own with batteries that I could change.

Buggeyed flew his Rev at Alvord with a strip of led lights he pinned to the leading edge of his kite with my blinking dog collar in the center. Looked like a plain coming in for a landing.

I just got my order of EL Lights. Working on making a few Tron Kites.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003J9BD50/ref=oh_details_o...

I was thinking about and awesome setup for night. 2x 3 watt leds on the leading edge faceing forward and 2x 1 watt leds on the sides facing off the sides. You should be able to see pretty far in front of yourself and the wind would cool the leds. A small wire could be ran to the leds along one of the lines to prevent the kite from becoming too heavy.

I got out yesterday in zero wind at the park and did a little R&R with a 3.3 Buster with 175'-53.34m lines and the EL wire lights.
I didn't have a lot of time as I was waiting for a phone call and decided to wait for it at the park.
I inserted the battery packs and the wire coupler thing into the dirt outs and left the wire/lights hang free, kind of like a ribbon from the wing tips and flew the kite to see how it would handle. Not bad for no wind, forgot all about the reason I was there and wished I had the buggy with me so just enjoyed the time to fly. Upon receiving the call I was waiting for, I put the kite away and started thinking about different designs I can make on the kite with the lights, a few safety pins and a couple of blinking LEDs, should produce a good show.
The light from the wire is not visible in the daylight, so a night fly is definitely needed. I should have a few ideas by the 16th at Sunset Beach.
Short lines on the kite with the lites will be OK, but with 200'-60.96m it should be spectacular, with 300'-91.44m it should look like a real UFO.(I may need a bit of help with the long lines in the dark)