Playing Catch-Up II

It’s that time of year where it is not winter anymore but it is not quite spring. The temperatures have started to moderate but you still need to wrap up and wear your hat. Some need to wrap more than others.

There was a good crowd of regulars at this fly and the wind was cooperating. Not too strong, and not too weak. It was a good day to test fly a couple of the new kites coming out this year. So up went two new Kritter Kites and a new Travel Diamond. All of them flew quite well and looked really good in the sky. The most surprising was the Travel Diamond. It hung above our heads all morning and handled gusts easily. The Nemo Kritter Kite made us laugh as his little fins flapped in the wind, making him look like he was swimming.

Owl Kritter by Skydog — Owl Kritter Kite by Skydog

Nemo Kritter by Skydog — Nemo Kritter Kite by Skydog

The rest of us dug older kites out of our bags, kites that hadn’t seen the sky in months or even years. Some of these kites are still available in kite shops and some are no longer being made. As we stood and watched them, I realized that each one had a story to go along with it. Each one was more than just a pretty thing that flies. The kites hold our memories. They may commemorate an event, honor someone no longer with us or just remind us of good times spent with friends and family.

So grab a kite and head to the beach or the park or the nearest big field and make some memories. I guarantee you’ll smile then and later on.

Fair Winds All.

Playing Catch-Up

The weather has taken a turn for the better with Spring arriving. And I have fallen behind on my posting. It seems I’d rather be out flying my kites than writing about them. So here’s to playing Catch-Up.

The last club fly of February was one of the prettiest days we’d had in quite a while. The wind was up and the morning sky was a beautiful blue. There were only a few of the regular kite club members on the field and we had an interesting mix of old and new kites. My friend Bob dug out some of his older kites that hadn’t seen the sun in a while. The red-white-blue airplane was purported to be a “unflyable” kite. But after some work and innovation, Bob got it to fly remarkably well. It just hung in the sky all morning. The same goes for his Sutton and red-white-blue Double Delta Box kite. Both very reliable flyers. The Angel kite can be finicky at times. But this morning was not one of those times.

I put up our relatively new Vertical Visuals Malay Diamonds. We have one of each color variation. They fly well with or without tails. I prefer the look of the tails trailing along behind.

Vertical Visual Malay Diamonds by Into The Wind

The newest kites in the sky were the pair of Flakes made by Jeri at the Kites Unlimited shop in Atlantic Beach, NC. These were custom-made, one in white and one in black. They made quite a pair hanging together. Rumor has it that there will never be another black Flake made.

And so ended the month of February. Happy to say, this was the start of better weather and better flying. More to come as I continue to play Catch-Up.

Fair Winds All.

Catching Up For Lost Time and Lost Wind

It was pretty frustrating having no wind at the festival and then finding out that there was wind for the kite club fly at home. So to make up for it, we went to the kite field more than usual this past week and a half. The fact that the temperature moderated at a very comfortable level was a bonus. It was so relaxing.

The winds were actually a little strong the first evening we went to fly. I had just gotten the Brasington Central Station train and had yet to fly it. So I put it and my Waif train up, You will notice that the Waif train has five kites and the Central Station train has six. Well, the Waif train I made at a Brasington kite building workshop and I have yet to finish it. The sixth Waif is on the table waiting to be sewn. Guess I had better get to it now. John put up his Vertical Visions Malay kite. I’m thinking of getting this same kite in the opposite color scheme. It is so easy to fly and looks great.

Vertical Visions Malay Kite by Into The Wind

Brasington Central Station Train by Into The Wind

Brasington Central Station and Waif Trains

The weekend arrived and it was time for the Carolina Kite Club fly. Several of the Critter Kites by Skydog; the Wolf, the Tiger and the Bumblebee, flew as well as the Central Station train and the Vertical Visions Malay kite. We also put up the Triton Kite. This is a modified genki design which pulls like a tank. It is a steady flying kite, even in the gusty winds we had that day. This will be a good kite for lots of line laundry. Especially I’m thinking our red wiggly worm and yellow little man. Haven’t had them up in a long time. There were a couple of new people who joined us to fly a stunt kite, a delta kite and the EO Atom by Prism Kites.

SkydogCritters — Critter Kites by Skydog Kites

Today was a day we just couldn’t pass up. It was at least ten degrees cooler than the past few days and the winds were steady at a moderate 11-12 mph. So when our errand were done, off we went to the beach. We put up two of our own Critter kites and I practiced with one of my Revs.

TigerPanda — The Tiger and The Panda Critter Kites by Skydog Kites

It had been a while since I had flown the Custom B-Pros and this was the perfect day for a mid-vent. I spent the time working on hovering and reverse diagonals. Still haven’t figured out the inverse hover but I think it will come eventually. There was practically no one on the beach which made for a very quiet, pleasant stay. Then the sun began to go down and the park rangers wanted to close the gate.

CustomMidVent — Custom B-Pro Mid-Vent Revolution Kite

MeRev — Yes, That’s Me and My Revolution

So now we’re home getting ready to go on the road and no telling when we’ll get to fly again. Hopefully it won’t be too long. It all depends on our new granddaughter. She is due next week and we are pretty excited. So until then…

Fair Winds All.

“I’m MELTING! Melting!”

And so said the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz. And that’s just the way I felt at our most recent kite club fly. Thankfully, I had brought a cooler with water and drank all that I had. Otherwise i probably would have become just a puddle in the sand.

It was scorching hot but the wind was up and too good to miss. I finally had the opportunity to put the complete Xelon collection in the air. I love these kites. My only problem is that HQ did not put a tube tail on the fourth kite in the series. I added a streamer tail to match the two side streamers but it just doesn’t seem right. I’m thinking that sometime over the winter I’m going to construct a tube tail to match the other three and add it to the fourth Xelon.

While the Xelons were flying, I put up my new Peter Powell stunt kite. It was a perfect day for this kite. The diamond stunters need a little more wind to fly well and to have the long tails stream out behind them. The Peter Powell flew slowly across the wind window, doing graceful swoops, dives and circles. The tail tracing the kite’s path around the sky. My favorite type of stunt flying. Unfortunately, there was no one available to photograph this kite in the sky. So we have to settle for a landed Peter Powell. Nonetheless, it is still a good-looker.

Fair Winds All.

(And try to stay cool!!)

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