Tag: Kites

Sewing And Cutting, Sewing And Cutting

Wanted to fly today but, once again, the wind wouldn’t cooperate.  We have a couple of new Skydog kites to test fly.  Tried to fly them a couple of days ago before the sun set.  While the wind was stronger than today, it was not strong enough to get one of the kites into the air.  The other took some work but did eventually fly and fly quite well.  It just hung in the sky above our heads, no waving, weaving or wobbling.  Maybe tomorrow we can try again.

So instead of flying, I worked on a kite for the upcoming kite festival workshop.  I got my kite early so that I could get my kite finished for use as a sample.  Because of this, I’m moving rapidly into the position of a perfectionist.  I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not competing in the Nationals so it really doesn’t matter.  This is a fun, good-looking kite and I should be having fun making it.  And why is my kite a sample kite?  I have been given the assignment of workshop assistant instead of workshop participant.  Apparently people believe I already have the skills for a beginner class and have moved on.  We will see.  In one week, it will be only be a year since I made my first kite.

The applique sewing is complete and I am cutting away the unwanted layers of ripstop.  Tomorrow I have to get some more thread for hemming and pockets.  Then I need to do repair work on some of my kites so they will be ready for the festival.  Yes, I have been procrastinating.  I hate repair work.  Mostly it’s ripping out pockets and replacing them.

My next project is a kite for my daughter.  She wants to hang it on the wall in the spare bedroom.  So I had better get back to the work table.

Fair Winds All.

Never Believe The Weatherman

Beautiful morning this past Sunday.  Temperatures were mild, sun was shining, brilliant blue sky with only a few clouds and the weatherman said the winds were around 10 mph building to 15 in the afternoon.  Never believe the weatherman.  I went to the kite field looking forward to a day when I could put up some larger kites and anchor them and then practice with my Vamp Devil and try out my new Mojo on longer lines.  It looked like a perfect day for kites when I left the house.  I was so ready for this day I arrived early, before anyone else.  Great.  I could get my stuff up first and have a show in the air for all the other fliers to see when they arrived.

So I hauled my cart down to the beach and began.  The wind was only about five mph or so.  I managed to get the parafoil up after a long launch and a lot of work on the line.  Another flier arrived and put up a couple of delta kites so I left my mesh delta in the bag and tried to put up my Buka-Dako-Esche.  I hadn’t flown this kite in a few months and had forgotten how many spars it had and how to put it together.  Each spar comes in three pieces and there are three spars in the bag plus the vertical spar that I left attached to the sail.  So when I first put it together, I had one spar left over.  Where did it go?  There were no empty pockets or sleeves.  So the call for help went out.  Luckily, our local kite shop owner showed up and he showed me where the last spar went.  Yes, I had missed a sleeve across the top of the sail.

Buka-Dako-Esche by Premier

Never believe the weatherman.  The kites went up and the kites came down.  We put the kites back up and they stayed up for a while and they came back down.  The winds were weak and erratic.  Even the larger delta kites were having problems and they are usually the easiest kites to keep in the sky.  Our resident KAP flier didn’t even try to put his camera up.  The way the wind was acting, there was no guarantee that his camera wouldn’t be bouncing off the sand instead of flying high.  And I didn’t get a chance to play with any of my stunt kites.  There are only a couple of weeks before our kite festival and I need more practice.

Delta Kites Drifting Down

It was with some frustration that we all packed up our kites and headed to the kite shop.  Even though the kite flying wasn’t the best the day was beautiful.  It was hard not to just settle in the sand and watch the gulls and pelicans play in the waves.  But there were things to do and places to be.  So never believe the weatherman when it comes to the wind.

Fair Winds All.

Famine And Feast

Winds have been rather light these past few weeks.  Things started changing and we actually got to fly a couple of extra times this week.  I’ve decided to do something that I’ve never had the courage to do before.  I am working on a performance routine for the upcoming kite festival.  The first evening we went out I didn’t get much practice done at all.  Instead I played with a little girl.  I was flying the Vamp Devil and along came a family with a little girl.  She loved the kite and I made it swoop and dive and dance near her.  She giggled and giggled.  Her family wanted to continue their stroll but she wouldn’t leave.  She and her Dad ended up staying by me as I continued to entertain her and the rest of the family went walking.  We had fun together until the sun began to go down.  I didn’t get much practicing done but I had a great time, too.  And that’s what kiting is all about.

The second evening we went to the beach, I did get some great practice and planning in.  I had the iPod on continuous repeat of the music.  So I improvised and planned as the music went on and on and on.  It was a good practice.  I was flying on short lines to get used to the response of the kite and see what worked and what didn’t.  Again, we stayed until the sun was going down.  I really like flying in the evenings.  The air is cool and the beach is quiet.  There are some people out walking but not too many.  Everything is peaceful.  It’s just you and your kite.

Then there was a very short morning fly.  I was testing a new kite that I’ve been waiting to arrive for the past nine months.  I had seen this kite in photos from the kite trade show in February.  It intrigued me and I just had to have one.  It is a new design that I just had this gut feeling it would be a good flying kite.  The initial flight was really an eye-opener.  It is fast and touchy.  I had it on short lines and my inputs were really too strong and the kite was all over the sky.  I have a lot of learning to do on this kite.  But I like it.  The winds that morning weren’t helping me at all.  They were gusty, at times blowing strong and at others ceasing completely.  I need to try again on longer lines in smoother winds.  It may take me some time to fly this kite competently but I’m planning on continuing to work at it.   And what kite am I talking about?  It is the Mojo by HQ Kites, a new design quad line kite.

Mojo Quad Line Kite by HQ

Sunday morning was our regular club fly.  We had wind.  We had a lot of wind.  If you left your kite bag open when you flew, it was filled with sand when you got back to it.  There were four of the kite club members in attendance and about eight kites in the air.  The wind was so strong the selection of kites that were fly-able was limited.  Larger deltas flew well and a Sutton with a trailing pennant banner stayed in the sky with no problem.  I flew a large dragon kite.  It should be noted that the kites in the air all had long tails to stabilize them.  No small kites could handle it and no stunt kites were flown.  This was a feast of wind after a wind famine.

Things are coming together for the kite festival.  Hopefully the temperatures will stay moderate and the winds will be a steady 10 to 15 mph.  With an emphasis on steady.  It’s only three weeks away.  Can you believe it?  I had better get practicing.

Fair Winds All.

 

 

A Lot Of Catching Up To Do (Part 3)

And to continue on with my further adventures.  We missed the club fly last weekend because of a very important appointment.  Our daughter bought us Green Bay Packer game tickets for our anniversary.  Even better, it was the Green Bay Packers vs. the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, NC.  OMG!  She and her husband drove from Virginia to join us and watch the game together.  What a wonderful day.  It definitely beat out a day flying kites.  I know it sounds awful but nothing is better than my Green Bay Packers.  Yes, I am a football fanatic!  And they won.  Heaven!!!!!  And I only have about 400 photographs to sort through.  LOL.  Now back to kites.

The day of the game was the last day we had without rain.  A couple of months ago, we were practically praying for rain.  Now we can’t wait for it to stop.  We got another inch in just the past twenty-four hours.  And it seems to just hang along the coast.  So yesterday was the regular weekly kite club fly.  It rained.  We knew we wouldn’t be flying but we drove out to the flying field anyway.  We sat in the car, eating our biscuit breakfast and watched it rain.  Then we went to the kite shop, visited for a while and watched it rain.  At least there was football to watch on TV.

What made the lack of flying weather even more frustrating is that I have a new kite and I can’t even fly it.  My anniversary present was a custom art kite by Ray Wong.  A beautiful Rokkaku, gray with red, pink, and maroon appliqué, called “Windows”.  When I finally get a chance to fly it, I will take a photo and post it.  Until then…

Fair Winds All.