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Stake flying...



reich@cod.nosc.mil (Ronald S. Reich) writes:
>     Some stunts to try with this setup:
>          1.  Catch the kite by the nose or wing tip.  Then, push 
>it away and resume flying.
>          2.   Land  the  kite in you hands  which  are  extended 
>between you and the dog stake.
>          3.   Step  up between the path of the kite and the  dog 
>stake and let the flyline remove you hat.

When I was flying with a dog stake I was using a 3/4-ish sized kite, the
Super Squirrel from Above It All.  This kite has about 5 1/2 - 6 foot wing
span.  One of my tricks was to work directly downwind of the stake and
fly the kite _under_ the flying lines.  This is particularly showy if you
can drag the wingtip with the kite going one direction while you run
past the kite in the other direction.  You have to make sure you take the
kite back under the lines in the other direction or your lines will start
to bind at the dog stake (unless you have a very good swivel on your
attachment).

One that I never quite mastered was to catch the kite on the flying lines
nose-first - to land the kite nose-down (or sideways) onto the lines so
that one line is on each side of the nose, holding the kite by the leading
edge.  The next step would have been to twist the lines over so that I
could set the kite on its tail on the ground, lift the lines away, and
take off again.

Point 1 above, standing on the edge of the wind and playing with the kite
with your hands, makes for hours of great fun even when there isn't a
crowd to please.  I always flew with padded wrist straps, which left
my fingers free to work the kite.

 - irving -


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