Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 10:27:33 -1000 From: HELSEL@cvm.msu.edu (Jeanette Helsel) Message-Id: Organization: MSU College of Veterinary Medicine Subject: quad line recommendation Well, after investing in matching sets of dual-line kites (thanks Ron--we're still loving them and still learning!), the person I fly with has the bug to get a quad-line as well. Thus far he is leaning towards the parafoils, but is open to suggestions, stories, recommendations, and outright sales pitches of good deals. We've also decided that we want to fly our dual-lines on shorter lines. What we currently fly the most is a pair of TOTL Spinoffs on 150' 300lb lines--complete with their own skyclaws for nice, neat storage (thanks again Ron!). Not having any experience with sleeving my own lines (or anybody else's), am I better off having a local store take care of it, or learning how to do it? And for cost reasons, should we be considering cutting our 150' into a set of 100' and a set of 50' or because of wear, is it better just to keep it at 150'? Thanks in advance! Jeanette Helsel MAIL ID: HELSEL@CVM.MSU.EDU Network Operations Center, VOICE: 517/336-2741 College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University Money is like a sixth sense, and you can't make use of the other five without it. --W. Somerset Maugham = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 10:02:33 -1000 From: sasaki@das.harvard.edu (Marty Sasaki) Message-Id: <1993Jun8.200233.18619@das.harvard.edu> Organization: Harvard University Subject: Re: quad line recommendation In article , HELSEL@cvm.msu.edu (Jeanette Helsel) writes: >Well, after investing in matching sets of dual-line kites (thanks >Ron--we're still loving them and still learning!), the person I >fly with has the bug to get a quad-line as well. Thus far he is >leaning towards the parafoils, but is open to suggestions, >stories, recommendations, and outright sales pitches of good >deals. I own a quadrifoil, a Rev, and a couple Rev clones. The Rev/clones get far more flying time than the quadrifoil does. I feel that the Rev is capable of doing much more, and therefore recommend a Rev over one of the 'foils. >. Not having any experience with >sleeving my own lines (or anybody else's), am I better off having >a local store take care of it, or learning how to do it? Learn how to do this. It is easy. Ron Reich posted an article on how to do it and it's probably on the archive. I'm sure that Ron would send it to you if you ask him. I believe that David Gomberg's book "Stunt Kites" has instructions on how to do this as well. The book is worth having anyway, so pick it up if you haven't already done so. > And for >cost reasons, should we be considering cutting our 150' into a >set of 100' and a set of 50' or because of wear, is it better >just to keep it at 150'? Why do you want to cut down your lines? If you have no reason too cut them then don't worry. Most folks around here fly on lines from 100 feet to about 125 feet. Teams fly on 150 foot lines. Do what you think makes the most sense. Another reason to learn how to sleeve your own lines is buying line in bulk. Bulk line is much less expensive than buying line in shorter lengths. -- Marty Sasaki Harvard University Sasaki Kite Fabrications sasaki@noc.harvard.edu Network Services Division 26 Green Street 617-496-4320 10 Ware Street Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Cambridge, MA 02138-4002 phone/fax: 617-522-8546 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 16:29:14 -1000 From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) Message-Id: <1v3htq$p10@umd5.umd.edu> Organization: University of Maryland at College Park Subject: Re: quad line recommendation Marty's already given a pretty good response, but I never _could_ keep my mouth shut... ;-) In article HELSEL@cvm.msu.edu (Jeanette Helsel) writes: >Well, after investing in matching sets of dual-line kites (thanks >Ron--we're still loving them and still learning!), the person I >fly with has the bug to get a quad-line as well. Thus far he is >leaning towards the parafoils, but is open to suggestions, >stories, recommendations, and outright sales pitches of good >deals. For basic team/pairs flying, I'd say a Rev I. The Rev II is great for individual ballet, but a bit fast for team action. If you're strong enough to hold it, the Quadrifoil Q-25 is also lots of fun for team flying. No, Marty, I'm *not* talking about the Bag Boyz. Down on the Mall, we've had as many as 6 Q-25s in a "pick-up" team, doing maneuvers as complex as threads with stops/reverses in the middle. Now that may not sound like much, but with 6 rather large kites on ~75' lines, that's pretty good! One of the nice things about Quadrifoils is that most of the color schemes currently available involve hot pink and black, along with a contrasting color such as dark blue, light blue, lime green, yellow, purple, etc. Thus, virtually any two Quadrifoils will look good together. Lately I've seen a number of two-color 'foils which are neat too (Fritz Gramkowski has a great looking kelly green and purple kite) The Quadrifoil is a much easier kite to learn to fly than the Revolution, but you'll find that the Rev is worth the effort; once you've got the hang of it, it's *far* more rewarding. >We've also decided that we want to fly our dual-lines on shorter >lines. What we currently fly the most is a pair of TOTL Spinoffs >on 150' 300lb lines For team flying, the 150' is just fine. I've commented before that different line lengths are popular in different areas. Marty noted that most folks in his area fly 100-125, and 150 for team. Here in DC, where space is at a premium on the Mall, most folks fly 80-100, with 125 for team flying. But any time you've got kites interacting in the air, the more line you have available, the better! (within reason, of course) That said, I'm not sure why you're flying on 300# line. That seems awfully heavy for a Spin-Off, which has a recommended line test of 150#. Even assuming you want heavier lines to counteract friction problems associated with line wraps in team flying, 300# seems like overkill. >Not having any experience with >sleeving my own lines (or anybody else's), am I better off having >a local store take care of it, or learning how to do it? And for >cost reasons, should we be considering cutting our 150' into a >set of 100' and a set of 50' or because of wear, is it better >just to keep it at 150'? You should definitely get the hang of sleeving your own line. Not only is it economically helpful in being able to buy in bulk as Marty noted, but you'll be able to choose specific line lengths you'd like, which arent' normally commercially available. *And*, in the event that you break a line and need to re-even your set, you'll need to re-sleeve the cut end. There are a number of sleeving kits available, from Shanti, High Fly, Catch the Wind (Spiderline), and Premier, to name a few. All of these should include at least minimal instructions to help you out. Another useful tool is the Moran Equalizer. This is a little plastic gadget that tells you if your lines are even, and if not, which one needs to be shortened. Quite useful, and only about $5. Good luck! -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | "When I look in the mirror, I see a little clearer/ | |SAFH Lite [tm] | I am what I am and you are you too./ Do you like | |jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu | what you see? Do you like yourself?" --N. Cherry | = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 10:45:20 -1000 From: norm@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu (Norm Dean) Message-Id: Organization: Washington State University Subject: Re: quad line recommendation In article , HELSEL@cvm.msu.edu (Jeanette Helsel) wrote: > > Well, after investing in matching sets of dual-line kites (thanks > Ron--we're still loving them and still learning!), the person I > fly with has the bug to get a quad-line as well. Thus far he is > leaning towards the parafoils, but is open to suggestions, > stories, recommendations, and outright sales pitches of good > deals. > I personnally enjoy my Revolutions (I & II) but have never flown on of the parafoils. Ask your local kite store if you test fly demos. > We've also decided that we want to fly our dual-lines on shorter > lines. What we currently fly the most is a pair of TOTL Spinoffs > on 150' 300lb lines--complete with their own skyclaws for nice, > neat storage (thanks again Ron!). Not having any experience with > sleeving my own lines (or anybody else's), am I better off having > a local store take care of it, or learning how to do it? And for > cost reasons, should we be considering cutting our 150' into a > set of 100' and a set of 50' or because of wear, is it better > just to keep it at 150'? > > Thanks in advance! > You should definitely learn to do it yourself ..... it's not difficult. You should also be able to fly your spinoffs on 150# line instead of 300#. You are probably experiencing alot of line drag. Hope this helps.... Have fun. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =