We had been invited to a charity kite festival in aid of the Prince's Trust taking place at Alexandra Palace Park in north London. So after yet another early start, we turned up on the flying site to find absolutely no wind. This has got to be the most frustrating kite flying October on record.
Well we dutifully pitched our equipment and waited for some wind. Every so often there would be a gentle blow from the east, but by the time I had got the dopero 50 feet off the ground, the wind would disappear again. This was to be the format of the day. The announcer kept apologising for th elack of wind, thanked all th einvited clubs (GOKF; BKF; WHKF and KKF) for coming, an dhoping that if the wind arrived, WHKF would teddy drop and we would KAP.
The day drew longer and longer and still no wind. The display teams did their best, but were also fighting a losing battle. Even Team spectrum seemed to give up! The high point of the day has to be Chris Goff's magnificent display in no wind. It included him getting grounded in a corner of the arena, jumping over the barrier to re-launch his kite, then 360ing back into the arena, again jumping over the barrier without landing. Spectacular, energetic and extremely skilful.
By far the high point of the afternoon was when a helicpter flew down from the north towing a huge England Flag in support of the RWC final that night.I cannot start to descibe how big the flag was, but if there had been any wind, I think the pilot would have found himself in extreme difficulty.
Late afternoon, the wind picked up to the point where I actually put a camera on the line. It floated around a bit before coming back down to earth. I think I managed to get above head height temporarily, I might even have got a photograph. And that was it really. So we packed up and went home, to meet all the crowds coming out of the Emirates Stadium - Arsenal had been playing at home!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Hardelot Plage, then Canterbury with no Wind
Saturday 13th Saw the KKF away team decend on Hardelot Plage for Christmas lunch. If you want to understand the story behind that, then go to the Kent Kite Flyers home page. We were booked on an early ferry and got to dover in plenty of time. However our navigation in France let us down, and we came off the wrong motorway junction and ended up heading into Samer. To make matters worse, as we followed the map to get to Hardelot, we carried straight on, instead of going left. Things looked ok, until the narrow lane we were going down petered out into a dirt track. At this point Matt suggested we turn around as we appeared to be heading off to Royston Pavey!
Well we eventually got to Hardelot, and we may have been last to arrive, but I was first to get flying as the dopero took to the sky. It looked promising as there was plenty of lift to get the camera aloft. And after pre-flight checks,
we were off and up into the sky. But the wind was only playing with us. Well I managed to keep the kite aloft, then headed up onto the sea wall. I was really hoping to be able to get into the little play area just behind the restaurant. 
Unfortunately the wind was rapidly disappearing. I stood helpless on the sea wall as the camera dropped too fast for me to reel in without hitting the wall. So with perfect judgement, or was it luck, the camera landed on the sand just in front of the sea wall, and the kite settled onto the sand on the waters edge. Though it did fall backwards so that it got a good salt water washing.
Ahe well, that was it for KAP for the day. The journey back was uneventful, except that this time we missed the exit for the car ferry, and were heading off towards Dunkirk, so missed the ferry by minutes.
So on SUnday we met up again for OSOW in Canterbury. There was even less wind than there had been in France. I managed to get the Dopero aloft, and even put a camera on the line, but we weren't going to get enough lift to do anythin worthwhile. However it was a good opportunity to get the kite dry in glorious sunshine. Oh well. We're off to Alexandra Palace next weekend. Hoping for a little bit more breeze so we can KAP away like contented little bunnies.
Well we eventually got to Hardelot, and we may have been last to arrive, but I was first to get flying as the dopero took to the sky. It looked promising as there was plenty of lift to get the camera aloft. And after pre-flight checks,
we were off and up into the sky. But the wind was only playing with us. Well I managed to keep the kite aloft, then headed up onto the sea wall. I was really hoping to be able to get into the little play area just behind the restaurant. Unfortunately the wind was rapidly disappearing. I stood helpless on the sea wall as the camera dropped too fast for me to reel in without hitting the wall. So with perfect judgement, or was it luck, the camera landed on the sand just in front of the sea wall, and the kite settled onto the sand on the waters edge. Though it did fall backwards so that it got a good salt water washing.Ahe well, that was it for KAP for the day. The journey back was uneventful, except that this time we missed the exit for the car ferry, and were heading off towards Dunkirk, so missed the ferry by minutes.
So on SUnday we met up again for OSOW in Canterbury. There was even less wind than there had been in France. I managed to get the Dopero aloft, and even put a camera on the line, but we weren't going to get enough lift to do anythin worthwhile. However it was a good opportunity to get the kite dry in glorious sunshine. Oh well. We're off to Alexandra Palace next weekend. Hoping for a little bit more breeze so we can KAP away like contented little bunnies.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Bewl kite weekend
After much umming and erring, it was finally decided pretty late in the season that the kite weekend would go ahead. So armed with a car full of kites I headed off for Bewl on the Saturday. The weather forecast looked good, and we weren't to be disappointed. A good strong breeze blew all day, and with the occasional sun, we were able to keep kites in the air all through Saturday, and even managed to get in a little bit of night flying.
Sunday was to be a different story. Having had a quite busy Saturday, I wanted to try and get some KAP done on Sunday. When I got to the site at abot 11am, things didn't look good. But I decided to try the dopero and see what happened. Well it took over an hour of hard graft to get the kite airborne and stable enough to trust the camera to. I managed to get some half decent photographs, but it was a constant battle to keep the camera aloft. We were also surrounded by mist. Whilst we were flying on top of the hill, down in the valley and overlooking the reservoir, everything was just a little dim.
Just after I brought the camera rig down the wind dropped completely, and it wasn't long before the kite was lying on the ground. It looked as if that was going to be it for the day. But at about 3pm, or maybe a bit later, a breeze picked up, So I deceded to try a premier 80inch rokkaku. The kite picked up and flew very nicely, and it wasn't long before I was willing to entrust the camera to it. I wanted to get out over the boat park, and if possible try to get high enough to get some decent shots down towards teh dam. This time, everything was going just right. So feeding out line, the camera was climbing steadily, and every so often I'd stop and take some more pictures. This is possibly one of my favourites, looking down the reservoir into the sun, which gives it a nice moody feel.
I think there is about 1,000 feet of line on my reel. We had permission to fly up to 1,000 feet from the CAA, and so I decided to make reasonable use of the sky. I think I eventually had out about 900 feet of line, and the camera was about 200 feet below the kite. Given the angle of the line, I would guess that at its highest, the camera was somewhere between five and six hundred feet above ground, and was working perfectly. Its at times like this you discover things you never knew from the ground. Out behind the boat park, there nestles a house and nursery.
And this is my favourite of the reservoir and dam, from when the kite was probably at its highest.
Finally thanks to Ray who volunteered to wind in line while I walked down the kite from its highest point. He's the guy in the leathers in this photo.
Sunday was to be a different story. Having had a quite busy Saturday, I wanted to try and get some KAP done on Sunday. When I got to the site at abot 11am, things didn't look good. But I decided to try the dopero and see what happened. Well it took over an hour of hard graft to get the kite airborne and stable enough to trust the camera to. I managed to get some half decent photographs, but it was a constant battle to keep the camera aloft. We were also surrounded by mist. Whilst we were flying on top of the hill, down in the valley and overlooking the reservoir, everything was just a little dim.
Just after I brought the camera rig down the wind dropped completely, and it wasn't long before the kite was lying on the ground. It looked as if that was going to be it for the day. But at about 3pm, or maybe a bit later, a breeze picked up, So I deceded to try a premier 80inch rokkaku. The kite picked up and flew very nicely, and it wasn't long before I was willing to entrust the camera to it. I wanted to get out over the boat park, and if possible try to get high enough to get some decent shots down towards teh dam. This time, everything was going just right. So feeding out line, the camera was climbing steadily, and every so often I'd stop and take some more pictures. This is possibly one of my favourites, looking down the reservoir into the sun, which gives it a nice moody feel.
I think there is about 1,000 feet of line on my reel. We had permission to fly up to 1,000 feet from the CAA, and so I decided to make reasonable use of the sky. I think I eventually had out about 900 feet of line, and the camera was about 200 feet below the kite. Given the angle of the line, I would guess that at its highest, the camera was somewhere between five and six hundred feet above ground, and was working perfectly. Its at times like this you discover things you never knew from the ground. Out behind the boat park, there nestles a house and nursery.
And this is my favourite of the reservoir and dam, from when the kite was probably at its highest.
Finally thanks to Ray who volunteered to wind in line while I walked down the kite from its highest point. He's the guy in the leathers in this photo.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Maiden KAP flight for Dopero
My Jones Airfoils maxi dopero pro arrived in January, but has had relatively few outings so far. In fact, it had to wait until Berck Festival in April before it took to the sky. Whilst it has had a couple of other flights, today was to be its first outing with a KAP rig.
Conditions couldn't have been better for it really. We had planned to fly at Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells and Gerty had given directions to park in Bayhall Road. When I got there, Bill and Gert were already there, and there was the gentlest of breezes. So it seemed an obvious choice to give the dopero an outing. At the time, I wasn't sure that I would get any KAP done, as I didn't think there was enough wind. But the dopero launched easily and climbed steadily into the sky, and there was sufficient pull on the line to make me determined to get some KAP.
After last weeks problems, I had spent some time during the week playing with camera settings and getting some test shots. I hoped I had got the camera configured in a way that would give me some decent output.
So with the rig fixed about 100 feet below the kite, I let out line until the rig was about 50 feet off the ground, and wandered off to see what we could see. I was determined to get some photos of the lake, but I had no idea what else was around (I haven't been to Dunorlan Park before).After getting some low level shots, I decided to allow some more lineout to see if we could get some more shots from on high, and to see how the kite reacted. The kite was absolutely brilliant. It did tend to clmb overhead, and a couple of times when the wind dropped away to nothing, the kite was floating on thermals whiile the camera stayed suspended, gently coming down, then a sight breeze would add tension to the line, the camera would start to climb and then so would the kite.
A very successful afternoon KAP. I will go to Dunorlan Park again, but next time I go, I will try to get into the carpark on Hall Hollow Road. The event field is great for general kite flying, but the field on the other side of the hedge near the lake seems to have plenty of space between the trees, is accessible from the carpark, and offers a far greater range of photographic subjects. As usual, the photos are on my flickr stream, but below is a sample:
Conditions couldn't have been better for it really. We had planned to fly at Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells and Gerty had given directions to park in Bayhall Road. When I got there, Bill and Gert were already there, and there was the gentlest of breezes. So it seemed an obvious choice to give the dopero an outing. At the time, I wasn't sure that I would get any KAP done, as I didn't think there was enough wind. But the dopero launched easily and climbed steadily into the sky, and there was sufficient pull on the line to make me determined to get some KAP.
After last weeks problems, I had spent some time during the week playing with camera settings and getting some test shots. I hoped I had got the camera configured in a way that would give me some decent output.
So with the rig fixed about 100 feet below the kite, I let out line until the rig was about 50 feet off the ground, and wandered off to see what we could see. I was determined to get some photos of the lake, but I had no idea what else was around (I haven't been to Dunorlan Park before).After getting some low level shots, I decided to allow some more lineout to see if we could get some more shots from on high, and to see how the kite reacted. The kite was absolutely brilliant. It did tend to clmb overhead, and a couple of times when the wind dropped away to nothing, the kite was floating on thermals whiile the camera stayed suspended, gently coming down, then a sight breeze would add tension to the line, the camera would start to climb and then so would the kite.
A very successful afternoon KAP. I will go to Dunorlan Park again, but next time I go, I will try to get into the carpark on Hall Hollow Road. The event field is great for general kite flying, but the field on the other side of the hedge near the lake seems to have plenty of space between the trees, is accessible from the carpark, and offers a far greater range of photographic subjects. As usual, the photos are on my flickr stream, but below is a sample:
Monday, September 24, 2007
Margate photos
Well I've managed to get most of the photos from Margate sorted and adjusted so we can at least see them. As usual, they are on my flickr photostream. But here is a sample. Ladies, and those of a nervous disposition should look away now!
Margate big sky - day 2
Another fabulous day at Margate, this time much more windy though. In fact too much wind for much of the day. When I left home Maidstone was shrouded in fog and there was absolutely no wind. It didn't look very promising. By Faversham, the fog had gone, but it was still very cloudy, but Margate was in sunshine.
Gerty Nagged me to launch either the (new) leek, or the owl. In the end, we went for both. The leek is most impressive! Before long, the wind was at its playful best, resulting in most of the lifters coming to the ground. The owl was allowed to fly on its own for a while, and the leek was left out all day as a ground bouncer, and still worked fine.
To more mundane subject and KAP. I'd repaired the rig and was ready to go. In the conditions, I decided to take pity on Matt and come down to a 56 inch Rok. The conditions were very playful, which meant we did not get very stable flight, but we toured the main arena clicking away. However, when we recovered kite and camera, I was disappointed to find most shots were over exposed. I'm using a custm setting of shutter priority with Canon "safeshot". I have the speed set at 1/2000 and the idea is that safeshot should adjust the speed to the highest it can get away with in the conditions. Looking at the exif data for some of the photographs, it seems as if it is taking all pictures at 1/250 and f4. This is most annoying, but I will have to experiment with the settings to see if I can find out exactly what is going on. I may be able to recover some of the pictures once I have processed them. I've been experimenting with RAW image data. The file sizes are mighty big, which take a long time to write to the card. This means I can't get as many shots per outing as with jpeg files. I will have to lok at tweaking the file size. I've also got a fairly steep learning curve in understanding how to process the raw files to get the best out of them, but hey, its all good fun? Meanwhile, I'm seriously of going back to the digital Elph 400!
So hopefully, I'll get a couple of decent images out of the trip, which will end up on Flickr.
Gerty Nagged me to launch either the (new) leek, or the owl. In the end, we went for both. The leek is most impressive! Before long, the wind was at its playful best, resulting in most of the lifters coming to the ground. The owl was allowed to fly on its own for a while, and the leek was left out all day as a ground bouncer, and still worked fine.
To more mundane subject and KAP. I'd repaired the rig and was ready to go. In the conditions, I decided to take pity on Matt and come down to a 56 inch Rok. The conditions were very playful, which meant we did not get very stable flight, but we toured the main arena clicking away. However, when we recovered kite and camera, I was disappointed to find most shots were over exposed. I'm using a custm setting of shutter priority with Canon "safeshot". I have the speed set at 1/2000 and the idea is that safeshot should adjust the speed to the highest it can get away with in the conditions. Looking at the exif data for some of the photographs, it seems as if it is taking all pictures at 1/250 and f4. This is most annoying, but I will have to experiment with the settings to see if I can find out exactly what is going on. I may be able to recover some of the pictures once I have processed them. I've been experimenting with RAW image data. The file sizes are mighty big, which take a long time to write to the card. This means I can't get as many shots per outing as with jpeg files. I will have to lok at tweaking the file size. I've also got a fairly steep learning curve in understanding how to process the raw files to get the best out of them, but hey, its all good fun? Meanwhile, I'm seriously of going back to the digital Elph 400!
So hopefully, I'll get a couple of decent images out of the trip, which will end up on Flickr.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Margate Big Sky part 1
Saturday arrived and time for the new kite festival in Margate, so pootled off to arrive there at about 9:30, after all the work had been done, but before the events started.
Met up with some old friends again, and made some new ones into the bargain. A fairly windless morning meant that most kites were lying on the ground, and the display teams were having to work overtime. After lunch the breeze picked up a little, so I decide to have a go at some KAP. Everything tested so I entrusted the rig to my favourite rok and set off to get some photos, with Matt piloting the kite.
Spent a good while moving round the site and hoping for some good shots, and eventually recovered the camera. Took a look at the results, and only three images saved. Only 2 of them were anything approaching usable. So what's wrong here. Some diagnostic tests show that there is a problem with the IR. I can't fix it on the field, and don't know whether it is the LED or the sensor. All I know is that the receiver is getting the signal fine. Looks like a busy night.
So as the wind dropped as the tide changed again, I headed for home and went straight out into the workshop to try to find out what the problem is. Fortunately I've got a 360 LED that I can use to test the camera. This shows that the camera is fuctioning fine, so it must be the standard LED that is the cause of the problem. Again fortunately, I've still got the finger servo fitted to the rig from the days of using my other camera. Unfortunately the shutter button on this camera is in a competely different position, so time to go to work. An hour later, the rig is back together, having drilled out the rivets, moved the servo, added some extra spacers, fixed everything back together. Time for a test, yep working fine. So provided we get some decent weather tomorrow, we can go out and try again.
Met up with some old friends again, and made some new ones into the bargain. A fairly windless morning meant that most kites were lying on the ground, and the display teams were having to work overtime. After lunch the breeze picked up a little, so I decide to have a go at some KAP. Everything tested so I entrusted the rig to my favourite rok and set off to get some photos, with Matt piloting the kite.
Spent a good while moving round the site and hoping for some good shots, and eventually recovered the camera. Took a look at the results, and only three images saved. Only 2 of them were anything approaching usable. So what's wrong here. Some diagnostic tests show that there is a problem with the IR. I can't fix it on the field, and don't know whether it is the LED or the sensor. All I know is that the receiver is getting the signal fine. Looks like a busy night.
So as the wind dropped as the tide changed again, I headed for home and went straight out into the workshop to try to find out what the problem is. Fortunately I've got a 360 LED that I can use to test the camera. This shows that the camera is fuctioning fine, so it must be the standard LED that is the cause of the problem. Again fortunately, I've still got the finger servo fitted to the rig from the days of using my other camera. Unfortunately the shutter button on this camera is in a competely different position, so time to go to work. An hour later, the rig is back together, having drilled out the rivets, moved the servo, added some extra spacers, fixed everything back together. Time for a test, yep working fine. So provided we get some decent weather tomorrow, we can go out and try again.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Long period of absence
Well I've not been flying kites much this year, so I've had precious few opportunities to KAP. There are many reasons for this:
I'm now vice captain of my archery club, so spend a lot of time at compteitions
The weather in the UK has been generally awful, limiting opportunities on my flying days
Lack of decent subject matter to inspire me.
Still this last weekend I went out determined to KAP, only to be disappointed.
On Saturday, I attended a "Japanese Festival" in Gillingham. This sounded like it would be a good opportunity to KAP. Unfortunately the weather was definitely not on our side. I think we had sufficient wind to fly kites for about half an hour. Other than that I spent all day struggling to keep a roller airborne, by working the line all the time. Glorious sunny day though and made some new friends. Even if I had been able to get airborne, there wouldn't have been much to KAP as all of the sideshows were under the trees, so I wouldn't have been able to get close enough to get any decent shots.
Surely Sunday would be better. I was attending tghe Wick Country Park kite event at Wickford in Essex. When I got out at about 8am to move my car, there was a reasonable breeze, and this looked promising. But when I got to the Wick at about midday, the wind had picked up considerably, and was very gusty, turbulent and basically horrible. I decided straight away that there was no way I was going to entrust my rig to a kite line, and made do with some ground based shots of the kite, which are on my Flickr pages. Maybe next year.
Next weekend is the first Margate Big Sky kite event. I'm hoping for better conditions, so I can get some aerials from there.
I'm now vice captain of my archery club, so spend a lot of time at compteitions
The weather in the UK has been generally awful, limiting opportunities on my flying days
Lack of decent subject matter to inspire me.
Still this last weekend I went out determined to KAP, only to be disappointed.
On Saturday, I attended a "Japanese Festival" in Gillingham. This sounded like it would be a good opportunity to KAP. Unfortunately the weather was definitely not on our side. I think we had sufficient wind to fly kites for about half an hour. Other than that I spent all day struggling to keep a roller airborne, by working the line all the time. Glorious sunny day though and made some new friends. Even if I had been able to get airborne, there wouldn't have been much to KAP as all of the sideshows were under the trees, so I wouldn't have been able to get close enough to get any decent shots.
Surely Sunday would be better. I was attending tghe Wick Country Park kite event at Wickford in Essex. When I got out at about 8am to move my car, there was a reasonable breeze, and this looked promising. But when I got to the Wick at about midday, the wind had picked up considerably, and was very gusty, turbulent and basically horrible. I decided straight away that there was no way I was going to entrust my rig to a kite line, and made do with some ground based shots of the kite, which are on my Flickr pages. Maybe next year.
Next weekend is the first Margate Big Sky kite event. I'm hoping for better conditions, so I can get some aerials from there.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Sunday 24th
Well my batteries are charged and I'm ready to go, the only problem is - its raining. Doesn't look very promising at the moment, but you never know, we may be able to get out later. Here's hoping as I haven't been out flying, let alone kaping for a couple of weeks now.
Monday, June 11, 2007
What a plonker
Well I checked all the gear the night before, before carefully packing it away. Loaded the car and left home at half past six to get to Matt's house for seven to pick up Matt and Bill before heading off to get the 8:40 ferry. Some light drizzle in the air, but I hope it isn't going to develop.
Queued at Dover for a while before boarding, and into the restaurant for breakfast. Another long queue, but breakfast was worth the wait. P & O should give cetring lessons to Little Chef!
Arrived in Calais, and seemed to take a while getting off the ferry. THis was probably due to the fact that a coach had broken down right at the gangway on our side, so we all had to reverse out and go down th eother side. Then just as I got to the gangway, they were towing the coach, so we had to wait again. So by the time we arrived at Hardelot, it was getting on for lunchtime. Ho hum, how we suffer. Strolled thorugh the town for a while then had a very pleasant lunch. Then headed back to the beach to get in some flying.
Right, lets get some kap in. Good steady wind, just right for the large rokkaku. So launch the kite and tie it off temporarily while I get camera set up and loaded in the rig, suspend the rig from the line and let some line out to keep i airborne. Line is tight, kite is nailed to the sky, sun is shining, everything is righ with the world. Turn to the transmitter. OH NO. The power switch looks like it is half way between on and off. Turn it to fully on. Nothing! Dead as the proverbial dodo! A few nice english expletives follow, which I hope were lost on the local people. I haven't got my autokap rig with me, so I'm completely stuffed, and I spent ages debating whether to bring it! Really annoyed now as I had found something of interest to kap! Hopefully the other KAPers (I saw two rigs flying) did better than I did.
So pack everything away again and just fly for the afternoon. Like I say, fabulous afternoon, so managed to fly a couple of kites and hung some spikey balls off the line. Someone came and took some photos. Then as the afternoon drew on, decided to have a two line session. Out with the Trident lite on long lightweight lines. Really getting into it, getting lots of lewises, and yo-yos and wrapped up fades and things then just pulling an axel and twang - line break. So spent the rest of the day flying on short (20ft) lines. Not nearly as much fun, but could still get some action out of the kite.
Time to head off. Its been a nice long relaxing day. No rush, and no worries. We've got plenty of time before the ferry, but not enough time to eat, so we take a gentle drive through the country up to Boulogne, then take the motorway back to Calais. Arriving at Calais about 45 minutes before the ferry, get through check-n and are early in the queue for boarding. Just settle down for a snooze when they call us forward for boarding. Unheard of! We're on the ferry and in the restaurant. Poor Matt, no vegetarian options, so he goes off in search of something he can eat, while Bill and I tuck in to some nosh. We've finished before the ferry is due to leave harbour. Totally uneventful crossing as the sea is flat calm
Great day out despite the kap disaster. If you want a relaxing kite festival somehting like Teston with wind, then I strongly recommend Hardelot. If you've never been there, the houses as you drive down into the town are magnificent, it really is a pleasant little town.
Queued at Dover for a while before boarding, and into the restaurant for breakfast. Another long queue, but breakfast was worth the wait. P & O should give cetring lessons to Little Chef!
Arrived in Calais, and seemed to take a while getting off the ferry. THis was probably due to the fact that a coach had broken down right at the gangway on our side, so we all had to reverse out and go down th eother side. Then just as I got to the gangway, they were towing the coach, so we had to wait again. So by the time we arrived at Hardelot, it was getting on for lunchtime. Ho hum, how we suffer. Strolled thorugh the town for a while then had a very pleasant lunch. Then headed back to the beach to get in some flying.
Right, lets get some kap in. Good steady wind, just right for the large rokkaku. So launch the kite and tie it off temporarily while I get camera set up and loaded in the rig, suspend the rig from the line and let some line out to keep i airborne. Line is tight, kite is nailed to the sky, sun is shining, everything is righ with the world. Turn to the transmitter. OH NO. The power switch looks like it is half way between on and off. Turn it to fully on. Nothing! Dead as the proverbial dodo! A few nice english expletives follow, which I hope were lost on the local people. I haven't got my autokap rig with me, so I'm completely stuffed, and I spent ages debating whether to bring it! Really annoyed now as I had found something of interest to kap! Hopefully the other KAPers (I saw two rigs flying) did better than I did.
So pack everything away again and just fly for the afternoon. Like I say, fabulous afternoon, so managed to fly a couple of kites and hung some spikey balls off the line. Someone came and took some photos. Then as the afternoon drew on, decided to have a two line session. Out with the Trident lite on long lightweight lines. Really getting into it, getting lots of lewises, and yo-yos and wrapped up fades and things then just pulling an axel and twang - line break. So spent the rest of the day flying on short (20ft) lines. Not nearly as much fun, but could still get some action out of the kite.
Time to head off. Its been a nice long relaxing day. No rush, and no worries. We've got plenty of time before the ferry, but not enough time to eat, so we take a gentle drive through the country up to Boulogne, then take the motorway back to Calais. Arriving at Calais about 45 minutes before the ferry, get through check-n and are early in the queue for boarding. Just settle down for a snooze when they call us forward for boarding. Unheard of! We're on the ferry and in the restaurant. Poor Matt, no vegetarian options, so he goes off in search of something he can eat, while Bill and I tuck in to some nosh. We've finished before the ferry is due to leave harbour. Totally uneventful crossing as the sea is flat calm
Great day out despite the kap disaster. If you want a relaxing kite festival somehting like Teston with wind, then I strongly recommend Hardelot. If you've never been there, the houses as you drive down into the town are magnificent, it really is a pleasant little town.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Off to Hardelot tomorrow
I've not been out flying for a couple of weeks now, and am beginning to get withdrawal symptoms. But tomorrow is Hardelot Plage kite festival and me, Matt and Bill are planning a long day trip on the sands there. The weather forecast isn't wonderful, and from memory there isn't anything particularly photogenic there, but I'm hoping to at least get airborne again nd click off a couple of shots. You know where to find them if I succeed.
TV producer wants help
I had a conversation with a researcher from a television company the other day. They are planning a program on photography and wanted to involve a KAPer in Kent. This sounded interesting, but unfortunately due to time constraints, I wasn't able to help out on this occasion. Maybe next time
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Rougham day 2
Well they were right, the wind dropped!
In fact it fell away to nothing. By the time Bill and I arrived there was hardly a kite in the sky. I think I saw the Scratch Bunnies doing a display, but I think they were moving faster than the kites.
DEfinitely a day for the really light wind kites, so much so that I watched as people struggled int he arena to get a dopero airborne. So I decided to go with a roller (the one with the sunburst pattern), which flew nicely, and at one point, I thought we were going to invent a new sport of roller fighting with a couple of guys. bring it on.
Bill had a bit of disappointement. The new box he had bought from skybums broke as he was assembling it. Boy did the air turn blue. And as no-one had a spare 2m length of 15mm hardwood dowel, he was scuppered for the day. So he tried with a rhombox, but didn't have much luck getting that airbonre either.
Paul tried and failed to fly his new huge mega delta. So the day was spent wandering round, chatting, watching people stuggle and invariably fail to fly. Good journey both ways though. Did the trip in about an hour and a half from home. Hope to meet up with people again soon.
In fact it fell away to nothing. By the time Bill and I arrived there was hardly a kite in the sky. I think I saw the Scratch Bunnies doing a display, but I think they were moving faster than the kites.
DEfinitely a day for the really light wind kites, so much so that I watched as people struggled int he arena to get a dopero airborne. So I decided to go with a roller (the one with the sunburst pattern), which flew nicely, and at one point, I thought we were going to invent a new sport of roller fighting with a couple of guys. bring it on.
Bill had a bit of disappointement. The new box he had bought from skybums broke as he was assembling it. Boy did the air turn blue. And as no-one had a spare 2m length of 15mm hardwood dowel, he was scuppered for the day. So he tried with a rhombox, but didn't have much luck getting that airbonre either.
Paul tried and failed to fly his new huge mega delta. So the day was spent wandering round, chatting, watching people stuggle and invariably fail to fly. Good journey both ways though. Did the trip in about an hour and a half from home. Hope to meet up with people again soon.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Rougham day 1
And the wind she did blow.
We got there about midday, and were a little unhappy at the £6 each admission!. But swallowing our pride we carried on and spent a day at Rougham wandering round traders stands and watching people struggling with the wind. Paul Brooks had his new large spikey ball in the air, but the wind was far to strong for his new delta. We're told the wind will drop tomorrow so he hopes to put in a maiden flight.
Late afternoon and we decided to fly. I tried the 56 rokakku to lift my camera, but it really wasn't much cop. It wasn't very stable and didn't really generate enough lift. I did get some photos from the public flying area across the campsite and over the arenas. And this picture includes the control tower in the background.
Tomorrow hopefully the wind will drop a bit and we can try again perhaps with a more stable kite. Meanwhile enjoy the pics, you know where they are by now.
We got there about midday, and were a little unhappy at the £6 each admission!. But swallowing our pride we carried on and spent a day at Rougham wandering round traders stands and watching people struggling with the wind. Paul Brooks had his new large spikey ball in the air, but the wind was far to strong for his new delta. We're told the wind will drop tomorrow so he hopes to put in a maiden flight.
Late afternoon and we decided to fly. I tried the 56 rokakku to lift my camera, but it really wasn't much cop. It wasn't very stable and didn't really generate enough lift. I did get some photos from the public flying area across the campsite and over the arenas. And this picture includes the control tower in the background.
Tomorrow hopefully the wind will drop a bit and we can try again perhaps with a more stable kite. Meanwhile enjoy the pics, you know where they are by now.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
St Mildred's on a Sunday
Today children we went to St. mildred's Bay near Margate, where it was cloudy and very windy. Given the conditions one had to be mad to fly a kite. But we are, so we did!
As usual arrived before Bill and when he arrived we headed off to Pav's for lunch. When we came back there were a few of the crew gathered. Heather had arrived with the Mind mental health charity kites that tehy wanted us to fly. Well we fiddled with a few and got some to fly reasonably reliably. Heather managed to get some photos for the Mind event next week.
With that over and done with, it was back to the more normal tasks of flying kites with assorted line junk. Problem was, finding any kite that was stable in the very tricky wind conditions. Deltas, delta conynes, box kites of assorted design all seemed to be darting across the sky. I really wanted to try some KAp, one to get some photos from above the sunken garden, and two to get out over the cliffs and look down on the bay below. The wind was in a favourable direction, but was I goning to be able to find a kite stable enough?
I decided to try the small 1.5 metre premiere rokkaku, heavily bowed, I managed to get it fling at a good angle and just about stable, so set about setting up my rig. I got the rig on the line, but then the kite was visciously dragged out of the sky by a delta. So with everything relaunched, I decided to try and find a gap through the kites and junk, only to get crossed by another delta, carrying pigs, frogs, etc. with it. This tangle was a bit more serious, and we had to come down to resolve it. It was during this interval on the ground, that I got a stunning photo of a ball of string!
Anyway, I found enough space to relaunch, but conditions were such that there was very little lift, and the camera was floating horizontally as I fed line. Occasionally the kite lifted, and more often than not, it sunk towards the ground. I did manage to get a couple of shots of the sunken garden.
You can take a look on my flickr page. Then I tried to walk kite and camera out over the cliffs. Well I got the kite out there, but only managed to get the camera as far as the cliff top path. The wind was extermely fickle and I was loosing all lift, so decided to call it a day. I didn't really want to dump the whole lot in the bay below. ANother time in better conditions, I'll have another go.
As usual arrived before Bill and when he arrived we headed off to Pav's for lunch. When we came back there were a few of the crew gathered. Heather had arrived with the Mind mental health charity kites that tehy wanted us to fly. Well we fiddled with a few and got some to fly reasonably reliably. Heather managed to get some photos for the Mind event next week.
With that over and done with, it was back to the more normal tasks of flying kites with assorted line junk. Problem was, finding any kite that was stable in the very tricky wind conditions. Deltas, delta conynes, box kites of assorted design all seemed to be darting across the sky. I really wanted to try some KAp, one to get some photos from above the sunken garden, and two to get out over the cliffs and look down on the bay below. The wind was in a favourable direction, but was I goning to be able to find a kite stable enough?
I decided to try the small 1.5 metre premiere rokkaku, heavily bowed, I managed to get it fling at a good angle and just about stable, so set about setting up my rig. I got the rig on the line, but then the kite was visciously dragged out of the sky by a delta. So with everything relaunched, I decided to try and find a gap through the kites and junk, only to get crossed by another delta, carrying pigs, frogs, etc. with it. This tangle was a bit more serious, and we had to come down to resolve it. It was during this interval on the ground, that I got a stunning photo of a ball of string!
Anyway, I found enough space to relaunch, but conditions were such that there was very little lift, and the camera was floating horizontally as I fed line. Occasionally the kite lifted, and more often than not, it sunk towards the ground. I did manage to get a couple of shots of the sunken garden.
You can take a look on my flickr page. Then I tried to walk kite and camera out over the cliffs. Well I got the kite out there, but only managed to get the camera as far as the cliff top path. The wind was extermely fickle and I was loosing all lift, so decided to call it a day. I didn't really want to dump the whole lot in the bay below. ANother time in better conditions, I'll have another go.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Teston again
Another day at Teston bridge picnic site, but this time conditions were pretty good. The wind was its usual self all afternoon, coming and going , but it was blowing along the valley, which meant it was much more consistent than usual. So I decided to try and KAP the bridge and lock, and put up the flowform 30 to start. I had single fluffy tail on, but it proved too much for the kite as the wind was low, so the tail came off which allowed the kite to attain a much better flying angle.
Now I tried to position myself as close to the bridge as possible. First time out, the wind droped and I had to retreat to safety away from the trees. Meanwhile I also needed to discover why the rig was jittering and the camera continually firing. The second was easy, the trimmer for the shutter release had moved. The first was because the tx aerial wasn't fully extended.
So with those problems solved, back to my position of comfort by the bridge and hope to get a couple of decent shots. Well I got what I think is a nice one of the bridge
and a nice one looking up river towards the lock.
The latter one needed a little bit of fiddling in photoshop to compensate for teh bright sky.
Now another problem, I'd lost pan control. everything else was working fine. So bring the kite down to see that at some point, the support for the pan servo had bent slightly and was now just failing to engage the pan gear. This was easily fixed, but being a lazy sort, and having got the two keeper photos that I wanted, I called it a day for KAP and spent a pleasant afternoon just flying kites.
Now I tried to position myself as close to the bridge as possible. First time out, the wind droped and I had to retreat to safety away from the trees. Meanwhile I also needed to discover why the rig was jittering and the camera continually firing. The second was easy, the trimmer for the shutter release had moved. The first was because the tx aerial wasn't fully extended.
So with those problems solved, back to my position of comfort by the bridge and hope to get a couple of decent shots. Well I got what I think is a nice one of the bridge
and a nice one looking up river towards the lock.
The latter one needed a little bit of fiddling in photoshop to compensate for teh bright sky.
Now another problem, I'd lost pan control. everything else was working fine. So bring the kite down to see that at some point, the support for the pan servo had bent slightly and was now just failing to engage the pan gear. This was easily fixed, but being a lazy sort, and having got the two keeper photos that I wanted, I called it a day for KAP and spent a pleasant afternoon just flying kites.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Berck 2007
Despite all adversity, the three stooges finally managed to turn up at Berck on Easter weekend. Initially we had problems finding a hotel. In fact the closest that was willing to let out three single rooms was in Boulogne. aware of our plight, Heather came to the rescue and suggested we contacted her neighbour who had a holiday cottage somewhere near Le Touquet. The deal was struck and we headed off on Good Friday. We had booked a sailing at about 1pm, but Dover ferry terminal was remarkably quiet considering. Eventually we found our way into Calais, and headed for Cite Europe to get supplies for the evening (beer, wine, cheese and bread). With the car now fully loaded, we headed off to find Hubersent.
Hubersent is a tiny little village, a little south of Samer, just off the N1. There is nothing there! Well there is a church,
which is closed and seems to have been replaced by a modern village hall. A monument to our lady of Boulogne
which is closed up, a cross in the village "centre"
and some houses and farm buildings, and that is it. No shops, but we had been warned.
The cottage was a pretty, rustic old farm cottage I guess.
And having got there, our problems began. Nothing to do with the cottage you understand, it was the idiot holding the key. It didn't seem to fit any of the locks! About to phone for assistance, when Bill noticed that there was another lock on the front door. Sure enough the key fitted this one. At last we gained entry, and the most striking feature was the fireplace that dominates the loungs.
But boy were we glad of this in the evening as we struggled to figure out how to get the heating and hot water to work. But eventually all problems were solved and we settled down to enjoy our stay. Whilst the cottage is very old, it has all mod cons inside - dishwasher, microwave, oven, hob, etc.
Saturday comes, and we felt we should put in an appearance at Berck, so we headed off down the N1, which takes you straight there. Unfortunately, the traffic jam getting into the town started just where the N1 crosses the A16. Fortunately it only continued to the cross roads at Rang du Fliers, but it still took us best part of an hour to get there, having taken about 15 minutes from the cottage to the back of the jam!
But we got there, parked and headed off to the beach. There was quite a stiff breeze and we wandered along and around looking at the various displays and kites. The wind garden was just below the carousel this year, and in addition to the traditional wind toys, there was a magnificent maze. Fellow Kaper Gerhard got some nice photos of it, which you can see here http://www.drachenwelt.at/kap/2007/2_berck/pages/berckgd039.htm.
Nothing much new in the sky though, but on the ground were two magnificent windmills, one stamping out metal discs
and the other was a clock (not the most accurate timepiece being wind powered).
In one of the display tents there were some fabulous Edos and a magnicent chines dragon.
During the afternoon it turned cloudy and chilly so we headed off to the supermarket to pick up supplies for the evening, for chef Bill to make the most of. As we returned to Hubersent, it was clear that the fine weather was to the north, and the cloudy weather down south.
Sunday came, and we took the coast road down through Etaples to get to Berck this time. We arrived much earlier, but it was already difficult to park. Glorious sunshine all day long. There should be a warning around some of the arenas, as this bloke obviously fell over the barrier!
After renewing acquaintances at the beach cafe, it was time to go and fly. I had taken my new maxi dopero with me, so I went to the beach whilst the others went back to the car to get kites. It was a bit of a struggle getting the kite put together to start with, as it was first time out, but before long, it was flying, and attracted the attention of other kapers. Funny how a dopero can act as a honeypot to kapers. Wicherd wandered by at the bottom of his maxi; Wolfgang came to get a photgraph or three, and Peter (van Erkel) came over for a chat. This just goes to reinforce the great community spirit between kapers.
Having given the maxi its maiden voyage, we chatted for a while and then met up with other KKF members who had made the day trip. Finally we decided to grab an evening meal in Berck, as there was no way of getting out of the town! I have seen Berck crowded before, but I don't think I have ever seen crowds like this. It was almost impossible to move on the beach!
Having eaten, we headed back to the beach for an hours flying before making the coastal journey back to the cottage.
Monday came and time to think about returning home. So after breakfast, we cleaned up and eventually set off. The plan was to stop off in Boulogne for a fly, but it was impossible to find anywhere to park, at about noon. So we headed off along the coastal road to Calais, to see if we could get any better luck. Not really! It was only when we got to a cpot between Bleriot Plage and Calais Plage that we found a large empty carpark and decided to stop and try our luck. A good breeze was blowing along the beach, so I decided to try out the Trident, Bill went for the Outerspace and Matt the 10m Peel! Refreshed, we decided coffee and frites were required before heading off to the ferry. Big mistake. It took about 20 minutes from taking the order to things arriving, and as Matt said, it takes some doing to find the only French food establishment to make an English greasy spoon look positively Egon Ronay! Never mind! we cut through the town and got to the ferry port to join the queue with the Carl Robertshaw procession. And so to home to end one of the most enjoyable flying trips I've had in a long time.
Hubersent is a tiny little village, a little south of Samer, just off the N1. There is nothing there! Well there is a church,
which is closed and seems to have been replaced by a modern village hall. A monument to our lady of Boulogne
which is closed up, a cross in the village "centre"
and some houses and farm buildings, and that is it. No shops, but we had been warned.
The cottage was a pretty, rustic old farm cottage I guess.
And having got there, our problems began. Nothing to do with the cottage you understand, it was the idiot holding the key. It didn't seem to fit any of the locks! About to phone for assistance, when Bill noticed that there was another lock on the front door. Sure enough the key fitted this one. At last we gained entry, and the most striking feature was the fireplace that dominates the loungs.
But boy were we glad of this in the evening as we struggled to figure out how to get the heating and hot water to work. But eventually all problems were solved and we settled down to enjoy our stay. Whilst the cottage is very old, it has all mod cons inside - dishwasher, microwave, oven, hob, etc.
Saturday comes, and we felt we should put in an appearance at Berck, so we headed off down the N1, which takes you straight there. Unfortunately, the traffic jam getting into the town started just where the N1 crosses the A16. Fortunately it only continued to the cross roads at Rang du Fliers, but it still took us best part of an hour to get there, having taken about 15 minutes from the cottage to the back of the jam!
But we got there, parked and headed off to the beach. There was quite a stiff breeze and we wandered along and around looking at the various displays and kites. The wind garden was just below the carousel this year, and in addition to the traditional wind toys, there was a magnificent maze. Fellow Kaper Gerhard got some nice photos of it, which you can see here http://www.drachenwelt.at/kap/2007/2_berck/pages/berckgd039.htm.
Nothing much new in the sky though, but on the ground were two magnificent windmills, one stamping out metal discs
and the other was a clock (not the most accurate timepiece being wind powered).
In one of the display tents there were some fabulous Edos and a magnicent chines dragon.
During the afternoon it turned cloudy and chilly so we headed off to the supermarket to pick up supplies for the evening, for chef Bill to make the most of. As we returned to Hubersent, it was clear that the fine weather was to the north, and the cloudy weather down south.
Sunday came, and we took the coast road down through Etaples to get to Berck this time. We arrived much earlier, but it was already difficult to park. Glorious sunshine all day long. There should be a warning around some of the arenas, as this bloke obviously fell over the barrier!
After renewing acquaintances at the beach cafe, it was time to go and fly. I had taken my new maxi dopero with me, so I went to the beach whilst the others went back to the car to get kites. It was a bit of a struggle getting the kite put together to start with, as it was first time out, but before long, it was flying, and attracted the attention of other kapers. Funny how a dopero can act as a honeypot to kapers. Wicherd wandered by at the bottom of his maxi; Wolfgang came to get a photgraph or three, and Peter (van Erkel) came over for a chat. This just goes to reinforce the great community spirit between kapers.
Having given the maxi its maiden voyage, we chatted for a while and then met up with other KKF members who had made the day trip. Finally we decided to grab an evening meal in Berck, as there was no way of getting out of the town! I have seen Berck crowded before, but I don't think I have ever seen crowds like this. It was almost impossible to move on the beach!
Having eaten, we headed back to the beach for an hours flying before making the coastal journey back to the cottage.
Monday came and time to think about returning home. So after breakfast, we cleaned up and eventually set off. The plan was to stop off in Boulogne for a fly, but it was impossible to find anywhere to park, at about noon. So we headed off along the coastal road to Calais, to see if we could get any better luck. Not really! It was only when we got to a cpot between Bleriot Plage and Calais Plage that we found a large empty carpark and decided to stop and try our luck. A good breeze was blowing along the beach, so I decided to try out the Trident, Bill went for the Outerspace and Matt the 10m Peel! Refreshed, we decided coffee and frites were required before heading off to the ferry. Big mistake. It took about 20 minutes from taking the order to things arriving, and as Matt said, it takes some doing to find the only French food establishment to make an English greasy spoon look positively Egon Ronay! Never mind! we cut through the town and got to the ferry port to join the queue with the Carl Robertshaw procession. And so to home to end one of the most enjoyable flying trips I've had in a long time.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Canterbury 11th March
At Last! The weather was finally nice enought to get out and do some serious flying!
That being said, it was a bit blustery, in fact it was "quite" turbulent. But it was gloriously sunny, which led to a good turn out from KKF members for a club day. A few old faces came out and flew and it was really good to see them all.
So I thought I'd start the day with a Nashville Star - a Jilly Pelham creation. THis is an old kite and the fabric is faded and jaded, but it still flies nicely. But in the turbulent conditions, it was bouncing around the sky. I was just thinking I would bring it down when there was a creak, crack and that was that. The front spreader and one of the cell spreaders broke in two. Testament to the kite, it carried on flying, but it was no definitely a case of get it to the ground before any serious damage was done. So a repair is now necessary :-(
Next out I decided to fly a pair of deltas from G-Kites. A ghost and a shadow delta. Both are framed in glass fibre, so much more able to handle the conditions. THey bounced around the sky, but stayed aloft.
Later, I decided to try a home made Conyne. Again this was skipping all over the sky, but then these aren't reknowned for their stability. However, while I was sitting down having a drink, the kite stabilised and behaved nicely for about half an hour. Encouraged by this, I was determined to get out the camera rig. But by the time I'd got to the anchor point, the kite was once again bouncing all over the place.
But I wasn't to be beaten, and as the sun settled over the woods, the wind dropped a bit and I decided to try a premier rok. Not the focus this time, I was going with the tongue. It hasn't been out of the bag for some time so it was due a stint. Correctly trimmed, it flew straight up in the sky and stayed put, so this was the time to attache the camera. I desperately wanted to get some close up photos of the BT tower, but with the wind still bucking the camera and kite, I decided not to head too close to the tree line, and get some shots form the distance. Next time, when the winds are calmer, I'll get up closer
But all in all it was a good productive day. THis was the first successful use of the Canon S60, after a couple of false starts. The infra-red release worked well. I've currently got it set with flash on, but looking at the exif data, this seems to be causing the shutter speed to slow down. also, it changes the recharge time, which means that you can't fire off shots quickly. So I think I'll turn that feature off. I like having the flash as a positive indication of shutter release, but I don't like it if it impacts on the ability to capture images.
This was, I think, the first time the rig has been airborne since it got bent, and it performed fine, so big tick in the box there. There is always next time to capture the perfect image!
That being said, it was a bit blustery, in fact it was "quite" turbulent. But it was gloriously sunny, which led to a good turn out from KKF members for a club day. A few old faces came out and flew and it was really good to see them all.
So I thought I'd start the day with a Nashville Star - a Jilly Pelham creation. THis is an old kite and the fabric is faded and jaded, but it still flies nicely. But in the turbulent conditions, it was bouncing around the sky. I was just thinking I would bring it down when there was a creak, crack and that was that. The front spreader and one of the cell spreaders broke in two. Testament to the kite, it carried on flying, but it was no definitely a case of get it to the ground before any serious damage was done. So a repair is now necessary :-(
Next out I decided to fly a pair of deltas from G-Kites. A ghost and a shadow delta. Both are framed in glass fibre, so much more able to handle the conditions. THey bounced around the sky, but stayed aloft.
Later, I decided to try a home made Conyne. Again this was skipping all over the sky, but then these aren't reknowned for their stability. However, while I was sitting down having a drink, the kite stabilised and behaved nicely for about half an hour. Encouraged by this, I was determined to get out the camera rig. But by the time I'd got to the anchor point, the kite was once again bouncing all over the place.
But I wasn't to be beaten, and as the sun settled over the woods, the wind dropped a bit and I decided to try a premier rok. Not the focus this time, I was going with the tongue. It hasn't been out of the bag for some time so it was due a stint. Correctly trimmed, it flew straight up in the sky and stayed put, so this was the time to attache the camera. I desperately wanted to get some close up photos of the BT tower, but with the wind still bucking the camera and kite, I decided not to head too close to the tree line, and get some shots form the distance. Next time, when the winds are calmer, I'll get up closer
But all in all it was a good productive day. THis was the first successful use of the Canon S60, after a couple of false starts. The infra-red release worked well. I've currently got it set with flash on, but looking at the exif data, this seems to be causing the shutter speed to slow down. also, it changes the recharge time, which means that you can't fire off shots quickly. So I think I'll turn that feature off. I like having the flash as a positive indication of shutter release, but I don't like it if it impacts on the ability to capture images.
This was, I think, the first time the rig has been airborne since it got bent, and it performed fine, so big tick in the box there. There is always next time to capture the perfect image!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Palm Bay on the 18th
Well I didn't do any KAP, cos it was too cold. My tiny hands were frozen, but I wasn't to be put off flying having not been out for some time.
I arrived at about mid-day, along with Barry (Arfman) and Len (Ochiltree), and we soon had some kites int he air. It was cold, and there was a good, but gentle breeze. So I decided to forgo the pleasure of setting up the KAP gear, and play with sports kites. Out came the Trident and I had a good hour refamiliarizing myself with trick kite flying. It didn't take too long to get back into the groove.
Time for lunch when Bill arrived, so off we went to the cafe to see what was on offer. A good old fashioned plate of english cholesterol was the order of the day! full and warmed up again, we headed back along the cliffs to Palm Bay where the others were playing. The wind had all but disappeared, but I gave the Trident another outing.
Eventually, I was having trouble keeping the kite aloft, so decide to christen my Christmas present - Trident Light. Yes I got this on Christmas day, and it has only been out of the bag to check that everything was well. So now it was going to feel the (lack of) breeze. I like the Trident a lot, and I really didn't think that Mark could repeat his success, but he has, and I think I like the Light even more. It didn't take long before I was performing my full (but still somehwat limited) repertoire on this kite, and it just gave everything up so easily. A joy to fly!
Oh well, time to head off home and speculate on what might have been with the dopero!
I arrived at about mid-day, along with Barry (Arfman) and Len (Ochiltree), and we soon had some kites int he air. It was cold, and there was a good, but gentle breeze. So I decided to forgo the pleasure of setting up the KAP gear, and play with sports kites. Out came the Trident and I had a good hour refamiliarizing myself with trick kite flying. It didn't take too long to get back into the groove.
Time for lunch when Bill arrived, so off we went to the cafe to see what was on offer. A good old fashioned plate of english cholesterol was the order of the day! full and warmed up again, we headed back along the cliffs to Palm Bay where the others were playing. The wind had all but disappeared, but I gave the Trident another outing.
Eventually, I was having trouble keeping the kite aloft, so decide to christen my Christmas present - Trident Light. Yes I got this on Christmas day, and it has only been out of the bag to check that everything was well. So now it was going to feel the (lack of) breeze. I like the Trident a lot, and I really didn't think that Mark could repeat his success, but he has, and I think I like the Light even more. It didn't take long before I was performing my full (but still somehwat limited) repertoire on this kite, and it just gave everything up so easily. A joy to fly!
Oh well, time to head off home and speculate on what might have been with the dopero!
Monday, February 12, 2007
Damp underfoot at Canterbury
Well I went flying at Canterbury yesterday, but didn't manage to get any KAP done.
When I arrived at the site, there was a good strong breeze blowing, definitely not the conditions for trying out the new Dopero, so I resorted to my trusty rokakku. Having got the kite into the air, I decided to attach the camera rig and try to get some photos. I didn't realise quite how wet it was until I put my foot down and spalshed muddy water everywhere!
Anyway, I got the camera rig on the line and tested the shutter release - nothing. I'm now using a Canon S70 with infra red release and using a gentled. But nothing seemed to be happening. So while I fiddled with the camera, the kite came down, then went back up again, then went down, then up - you get the picture about the weather conditions!
So I decided to take the camera off and investigate the problem. For whatever reason, it had lost the setting for infra red release, and it took me about 20 minutes to find the correct setting. Its not in one of the menus, its in the functions screen. So feeling a bit fed up, I now had the camera working and sure enough, when I fired up the tx and pressed shutter release, I got a comforting click, whir and flash from the camera, yes it was getting pretty dark, and by the looks of things we were about to get a squall. So I decided to give up on photography and just go for the flying.
Well the squall hit, but wasn't as hard as the couple I had driven through on the way out, but enough to give the rok a good soaking, so it had to stay flying for a while to dry out. THen I tried out a Gomberg shadow delta that I bought last year but was still in its original bag. The kite flew nciely, but the leading edge sleeves were too tight for my liking and the glass fibre rods much too flexible, so it may all get changed for carbon at some point.
Enough of this, getting cold and dark so time to head home. At home, checked out the camera, and I think I've now got the IR setting saved. I hope so as having to set this every time I want to use the camera for KAP would be a major pain in the A***.
Likely to be off to Palm Bay in Margate next weekend, hoping for better KAP luck and some decent weather. See you all soon.
When I arrived at the site, there was a good strong breeze blowing, definitely not the conditions for trying out the new Dopero, so I resorted to my trusty rokakku. Having got the kite into the air, I decided to attach the camera rig and try to get some photos. I didn't realise quite how wet it was until I put my foot down and spalshed muddy water everywhere!
Anyway, I got the camera rig on the line and tested the shutter release - nothing. I'm now using a Canon S70 with infra red release and using a gentled. But nothing seemed to be happening. So while I fiddled with the camera, the kite came down, then went back up again, then went down, then up - you get the picture about the weather conditions!
So I decided to take the camera off and investigate the problem. For whatever reason, it had lost the setting for infra red release, and it took me about 20 minutes to find the correct setting. Its not in one of the menus, its in the functions screen. So feeling a bit fed up, I now had the camera working and sure enough, when I fired up the tx and pressed shutter release, I got a comforting click, whir and flash from the camera, yes it was getting pretty dark, and by the looks of things we were about to get a squall. So I decided to give up on photography and just go for the flying.
Well the squall hit, but wasn't as hard as the couple I had driven through on the way out, but enough to give the rok a good soaking, so it had to stay flying for a while to dry out. THen I tried out a Gomberg shadow delta that I bought last year but was still in its original bag. The kite flew nciely, but the leading edge sleeves were too tight for my liking and the glass fibre rods much too flexible, so it may all get changed for carbon at some point.
Enough of this, getting cold and dark so time to head home. At home, checked out the camera, and I think I've now got the IR setting saved. I hope so as having to set this every time I want to use the camera for KAP would be a major pain in the A***.
Likely to be off to Palm Bay in Margate next weekend, hoping for better KAP luck and some decent weather. See you all soon.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Camber was windy today
Went down to Camber today with a group from KKF. When I got there just before 1, they were already in the cafe. The tide was as high as I've seen it - lapping under the deck of the cafe at times, and the wind was blowing strong.
So I'd already decided today was not a day for KAP, but for flying. Had breakfast int he cafe, then ventured out as the tide receded. Paul put up his counter rotating box, and bill flew a pair of bugs, but apart from that, very little was int he sky. Then as the tide receded further out, so the wind abated a bit and I decided to try out an old kite.
Out came an old Pro Spectrum from Rare Air Kites of South Africa. This kite has got to be a good 10 years old. But on long lines it is slow and steady and flies like it is on rails. Had some great fun with it, then lent it to Andrew and Bill to play with for a while. The term "being connected" to the kite is certainly the case with this one as it pulls like a train!
As teh skies darkened it was time to head off home. Don't know where we'll be next week. It rather depends on what the weather holds I guess.
So I'd already decided today was not a day for KAP, but for flying. Had breakfast int he cafe, then ventured out as the tide receded. Paul put up his counter rotating box, and bill flew a pair of bugs, but apart from that, very little was int he sky. Then as the tide receded further out, so the wind abated a bit and I decided to try out an old kite.
Out came an old Pro Spectrum from Rare Air Kites of South Africa. This kite has got to be a good 10 years old. But on long lines it is slow and steady and flies like it is on rails. Had some great fun with it, then lent it to Andrew and Bill to play with for a while. The term "being connected" to the kite is certainly the case with this one as it pulls like a train!
As teh skies darkened it was time to head off home. Don't know where we'll be next week. It rather depends on what the weather holds I guess.
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