IMK

Another bad haircut day for me today

 
Had a fair sized benign tumor removed from the base of my skull / top of my neck yesterday under a local anesthetic. Bit of a strange and slightly unpleasant experience talking and joking with the doctors and the medical student while they cut and burnt it out from the back of my head while I was face down on the operating table. 
It was suppose to be a quick 30min cyst removal but when they went in they found out it was a bit of a bigger job than they thought so ended up taking about 1.5 hours and a bit more digging than expected. At least the medical student got a good lesson in how a simple job can change into a much bigger and complex one when you least expect it, along with a few pop quizzes along the way from the surgeons.
At least the bad headaches shold back off now and my helmet should be a bit more comfortable to wear once the wound heals up.
I guess the morale of the story is to get any suspicious lumps and bumps seen to sooner rather than later it might be a bigger issue than you or your doctor think.
Barber is going to freak out when I ask him to fix up this haircut though

My computer has been going flat chat this week churning through gigs of photos for my latest pet project.  The Time Lapse.  I've messed around with it in the past but the last couple of weeks I've got really stuck into it putting together a series of time lapse sequences on and around home.  Probably explains why I've been a little more quiet than usual on the forum too.  The time lapses that I've been taking usually consist of finding something 'photo worthy' with some movement involved and setting the camera on my telescope tripod (it's usually pretty windy and the normal camera tripod is not up to the job) and configuring the camera for 300 - 500 shots with intervals of 3 - 6 seconds during the day and 25 seconds at night.  Once I've got my shots they're imported into Adobe Lightroom where I can make adjustments to one photo and sync all the adjustments to the others, then export them back to a folder - the export of several hundred photos can take the software close to an hour to do.  From there they're imported to Panolapse so I can add a little motion and set the frame rate to 25fps so I end up with a 10 - 20 second clip.  Then they're imported into my video editor (which also has to be set for 25fps otherwise things start getting jumpy) and the clips are organized and put together.  It's turning out to be a pretty time consuming process but I'm finding it fascinating.  Some of the stuff I've seen on the internet is unbelievably good and while my stuff is not shaping up anything like that, I'm enjoying it non the less and it should give a nice look around my property and surrounding hills.  Animals look pretty funny when shot in time lapse and I've got a few sequences that have turned out good.  Stars are also a good subject picking up aeroplanes and satellites.  For night time stuff I shoot in RAW format with the ISO set to 3200 and a 20 second exposure with a wide angle lens.  There's a lot of post image manipulation and noise reduction to get the images smooth but it's something that I cannot do with a video camera.  Here's a sneak at one of the night sequences.  This is on a normal camera tripod in a bit of wind and you can occasionally see a bit of shakiness.  
I should be close to finishing the project later this week and I'll post it here.

With a Z-Bridle fitted to my new 3m, I've been itching for more flying, a business trip to Irvine, west coast of Scotland, so in to my hand luggage went the kite, I was expecting to be asked what was in my luggage but nothing! Straight through it went.  First evening good wind coming nearly off the sea, roughly 12mph, first attempt, kite leapt up and straight back down, second time, up around 12ft then a reverse death spin, WTF still too much brake? Or have I created a new "Damien". Moved the brakes a bit more, up she went, still short of the zenith but oh lordy did it pull, virtually no tip collapse, with a coastal wind everything is so much easier, pulling 20-30ft scuds with ease, down loops making loads of power. While walking back I was thinking maybe one more mod to the brakes, to keep the wing tips inflated, it's holding the kite back.  So an evening of tinkering.
Second evening, laid kite out, NO WIND! Just the odd rustle of neck hair, tried a few catch the slight breeze and walk back, no more reversing, no wing tip folding just sliding down when there was just too little wind, by this time the tide was on it's way in and the wind started to pick-up a steady 6-8mph, this time the difference at the zenith between where it did park and now does is halved.  Feeling much better, power still piles on with a loop, all looking good.
Weather and work were against me for the next evening, like a scratch you can't reach, I still think there is a touch more to get in terms of speed / window, so I have partially reduced the AoA, which will drop the power a touch and give more speed / window, well that's the theory anyway.  Now to go back to watching trees for the next opportunity to fly.
 
Damien: Was a 3m HA NPW9 I built a while back , it flew like a stunt kite, had less window and when I tried it in the buggy was a nightmare, fully powered it just wanted to reverse given the slightest opportunity.  I tried all sorts but could not crack it.  Thinking how that flew compared to my new 3m they are poles apart, the thing that really keeps striking me is the power it generates, although I could pull longs scuds sending it up was not creating heaps of lift, but nor was there anywhere in the window to rest, even parked at the top it was still pulling. 
Here is Damien:
 
I you're thinking of making a 3m HA NPW or less for traction this is me trying to buggy
Damien Vid
 
      

I'm Working down in Hertfordshire in a large town called Stevenage. I always have a kite or two in the car, so finished work and headed for the local park. Although the park is a good size it's in the middle of a large sprawling town and the wind that goes through it is spawned by the devil himself.
Using my faceometer I reckon the wind was around 16mph, maybe too much but what the he'll let's see how it goes. Left the kite in the bag, run the lines out, stake handles, pulled kite from bag, immediately sprang out and sat there. Picked up the handles, let the brakes off...  three feet up and back down.  s!h!t maybe still too much brake on the Z bridle, give it another go.  Three, four feet, I'm now looking at the handles moving skyward and my new PL killers stretching out in front of me.... please hold, then calm the kite drops back to ground in to the only muddy patch for miles around. I always religiously wear killers, the once I didn't ended up with the electricity ppl being called out and 400 ppl with no power but that is another story.  I managed to skirt around the center of the window, but there really was no place to rest. 1/2hr and my arms are screaming.  Packed up and checked in to my hotel, first job get the kite out to dry, omg it stank, that muddy pool must have been the aftermath of an elephant eating a local curry! So into a nice warm bath it went, the joys of a kite hobby. Now nice and clean and dry.

I mentioned another story in my last entry, some of you may already have seen a post I did on another forum a few years back but thought I'd re-tell for those who did not see it.
I used a field to buggy in which is pretty much a rectangle, over 100m wide and about 220m long 7.4 acres, on the rhs and top edge there are erm power lines (marked in red).  Starting flat at the bottom and rising up to a flat at the top.

Okay scene set, now for the weather, it was blowing @ 20mph and I decided that it was time for me and my trusty 5m NPW to do some serious buggying.  Off I set, ran down the field in the buggy with no kite up, kite out, away we go OMG I took-off like being fired out of a canon, up to the top of the rise and back down, did this a few times, I was absolutely buzzing, stopped at the bottom, dropped the kite for a breather, I had a grin like "here's Johnny".  
Ready for next run, stake out, "Pirate, November Papa Whiskey 21 read for take-off".....
Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go

Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone
Brakes off, whoosh, crest of hill coming up fast, ready to turn, now I'm in a surreal bubble time is slowing down, I've stopped and there is no noise, I'm mid turn and I have no kite in my hands, I look in utter disbelieve as there in front of me is my kite climbing still inflated, with two handles along for the ride.  I know get an incredibly sick feeling, I can see the kite approaching the power lines running across the top of the field, kite was too high to drop, so I decided to will it to go higher "GO ON!", like a plane's tail hook the lines caught the first power line, the handles swung under and up over the other parallel power line and continued a full arc, and back over the first, "phew that wasn't too bad", kite now powered up more, the death grip on the power lines tightened and the lines started a journey towards each other, I looked on utterly mesmerised and helpless, next a massive flash and CRACK. Oh holly sh!t.  As if things could not get any worse, I'm now out of the buggy and doing the mother of all walks of shame, the kite has now luffed and fallen across the power lines which run up the side of the field and somehow has wrapped round the two power lines, nearing the house heart thumping I can hear the house alarms going off, my wife is at the back door taking to our neighbour, "we have no power" she says, she sees the look on my face, "Oh please don't tell me it was you", I drop my head even more in shame and that's all she needed for confirmation, as in the distance another load CRACK, my kite had succeeded with it's grip on the other lines.
After placing the call to the power ppl, a posy of land rovers appeared, I walked them to the crime scene, out comes a plastic pole with a saw on the end, and he started to cut the kite lines free first, and like a gift from god my handles dropped back to earth, which I deftly picked up (£25 saved). Next the kite, he was going to go at it like Freddy Kruger, "no hang on, try cutting the lines first", so he set to work cutting the lines, it was still wrapped, I thought it must have melted, then a saw  through the heart of the kite, I was gutted, but a glimmer of hope, it started to unwrap, bit by bit, it fell down, lines checked no damage, nothing had melted!
I now had two handles a sick kite and a good ear bashing for being so foolish, do you realise the dangers blah blah.

Next morning my wife was setting off for work, "What are we not going to do today?", "Wear my killers" I proudly pronounced, "not fly a kite was what I was hoping for".
And so from the ashes arose "Zombie":

Fully re-bridled, I decided not to hide the damage and patched it in white to show his scars off. 

The Z-Bridle, firstly why use it:
Some single skin kites need some brake input to keep the kite inflated, flying without one, you need to hold the handles with your hands below the top power line to keep a power to brake balance. While flying static, you get "in tune" with the kite and start to fly instinctively applying/releasing the brakes without thinking just based on what the kite is doing. Now jump in a buggy or on a board and this can become a pain as your eye is no longer always on the kite.  The other thing is try an NPW style kite on a bar without a Z-bridle and you will have your work cut out! Turn left and the tension is applied to the lhs bridles releasing the rhs and obviously that includes the brake which can cause the rhs to start collapsing.
This is how I make mine, I make it in two separate pieces, I'm sure there is a calculation to work out how big the Z bridle should be, this is a copy of one I made for my 5m2 kite and works a treat so I guessed it's not going to be far off for my 3m2.  
I'm using 3mm dyneema "static" line which has a breaking load of 370Kg
I start by cutting and burning the ends of 4 pieces of line: Two 128cm long and two 64cm.

I then mark 27cm down from each end of the long pieces and just one end on the short.
I take the end down to the mark and that give me a 13.5cm long loop, I start sewing the loops 4cm from the end.

The longer pieces now have a loop on each end, I put the two ends together then move till I have one leg 2cm longer than the other, I run a couple of stitches to hold it in place.
  
Double stopper knots are now tied to the ends (checking each pair of lines are the same), the long leg will be the brake line (from knot the diagonal): 

 
And now fitted to kite leaders (power lines on the rhs), you can see now releasing the brakes at the handle/bar end will give slack lines but the Z-bridle will maintain some tension to the brake bridle:

Tuning:
I always tune on handles first, holding your handles now as you would a foil (fingers each side of power line), fully release the brakes:
If the kite doesn't lift or climbs then back stalls: the brake connection needs moving further away from the kite, if there is no more leader, then move the power side closer to the kite.
If the kite lifts and there is some collapse: the brake connection needs moving closer to the kite.
Once you get to the point where it is only slightly doing one or the other, then it only needs a 2mm to 5mm per change. 

Weather not ideal, wind gusting 5 to @12mph. Lines on staked down and it looks... tiny in the field.

 
Two things I've tried this time: 1 - higher AR, 2 - adjustable wing tips.
How did it fly? It's feisty, from take-off went straight up to just short of the zenith, wind dropped right down and so did the kite, wing tips folded in and it slid out of the sky.  More wind and up it went again, it's fast through the window, really sensitive to input with either just handle or handle/brake.  Did a few figure eights and swooping, sent up to the top, right hand pull and in to a down turn, 3 o'clock the power's raising 4,5 its getting faster and piling the power on, by 7 I'm being pulled forward. Moved my hands under the power lines to keep a little brake tension.
Issues at the moment: Wing tips, I'd kicked them back, but too much, I did shorten them whilst out but think they need more.
Really pleased with the first flight, different kite altogether than the others, didn't overshoot, which surprised me, could be the wind or new location I'd tried, fast and more "snatchy" than the others, feels raw.
   

Now suffering with sewer's back, from being hunched over the sewing machine like Rumpelstiltskin, bar fitting the four leaders as it comes down from it's hanging place, this puppy is ready for a test flight

All brake bridles and secondary "A" bridles fitted, from this point I'll work my way across all the secondary bridles then build the main cascades up.
Why "Pause for thought" I was thinking as a boy I loved making Airfix kits, tanks, planes and ships, Meccano was another favourite, are we slowly moving away from children making things? Everything today is so easy and electronic gizzmos galore, they don't have to think about much in terms of creating anything or working out how something works. I can see how skills from the past get lost and wonder how many skills "we" will loose.
That said if you are inclined to "do-it-yourself" there are so many resources now on how to do almost anything, but that depends on whether you can be bothered to do it yourself and reap the reward of self satisfaction.
Here is where I'm at, although this is the point I drive my wife mad, "but darling I have to keep it hung up" 
 

One complete kite, hot off the machine:

Time for a little sewing machine rest.  
Now for a bit a trigonometry, the software package I've been using doesn't cater for the modification I've done to the wing tips, so I need to recalculate the 4 wing tip lines with additional brake to a 5 line cascade no brake.  It's something I did on my 12 and 7m after flying but by trial and error, this time I want to calculate it prior.

And so the metamorphosis from flat pieces of material to a kite is half way there! Now no-one can stop the inevitable transformation, soon this monster will live.... mwah ha ha haaaaaa.
Sorry it's the excitement mounting.
I did seriously think about just carrying on adding panel by panel to the end, but, the end panels are the hardest and by the time you get there, you have nearly all the kite at the machine and the fiddliest ( I'm sure that is a word) parts to do, the LE curve is quite tight at the last three panels, so I'm playing it safe and starting from the other end for a final join together at panel 1.
  

Big smile time, for the white and red it's a matter of tracing the printouts (with the material stretched out) and cutting out, I don't hot-cut these as all the edges will be hemmed.  For the black, I cut around the printout, laid it on top of the material and traced around the edge.  So here we have one half of the wing laid out and the other side piled up ready.  I'd usually plough straight in to the construction now but..... I'm putting an appliqué design on.
 
 
I've gone for a black design, firstly I made a template, stuck the paper printout on to card and cut it all out:

Next job to trace on to the black material and hot cut it all out using my trusty gas soldering iron.

This is probably my most satisfying moment, when all the ribs are finished, lots of work for something that doesn't look like a kite! From this point on things start to take shape:

One side's worth of ribs all cut out and the bottom of each "V" hot cut ready to hem.

The top edge has a roll hem, I insert Dacron tape at the tops and bottom of each triangle to give stability and strength.

And finally, I've sewn 4mm Dacron sleeving to the hem creating a loop at the top of each triangle.
 
 

Before I show how I do the ribs, a bit of a disclaimer, mine is not the definitive method, it is only my interpretation of what works.  I have not found very much on the net which details methods of making ribs, in fact I have found only one, which I used as a basis to upgrade my NPWs.  The way I see a rib (or keel) is to spread the load of the bridle across the kite surface rather than connecting direct to the kite. The downside is the profile is fixed on the rib, so not much leeway to tune the bridles, the upside - less bridle lines and a much smoother kite surface.  
The first method for my NPW involved hot cutting two identical ribs, sandwiching them together with a line sewn between in the top edge, not so bad for an NPW where there are only two needed for each side, the result was a smooth kite surface and 5 bridles instead of 10:

I then had the opportunity to fly a certain prototype, which was a single skin with ribs, the method used for the ribs was much simpler than I had tried, but looking at the pictures I took whilst flying made me realise the rib was not really working as I thought they should, the skin has stress lines below the bridle attachment indicating the load is not being fully spread across the rib:  

And so I have arrived at the method I now use, the stronger the wind is, the smoother the kite surface is, this was a one-handed grab a quick pic, which hopefully shows the difference and why my method may look long winded and not one you'd see on a commercial kite, but I think it's worth the extra time:

Starting with my printed out plans, and the bit's I need to do the ribs:
New material laid out and weighted down to keep it taught.  Steady hand and a bit of patience to trace the plans on to the material:

One side done ready to cut out:

Now to repeat for the other side and all the ribs are ready to be worked on.
 

There's been a lot of attention lately towards GT-Race buggies in Australia and I'm unashamedly responsible.  Earlier this year @nigel and I discussed to great length and in detail finally making our move towards owning the best production race buggies available.   Our decision came about by the competitive blood between us when we're out kiting together, it's nearly a diagnosable medical condition and something that we've enjoyed for over 10 years together.  
Back in July our original plan was to order the XXTreme Apexx, a buggy we've seen first hand up close when @domenic first purchased his in 2008.  We put up a discussion in the Buy & Sell on Extreme Kites to also feel if anyone else was interested, the end result was @igeighty was also showing interest.  With three confirmed individuals I approached XXTreme in the Netherlands with our intent on purchasing three Apexx buggies and having them shipped to Australia. Without creating undesired consequences of sharing our unfavourable experience lets just say that communication during this process was incredibly poor.
Delays in communication mean idle fingers wander, and wander they did stumbling upon GT-Race's website.  We took a closer look at the information available online, then spoke with two GT-Race owners (one being in Mark Van den Berg the Dutch National Champion) and then finally approached @GT-Race (Martin Faber) directly.  From the outset Martin's communication pre-order was amazing in the speed of which he delivered answers to our questions, the manner in which he fielded our questions and overall the secure atmosphere he created surrounding the purchase by never leaving any query unanswered.  
After a week of comparison, reading, searching, discussing with pilots of both buggies the three of us decided that the logical choice in this situation was the GT-Race Rapide.  If the Apexx was the gold standard in 2008 the Rapide presented as years of evolution on this original idea.  On the surface areas of difference which we felt drew us closer to the Rapide were features such as the integrated backrest, fork lock and flat foot plates.  However when going further in to detail we felt the way the headstock connected to the downtube and facilitated the mudguard was a better solution, also the rear axle joint system made for quicker assembly and disassembly.  Beyond that we liked little changes like how Martin had stepped the downtube welds and used 20mm head stock bolts that counter-sunk in to the fork.  Overall the three of us felt that whilst the Apex was an incredible buggy the Rapide was just that few steps ahead having continued to evolve in increments.  
With our decision made we approached Martin and placed the order, however we were surprised to note that the Rapide ++ was due for release and that we would be in the first 10 built to receive the ++ version.  In short, the ++ version brings together Martin's extensive build experience on the FL, refines it and makes further evolves the manufacturing process to produce a better finished product.  It's not so much an evolution in features as it is an evolution in Martin's manufacturing process.
With this in place and Martin now building 3 custom Rapide ++ buggies for us @roblukin stepped in to the mix.  Originally his plan was to order an Outlaw from Peter Lynn New Zealand, however again you would have more success trying to arrange your affairs through two paper cups and a piece of string than any other form of communication.  So again we turned to Martin and explained Rob's personal situation, his strengths and weaknesses regarding his physical condition and physical disabilities he has to manage as part of his buggying process.  Virtually instantly Martin stepped it up a gear, and then the goal to manufacture a modified GT-Race Radical for Rob became the goal.  There was some considerable discussion, about cutting some weight from the buggy, changing slightly part of the materials used and the manufacturing using those changed specifications.  Over the course of a week everything was discussed and a 4th Buggy was ordered.
GT-Race's strength isn't only about producing the highest quality, most technically advanced production buggies.  GT-Race's strength is also the personalised customer service that Martin Faber spends each weeknight providing and each weekend turning orders in to fulfilment.  Presently there are 4 GT-Race buggies being manufactured, assembled, checked over and packed to make their way to Australia.  
Kite Buggying in Australia is back on a growth trajectory since we launched the new Extreme Kites website in June this year, GT-Race is going to be front and centre of many Australian achievements going forward.

My name is Joel Theodore, I live in Australia and I have been kiting since 2003.  Throughout my journey I have experienced and enjoyed a variety of kiting disciplines, starting with a kite buggy and learning ground based freestyle then moving to aerial freestyle and buggy jumping.  After a few years I moved on to Kiteboarding and enjoyed many seasons on the water, however after a bit of a break i'm back in the buggy and this time chasing my goal of outright speed.
In 2006 I joined Extreme Kites and my involvement over the years with the community grew.  In 2011 I took on ownership of Extreme Kites to preserve the website in an endeavour to keep the Land Kiting community in Australia together.  After a few of life's events and some time away in 2014 the flame to chase speed records has re-ignighted.  

In 2015 I launched the new Extreme Kites website with the help of a newly appointed Team and moved ownership to my private company, this has enabled me to lay back a bit and enjoy partaking in the community in a more relaxed role.  My role here is now Website Support where I code, develop and create new and exciting features for the Extreme Kites community.  
My goals going forward for Extreme Kites are that it continues to foster a positive, welcoming and warm community spirit for those entering the world of kiting.  Over the years I have seen various websites, communities, blogs and social media platforms come and go, however for more than a decade Extreme Kites has stood by and supported the spread of kiting knowledge.  I believe information for those interested in kiting should be made public and available, it shouldn't be hidden behind paywalls and closed groups unable to be found.  The easier we make information accessible here the greater the community benefits, so I hope the time I spend on improving Extreme Kites enhances your experience here with the community.

See you around the website or when I'm out with a kite in my hands.