the coreylama's kite chi

The Proper Care and Feeding of a Windsock Pole

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 15:09:49 -0500

Tapered fiberglass windsock poles are elegant and convenient. We carry 3 grades to suit different conditions.

The lightweight Flex poles are great in the backyard and with lightweight windsocks.
The Heavy-Duty (HD) poles are stiffer, can carry bigger windsocks and also work great with feather banners and medium flags.
The Extra Heavy-Duty (X-HD) poles are the stiffest we offer. The X-HD also has a removable 12� swing-arm for the top that assures the windsock is always down-wind of the pole.

These collapsible, tapered fiberglass poles don�t like to be strapped to anything. They can snap or be crushed too easily.

Here�s my tips: Out in the desert I pound a 4� piece of rebar about a foot into the ground. I slip a thin 3� piece of pvc pipe over it to act as a cushion for the pole. I extend my pole, attach my windsock and slip it down over the rebar/pvc. The ground mounts we sell here are a higher grade of the same idea.

For the RV ladder, a sleeve works better. I strap a 3� piece of bigger pvc pipe (inside diameter just larger than the base of my pole) to the ladder. I glue a cap on the bottom of the pvc and drill a hole in it for drainage. I extend my pole, attach my windsock and slip it into the pvc sleeve.

For the outside deck, I used a similar sleeve idea: I strapped 3� pvc sleeves to the vertical rail supports and painted them to match the deck stain (they disappeared) I angled them out about 15 degrees so the windsock won�t wrap around the pole when the wind is slack. Just extend the pole, attach the windsock and slip it into the sleeve.

Easy to bring the stuff in when the weather turns bad or vacation-time. Convenience is key here. These are just windsocks. If it isn�t easy and convenient, they just hang out there until they rot.

Learn to Fly Kites at ExpertVillage

Fri, 17 Nov 2006 10:58:56 -0500

Visualization is a wonderful learning tool. Seeing somebody do the thing you�re trying to learn can help immensely. I was approached this fall to shoot a bunch of video segments about kite flying for a new web site: ExpertVillage and the results are there for all to see. It is an intriguing opportunity to reach out to even more newcomers to modern kiting.

Nothing beats going out and getting your hands on the gear and working your way to an understanding of what is happening and why, but a little assistance, particularly at the beginning, is nice.Most complicated stuff looks way-too-complex for ordinary folks to understand without expert help. Yet we�ve learned how to be comfortable encapsulated within a ton of steel, hurtling down a ribbon of asphalt separated from opposing hurtling tons-of-steel by yellow paint on the road. THAT is a complicated task, with serious implications if you do it wrong, and we�ve become pretty casual behind-the-wheel (some more casual than others). These are just kites. It�s not rocket-surgery.

Taking the complicated-looking whole and breaking it down into simple, understandable steps. Learning these little things helps make the whole kite thing more fun.

The simple stuff, like how to make line winding �fun-to-do� and not a chore, goes a long way in increasing the joy of kites. I�ve tried to touch on a wide range of kiting how-to�s in these short segments.

I welcome all feedback, particularly constructive suggestions. I figure this is good way to learn how to improve for the next episodes we�re already planning.

What kite stuff would YOU like to see?

Self-Taught Power Kiting

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 09:48:27 -0500

Most of my customers want to learn power kiting on their own. Nothing in our childhood memories of kites quite prepares us for the new technology and the abundant power that can be generated. We love to learn but don�t always like to be taught.

The kite is the key to all the rest. Modern controllable sport kites paved the way for all the innovations and ideas that have led us to our current state. No matter what kind of power kiting you eventually want to do, basic kite skills work in all the environments. One can easily start there.
Delta-shaped stunters are very efficient and are best in winds under 15-18 mph, where they can perform tricks no other wing shape can do. They can be flown in more wind, and some are even specially modified for this, but that billowed sail on a delta can only withstand the pressure of strong winds for so long and then the sail begins to sag and the very performance that was special (lighter winds) is more of a struggle.

Diamond-shaped two-line kites are often flown in stacks and have a medium wind range. Not as popular as in years past, probably because of the ease-of-use and the wider range of tricks available with the delta shape.

Foil (ram-air) kites are becoming very popular. They mostly like to fly in winds over 8-10 mph, where they fly in a very wide arc (approaching 180 degrees) and generate more power and speed the more aggressively they are flown.

Most fixed-bridle foil kites in the marketplace are essentially two-line kites with two additional lines attached to the trailing edge where they act as flaps on a wing. The basic skills learned in flying any 2-line kite work with these 4-line versions. Control is better with handles: The top lines transfer the power and steer the kite. At the bottom of the handles are the two additional �trailing-edge flaps� lines. Typically the bottom lines are of lighter weight than the main lines as they don�t transfer much power, and line drag is a performance-robber.

So the process depends on each individual. We�re all a little different and we learn differently. If the kite is fun� You�ll fly it more often and learn more quickly. Learning the wind (our power source) and what makes a �good kite day� and a �good kite field� can take a bit longer.

Start with the smaller and medium sizes (this is relative to your particular situation) and learn how to make power with the kite. The good flyers make it look so easy because they�ve learned how much NOT to do.

Whether you�re eventually headed for the water or staying with land traction, a good flying, well-built, compact and portable foil kite is a great way to find out if this game is for you and have a heck of a good time as you do. I don�t like to call them �trainers�. It�s you that is in training, not the kite. You�ll continue to find uses for the kite as your skills and knowledge increase.

More on the Origins of Kite Chi

Sat, 4 Nov 2006 00:04:56 -0500

I guess the ideas that led to Kite Chi first began when I got into professional kiting in 1977. Between 1977 and 1984, from Colorado to the Pacific Coast, I was flying the Flexifoil 2-line Power Kite foils in ever growing stacks. From my initial 3 stack to eventually 37 in 1980 and a 50 kite stack by 1981. Hand-flying stacks of stunters is a specialized part of power kiting and untwisting a lineset in flight is a more complicated task. Looping a big stack into the �power zone� creates lots of it. Often I would simply spin around under the stack while it flew overhead. Then in 1981, I spotted Mix McGraw flying stacks of Hyperkites in front of Pier 39 in San Francisco. He is an accomplished kite flyer and also an elegant man. His unwind-spins under his stack caught my attention and I started to try to emulate some of his grace.

By removing my eyes from the process, my fingers began to listen to the kite. I noticed how quickly the tactile part of kiting became more a part of the fun of it. I started listening to music while I flew my stunters and stacks and that accelerated the process. Rather than learning tricks, I was learning to feel the wind.

I have been refining this concept and creating a model that others may follow ever since.

Kite Chi

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 00:06:00 -0400

This is a training technique I've been teaching for 25 years now.
It's called "Kite Chi"

While your kite is doing a loop in the sky, raise your arms over your head and spin around, untwisting your lines while the kite is twisting them.

It's not about the lines.
It's about our eyes.

Our culture has become so visually dominated, so much visual information bombards us, I think that sometimes our brain forgets we have other senses.

The neural pathways in our brain used for visual images are so well-worn, so heavily traveled, it has become like a rutted road, keeping us occupied by our eyes.

Turning around distracts our eyes for a moment, allowing our fingers a chance to begin to learn the tactile language the kite uses to tell us "Where It Is' and "Where It's Going".

Pretty critical information, and available to us non-visually.

The more you practice Kite Chi, the more comfortable you become flying in control without NEEDING to be looking at your kite all the time.

Merely closing our eyes or looking down doesn't work nearly as well as the mind is still using visual images in the imagination.

Kite Chi teaches us to create new neural pathways, combining visual and tactile inputs, that expands our awareness of the different elements we're involved with.

Ultimately you'll be flying the kite with your fingers,
Steering the board or buggy with your feet,
While your eyes plot your course, look out for obstacles, watch the wind, glance at your awesome kite, ogle the beach betties, stare at other buggies and kites, or whatever catches your eye, as your eyes are not fixed on one (kite) thing.