Re: Omega XS review (you asked....you got!)
| Subject | Re: Omega XS review (you asked....you got!) |
| From | abw@cre.canon.co.uk (Andy Wardley) |
| Date | Wed, 14 Jan 1998 11:17:06 GMT |
| Newsgroups | rec.kites |
> It absoultely loves to flick-flack, hardly loosing any height at all, > in fact I'am, working on a flick-flack that goes upwards
Here a repost of an article which describes the Toast Rack and Rising Cascade, among others. Should give you a few tips on getting that Flic-Flac going up.
Some of the tricks are old hat now (the article is over a year old) but others are still very much cutting edge. Anyway, it's attached below. I think the Toast Rack/Rising Cascade actually predates the article by some time, but this was probably the first time I described it on rec.kites.
Peter Peters' site is the definitive trick reference. He takes posts such as these and formats, indexes and cross-references them all. Deep respect is due to Peter (I promise to write up some more tricks soon, Peter - got some stunning new stuff for the Indoor Flying section)
A
Subject: A Buncha New Tricks
From: abw@peritas.com (Andy Wardley) (note old email address)
Newsgroups: rec.kites
Date: Mon, 02 Dec 1996
Here's a load of New Tricks (and a few not-so-new tricks) that I finally got around to writing up as a result of, well, a number of things.
Peter Peters (one of the reasons) has already has most of this text along with a bunch of input from Mike Emery which will hopefully all contribute towards updating his web site.
Some of these moves are real cutting edge stuff (like, it's just me doing them) and others have been around for a while but are worthy of inclusion because they're particularly unique or not well known outside our locale or whatever...
Anyway, enjoy.
Leading Edge Drag
Fly across the window in a low pass and lower the kite down until you have contact with the leading edge on the ground. You should have almost all of the leading edge touching the ground, but keep the nose slightly off the ground to avoid it "snagging". Keep most of the pressure on the upper line and fly the kite across the window with the leading edge in constant contact with the ground
An exellent combination move is to start with a very low 540 Flat Spin at the edge of the window and come directly out into a Leading Edge Drag.
Switchback
In a Leading Edge Drag you must keep most of the driving tension on the upper wing. Dragging across the ground from right to left, you would have more pressure on the right hand. As you pass the center of the window and approach the left, throw both hands forward to flatten the kite onto it's belly and then immediately pull on the left hand to lift the left wing up. The kite should now be pointing back towards the right of the window with the right leading edge touching the ground. You can now continue with a Leading Edge Drag back the other way.
The easiest way to picture the Switchback is to think of a Kick-Turn (the "Half Axel" move as Dodd calls it on FSIII) but executed on the ground, starting and ending in a Leading Edge Drag.
Leading Edge 540 and the "Ego Trip"
Starting in a Leading Edge Drag from right to left, push both hands forwards to flatten the kite out (as per the Switchback), but before the kite flattens out totally, pop with the right hand to execute a 540 Flat Spin off the ground. Looking down from above, the kite Flat Spins anti-clockwise. Pop again to get Leading Edge 900's, 1260's etc., etc.
A totally, totally excellent combination move is to start with a very low 540 Flat Spin at one edge of the window, come directly out into a Leading Edge drag, drag all the way across the window, Switchback, Leading Edge Drag all the way back to where you started and then pop a Leading Edge 540 Flat Spin back into flight. This combo move is called the "Ego Trip".
Toe Loop
This is quite simple an Axel that starts with a driving Tip Stab. Starting with a Side Slide, say from left to Right, you would keep pressure on the right hand and a little more slack on the left. Increase the pressure on the right until the kite starts turning right into the ground. You should time it such that the right tip is about to stab the ground and then slack and pop the left wing in an exaggerated Axel move. The right wing tip should drive into the ground and then kite should spring back up into an Axel.
Executed well, the kite will spring high into the air with a resounding "thonk". If you're not so lucky, the kite might stay on the ground with a dissapointing "crack".
The name for this move, like the Axel, comes from Ice Skating. The Toe Loop in Ice Skating is like the Axel but starts with the skater driving the serrated toe of one skate into the ice to get rotational momentum. The similarities with the kite trick suggested the name was appropriate.
Fading Toe Loop
Start with an Edge Fade on the left side of the window. As the kite falls and turns anti-clockwise, the right wing-tip should line up for a tip-stab. At this point, execute the Toe Loop, kicking the kite back up into the air with an Axel.
Edge Fade [ included for completeness ]
Fly across the the edge of the window and pop the upper wing gently. Allow slack into the lines and the kite will Axel through 180 degrees, like a Half-Axel (Kick Turn), but also fall right down the side of the window in the process. It just fades out....
You can complete to a tip stand with the kite facing back into the window, or simply fly off.
This trick was originally called the Fade in the UK until Jason Benedict went and called the Fade (the Fractured Axel :-) the Fade. Confusing eh?
Backspin
Fly up to somewhere approaching the top of the window and start a downward turn by pulling the left hand. As the kite turns left and the nose passes the 9 o'clock position, pop the right wing with a gentle axel-like motion. This causes the right wing to be pulled towards you and the nose of the kite to lift up so that it is spinning flat on its back in an anti-clockwise direction (looking from above).
If you think how a normal Axel forces the nose down into a flattened spin, this inverted Axel, the Backspin, forces the nose up into an inverted spin.
As the nose of the kite approaches the point directly away from you (the kite is still on it's back, but now has the trailing edge towards you), pull gently on the left line to spin the kite around on its back other time. Pop again at the same point to force another rotation, and so one.
Done correctly, the move should be a very smooth transition from turn into spin, around and back out.
Fractured Backspin
The Fractured Backspin starts like the Backspin with a left turn at the top of the window followed by a gentle right-handed pop to initiate the spin. Instead of popping gently with the left hand, pop hard with the left and then immediately with the right. Instead of spinning once more on it's back the kite will flip over onto its front with the first (left) pop (belly down, nose still away from you) and then flip under itself (like the Fade, aka "Fractured Axel") with the second (right) pop so that the kite is on it's back with the nose towards you.
Constant tension on one line at this point will spin the kite around back into normal flight.
Corkscrew
The Corkscrew describes a series of Backspins, or Multiple Axels, starting at the top of the window and spiralling down. In all but the lightest wind, you will need to walk forwards to keep enough pressure off the kite to ensure you can maintain a series of Axels or Backspins.
Spiral Staircase
Like the Fountain (upwards Cascade) and the Toast Rack (upwards Flic-Flac) before it, I wanted to get the Corkscrew going upwards. The result is the Spiral Staircase. Fly down into a 540 Flat Spin near the ground and as the kite completes, briefly take up the slack in the lines and fly the kite up ever so slightly. The movement should be quick enough to get a little lift in the kite, but not so aggressive that the rotation stops. Hopefully, the kite should continue to spin around so that you can pop another Flat Spin or Axel to continue the cycle.
I'm trying to perfect the techniqiue to get a smooth spiral upwards, but at the moment it's more of a "Spin, Jerk Up, Spin, Jerk Up, Spin" kind of motion.
Toast Rack (and the Flic-Flac and friends)
The French Toast starts with the kite on its belly with the nose away from you. A quick jerk on both lines following by a release causes the kite to jump up and invert so that the nose is towards you and the kite is on its back. The lines are resting over the top of the kite, running over the leading edge and towards you. Pull and release both lines again to flip the nose down, under the kite and away from you, back up and over and towards you until it returns to the same position (on it's back with nose towards you) but with the lines running back over the trailing edge, under the kite and towards you. Repeat the same two-handed pull and release to repeat the process. Repeated flipping back and forth is called a "Flic-Flac" (or Poison Ivy or Cuckoo Clock).
The name, incidentally, comes from a Gymnastics move which consists of repeated hand-springs (or something like that).
Back to the Toast Rack.... If you start a French Toast and continue the motion into a Flic-Flac and then get the Flic-Flac to rise then you've executed a "Toast Rack". A rising Flic-Flac by itself is called...er...a "Rising Flic-Flac" (until someone can suggest a better name).
The secret is to understand "down" beats and "up" beats. When the kite starts with the lines running under the kite, you pull the face of the kite up, over and then down towards the ground. When you start with the lines over the kite, you pull the back of the kite down and then up over itself. If you pull hard on the down beats and slightly gentler on the up beats you generate lift and the Flic-Flac rises...
You can also spin the kite around itself as you Flic-Flac by accentuating one hand or another. Also use this method to "correct" a drifting or twisting Flic-Flac.
Head Spring
This is the all-time impresive launch. Start with the kite balancing on its nose (a feat which may require a little practice in itself). Start with a hard pull on both lines to flatten the kite down into a belly down position, then immediately release and execute a French Toast to launch the kite. The overall sequence of moves is hard-pull, release, quick-pull, release.
In reality, the first pull never pulls the kite right down, but it helps to illustrate what you're trying to acheive. Make sure you can do a good French Toast before trying the Head Spring.
With practice, the move can be done very fluently without having to pull the kite too far down. The simply bounces off its nose and swivels around into flight. Guaranteed to turn heads.
A