Date: Wed, 29 Jun 1994 11:21:33 -1000 From: andrew@tug.com (Andrew Beattie) Message-Id: Organization: /usr/lib/news/organisation Subject: Andrew's Fano and Scheveningen report Andrew's Fano & Scheveningen report I'll try not to cover too much stuff that others have covered. We arrived at Fano after 25 hours travelling (including a small amount of sleep in a car park, sitting at the steering wheel), just before the auction. By the time that we had unpacked and got ourselves together, it was over, but we could hear it in the distance - it *sounded* good. First event for us (us = joanne@rec.com + andrew@rec.com) was the rec.kites meeting. It was good to put some faces to Email addresses, but I fear that my brain will only manage half the job - I might possibly remember some of the faces, but matching the names, addresses and faces I find very difficult. I had taken a gamble and had 10 T-shirts made up with the Globe and kite logo, which seemed to be adopted as the defacto standard. These sold quickly (except the M-size, which I gave away in the end), so I was pleased not to have 10 rather expensive, redundant shirts left over! (they said "rec.kites @ Fano '94", so they would have been difficult to sell afterwards) The Globe and kite was everywhere - on my T-shirts, on the 5 n@r.k t-shirts, on posters, on name-tags and on stickers. Beach. The beach was outstanding. I never buggied the whole length, but I did it by car and it was long enough to get rather boring. most of it was hard pack about 200 yards wide, with soft dunes at one edge and the sea at the other. Dolphin I saw Peter Lynn's dolphin for the first time. The shape is very true to form and it swims realistically with it's fins and flippers. It is a bit of a pig to launch - you nee to inflate it on it's side at the edge of the window, turn it up, then pull on it's tail and flippers to keep it upright to make it climb up rather than swing back across the window. Condom. As part of an AIDS awareness program, there was a new windsock, in the shape of a *giant* (100' long?) condom, with two people riding asif (err..) riding a horse in tandem. The wind would cause them not to sit rigid, but errr.. ride with a wonderful rhythmic movement. In association with this, a great number of "passports" were distributed, with a condom cartoon in each of many different languages and an illustrated guide and condom at the back. Breaking lines. I have maintained here that 275lb lines are sufficient for traction needs. In the strong winds at Fano, I broke two of them (mid-length, not at my carefully prepared sleeving) while playing in the water. I bought a 500lb pair at Vleiger Op for use on the boat in future. Dead Man handles. I've had a new idea for a dead-man release which solves most of the shortcomings of the current system. Watch this space for more info: the design should provide hands-free use, much more steering freedom and better connection to the boat. However I doubt that it would retail for less that 100 pounds ($150, 300DM). David Gomberg. I was paid an unwitting compliment at Fano. I still consider myself a bit of a new upstart - I've only been flying for about 3 years, so I considered it quite an honour when David Gomberg came looking for *me* to talk about the AKA's involvement in traction flying. He is a most pleasant and personable person. Indoor flying. We had two chances to fly indoors - something I had wanted to do but never had the chance. First time was in a tennis hall. This building was only *just* big enough for the purpose. The walls were only about 9 feet high. Kites I tried included: Simo's Delta - Althought this was an outdoor kite, it managed the job admirably. The trick seemed to be to pump it and into a 360, run to get it going, then slow down as soon as possible to walking pace for better control. An Ultralight Rev I - This was a surprise - it was so eager to fly that I had to pull back and try less hard. I didn't manage a throw properly. 10' UF Flexifoil - This was astonishingly difficult, it wanted to hover horzontaly and didn't respond to steering in this mode. When you did manage to get it up properly after about 720 degrees of hover, it was considerably faster than the other kites. 5m Peel (Bainbridge fabric) - This wasn't too difficult and was quite happy flying on the bridle. 7.5m Peel (Icarex) - This was more than willing to fly, but didn't have the room! I could do a 360 hover or a 360 semi-colapsed tip-drag :-) Natalie's Legs - She wouldn't fly for me, but Simo had a flirt with her. The second time, we used the auction hall, which was big enough to fly an over-the-top, but my Peels were all soaking wet and badly tangled so I couldn't fly them (which I *badly* wanted to do). Kite Sailing. I spent a good while sailing at both events, but my success rate was rather low. First time at Fano was fast and furious, but after then, I seemed to be plagued with problems - breaking lines and dropping kites and stuff. Special thanks to Peter for stripping off and helping me launch. He reported that the north sea was -> <- *that* cold. Putting the 7.5m kite on 300' lines was a bit of a blast - progress was distressingly fast until I put a hull under and the boat rolled over me. My last attempt at Fano was with the 10m Peel on *no* lines (just a few meters of bridle and sacrificial line). As I got into the boat, the Peel went into a tip-stand just a couple of inches from the water's surface. This would have been OK, but then a wave broke on it, snapping the bridle near the tip. I continued on, but by the time I had finished that trip, I had broken the bridle on the other side and pulled the 4 separate tears in the skin. At Schevening, the wind was off-shore and very turbulent on the Friday, and on the Saturday it was very light but on-shore. I was first to hit the water, with the 10m on 300' lines. Space was limited and I went out and round the pier until the wind picked up again and I felt that I could work back upwind of the pier without danger of loosing the kite. I learnt that although the long lines and big kite gave me the ability to go sail in light wind, when the wind picked up, I found upwind progress difficult because I was dragged so far downwind while changing the kite from one side to the other. To my shame, my last trip ended with me dunking the kite and being taken back to shore by the friendly life-guard patrol. Peel Prices. Before on the net, we have discussed the high price of retail kites. Talking to Peter Lynn, he felt that it was time that people knew the whole truth - The price that you pay retail after international distrobution of *almost any* product is about 4 or 5 times the factory gate price - kites are no exception. He works hard to cut down both manufacturing cost (if a dollar saved in the factory is 5 bucks off the retail price then it's worth the effort) and to cut distrobution costs as hard as possible. Peel fly in. On Saturday morning as Schevening, the wind was *very* light and almost nothing would fly, so people started flying 10m Peels - I believe that we had up to 8 of them flying at once in a rather haphazard demonstration. Stunt Kites II This is a new book by Servaas van der Horst and Nop Velthuizen and covers new kite designs (including the Sputnik 4), Buggies and boats. It is published in both English and German by Thoth. The English version is ISBN: 90-6868-085-4. Noteably, it contains pictures and/or articles on: Me on a tandem buggy (rear seat, page 6) Body surfing, Ice Buggying, Kite Skiing, The new Kite-surfer Dead-man release handles, Different foil profiles (including dimensions for 8 shapes including the Peel) Reefing systems The Kite sailer The Parawing Ice buggy Different kite boats (plans & dimentions) Buggying theory A whole bunch of kite plans, including the Sputnik 4 Detailed plans for Nop's 4-wheel buggy Mike Parsons ...Made a point of ensuring that the British Modulus was well advertised. He spent most of the weekend speeding up and down the beach with a mudulus that had a special "Union Jack" centre panel. Jumping. I parked next to a bunch of people who were determined that they were going to spend all day kite-jumping in the soft dunes. I think that they stopped for a an hour or so, while waiting for and ambulance to arrive to take away the guy who broke his leg. Bike Buggy. There was a guy at Scheveningen who went buggying on a bike! It was a small-wheel (20 inch?) shopper model, with a big padded seat and very small handlebars for foot-steering. The pilot was quite competent on it. Simo mentioned the Vented Rev, which was 50vent and 50 0.000000abric in stripes. In the wind of Fano, I tried a Rev II which was 100vent. It worked quite well - it was strange to fly something so slow and gentle in such strong wind. That's all I can think of for now... Andrew -- Ah! cuddle-kiss-cuddle, Mmmm, cuddle-kiss-cuddle... Ahhh. Netiquette-of-the-day: Think twice before posting! You can FTP the kite FAQ's from ftp.hawaii.edu (directory /pub/rec/kites/faq) The FAQ's have lists of kites, kite stores, kite questions, kite books & plans. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Thu, 30 Jun 1994 11:47:01 -1000 From: gramfran@aol.com (Gramfran) Message-Id: <2uvegl$qj8@search01.news.aol.com> Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Subject: Re: Andrew's Fano and Scheveningen report How was the fin on Peter Lynn's dolphin, when he had it here in North America the fin was not centered on the dolphins back, did he fix this? Fritz = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Fri, 1 Jul 1994 08:57:20 -1000 From: andrew@tug.com (Andrew Beattie) Message-Id: Organization: /usr/lib/news/organisation Subject: Re: Andrew's Fano and Scheveningen report gramfran@aol.com (Gramfran) writes: >How was the fin on Peter Lynn's dolphin, when he had it here in North >America the fin was not centered on the dolphins back, did he fix >this? It looked fine to me, but I seem to recall that there was a large oval patch to one side of it - looks like they fixed it. Andrew -- Ah! cuddle-kiss-cuddle, Mmmm, cuddle-kiss-cuddle... Ahhh. Netiquette-of-the-day: Think twice before posting! You can FTP the kite FAQ's from ftp.hawaii.edu (directory /pub/rec/kites/faq) The FAQ's have lists of kites, kite stores, kite questions, kite books & plans. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sun, 3 Jul 1994 15:09:07 -1000 From: lynnrg@elec.canterbury.ac.nz (R.G. Lynn) Message-Id: <2v7nfj$hlc@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz> Organization: Electrical Engineering, University of Canterbury, New Zealand Subject: Re: Andrew's Fano and Scheveningen report > How was the fin on Peter Lynn's dolphin, when he had it here in North > America the fin was not centered on the dolphins back, did he fix > this? > > Fritz Hi there, a Lurker from NZ here; Peter built the dolphin in three or four days (conception to completion) he had at home in between several months overseas, we here actually encourage him to make the odd fuck-up; It keeps him humble. Robert = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Mon, 4 Jul 1994 04:45:05 -1000 From: ahclem0013@aol.com (AhClem0013) Message-Id: <2v979h$a0q@search01.news.aol.com> Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Subject: Re: Andrew's Fano and Scheveningen report In article <2v7nfj$hlc@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz>, lynnrg@elec.canterbury.ac.nz (R.G. Lynn) writes: >Hi there, a Lurker from NZ here; Peter built the dolphin in three or >four days (conception to completion) he had at home in between several >months overseas, we here actually encourage him to make the odd fuck-up; >It keeps him humble. >Robert He told me he built the dolphin in two days by himself! You don't suppose he stretched the truth a bit? oxo = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Mon, 4 Jul 1994 10:18:52 -1000 From: andrew@tug.com (Andrew Beattie) Message-Id: Organization: /usr/lib/news/organisation Subject: Re: Andrew's Fano and Scheveningen report lynnrg@elec.canterbury.ac.nz (R.G. Lynn) writes: >Peter [Lynn] built the dolphin in three or >four days (conception to completion) ahclem0013@aol.com (AhClem0013) writes: >He told me he built the dolphin in two days by himself! >You don't suppose he stretched the truth a bit? 4 days? 2 Days? My money says he didn't actually sew a single stitch on it. Time to spill the beans Robert. Andrew -- Ah! cuddle-kiss-cuddle, Mmmm, cuddle-kiss-cuddle... Ahhh. Netiquette-of-the-day: Think twice before posting! You can FTP the kite FAQ's from ftp.hawaii.edu (directory /pub/rec/kites/faq) The FAQ's have lists of kites, kite stores, kite questions, kite books & plans. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Tue, 5 Jul 1994 02:31:02 -1000 From: ahclem0013@aol.com (AhClem0013) Message-Id: <2vbjq6$spp@search01.news.aol.com> Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Subject: Re: Andrew's Fano and Scheveningen report In article <2vbj9v$96p@kelvin-02.cs.strath.ac.uk>, pat@cs.strath.ac.uk (Patrick Prosser) writes: >I spoke to PL on Saturday (2nd July) and he said he took 1 day to plan >and 1 day to construct the Dolphin ... and he said that he did the sewing. GASP. . . . he is a mad man. . . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Mon, 4 Jul 1994 22:32:10 -1000 From: gcronyn@gacvideo.win-uk.net (W G Cronyn) Message-Id: <1@gacvideo.win-uk.net> Subject: Re: Andrew's Fano and Scheveningen report = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Tue, 5 Jul 1994 02:22:23 -1000 From: pat@cs.strath.ac.uk (Patrick Prosser) Message-Id: <2vbj9v$96p@kelvin-02.cs.strath.ac.uk> Organization: Comp. Sci. Dept., Strathclyde Univ., Glasgow, Scotland. Subject: Re: Andrew's Fano and Scheveningen report In article andrew@tug.com (Andrew Beattie) writes: . >lynnrg@elec.canterbury.ac.nz (R.G. Lynn) writes: . >>Peter [Lynn] built the dolphin in three or . >>four days (conception to completion) . > . >ahclem0013@aol.com (AhClem0013) writes: . >>He told me he built the dolphin in two days by himself! . >>You don't suppose he stretched the truth a bit? . > . >4 days? 2 Days? My money says he didn't actually sew a single stitch on it. . > . >Time to spill the beans Robert. I spoke to PL on Saturday (2nd July) and he said he took 1 day to plan and 1 day to construct the Dolphin ... and he said that he did the sewing. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Wed, 6 Jul 1994 04:08:44 -1000 From: salanne@convex.csc.FI (Simo Salanne) Message-Id: <2vedtc$vu@pobox.csc.fi> Organization: Centre for Scintific Computing Subject: Re: Andrew's Fano and Scheveningen report In <2v7nfj$hlc@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz> lynnrg@elec.canterbury.ac.nz (R.G. Lynn) writes: >Hi there, a Lurker from NZ here; Peter built the dolphin in three or >four days (conception to completion) he had at home in between several >months overseas, we here actually encourage him to make the odd fuck-up; >It keeps him humble. >Robert Hmmm, Robert Lynn writing about Peter Lynn, have we got one from Peter Lynn "family" on rec.kites? Wellcome anyway? Simo -- Simo.Salanne@csc.fi STACK Finland = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =