Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 16:22:19 -1000 From: Kobi Eshun Message-Id: <40p0cr$50s@bug.rahul.net> Organization: a2i network Subject: Black Holes and Beyond. We (The Berkeley Bay Area Fliers) have been spinning off on the Black Hole tangent lately. The Hatchet I recently described has since mutated into the "Suzuki", named after Akira who first developed it. Basically, he starts with a screaming nose dive, cuts into a horizontal pass at about 5m, and then immediately flares into a hatchet. Tres cool. He and (my teammate) John Morrison seem to be able to pull this off with either the XTC or the WASP quite consistently. I have been feverishly trying to perfect my "Belly Flop", before the aforementioned sharks around me start doing it better. It starts with a moderately fast 45-degree dive aimed to hit the ground between 50 and 800f the window. At about 1 or 2 meters up, it accellerates, veers slightly towards the edge of the window, and skids to a halt on its belly. And yes, it is positioned for a relaunch (when it is done right!). Both John and I have done variants on this with the drop starting at about 4 meters up. The effect is similar to the Black Hole, in that the kite seems to get sucked out of the sky, except of course it ends up on its belly. When executed INcorrectly, the surprising reuslt is often a convincing "Avispa Roll", which Miguel and I came up with last year: When the nose touches down, the momentum carries the kite around back onto its wing tips in one quick spin, and leaves it in the perfect position for a "Snap Launch" -- the kite suddenly launches into a fast, very low ground pass...which in turn cries out for a tip stab in the center of the window... ...Did I ever tell you how much I like flying kites? -- kobi -- Kobi Eshun = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =