Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1993 21:20:22 -1000 From: arielf@jedi.harvard.edu (Ariel Faigon) Message-Id: <1993Sep17.072022.24917@berlioz.nsc.com> Organization: National Semiconductor Corporation Subject: Fishing reel for kites Hi kite lovers, It is my first time in this newsgroup, and my English is not perfect, so please bear with me. I'd like to share an idea that I have recently implemented. I bought a simple kite (no stunts, no double-strings etc.) After flying it several times, I found it quite exahusting to bring it back down, especially in moderate/strong wind conditions. Then I had an idea: I bought a big professional fishing reel with enough space for a long string, a baseball bat, and two round band fasteners (sorry if this is the wrong term). I connected the reel to the bat with the fasteners, reeled my long kite string on the new spool, and voila, the bring-it-down job has never been easier ever since. Highly recommended. The fishing reel even has a friction clutch mechanism that can be adjusted for gradually releasing the string to bring it up effortlessly. I adjust it so that the wind force is a little bit stronger than the friction and it goes up without escaping too fast thereby loosing lift. Down-side: the fishing reel cost about seven times the price of the kite. Yet, I feel it was worth it. I apologize if this is a trivial/known idea to all you experts. Please let me know if you do this too or find it useful by e-mail as I usually don't read this newsgroup. Happy flying. -- Peace, Ariel arielf@mirage.nsc.com = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1993 05:16:40 -1000 From: sasaki@netop3.harvard.edu (Marty Sasaki) Message-Id: <1993Sep17.151640.25535@das.harvard.edu> Organization: Harvard University Subject: Re: Fishing reel for kites In article <1993Sep17.072022.24917@berlioz.nsc.com>, arielf@jedi (Ariel Faigon) writes: >Then I had an idea: I bought a big professional fishing reel >with enough space for a long string, a baseball bat, and two >round band fasteners (sorry if this is the wrong term). >I connected the reel to the bat with the fasteners, reeled my >long kite string on the new spool, and voila, the bring-it-down >job has never been easier ever since. Highly recommended. >The fishing reel even has a friction clutch mechanism that can >be adjusted for gradually releasing the string to bring it up >effortlessly. I adjust it so that the wind force is a little >bit stronger than the friction and it goes up without escaping >too fast thereby loosing lift. This is a great idea, if you can afford it. Years ago, I met a couple who had custom made fishing poles that they used for kite flying. The poles where short but powerful and had fancy decorations on them. >I apologize if this is a trivial/known idea to all you experts. >Please let me know if you do this too or find it useful by e-mail >as I usually don't read this newsgroup. Everyone should contribute ideas. There are no experts here, just folks with a little more experience than others... -- Marty Sasaki Harvard University Sasaki Kite Fabrications sasaki@noc.harvard.edu Network Services Division 26 Green Street 617-496-4320 10 Ware Street Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Cambridge, MA 02138-4002 phone/fax: 617-522-8546 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1993 07:06:15 -1000 From: wjon@okcforum.osrhe.edu (Jon Wagner) Message-Id: Organization: Okcforum Unix Users Group Subject: Re: Fishing reel for kites I have used my love of fishing many times for kiting. When I take a class of 6th or 7th graders out, I have only 52 minutes to get organized, get in the air and get back to class, so that they aren't late to their next class. Standard deep sea reels or very large lake reels work best for me. And, yes, as was mentioned they are expensive. I use spinning reels, so that I can remove the kite spool and put the fishing line spool back on, with the simple exchange of spools. jon wagner = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =