Monday 23 March 2015

Anyone for a taste of team-flying?

Dual-line pair- and team-flying is not exactly a big sport in the UK, and it could really do with some fresh blood. But how to get people make the step from flying a kite alone to flying a kite as part of a pair or team? Even if someone is excited from seeing a pair or team display at a festival or practice field, it's not so easy to give that person a first taste of what it actually feels like to fly patterns and formations together. Simply because it's not a case of asking that person to take his or her kite and just join in. Very likely that he or she has a different kite from what the team is flying. Very likely that he or she flies on 25-30m lines as opposed to the 40+m lines required for team-flying. Different kites will fly and handle differently, and line length will influence the speed of the kite. And whereas experienced team-flyers can deal with different kites being part of a formation, for someone keen on getting his or her first taste of team-flying, it's pretty essential that the kites are all the same, and the lines all of the same length.

With that in mind, we wanted to add one kite to our wide range of paired team kites, so that we would have a trio, and so could offer anyone interested a first taste of team-flying: kite's there, lines are of the right length, so all ready to go!

Question: which kite? Actually, we didn't have to think about that for very long. We have a pair of Dream On kites, which really are perfect for a first introduction into team-flying. They're a bit smaller than a typical team kite (2.21m wing span as opposed to the usual 2.40-50m), are very easy to fly, and don't pull much.



And not only do we as Flying Fish have a pair of these kites, the other members of L-katz also have one each, and we regularly fly them with the team, especially if we want to try out something new. Because of their smaller size, they provide just that wee bit more space in the sky to test out new patterns and formations.




So decision made, we got an extra Dream On via Kiteworld, and here she is, in the sky together with our earlier white one.


We also made a set of lines and leaders at the correct length, so it really is a case of kite and lines being ready to go. We can take someone along with the two of us for flying in a team of three, or go up to a team of six, if all other members of L-katz join in.

Extra Dream On and associated lines will always be standard in our team bags from now on. So if you are able to control a dual-line kite and want to get a first taste of team-flying, what are you waiting for?