Go Fly A Kite!

We went to the History of Diving Museum again yesterday to see the exhibits. Our next-door neighbor was an interesting fellow from Ft. Myers named Dan Reynolds and I invited him along. It's always amazing how nice the people we've met on the road have been. Dan enjoyed the museum and afterwards cooked a great pork roast on the grill. A wonderful night.
The museum lived up to its billing and had more diving equipment than expected. They have a wall full of diving helmets from around the globe from the 1840's on. I was proud to have been diving long enough that some of my old gear is now collectible. I wish I could find my "Cousteau-Gagnon Royal Aqua-Master" double hose regulator to donate to them. It had a particularly low 5-digit serial number, and made me look like Lloyd Bridges when I dove with it.
On the way back I pulled into "The Otherside" ,a kite-boarding shop in Islamorada.
Mike, the owner, had his 4-year old chief salesman Cody in the shop and they were a hoot. Cody showed me several trainer kites and told me all about his selections. He's probably the youngest kite-boarder in the world and a very nice boy. Mike is all you'd expect from the owner of such a place, but beneath the blond dreadlocks, I sensed a business guy working hard to appeal to his target audience of thirty-year olds and up, who think they're a lot younger.
Even though Micky looked at me like I'd lost my senses, I bought a Hydro 300 3-meter, three-line kite. A nice package that came with a backpack and Mike threw in a DVD from Best to help start me off. And he made sure I knew to call him with any and all questions.
Today I got Micky to help me launch the kite after the tide came in to give us a beach to work with.
The reason for the three lines is left,right, and brakes. The third line also lets you launch the kite backwards out of the water and then turn it over and swoop away.
The handle seemed really oversize and the wrist lanyard for the brake line was really impressive. In a really bad problem, such as a high-speed swoop into a crowd, you can release the bar and the kite will collapse and fall harmlessly. Also keeps you from plowing the beach with your nose!
Unlike most of the toy kites I've flown, you launch this one at the edge of its "wind window" A 10-foot wide, 4-foot chord efficient airfoil has really good pull and it will surprise you as it cuts through its "power zone".
The reason for all the aerodynamic efficiency is that the wind inflates the kite. Through two ingenious openings and tubes in the leading edge, the pressure of the wind inflates the forward portion of the airfoil and the tubes then collapse forming valves when the pressure comes off. That make the kite float, hold shape and be able to relaunch from the water. Even with the leading edge down, you call haul in the brake line and launch it backwards.
With Micky courageously holding the deflated, limp form while I untwisted the lines, I finally moved off into the water to get approximately the right angle for the launch. When the lines went taut, the kite inflated and took off after a few flops in the water. In fact, my first take-off was backwards. Once up the kite flew dead overhead and I started sorting out the controls. Almost immediately, I lost it and the kite slammed in at high speed not 10 feet from Micky. I then launched it and moved a good 20 feet offshore to prevent hitting anyone.
The instructions from the "dude" on the DVD helped enormously. My initial problem was because the left bridle is probably 1 inch too long with the result that a straight bar equals a hard right turn. I'll fix that fast!
The kite is strong and fast! When it cuts through the four-clock high area, it will pull you forward strongly. And 12 o'clock to the ground is very fast. If there's a lull in the wind, the kite drops into the "zone" and when the lull is over, the power is amazing!
I started off with lazy figure eights overhead while sorting out the bar "trim" angle. Once it was clear where center was, I started working on landings. The kite is controllable enough to dip a wingtip in the water and hold it there.
My shoulders tired quickly in the 12-18 knots we're having and I got my brave partner to help me land and deflate the kite. More flying tomorrow in a little less wind.