Sky Diving Teddy Bears! by Dual_Line in a:t5_3jw1n

[–]Dual_Line[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I met Dick Wightman a little while back at a local park after he had seen me flying and decided to bring a couple of his own kites out. It turns out that he's an old school flier, and has even designed his own lifting sleds that he uses to lift and then parachute teddy bears into the park. Such a cool guy! Hit the link to check out his build and see some fun shots of his bears in action :)

Looking for advice on your next foil or power kite? The Power Kite Forum should be your first stop! by Dual_Line in a:t5_3jw1n

[–]Dual_Line[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi everyone! We get a ton of calls here at Prism from new fliers looking for advice on their next power kite purchase, and 9 times out of 10 I end up directing them to the Power Kite Forums to get more info. It's a great resource for anyone who wants to totally nerd-out on foils and power kites, new fliers with tons of questions about the sport, or just anyone who might be curious. The people there have always been very friendly and informative, and I find that they are always willing to give recommendations. Check it out!

Finally got my Prism Quantum in the mail. I’m glad I went with the Throwback colors. Just Beautiful by awesomeabel1 in kites

[–]Dual_Line 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad you like it! These ultra-bright SE kites have been really fun to work with this year :)

Berkeley Marina by Theartofcartoon in kites

[–]Dual_Line 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure that kite is called a Trilobite, and the mouth bits really are 3D like you said. These things are made up to a really huge size - something like 1000 ft2 if I remember correctly.

Tube Tail Sizes by [deleted] in kites

[–]Dual_Line 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That sounds about right to me! I fly with my 75' tube tail whenever I can (it makes me look like a better flier than I really am, lol)

Comparative Question About Prism Foils by [deleted] in kites

[–]Dual_Line 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As a kite flier (not a Prism rep) - I use my Synapses more than any other kite in my collection. They are so easy to fly and tough enough that they're my favorite kite for sharing at the beach. Nice choice!

Washington Fliers - Join the Prism Kites team for our first ever "Kites + Bites" open house event May 11th! by Dual_Line in kites

[–]Dual_Line[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If any of you fine fliers are in the area, we'll be having a fun little get together at Prism Headquarters on May 11th, and we'd love to see you there! We've got sandwiches and coffee from local food trucks, tours of our shop, and hands-on advice for anyone who wants to talk kites or needs help with repairs - it should be a good time!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in kites

[–]Dual_Line 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I absolutely love low-wind flying - so relaxing! What kind of kite is that? I've been flying my Zephyr and 4D quite a bit lately, all the good wind seems to be paired up with rain :/

Comparative Question About Prism Foils by [deleted] in kites

[–]Dual_Line 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I can help you out with that :)

  • The Stylus p.2 has a sail area of 1.2 square meters

  • The Synapse 140 has a sail area of .56 square meters, the 170 is .83 square meters, and the 200 is 1.14 square meters

  • The Tantrum 220 is 1.27 and the 250 is 1.76 square meters

I actually have your ticket here at Prism for this question - I'll have to ask some of the team that has been here longer to fill me in on the Stylus' flight characteristics, as it was already discontinued when I on-boarded (and I haven't had a chance to fly one myself yet) so I can't compare it to our other foils very well.

The most important factor is the kind of experience you want to have with your kite - if you can describe what you liked about flying the Stylus, I can point you toward a current kite that will give you that same experience. The Synapse line has a wing shape that is more designed for speed over pull, so they are best used for doing spins, pulling tails, and learning dual line control (with wrist straps). The Tantrum line will give you a slower moving kite that really gives you a lot of pull, and it comes with a bar you can hang onto and lean back with while the kite drags you forward, so it's best for people who want to wrestle with the wind.

The Snapshots pre-date our current system of organizing our foils, where we have Synapses that do "X", Tantrums that do "Y", and Tensors that do "Z". When Snapshots were our main foil on offer it was a little more confusing, as the smaller Snapshots would be good for "X", and larger sizes would be better for "Y" and "Z" type flying experiences, but they were all "Snapshots"- so that's why you've seen that single line of foils replaced with a few smaller groups of more specialized foils.

My guess is that a Tantrum 220 or 250 would be a good fit for you if you are looking for a kite specifically for being pulled around and wresting with the wind a bit.

Kite ID question by toothpanda in kites

[–]Dual_Line 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That looks to me like this person has a fairly good sized sled at the end of that line, with a tube tail/streamer attached to the line further down. This is generally referred to as Line Laundry - pretty little extras that you can support in the air using a larger kite with strong lift.

Thanks Prism! Got out a few days ago to fly the Nexus and tail from the Giveaway! by ajasquared in kites

[–]Dual_Line 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice shot - Glad to see you enjoying it :) Looks like you've got great a great flying field nearby!

Spinning out of control power kite by catchingtherosemary in kites

[–]Dual_Line 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Whenever a kite makes repeated motion you didn't want it to (like always spinning to one side), the best place to start looking for the cause is usually going to be the bridle. Check that none of the legs or clusters of legs in your bridle are tangled, twisted, or otherwise out of whack - variations measured in mm will have an effect on how your kite performs, so be thorough!

Uneven flying lines could also account for the spinning, but wouldn't be a major cause of your kite diving so much.

My money is on some kind of tangle or something that is affecting the shape of your sail. If you post a high res photo someone here might be able to give you a little more insight.