Untitled - KiteLife

From "Frequent Flyer" Ron Fikes of Palo Alto, CA comeseven more new tips and hot items for stunt flyers andbuilders . . .(1) Keep those old credit cards - they make excellent"creasers" when you fold rip-stop over for hems . (Wetried this one . . . it really works! Also found out that theymake good starters for tail wrapping in a pinch .)(2) Trying to put two fiberglass tubes together but thelarge one is a sloppy fit over the small one? How to gluethem - go to the hobby shop and buy a package of SIG"Easy Hinges" . This material can be cut into strips andused as a filler between the tubing . It wicks up the CA(Cyano-acrilate) glue like crazy and does away withthick, slow-drying epoxy usually used to fill gaps .(3) Don't have the right size punch for vinyls and wantto drill instead? Put the vinyls in the fridge or freezer anddrill them after they're cold . ., no squishing plastic . . . justfirm and drills like a dream .Next a few more from Portland, Oregon's Don Lary .Don has been involved with kites for about ten yearsand admits to owning more kites and other pieces ofsky garbage than he'd care to count! A frequentcontributor, Don's offers the following for this "field trip" .The original idea for this next one, according to Don,came from Mike Straw, of Vancouver, BC around 1985 .It's a "Phantom" frame that can be used in front ofstacks of diamond-stunters and was originally usedwith Rainbows .Construction is relatively easy . It is made of 1/4" I .D .aluminum tubing cut to lengths A-C, A-B, and B-C and3 one-inch-long sections which have been flattened,drilled and welded upright in the corners . When completed,the frame is then flown three inches in front ofthe lead kite . This will take the strain off the lead kitewhen flown in large stacks without the necessity ofusing heavy-duty sparring .PHANTOM FRAMEEND OF THE LINEHigh Visibility orange Dacron sleeving helps to findthose "lost" line ends on the field . Source: MikeSterling/Cyborg Kites .