That day, coming back from the seaside and passing through the park, I saw several kites flying in the sky. For the past few days, I've arranged to go out and have fun at noon, bringing water along. The single-line kite, the Chaser, is the smallest in this series. The Victory kite with a full metal spool has accompanied me for over five years. The previous dual-line kite was with me for about 14 years. There’s also a frisbee.
Chaser kite, wingspan 1.8m, a total of 8 rods. The 8 rods are combined into four long rods through connecting rods. This design of the kite is to reduce storage size and make it easier to carry. It has a smaller storage volume.
I found an open space in the park, which wasn't easy. There are definitely more than a dozen kites of various sizes. If I fly here, it's best to use Kevlar line, the kind used for bulletproof vests and cut-resistant gloves. This time I used a 4-strand No. 5 line, 640 meters. While chatting with another person, I mentioned that mine was an 8-strand line. Later, I checked my shopping records and found it was a 4-strand line. I hope that person didn’t buy the wrong line.
During assembly, I felt the wind was too strong, but it seemed to be gusty. Since I was already there, I thought I’d give it a try. I almost forgot how to assemble it; it had been a long time since I last flew a kite. During the lockdown years, I hardly flew kites and didn't dare to run around.
Once assembled, I felt the wind was strong. I pressed it down on the grass, waiting for the wind to die down so the kite wouldn’t be affected by the wind. The metal buckle connected the kite, and it started to take off. The wind was indeed quite strong. I had to control the hand wheel with force to manage the rotation speed. This wheel is a simple ordinary hand wheel, without a disc brake like those on bicycles. Those with disc brakes are more expensive. I let out about 60 meters of line, and the wind direction changed significantly. The wind was at force 5.6, coming from the west with some southern gusts mixed in. The kite plummeted rapidly, feeling like it was about to crash into a distant willow tree. I stepped back and adjusted my position, and the kite slowly regained its posture and began to ascend. The triangular shape of the kite felt a bit deformed; the wind was too strong. I started to let out more line, controlling the speed of the reel with force. It wasn’t working. I began to move forward with the wind direction, and the kite regained its triangular posture. I couldn’t move forward any longer. At this moment, my second child said he wanted to fly it. I told him it wasn’t the right time; the wind was too strong. I thought to myself that I couldn’t control it and probably would only lose one kite at most. My second child might end up losing both the kite and the reel, and it could also injure someone. My hand holding the reel was starting to feel a bit painful.
Taking advantage of the slightly reduced wind, I quickly reeled in the line while also avoiding other kites. There was a goldfish kite that got slightly tangled for a while, but fortunately, none of the lines broke. I continued to reel in the line and moved forward a bit to make it easier and less tiring to reel in. It was a close call. I directly dismantled the kite and packed up.
Next time, I’ll prioritize smaller kites, especially in crowded and windy places. Being small is an advantage.
The various ripples formed on the water surface by the wind. My second child said it looked like the universe.
I also brought two parrots that performed well to play.