Jun 15 2010
Revolution kites and the community
I have mixed feelings about my quad line kite. It’s a Revolution 1.5 SLE. Revolution kites have an online community. I am what you call a “lurker” in the Rev kite community. I don’t participate in the forums, but I do read them.
Like all communities, the people involved have a passion for whatever the community is based on. I have to keep that in mind when I observe the community from the outside. Some people treat these Rev kites like a religion. It’s hard for me to relate to that.
Quad kites allow an amazing amount of control. They’re like hummingbirds. They can stop, go in any direction and fly backwards. There are teams of people that fly in choreographed formations. They are the synchronized swimmers of the sky.
I can fly a quad kite. I am just a beginner, but it’s not that hard to fly one. I am to the point where I can have fun rather than wonder if I am using the right technique to control the kite. The question is, how far do I want to go with this?
Last night the wind was perfect. The park’s flying field was almost empty. I started with a 2 line stunt kite with a 100 foot tail attached to it. The challenge was to see what sort of curves that I could create with the tail. The kite drew several onlookers. Cool.
The wind was still good so I thought that I would whip out the quad kite. I did what I could do with it: starting and stopping in multiple orientations, flying upside down and sideways and in reverse and so on. It was boring, so I landed it and went back to the 2 line kite.
What’s wrong with me? Based on some of the passion that is visible in the forums, I thought that once I had a quad kite I wouldn’t go back, but I went back.
Maybe there’s more to it than just the kites. Maybe some of that passion comes from the community. It might be about the team flying and people helping each other with common interests. I am an outsider, but I would be willing to bet that quad kite passion is as much about people hanging out together as it is about flying the kites.
I am convinced that fractal art would not exist if it were not for the passion that is generated in the fractal art community. I know that many people have a hope that fractal art will become greater than it is, but I think it has already arrived at its final destination. Fractal art is the community.
