Picasa Web Albums - John Chilese

Donna tries out my Styx City made by Jean-Paul Conne. It is framed as a standard although the colors are from the European UL. The red horns have a reinforcement triangle near the inner standoff which covers part of the red.

Odyssey UL by Airdynamics (Peter Taylor). I traded a CA Wasp (made in 1991 for Lam Hoac) for this pink beauty.

Allen is a low wind junkie. And this big, beautiful UL was just what the doctor ordered.

Who said pink doesn't fade? There's a fade right now.

On a Friday morning with little wind, Donna spent a few minutes with my Vanishing Point.

Peter Betancourt kites are to be gracefully flown, not yanked about.

Fades in light wind are very sweet.

I am a sucker for applique. Rainbow a bonus. The tire tracks are from an idiot lifeguard who drove through the kite lines.

Exile UL on long term loan to Allen from Doug.

Allen side slides this beautiful Exile UL

Allen loves ULs and low wind and being barefoot in the sand.

Dave with his B-Series Pro Rev 1.5

Kevin Bayless with his self-made patchwork Rev

John Barresi axels his iQuad Blue Revolution.

Last year Donna had a white Mustang quad-line. This year its a red one with slightly different dimensions.

Future driver being held by mom.

I asked Donna to make a stretch limo for her next car kite.

Shenkman sent a few of the kiters to the parking lot to find potential new kiters. The boys seem to have found a likely candidate.

George with a Sano by Aerostar (Paul Shirey).

Where's George? Normally, I like to get the pilot and lines. Didn't do that, but the kite sure looks good, even if the horizon is a few degrees off.

Wakeless Kites Progressive Stack by Kevin Bayless & Tad Wakeman

2 Progressive stacks flown by Kevin and Tad.

You can just see Kevin Bayless in the lower left hand corner. He's flying the gray stack. Tad is off screen.

(l-r) Kites, Tad WAKEman, Kevin BayLESS. I capatilized the parts of their last names that they used to make Wakeless Kites. Pay no attention to the extra arm and legs in the photo.

So I gave the boys my 30 foot lines so the photos would have the pilot and the kites at a good scale. They had to adjust to flying on such short lines. That rear kite is 10 feet across.

After Tad had flown, Kevin took his turn on the short line set.

Tad and Kevin pose with the kites.

Here's the best shot from the bunch. You can see all 6 kites, both kitemakers and Catalina Island.

300 Sq Ft of patchwork foil. It was very stable and well anchored.

I asked Kevin and Tad to take off their hats for this photo. It was a stretch, but they managed.

Dave poses this stunning Rev. What do you call that panel effect anyway?

Skyburner Pro Dancer Standard. Jon Trennepohl (left) believes this is the first sport kite to have enlarged wingtip areas.

(Ocius Prototype, pilot Jon Trennepohl) My first attempt at getting the front of the pilot, front of the kite and lines. Jon threw the lines to get the flip. The kite went through a full revolution and then I caught it on its 2nd rotation. So you're actually seeing the front of the kite. Sadly, on a black kite, the effect is a bit lost.

(Ocius Prototype, pilot & designer Jon Trennepohl) Here is the 2nd attempt at getting the front of the kite. But, we went past vertical into a fade with the lines wrapped under.

My friend Steve holds up the Jon Trennepohl prototype. Steve's son Sean came up with the great, but politically incorrect, name of "Sniper".

This Rev clone is called "Stained Glass" crafted by John Mason of San Diego.

Great visual impact. Notice how the vertical spars are hidden within the black, very nice.

DEFINE mark 2: span 250 cm Height 93 cm Weight 340 gram Icarex/ Mylar Skyshark P100/200/300 and 5PT Bridle Classic 3 point “One of the best kite you ever flown, the Define got it all.” This kite is designed for competition and became 9 times Dutch champion in the pair and individual classes since it’s introduction in 2004 and European champion in 2009. The Define mark 2, has been changed in every aspect to perform at the demands of the current competition scene. It got a huge wind window and a striking appearance in the sky. The precision, cornering and tracking are incredible. This big wing is doing all the tricks in the book, slow fast, all precise and with ease. The Define is a result of years competition experience and is full of small innovations and features. Adjustable leach line ensures good speed control during high and low wind. Different whisker and bridle settings to adjust easy flight characteristics. The good tracking, precision makes this kite very suitable for pair and team flying.