Flying Techniques 4

10. Horizontal Reverse

Flight Legend:

Fly up to 20', turn 90? and fly toward edge of wind window. Apply thumb pressure (reverse control) to both handles to start reverse flight. As the kite begins to reverse, it will also start sliding down. While reversing, you can, at the same time, pull back on the high wing to counter the down slide. Fly slowly in reverse to avoid flipping a wing. Practice on level flight paths both forward and reverse.

11. Facet Turns (The Clock)

Fly up to hover at center of wind. Snap turn to 90? (c.w.), stop and hover... Snap turn to 180? (inverted), stop and hover... Snap turn to 270? (c.w.), stop and hover... Finally complete the rotation with a 90? snap turn to the face up position.

Practice both clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations. Focus on pure center point rotation and dead steady hovering between turns. For team flying, 8-point facet turns (45? intervals) should also be mastered. Precision and sharpness can be enhanced by following the snap turn by a momentary snap in the opposite direction thus canceling and instantly stopping the initial snap spin. This type of precision takes practice, but it also leads to world class level performances.

Flight Legend:

12. Inverted Snap Spin