Some tricks are easier than others. The cometè, the insane and the rolling cascade are examples of tricks that I really enjoy doing in high winds. A decent fade, however, can be quite tricky to nail in a stiff breeze.
For me, it’s getting into the fade that is the hardest part. Doing a pancake-to-fade or an axel-to-fade are two common ways to enter a fade, but in higher winds, it can be very difficult to put enough slack into your lines to nail the fade.
Fall time often means windy weather up here in my neck of the woods, so lately I have had the chance to investigate this a little further. I’ve been killing two birds with a stone; firstly learning to know the Nirvana HW better, secondly trying to find an efficient and bulletproof (?) way of putting the kite into a solid fade.
…and guess what! I’ve seen the light!
OK, it may not be a new thing to many of you, but for me, it was really good news when I stumbled upon this way, and I’ll be happy to let you all in on what works very well for me and my Nirvanas … and other kites as well.
Earlier in this article, I mentioned the Insane and the Rolling Cascade, and that with a purpose, because it all started out with these moves. As you probably know these tricks originates from the same initiation, a kind of axel like input while the kite points its nose at about 8 or 5 o’clock.
This input makes the kite turn over and into a kind of skewed turtle. A quick pop on a line and the kite starts to rotate on its back. After one full rotation, you could be starting to prepare for reversing the rotation in the Rolling Cascade, but that’s not what we’re after now.
When the kite is doing its rotation and the nose points directly away from you, you pull on both lines to flip the kite over into a fade! Make sure to give a little slack to the lines allowing the kite’s nose to rise a little before you ‘catch’ the leading edges with your flying lines and lock the kite into a nice and steady fade.
This works well in lower winds as well, but for me, this is as close to a bulletproof way of putting the kite into a fade even in a stiff breeze!
…and from that fade other cool combos are available; flicflacs, Jacob’s Ladders, Backspins, and…. well, it’s all up to your imagination. So why not hit the field and give it a try!
