Flying Techniques Feature
Review
Aeolian Trailers
Interview
Discuss this Feature

It has been a long time coming, 14 months of hard graft by Brian Fattorini and Helen Ribchester, a whole lot of DV tape and hours spent knitting it altogether into a stylish designer garment.

However it is now here, an opportunity for fliers like us to get personal tuition from Andy Wardley and Carl and James Robertshaw.

Is it worth the wait?

Overview

The DVD starts with an introduction, Carl, Andy and James talk about how they got into Kite Flying. However the DVD is not all chat!

The first section of the DVD is Andy talking about and flying the Airbow. If you own an Airbow then you need to watch this. Andy covers everything from setting up and putting away the kite through to Yo-Yo's and Barrel Rolls. I must admit I have not been sold on the Airbow however much I respect Andy, but this footage is great, and being able to pause and step through the tricks really gives you an idea of the stuff this new kite is capable of.

On a four line theme the second section has James presenting a thorough coverage of flying the Revolution. Again this covers the basics; setting up and packing away; but quickly moves on to more advanced moves like the Axel.

Wardley is back in part three to talk about the Gemini. Once again we learn how to put a kite together, and Andy tells us a bit about the cross active bridle. Not only is there some great flying here, including Axel's, Flat Spins, Yo-Yo's and Jacobs Ladders all explained, but Andy gives us a bit of chat about his whole philosophy of freestyle. A treat for anyone who has never caught it, and a good laugh for the rest of us.

In part four Carl covers the Matrix and its smaller brother the Dot Matrix. Again we learn how to set a kite up, but Carl goes into significant detail on some precision style groundwork, the Comete, and how to adjust a bridle.

Finally part five is some great advice and tips from Carl and James on Team Flying including the Dynamic Map, Stick Practice, and a complete Evolver routine (without music sadly for licensing reasons).

The complete chapter list is available on Aeolian here .

Content

This DVD covers everything from the basics through to some of the most advanced stuff fliers are doing today.

If an individual has bought an Airbow, Revolution, Gemini, Matrix or Dot Matrix then this video is an excellent introduction to the kite. More and more companies are including DVD's and SVCD's with their kites, but the quality can be questionable. Here is a fantastic DVD which retailers can suggest to fliers as an introduction to their new kite, which may well bring them back to buy one of the other kites featured. If they have bought any other kite then the video is an ideal general overview and introduction to all aspects of the sport.

For the average flier there is some really good stuff in here, not only taking us back to basics, but pushing our skills. For the more experienced flier there is advanced techniques, and the Team Flying section is probably invaluable to anyone considering competition.

Anyone who has been on the UK scene for a few years will find parts of the video really quite funny. Carl with a cheeky grin talks about 'Controlled Uncontrollability' - or was it 'Uncontrolled Controllability'? Andy's laid back and chilled attitude to flying will raise the corners of the mouth even on the most wintry day stuck indoors with a bag of broken kites.

If this isn't enough then a good twenty minutes of extras is in there too including Directors Notes and some Trailers, seen before on Aeolian, but now in full DVD quality. Oh and the Easter Egg had me grinning ear to ear.

Production

The production quality is fantastic. This is professional stuff indeed, the whole DVD looking very slick. Sadly the DVD is in 4:3 rather than 16:9, but I guess that that the majority of the shots (person and kite) don't suit the wide screen format. The sound quality is great, despite the footage being mainly shot outside in the wind - Brian and Helen must have worked hard to get this right. Even better news is that it has been authored onto DVD rather than DVD-R making it compatible with all PAL format DVD players.

Conclusion

So is it worth twenty quid? If you have any interest in Sport Kite flying I would say yes. Whatever your level there is going to be some content that is not aimed at you, but there is going to be some that is spot on. Combine this with great production values from filming through to packaging and I think we have a winner. It will make you laugh, it might even make you cry, you will say 'I never knew that', you will recognize some stuff you may have heard before: All in all it is rather good.

Top job Brian, Helen, Carl, James & Andy. Now how about Flying Techniques II?