North American team maneuvers

Over 40 team maneuvers are available. These animations use the vocabulary of teams in the USA and Canada. We plan to add dozens more!

You may think these maneuvers are impressive and difficult. Don’t worry! You won’t have to start with the whole series of complex maneuvers! Pilots often start with the basic moves in the Jst-4-Fn section.

Thanks to François Larouche and John Barresi for their contributions! These figures are updated as we learn from them.

Introduction

We’ve animated these maneuvers with the aim of sharing them easily, fostering a common understanding and vocabulary, and finally, inspiring kitefliers who would like to fly as a team.

In practice, each leader adapts these maneuvers to his own context and team. For example, he may agree on a different name, or propose a variation. And that’s okay! The important thing is that team members share the same understanding.

The vocabulary

Each team develops its own vocabulary according to its needs. This poses a few problems when these teams want to fly together at meetings.

Here, we’ve mainly used :

• The vocabulary in the Mega-Fly manual, which you’ll find in Team Flying Basics.
• The vocabulary developed by the KiteLife team.

Note that the KiteLife team mostly uses 2-syllable names, as they’re quicker to say.

If you fly with other names in your team, contact us to share them with us. We’ll be happy to add them!

The meaning of half-turns (180)

In the animations below, we’ve favored half-turns from below (downturn 180), with the exception of situations where line turns remain after figure exit, for example: Twister, Superstop and Blender.

A downward turn has an aerodynamic advantage: the kite loses less pressure. It’s therefore easier to execute, more precise, and the kite still under pressure can react to the next instruction more quickly.

Experienced teams, like the KiteLife team, may choose to perform almost exclusively downturns (180). In return, some kites will accumulate line turns, while others will not. The team will then have to perform a series of maneuvers to compensate for these line turns.

We recommend exchanging information within the team on these directions of rotation, so as to share a common convention.

The rhythm

Animations sometimes include stops to hear the leader’s call and then watch the execution of the maneuver.

In practice, a team can limit these moments when the kites are floating in the air. These stops often lead to inaccuracies and kite oscillations. John Barresi’s advice is to carry out one maneuver after another without stopping. This keeps the kites under more pressure. This offers greater precision and more constant flight in light winds. On the other hand, team-mates need to be comfortable with the rhythm of the maneuvers.

We recommend adapting the rhythm to the weakest level in the team, then gradually reducing the downtime.

Team maneuvers

Follow

Texas slide

Sometimes also called “Pez”.

San Diego slide

Up-turn / down-turn

Radar

Thread

Matrix / Dosey do

2 and 3 to edges

Ball / In line

Burst / Half bursts

Fly through

Scissor burst

Scissor burst with 4 kites

Scissor burst with 6 kites

Tweak

Shutter

Twister

Twister with 4 kites

Twister with 6 kites

… by … by …

1 by 2 by 3

1 by 2 by 1

2 by 2

Ladder up

Pinwheel

Twisted sister

Benefits

Benefits with 4 kites

Benefits with 5 kites

Compound benefits

Compound benefits with 4 kites

Compound benefits with 6 kites

Blender with 4, 6, 8 or 10 kites

Number of kites flying :

Superstop

Superstop with 4 kites

Superstop with 6 kites

Superstop with 5 kites

This maneuver is a little unusual because of the odd number of kites. You’ll notice a difference especially in the first quarter rotation.

Short blender

French gears

Slam dance

Note:

• Slam dance was designed to initiate the Rolling radar maneuver below.
• This maneuver could end in a follow to the right.

Rolling radar

Note: this maneuver is still incomplete:

• It lacks a movement “double face” around 0:11.
• Calls for each step could be made, e.g. the number of degrees of rotation, “land” to the 2 final landings.

Radar wheel

Stall wraps

Note: For the last movements, the KiteLife team uses the name “Split 80” instead of “Split 180” used in the animation, in order to go faster.

Cascade

Headrush

Pickup sticks

Pickup sticks launch

Upcoming maneuvers

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of upcoming maneuvers: Flank up / down / right / left, Face out, Left / Right box, Roll out, Pill burst, Tip pivot, Weave / Double weave / Bangers and mash, Shift places, Kisses, Morph to …, Snap to cube, Snap it, Cross walk, Take down / rise in, Twin radar, Leave the middle 2, Fountain, Arch, Philly, Joker.

Examples of team flying

Take a look at a selection of team flying examples. The maneuvers are easy to read and the calls are clear.

Thanks to the authors of these videos and to John Barresi for putting them together!

Team KiteLife

Training

You can watch over 200 calls and associated tricks! We’ve written these calls below the minute-by-minute video.

Leader calls (excluding go, now and 180)

• 0:00 → 0:30: wait for it, launch, to ball, burst, fly through, easy tweak, tweak
• 0:30 → 1:00: twister, flank in, kisses, roll out to cross walk, roll in, peel burst, scissor burst
• 1:00 → 1:30: return (to ball), back to line, face out, weave over the top, keep it up, slap it, team by team, 1 2 roll over,
• 1:30 → 2:00: launch, morph to thread, to the edge, down and in, stop on line, continue, matrix, matrix twin, superstop
• 2:00 → 2:30: all the way, to the edge, take down, rise in, stop on line, continue, leave the middle 2
• 2:30 → 3:00: pinwheel, outside only, matrix, matrix back, up and in, passing, down and in, flank up
• 3:00 → 3:30: (follow), face up to land
• 3:30 → 4:00: launch, hold, ball, philly, ball, line, thread
• 4:00 → 4:30: line, ball, philly, to the edge, diamonds, passing, diamond return, to kisses
• 4:30 → 5:00: to cross walk, head, easy peel burst, twister, flank in, to line
• 5:00 → 5:30: to thread, superstop, again, to the edge, take down, rise in exit twin, take down
• 5:30 → 6:00: exit twin, all the way over, take down, rise in exit to matrix, matrix back exit to take down
• 6:00 → 6:30: rise in exit to matrix, matrix and take down, (rise in) exit to blender, (back), twin,
• 6:30 → 7:00: (back) exit to the edge, leave the middle 2, (pinwheel), (back), everybody to the edge, pinwheel, to the edge
• 7:00 → 7:30: pinwheel, outside only, twisted sister, all to the edge, take up, drop
• 7:30 → 8:00: twin up, all the way (x4), (back) exit to the edge, stop on line, continue
• 8:00 → 8:40: leave the middle 2, (everybody continue), leave (the middle 2), (everybody continue), fire drill and unwrap
• 8:40 → 9:00: (launch), (follow), 2 by 2, left box
• 9:00 → 9:30: coming out 2 by 2 for bangers, roll (x2), other way roll, roll team by team, all the way
• 9:30 → 10:00: follow, flank up together, ball, burst, fly through, tweak, tweak back, fly through, scissor burst
• 10:00 → 10:30: (back), return (to ball), to line, face out, forward, cross walk, (back), peel burst, twister
• 10:30 → 11:00: (back), turn in the center, (back), back to line, face out, double weave, pivot up on the right
• 11:00 → 11:30: slap it, team by team, coming low for landing, hand spin, (launch)
• 11:30 → 12:00: slam dance, rolling radar, double face, all the way down, all the way over, down
• 12:00 → 12:30: launch, to ball, to line, morph to low thread, morph to cube, back to thread, back to line, to ball, to line, to thread, to cube, to thread, to line, to ball, to burst, fly through
• 12:30 → 13:00: slide into the ball, easy roll to kisses on top kites
• 13:00 → 13:30: shake it to ball, burst, (back), half bursts, return, to line, face right, follow
• 13:30 → 14:00: 1 2 Indy, unwrap landing, stallwraps launch, split eighty, dive sticky
• 14:00 → 14:30: (follow), landing, team by team, 45 landings, odds only, switch it
• 14:30 → 15:00: stick it, unwrap landing, launch, to ball, to line, to thread, to cube, roll out, thread now, snap to cube and switch, other way, morph to thread, blender
• 15:00 → 15:30: (back), take down, rise in, again, rise in, superstop, all the way, edges
• 15:30 at the end : passing through, flank up, follow, face up to land

Show en festival

Here are the leader’s calls (apart from “now”):

• 0:00 → 0:30: ready, stall wraps, rise, split 80, attack, launching together, to ball, to line, to thread,
• 0:30 → 1:00: edges, 180, 180, matrix, matrix twin, 180, all the way over, 180
• 1:00 → 1:30: to the edge, 180, stop on line, continue, 180, leave the middle 2, ouside (180), leave 2, outside (180), all to the edge, 180, pinwheel all the way,
• 1:30 → 2:00: 180, outside only, outside (180), (2 kites go with the outside ones), outside (180), all go, 180, superstop
• 2:00 → 2:30: 180, (back), to the edge, 180, take down, 180, rise in double down, 180, rise in
• 2:30 at the end : (to the edge), 180, pass through, 180, stop on line, blender, 180, go outside, to the edge, 180, pass through, 180, flank up together

Show en festival

Leader calls (excluding go, now):

• 0:00 → 0:30: (fly through), 180, scissor burst, 180, (back), twister, 180, flank in, 180, to line
• 0:30 → 1:00: morph to thread, edges, down and in, stop on line, edges, 180, matrix, 180, matrix twin, 180, all the way over, 180, to the edge, 180
• 1:00 → 1:30: flank up, fountain, 180, (back), right turn, setting up the shifting, other way
• 1:30 → 2:00: face out, cross walk, 180, roll up, peel burst, 180, return, back to line, morph to thread, blender, 180, (back)
• 2:00 → 2:30: to the edge, 180, stop on line, go, 180, leave the middle 2, outside (180), stop on line, hold, pinwheel all the way, outside only
• 2:30 → 3:00: 180, superstop, 180, all the way, to the edge, 180, take down, rise in (and again), 180, hold
• 3:00 → 3:30: launch, (rise in) 180, flank up, slam dance, rolling (radar)
• 3:30 → 4:00: stall wraps, rise in, split 80, droping unwrap land, launching, ball
• 4:00 → 4:30: philly, (diamond out), 180, (back), twister, 180, (back)
• 4:30 → 5:00: flank in, 180, back to line, face out, double weave, ?, 180, twin radar, hold, 180, blender
• 5:00 → 5:30: 180, (back), edges, 180, take down, 180, rise in, 180, matrix, 180, matrix, up and in
• 5:30 → 6:12: down and in, flank up, keep tight, roll over landing, left wing, right wing

Team training quad clinic

Here you can listen to John Barresi teaching team tricks. Subtitles are available on this video. Here’s the list of maneuvers and moments in the video:

• Blender: 1:05 → 2:20
• Take down and rise in: 2:35 → 4:40
• Odd-even roll (or Big top roll): 4:57 → 5:40
• Bangers and mash: 5:36 → 6:26
• Twister: 6:30 → 7:45
• Roll to kisses and shift place anticlockwise: 7:45 → 9:35
• Cross walks: 9:35 → 10:30
• Peel burst: 10:30 → 10:50

John explains that “quad clinics” is a time for sharing quad line kites. His aim is to make his experience of over 20 years accessible and share it universally with kitefliers. The 2nd objective is to have fun, build confidence within the group and familiarize people with team flying. Someone who has just bought a quad line kite can join the clinic and learn all about it on the ground. Clinics are designed to familiarize kitefliers with their gear. The first part of the “quad 101” clinic provides knowledge on :

• the different quad line kites
• how they work
• their composition
• how to fly them
• body positioning and mindset
• how we see the sky
• how we divide up the wind/flight window
• the different aspects: team flying, short-line flying, etc.

These times of sharing aim to put participants in a position to succeed, whatever their experience. This is the heart of kite flying. Kite flying is an individual expression. There’s no right way to fly a kite. It’s the way each person connects the most that’s preferred. Ultimately, the goal is to identify what each pilot enjoys doing, show them how to follow their instincts and develop what they want to become.

Megateam

Here’s an example of Megateam in a 5×5 grid: Youtube video by Gordon Sievers. Here’s a list of the maneuvers performed:

• 0:00 → 0:20: grid size changes (expand grid, normal grid)
• 0:20 → 1:30: double rings, ring by ring slow burst, all slow burst, fast burst
• 1:30 → 2:34 one ring, slow burst, fast burst
• 2:34 → 3:25: grid, horizontal thread
• 3:25 → 3:50: grid size changes (compressed grid / normal grid)
• 3:50 → 4:24: vertical thread (odd column forward and even column reverse)
• 4:24 → 5:35: double arches, arch by arch slow burst, all slow burst, fast burst
• 5:55 → 9:10: grid, switch places (outside rectangle clockwise, inner rectangle anticlockwise)
• 9:10 → 10:10: double rings, ring by ring slow burst, slow burst, fast burst
• 10:10 → 11:00 one ring, slow burst, fast burst
• 11:00 → 11:28: vertical thread
• 11:28 → 12:56: horizontal thread
• 12:56 → 15:05: switch places (outer rectangle, two columns)
• 15:05 → 16:23: double arches, ring by ring slow burst, slow burt, fast burst
• 16:23 → 17:30 one arch, slow burst, fast burst
• 17:30 at the end: all the pilots go back in line, then go back in grid, then go back in line

Team Iquad

Example 1

44 seconds of flight! Here are the leader’s calls (excluding “now”): 180, blender, go, 180, flank up, flank up, ball, philly.

Example 2

The leader’s calls are below the video.

Here are the leader’s calls (excluding “now”):

• 0:00 → 0:30: fire and ready, slow tip pivot up
• 0:30 → 1:00: drop, face up to ball, slow burst, back in, slow burst and twister, fly through, 180, pinwheel, 180, 180
• 1:00 → 1:30: stop on ball
• 1:30 → 2:00: to line, pinwheel inside 90, odd face right, edges, 180, fly through, 180, small pump, 180, twin radar, 180
• 2:00 → 2:30: blender, twin, 180, matrix to edges, 180, matrix to edges
• 2:30 → 3:00: 180, compound benefits, twins, edges with pump, 180, stop on line
• 3:00 → 3:30: face up, fountain, flank right, go
• 3:30 → 4:00: go, tip pivot down continue, down ?, radar bottom, 180, fire the outside
• 4:00 → 4:30: outside 180, all go, 180, leave the outsides, outside 180, radar bottom, 180, hold on line
• 4:30 → 5:00: even face left, regular benefits, edges, outside 180, with pump, 180, leave the middle 2, outside 180
• 5:00 → 5:30: (pinwheel) 360, 180, all around, fire the outsides, outside 180, blender
• 5:30 → 6:00: edges, flank up on line
• 6:00 → 6:30: 1 by 2 by 1 left right, 1 away, 2 away, 1 away, get ready to walk
• 6:30 at the end : launching left radar, 180, radar bottom

Example 3

Here are the leader’s calls (excluding “now” and “go”):

• 0:00 → 0:30: thread, down, in, pump go, 180
• 0:30 → 1:00: matrix, 180, matrix twin, 180, benefits, 180, go, 180, leave the middle 2
• 1:00 → 1:30: 180, leave 2, 180, pinwheel, 180, fire the outside, 180
• 1:30 → 2:00: with pump, 180, with pump, 180, take down, 180, down, walk, rise in
• 2:00 → 2:30: down, in, stop on line, 180, flank in, fountain
• 2:30 → 3:00: 180, go, radar down, 180
• 3:00 → 3:30: up, stop on line, “puff” (x6), 180, twin radar, 180, go in
• 3:30 → 4:00: stop on line, unwrap, all face right, (follow) 1 2 3 4 5 6
• 4:00 → 4:30: (no calls)
• 4:30 → 5:00: tip landing, follow, 45, odd diamond, even diamond, 180, all diamond, face left, 1 2 3 4 5 6

Resources

• John Barresi’s Youtube playlist

Coming soon

More maneuvers and more videos! 🙂

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• Jst-4-Fn team maneuvers
• Animation FAQ
• Our project