Date:	Thu, 25 Nov 1993 21:29:46 -1000
From:	plepez@ulb.ac.be (Lepez Philippe)
Message-Id: <9311260729.AA08723@is1e.vub.ac.be>
Organization: Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Subject: Sorry Marty (was X-bridle)

Hi Marty, Simo Dean and all the other,

I don't butt in, I also asked Marty to describe the cross-bridle.
I publicly want to tell him that I'm sorry if I have hurt him, and explain my 
point of view. Sorry also to reply so late: I don't have much time by now.

I build kite for myself, at a rate of about one every 2 months. I don't 
compete, don't intend to, don't sell my kite, don't intend to. Most of my 
kites are not "exact" copy of the plan I have, sometimes with strange results 
(see "a bad kite",  BTW.  Thanks for those who reply, if I succeed, I'll give 
a follow up).

I like to build kites and have much more fun (and pride) flying something I 
have build. I'm not yet able to design my own kite, but I'd love to. If I was 
not able to build kites, I simply will have less of them.

Probably people like me represent a lost for the industry, but on the other 
hand we bring to kiting guys that will buy kites. The point is how many people 
build kites and how many buy them. As long as we (non buyer, non seller) are 
few that shouldn't be a problem for the industry. Btw. Does someone know what 
the proportion is ? Do we kill you ?

Having said that, I didn't intend to ask Marty to betray some secret (that no 
secret : you can buy it), for me the X-bridle was an interesting new idea, 
just like the MPS bridle that Simo gives us. If I was  living in the USA, 
I could have gone to a shop and look at the bridle and have what I want to 
have : know what is it, how it is build.
That is the reason why I don't feel I have asked you Marty something that should 
have hurt you. My mistake was to ask you and not Dean. The reason is that 
since about one year that I follow R.K, you have been so helpful that I 
consider you as some kind of distant friend. Dean is an untouchable myth.

Best regards to all, and good winds.

Philippe.

PS. I definitively second Lee's point of view about acquiring at a reasonable 
cost officials plans. In my opinion this approach will be similar to that of 
the shareware.


-- 
Philippe Lepez       (CP 125), |                           |       Good kite
Universite Libre de Bruxelles, | Email: plepez@ulb.ac.be   | +     Good wind
50 av. Roosevelt,              | Phone: 32.2.6503553       | ----------------
1050 Bruxelles,      Belgique. | Fax  : 32.2.6503323       | = A lot of fun !


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