North American team maneuvers

These maneuvers use vocabulary common among teams in the United States and Canada. They do not replace the basics: teams usually start with simpler movements in the Jst-4-Fn section, then use this vocabulary to expand what they can call and fly together.

These maneuvers were animated to make them easier to share, compare and discuss. The goal is common understanding, not a rigid rulebook. The animations are visual aids; how they work is explained in About the animations.

In practice, each leader adapts maneuvers to the team and the context. A group may agree on another name or fly a variation. What matters is that everyone shares the same understanding before the call.

Each team develops vocabulary according to its needs. This can cause confusion when several teams want to fly together at an event.

This collection draws in particular on:

• the vocabulary documented in the Mega-Fly manual;
• vocabulary developed and used by the KiteLife team.

KiteLife mostly uses two-syllable names because they are faster to call in flight.

When your team uses other names, contact us and share the context. We can add them to the collection.

In the animations, we have favored downward half-turns (downturn 180), except when that rotation would leave line turns after the exit, for example in Twister, Superstop and Blender.

A downward turn helps the kite retain pressure. It generally makes precise execution and a quick response to the next instruction easier.

Experienced teams such as KiteLife may choose to perform almost exclusively downward half-turns. Some kites will then accumulate different line turns from their teammates, so the team must plan maneuvers that compensate for them.

Agree on turn directions before flying so the team shares the same convention.

The animations sometimes include a pause so the leader’s call can be heard before the maneuver is shown.

In practice, a team may reduce these moments when the kites float. Linking maneuvers keeps more pressure in the sails and can improve the continuity of the flight, but the teammates need to be comfortable with the pace.

Start by adapting the rhythm to the least experienced pilot, then gradually reduce the pauses.

The Revolution Mega-Fly Figures manual, published in 2007 by Mike Kory, belongs to the history of megateam flying, more often called mega-fly in the American context. It helped document figures and formations flown internationally at a time when those references were less easy to share than they are today.

We keep it here as an archive for pilots who want to trace the vocabulary back to one of its sources. Some wording, names and practices need to be read in their original context; when flying with a group today, follow the conventions announced by the leader and agreed on at the field.

Download the manual: French · English · Spanish · Italian

For the specific context of large grids, also see Joining a megateam.

Last updated Jul 28, 2026