Jump to content

Hi from San Antonio!


Recommended Posts

Hello all!

Over the last 3/4ths of the year ive been playing a lot with the larger kites for kiteboarding, and it has taught me to respect the wind but also sparked a love for it as well.

Being in San Antonio, I'm a couple hours drive away from the water so the majority of my kite time has been toying with a 3.5 m FOIL traction kite. I have a blast and a great workout from it, but I'm limited in the movements I can do with it. This hindrance is what stumbled me upon the Rev kites.

I'm jumping in with the following setup:

Revolution Barresi Signature Series

Select Model: Standard

Lineset: 90 lb. X 120 ft. & 90 lb. X 50 ft.

Race Frame Upgrade

No Snag Handle Upgrade

How much fun am I about to start having? :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just ONE more? HEHE!! Welcome to the wonderful world of Revs, and the "Darkside"!! You push yourself into learning what ever you can and you won't be sorry!! These kites offer so much control and lend themselves to flying in teams!! You're about to embark on a life long journey!!

Let the fun begin!!ani_yahoo.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The fun is amazing, and you will have a total blast with it. One thing about Rev flying, it has taught many people how to be a much better power kite flyer. You learn things on a Rev that you never knew you could do, and then when you apply that knowledge to power kiting, you find you get more from your poer kites.

I started with Power Kites in buggying, kite surfing and boarding. I got into Revs and had a total blast. Now I have kites that I enjoy flying at the park or when the winds are lighter and I have my power kites for when I hit the lakebeds or water.

You'll have a blast - but as everyone else mentioned, be careful, they're very addicting. :) :) :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, my first experience was an extremely humbling one!

The kite arrived early this afternoon around 1pm... I took it out for about an hour & 1/2. I managed to keep the kite up in the air a few times, however it was anything but graceful. The difference between the controls are night & day compared to my other kites with a bar setup.

I also suffered my first minor injury when I was preparing to end the session for the day... getting a mild rope burn on my wrist from the kite flipping on me unexpectedly when I was attempting to detach the lines from the bridle... Ouch! I didn't notice the injury until 10 minutes later when I was in the car and it started to sting... split the skin a little too.

Looks like I have lots to learn! It's certainly not as easy as some of the videos online make it look... but I love a challenge. ani_victory.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great to hear you got out there.

Sounds like you did well for your first flight. Keep it up.

Quad Power kites are flown very differently to Quad Stunt Kites.

Kiting injuries are a mark of experience, so thats ok.

Keep up the practice dude.

I fly every weekday for 45min at least. only my second week too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ouch, sorry to hear about the line cut, those can hurt. As said (and as you have already learned) Rev's fly a bit different than normal power kites, especially coming from a control bar setup. The hardest thing to get under control is knowing that to turn, you need to use the bottom lines of the Rev, not pulling left-right. It's all in the wrists and the second thing is that Rev's are very sensitive to input, unlike power foils that are like flying greyhound busses, Rev's are more like flying a high performance sports car. :) Smaller sharp inputs are much better than powerful long drawn inputs.

Keep at it and you will start to figure it out. Once you get use to the speed and response you will do fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One bit of advise - if the kite is gonna crash - LET IT! Don't pull!! All you're doing is driving the kite harder into the ground, risking breakage or worse!! Step forward and take all the force out of the crash!! Go straighten things out and keep flying, rather than breaking something and having to quit!

Also, check that all 4 lines are equal in length, if not adjust as needed! Revs are very sensitive to line length, an unequal line will cause the kite to steer itself, instead of you being in control!! Practice a simple drill - take off eye high, hover momentarily, land back on the tips!! Get the feel of what the kite wants and needs to fill with air! As this gets easy, try higher and higher! All the time, trying to keep the kite level and under control!! Yeah it's square one, but it is a start!!

Enjoy and breathe!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Main thing is just be patient and try, try again.

In general the longer the line the more time you have to react however 120' just might be a bit long to learn on that easily.

Lines of 80' to 100' are probably better to learn on, but don't go cutting up your good 120' lines because I said this. You will need those 120' lines later when you start flying team with other REV fliers.

Hmm?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stick to the 120's until you feel that your kite is flying "really sloooowww", and you're in complete control. Each 40' less line decreases the size of the wind window by half and the line drag by one third, so your kite moves faster in a smaller space. If there are any moments of less than complete control, stick to the longer lines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also suffered my first minor injury when I was preparing to end the session for the day... getting a mild rope burn on my wrist from the kite flipping on me unexpectedly when I was attempting to detach the lines from the bridle... Ouch!

I have a suggestion for setting up that will help you avoid the kite taking off unexpectedly.

Instead of installing the vertical spars and then attaching (or detaching) the lines as shown in the video tutorials, I always install the lines before putting in the spars, and take them out before detaching the lines. This way the kite cannot get any power to even try to get away from you and makes attaching the lines easier because you don't have to lift and hold up the sail against the wind.

Try it next time you are out. In my opinion it's an easier and safer way to set up.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Chris,

There are a great bunch of folks in central Texas you might try to hook up with, mostly in the Austin area. You may want to join thier yahoo group (Cloud_Chasers · Central Texas Cloud Chasers). There is one of they guys in Team EOL that flys Revs and some of the others might too. Zilker is coming up next weekend in Austin you can get details on the AKA calendar. EOL should be flying demos and Gomberg is going to have the big American Flag out there this year from what I hear.

Thanks,

Dallas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...