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jburka

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Posts posted by jburka

  1. Huh. I had no idea Rev was no recommending removing the LE. That's tantamount to admitting that there's a weak point in the sail design that they're not addressing by adding additional reinforcements.

    That said, 27+ years of flying Revs has taught me that the only thing you need to do to protect the mesh when storing a kite is to pull the outer LE spars ends about an inch outside the edge of the kite, which lessens the pressure on the fold point. I literally can't remember the last time I had to repair the screen on any of my gear.

  2. Thank you for all your responses. I have been without internet access for a few days. I'll try to answer all the questions in one post.

    1) I am in the DC area for the next few months

    Ah, perfect. The local club, Wings Over Washington, meets on the Washington Monument grounds (just west of the monument, between 17th, Independence, and Constitution) on the first Sunday of every month. Most of the folks who show up fly revs (and some of us have been doing it for over a quarter century!) and you'll learn more than you could imagine...

    In fact, my avatar photo is taken in our usual flying spot, with a ton of revs on the ground behind me.

    Next first Sunday is June 5th. Come on down!

    • Like 1
  3. Just wanted to hop in with a follow-up to Paul's posts from March. I've finally put sticks on the back of my zen (none of my 1.5s have 'em), a Flying Smiles french bridle on the front (with some minor tweaking by Paul) and a hybrid frame (2wrap center, race outers on the LE, Zen verticals).

    My Zen was one of the first off the production line back in, what, 2010? It's never the first kite I pull out in light winds; I'd rather fly an SUL B2 and have fun on my own if there's not enough wind for team flying with 1.5's.

    With the tweaks and tuning, Sunday was the most fun I'd ever had with a Zen. The kite tracked, turned, and stayed loaded in a way it never has before.

    • Like 3
  4. If you made the line sets from power-kite lines they are much stronger and heavier than what is normally used for Revs. Revs usually use 90 or 100-lb line, whereas the power kites start at 150-lb and go up from there. On the average they are in the 250 to 300-lb range. Might be too heavy for it, but with strong enough wind it will fly.

    Eh. Really not an issue on a short set! I used to fly a Rev II on a powerkite line set that was 300# top / 150# bottom that I had cut down to about 25'. For a long time they were my favorite lines in any wind.

  5. Still looking for the banner pole. When will it reach the East Coast? There are several of us in NC that are eagerly awaiting them.

    All you have to do is call Lolly! A bunch of us east coasters already have them. I was using mine for most of this past weekend at MIKE/MASKC in Ocean City

  6. It seems the folks who are best at this style of flying have some pretty serious indoor skills.

    I'd actually argue that it's the other way around -- having serious UL wind condition experience makes you a better indoor flyer! DC is known for it's awful wind conditions, especially in the hot months, and I've found that indoor is easier when i'm not worried about a 1mph "gust" knocking my kite out of the air!

    To me, the main thing is learning the correct feel on the handles for when the sail is loaded, even when the kite isn't pulling. You want to be able to maintain that feel as you pull back on the handles to generate relative wind. Once the kite has started moving forward, you can move your hands forward again, thanks to the momentum you've just given the kite. Practice moving the kite through the entire hemisphere around you. Perhaps start by putting the kitedown wind and then pulling the lines to bring the kite straight up and over your head, then letting it glide back downwind. Practice doing 360s with the kite positioned vertically a few feet off the ground.

    But, as always, have fun. Nothing else matters...

  7. It is most likely a REV I.

    Actually, as far as I know, it has to be a Rev I. T300 is actually a reference to the modulus of the carbon used in the spars, and the early Rev I (under either the Neos Omega or Revolution name) was the only kite, to my knowledge, that had that particular marking silk screened on it.

  8. Anybody from Rev going?

    I don't have an actual answer, but when I spoke to Lolly at KP12 last month, she was hoping she might make it.

    Me, I'll arrive late Thursday and be on the field all day friday through sunday.

  9. Hmm. Looks like the last time I remembered to post in here was late 2011, when I got my Shook 100%. Since then, I've added the masterpiece challenge Burkhardt, a Bazzer Dragons, a Dean Jordan masterpiece, and an xtra-vent. Which may or may not be all of the Revs I've gotten since 2011. But it's a start. Think that's +4 to 22.

    • Like 1
  10. Cool, thanks for the info! I thought I read that the B2 is a slightly different size then the Rev II ... Is that anything to be worried about when buying a frame?

    Nope, it's just the cut of the sail that's different; all Rev 2 frames are interchangeable, as are all 1.5 frames (though using an SLE will require a particular style of end caps).

  11. I flew that Zen in the mediocre conditions at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center (a subruban annex of the Air and Space Museum)a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty spectacular.

    Bazzer sewed the sail. We knew that...it's a Zen, after all.

    Then it was sent to Elliot Shook, masterpiece series artist. He sewed the leading edge, using an old roll of mylar-backed fabric (ripstop? dacron? Honestly not sure. But it's shiny!) that LaMaster's provided.

    Then the kite went to Rev, where it was finished.

    Of course, the mods don't stop there.

    Paul won't fly without magic sticks. So those are on the back.

    And Paul likes to swap frames on his kites. This frame is a custom set of the Diamond sticks that Ben was offering a few weeks ago. Stiff, light, strong. And, of course, Paul isn't satisfied with a stock bridle. So there's a Rev 1 French bridle on there.

    I don't want to know what Paul spent on this thing. Hell, I don't want to know what he spent shipping it across the country three times! I doubt that it would even be possible for another person to get a matching kite (got your own roll of that bizarre LE sleeve material? Does Ben have any more of the graphite he was using to make that limited run of sticks?)

    I just know that I like it. A LOT.

    • Like 1
  12. The SLE STD and SUL are basically identical, except that the SLE has the Super Leading Edge and 3 wrap verticals, while the SUL is a full two-wrap frame. They share the same sail (ripstop poly). Frankly, I can't recall if a lighter weight bridle is used on the SUL, but I don't believe so. There's absolutely no comparison in wind range -- the SUL with 2s will fly in very light wind, as you'd expect from the name. The SLE will perform much better in higher winds, but is still not a frame choice selected by many people any more (too stiff, not worth the weight, etc.)<br /><br />The advantage to buying the SUL is that if you want, you could always purchase an SLE leading edge and use it in the same kite.<br /><br />The biggest downside to the SUL is, if you're new to the Rev, it's a more fragile frame to be learning on. Not that it can't be done. But it's worth pointing out.

  13. Will Elliott do black center panels? I was also wondering if you have any kind of template that we could customize as well?

    I've been trying to get Eliot to make me a black center sail for almost a year now and he keeps blowing me off with excuses! C'mon, man, I'm trying to give you money!

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