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REVflyer

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Posts posted by REVflyer

  1. Customizing is normal in my community (no-wind, 5 months per year) and I am a former kite builder myself. Retail destined products have a material cost/labor point where extra efforts will not increase the purchase price consumers are willing to pay or profit margin for the manufacturer.

    For yourself though?,... you'd do anything, buy any supplies or product, use difficult materials, carefully plan your design around powerful graphics. But if you had to make a five dozen of 'em, you'd certainly make compromises, use templates, assembly jigs and repeatable techniques. You'd source only raw materials that fit within a specific price point. Wasting of fabric scraps would not be expected, just as an example.

    I have access to several excellent kite builders within my local club and I've been a quad-head for a couple of decades, almost exclusively. I have stolen every idea I ever liked and done a ton of experimenting to determine the proper "feel" on the ends of the lines.

    Finally, my wife loves custom jewelry, so I can justify my decadence with the best gal (who also runs the wallet of our household!) This kite was easy to acquire, she showed me some new earrings and I knew she could not refuse her 3rd husband, regardless of the final cost. In fact I should have bought two of them for pairs flying, "HEY you've got 2 ears, it is only fair Sweetie!"

    • Like 1
  2. I received a replacement Zen a few weeks ago. Man it is such a slick addition to my kite bag! Lolly, Ben, Bazzer and Eliot all had a hand in crafting it to my exact requirements. The darn thing is such a pleasure to fly, because I have expanded the wind range to comfortably use it in double digits and still kept all of that fabulous low-end performance.

    It's a 3-D monster too, a killer glide (at least 3-1/2 or 4 times the altitude), axels can be timed with a sun-dial, it rolls up into the string on the ground, unrolls and is just too easy to fly regardless of the conditions. I know why I wore out the first one, this kite gets used and abused as it's almost always the perfect choice for my local conditions.

    Anyway, I just got back from Swift Current (Windscape kit fest) and the Zen carried me like a burro once again! When others were not thrilled with the morning's conditions, I was like a kid in a candy store. Sunday was too windy to even assemble it (so basically, they didn't need me at all that day!)

    Friday night and Saturday morning though,..... I dragged a full bag stuffed with Revs and only used this one kite! 90 feet of 90#LPG on 15 inch no snags.

    Mine isn't stock and the differences in flight/feel/durability/tricking are profound, at least it is exactly what I expected. Other Zen owners are the ones who are surprised.

    Again, thank you to all who touched or had a hand in my kite's creation, you are GREAT and so are your efforts!

    • Like 3
  3. here's a link to Jared Haworth's videos http://www.youtube.com/user/jardeon if you need some additional footage.

    The ones from the National Air & Space Museum's indoor fly in March are probably most valuable. The Smithsonian Institution is a part of the federal government and priceless displays for the public to share is it's entire mission. Our flying space is tight in there, some of the UAVs are only 14 feet from the floor (I'm over six feet tall without my arms extending up!).

    3 years ago they stopped moving displays, we just fly and don't damage anything. (notice I didn't say we don't hit them!) We walk thru the crowds flying on magic wands, have displays set-up in the lobby and a dedicated area for ballet performances with music and minor barriers to prevent the spectators from crossing into our location.

    It all begins with someone laughing at you, just keep a straight face and sally forth!

    I flew indoors for a few moments in the airport lobby up in Regina Canada, now my picture hangs in urinals at Mountie Stations across the country! I didn't seek permission, which is always an error.

  4. it all depends on your location requirements, you need room to move (kite & yourself) and a safe place to land. I have 60 feet, down to less than 10, depending on where I'm to be positioned. I also prefer thicker lines like 90# (or 100#) because it tangles less and it's more responsive than the thinner stuff. I'd rather change something else than the lines to save a quarter of a gram's flying weight.

    • Like 1
  5. To turn, use your thumbs only (unless your last name is "smith"), pulling the handles creates a slide! Turns are rotational: not left or right, but clock-wise or counter-clockwise. Imagine you stop at every corner or intersection, gradually stop more & more often until it's quarter turn rotations, then go to eighths. Try to hold your position and rotate on the center of the kite's rotational point. Okay, try to rotate it on the tips instead, forward first, but backing up eventually as well.

    The first thing to practice is the cartwheel. You should be able to roll the kite over (from leading edge on the ground) and NOT drag that leading edge, instead balancing it on the corner. S-L-O-W, stop, hover. This means you don't have to do the "walk of shame". For newbies, it's the first serious skill to acquire, because you don't need anyone to help you anymore.

    Eventually you must face the leading edge at the ground and be confident you got it hovering steadily. This is the spot where adjustable leaders are going to come into play. How much "down" is tuned into the handles determines how easy it is to hold the kite inverted. In low wind you might be walking backwards to hold a stationary hover. (from the pilot's perspective)

    The most important part is to enjoy yourself,... Rev kites are a lifetime of acquisition pleasure and changing skills. Every time you think you've got it all mastered, somebody lays a new thingy on ya' that is unbelievable! You look forward to attending kite events and seeing friends who share the same activities.

    Quit now, while there's still hope you can be saved from the dark-side's evil influence over your wallet and family's calendar.

    • Like 2
  6. you know Rich,

    when all the Riders have this technique down (with Weider's execution style & consistency) he'll actually work it into the routines to keep them challenging,...

    Pez down from the right,

    quarter turn pivot, (forward rollover) to inverted hover,

    half axel to a fade, instantly flick-to a 2 point landing thereafter,

    in unison as the music ends,

    work on the geometry,

    both Paul's stop jackin' around,

    Laura quiet on the line,

    Rich stop poking me

    Walk when I do!

    • Like 1
  7. I'm after that "fade to flick-flak landing". Ever seen Scott Weider do that? Man it's a killer two step, but it happens so fast. You do an axel, at half way around though you snap it powerfully into the flick position and then stick the landing. I'm severely left handed so I'm working on execution in both directions, my preference is doing it towards the right side. It will be awhile before I can stick this unconsciously though! It's all a timing thing, but done at warp speed. I have to work myself up to that pace each time I practice.

  8. Question: shouldn't all of the bridle leg attachments points on the frame "face towards the center of the kite"?, some in the video example faced out instead, lower left corner for example.

    Also, shouldn't the kite be lifted-up by the top two bridle attachment points only (where the flying lines adhere) to confirm all the legs are universally tight?

    If you want less over-streer & a tighter response, you can add a second (or even a 3rd) pass of the vertical tiny loop thru the larger flying line attachment point. It forms a prussik knot this way. Less movement = less counter-hand action to stop a flight commanded rotation.

    Your mileage may vary!

    • Like 2
  9. go for the entire universe of low/tough wind conditions and get a set of the new Diamond tubes Dantonio came up with a few weeks ago. They are killer for light wind, dare I say it's almost an unfair advantage to use them!

  10. Eliot's mesh kites were out in force at Wildwood, probably half a dozen flying at all times we were assembled together. I enjoy every aspect of the flight dynamics on his kites. Perfect for gusty, turbulent winds, ... and personally speaking "worth every penny!" Change the frames out and get another whole new kite.

    • Like 1
  11. 75%, kites will be at Wildwood if you want to do a comparison of bridles

    post-92-0-05228500-1368811162_thumb.jpg

    and a 100%

    post-92-0-07275000-1368811491_thumb.jpg

    Dennis Smith has the 40% and is certain to be there

    Try all three models and then save a big wad of money up,..... 'cause you know what's going to happen next!

  12. Sorry Wayne, that request is simply not a reasonable expectation in this electronic day and age, proprietary knowledge and all. Rev doesn't share their dimensions publicly. If you want to know exactly what size one is, then you need to borrow or acquire it, but they're not sending you a diagram nor even a cocktail napkin sketch

    surely you would adopt the same non-disclosure attitude in Shook's position. This is a revenue source and a highly desired product.

    the mesh strips are different sizes and the location of them varies as well, depending on which model you desire, (40%, 75% or 100%)

  13. Hi Brian, YES, we did a little advertising on forums for the retreat, but mostly the past participants jump-on as soon as it's confirmed for next year. Chase Cath at the Shook Palace and reminder her you want in! February?, kite flying outside? Bring layers of clothing, there's no such thing as bad weather conditions, only a poorly equipped kite flyer. Bring deck or tennis court shoes so you can fly indoors if the outside is unacceptable.

    • Like 2
  14. I wouldn't consider a 3 to 8 mph breeze as light wind at all. To me light is when the smoke rises straight up and does not dissipate, . . . . indoor conditions with an unlimited ceiling!

    You could fly a mid-vent w/Race frame in 3 to 8, although I'd prefer a full sail and might even use a Zen if I had long flying lines laid out. As stated previously, it's more about technique than equipment. Someone with lots of low wind experience could fly when others would struggle, even on the same equipment.

    The speed series kites will fly in low wind, but it is much more effort for the same reward compared to other models also available (*personal statement*). You need to more clearly define your desires or objectives, for better advise from a Rev dealer or the forum members.

    Certainly try-out some different kite models, if the opportunity presents itself, see what fits your wallet and heart's desire. I've owned all the speed series kites except the 4-8, the only one I kept is the Supersonic (the littlest one). It's personality is so unique,... a bumblebee on amphetamines. It's a flick-flak monster with killer side slides thrown in. I connect with the little thing like no other!

  15. Rick's one of the most exciting dual line pilots you will EVER witness, the kind of fascination where you sit on the tailgate and watch him fly instead of setting up your own stuff. I watched him fly out of picnic table one time, stuck between the bench seat and table portion with the kite upside down (in a turtle? facing the pilot?)

    He roils up and unrolls between close-set pine trees with a backstop directly behind the kite, all in NO wind. Absolute control and nowhere to go if things go suddenly wrong. He's a huge lose the dual line community, but he's crossing over to our darkside because you don't have to be the national champ to fly q-team! You've just gotta have enough control that you fit in.

    On a lark, Rick was convinced to come down to the Blossom Kite Fest w/Dugard and took part in the hot tricks shootout,... Folks he cut thru that competition like an orbital-based laser! I'm sure he'll have a killer freestyle (OIOU) routine when he mixes in the quads too.

    It's a joy to help someone who gets our addiction! Welcome Winged V (Rick Harmer) to our little corner of the kiting community.

  16. Cath & Eliot? Revs?, Corolla?

    Hey, we do a clinic with the Shooks every year over President's Day Weekend (mid-Feb ~ Flying Smiles Kites). You should certainly plan to join us!

    It's a grand time. You stay in the homes of great local residents, share a few meals, fly outdoors on a point of grass with water all around and also offered is indoor flight time inside a covered tennis for a few of hours each on the weekend. You share equipment, testing furnished stuff with various available modifications affixed. You determine what you connect with on a deeply personal level thru direct comparisons. Of course Eliot sells all this stuff too, just in case you find a "new mistress" (that you must keep with you ~ regardless of that cost)

    Sometimes it backfires on the instructors too (HA!) I helped a guy replicate my own Zen w/French Bridle and Magic Sticks, but his wing is all crisp and spanky new, mine has a couple of thousand hours of hard abuse, it's old. I wound up having to order a new kite myself, after having tuned his to fly like my own. That seems so unfair, particularly to my wife who manages the household's wallet!

    Shook's primary flying location, directly across the street from their shop, is the Whalehead Club. It offers a variety of locations, from clean lab grade wind (on grass, off the water) to all enclosed by vegetation, buildings, structures and featuring high turbulence. These conditions call for different set-ups on your equipment. When to frame lighter and when do you need more mass? why do folks carry different handle lengths? Does one set-up "connect better with you" in certain conditions?

    Anyway it's a kite par`tay and you'll have a blast. The clinic, housing with a meal or so included, even equipment to test indoors and out, it's all there and last year the cost was under a buck & half a person. Instructors, guests and attendees all pay that same fee. We share what we learn and once in awhile something just blows us all away. We never know what it will be, until we get there. Folks don't drop out, they keep joining back-in with this group. Come, be one of us as well. Friday thru Monday, what a great deal.

    My personal highlights from last year? #1. Watching Rich (Comras) negotiate with Elliot on materials and a construction schedule. All the while Dugard & myself are heckling that Eliot OWES us and poor pitiful Rich, despite his fat wallet will have to wait-in-line behind us for a change. It should have been a skit on Saturday Night Live! #2. Then there's my buddy Dennis (the Smith) He works outside in NJ, but failed to bring the appropriate clothing to NC "because he figured it would be nicer down south". Rained sideways that day, 42 degrees, 35 mph gusts, so he went indoors instead abandoning the hard-core faithful until another time.

    • Like 1
  17. Dear CJTC posse

    The interviews and production work came out as a very nice job indeed and much appreciated.

    Suggestions you seek to improve next year's efforts? How about coming for our close-out meeting on Sunday May 5th, around 10:00am? You can introduce yourselves to the fest coordinator (Elissa Staley, Cherry Blossom Festival), as well as the kite advisory board members in attendance.

    We will meet as well for our usual efforts on the 1st Sunday fly with the WoW kite club, held on the grounds of the Washington Monument (west side) by a huge tree with 5 or 6 trunks wired together. You are welcome to stay and chase the wind with us!

    Don't worry if you don't have a kite,... trust me when I tell you one of us would be thrilled to assist you with OPK (other people's kites) to learn on. I'm a quad-head (fly kites using four strings) personally. They do the most cool stuff and take the least effort to do it! You can beat my kites unmercifully and they will think it's a vacation from the heavy-handed style I impose upon them.

    Feel free to reach-out to me (thru the forum member section) if you want a personal guide or any more information.

    best regards,

    -plm

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