Jump to content

katrina

Forum Member
  • Posts

    238
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    9

Posts posted by katrina

  1. Casey and Elmo, I can vouch for the fact that there are "a bunch of different rev types here" at wsikf and many of them are indeed questionable. ;) Lets see, there's that whole jersey crew, some guy with a blue hat and bug goggles, papa smurf and crew, and many buff-clad kite ninjas, for starters. They (we) may look a little weird, but we'll let you try our kites.

    • Like 2
  2. Katrina really wasn't too impressed at KP, must been the wind was a bit light!

    Say what now? Wayne, my friend, you are in trouble again! laugh.pngwink.png

    I was in fact impressed, as always, with the amazing flight characteristics of the weaves.

    The are indeed smooth kites. They track beautifully, you just point them in a direction and they go that way in a dead straight line. And 180s are very crisp and effortless. I did switch back to my VTD that day at KP, but only because I wanted to stick with what I'm used to for team flying. blue_wink.gif

    Rich, thanks for leaving the loaner with us, you rock.

    • Like 1
  3. Yeah, like Watty said, it's all in the hover. Be sure to to practice ALL positions, not just left right up down. With that large of a group, it's hard to predict where you will end up on the big ball. You may find yourself inverted, or facing out at an angle. Unless there's new stuff this year, the ball is the only slightly tricky thing in the whole mega fly. So here's an exercise for you: go hover somewhere, then imagine John calls for a big ball. Pick your spot in the sky and back into it. Hold. Then burst (try slow and fast), and back to ball. Back and forth, over and over--burst and reverse to ball, trying to keep on a straight track. Another very simple exercise: Just try picking points in the sky and flying to them smoothly and accurately. Also practice flying at the very edges of the wind window, including the top and the bottom. It's less comfy there, but it's great practice.

    Now, don't stress! The mega fly calls are easy and slow. Nothing complicated. Yes there will be a lot of kites in the sky, but you won't even be aware of them. You'll just be looking at your kite and the kites right around you. If regular group flying is like square dancing, then the mega fly is a large group doing the macarena. mf_party.gif (!Ay!)

    • Like 3
  4. Black sharpie, no problem. Other colors are somewhat water soluble. Esp blue. I colored in the white "revolution" on my kites. To my initial horror, when I tested a little water on it, the water turned blue. So I rinsed it well and folded kite up with a paper towel for the next few uses to see if it would continue to bleed. No problems. :)

    Now what does Bazzer use to sign kites? Some metallic paint pen...

  5. I just remembered I clipped this from somewhere, because people are always asking about wind ranges. Like SS, I never know the numbers, just the feel! Sorry, since it's a clipped note I have to post it as a link, can't paste. The stated wind ranges given by the company are what is POSSIBLE, whereas this is what is REASONABLE.

    wind range suggestions

    Still doesn't tell you how low you can go with race rods in a vtd, but hey it might be helpful. If you get race rods, be sure to get the black ones. There are green ones, and sparkly ones too, but the blacks are the ones that stand it for 2 wraps, weight-wise pretty close.

  6. You know, maybe start with a full vent then. With black race rods (instead of 2 wraps), 3 wraps, and 4 wraps. Midvent would probably be great for you too, but you'll most likely end up with 3 kites then, and you only wanted 1. You can take the full vent down lower than you'd think, if you put the rr in. (don't have wind meter.) But you won't want to learn with the rr. Wait on those until you've got control, no crashes. Learn to fly on the 3s or 4s. Doubtful you'll break a 3, as long as your leading edge is not bending in a scary way. I love my vented kites best of all. They'd be great to learn on if you've got the wind for it, and it sounds like you do. It'll seem like it needs more wind than it does at first. But no worries, once you get skills, you'll find it flies in a lot less wind than you might suppose. Same goes for all the revs.

  7. Geezer, A Very Happy HAPPY Birthday To You! I'm so sorry I barely said hello at LC, I should have put down my kite and given you a hug. I imagined I'd see you again later, but I didn't. So here are some virtual birthday hugs: OOOOOOOOO and a X too. ;)

  8. 1) How does a STD full sail B-Pro handle in winds of say, 8-15mph compared to a MidVent at the same wind speed? Is a STD merely just faster whilst still retaining absolute control and stability.. or is it a bit unruly, buffet-y and unsteady?

    yes, unruly, twitchy, difficult, might stretch sail.

    2) How does a Mid-vent handle in lower wind speeds (5-10mph)? Is it that much different compared to a full sail, or is it less responsive and sluggish?

    sluggish. Will be very difficult to do anything with for a beginner in low wind. Better with race rods in, but not the right kite for low wind
    My initial thoughts were if down the line I were to buy a second Rev I'd get a dramatically different one, such as a Supersonic/Shockwave (as I like the idea of having one option for insanely crazy fast speed and having a good fight with the lines) and thought it'd compliment a B-Pro.
    you may well enjoy flying something else in the rev lineup. But if you get into this (if :kid_content: ) you'll want more than one 1.5. Otherwise, you'll be very frustrated when you arrive to fly, and find the conditions aren't right for the one kite you own. You can fudge it by changing rods, but that only gets you so far. Like I and others have said, a standard and a full vent will cover most of the conditions you'll encounter. Midvent is usually added last. If you start with a midvent, great, BUT, you'll probably end up getting both a standard and a vented after, so that's 3 kites. When you could cover the same wind range with just 2.

    Pro vs. b series: up to you. either way, good choice. Pro costs more obviously, and only comes with the one frame. And you have to wait around 6 weeks for it. Worth it to me, that's why I have 4 of them. But the b series are almost as good, and the used market is brisk, so you'll have no trouble selling yours if you choose to upgrade to a pro later. If you can find a used rev 1.5 (exp, sle, b series, that's maybe the best thing. A starter kite, learn on it, sell it and upgrade.

    Was also looking at the B2 as an alternative to the B-Pro, it looks great off the bat but after reading threads I thought it might be a little too fast and twitchy as a first kite?
    Yes, fun fun kite, but would be difficult to learn on. Imagine it pinwheeling 10 times around like a propeller, and you're wondering what the heck is happening.
    taking up less room in the area (without killing someone half a mile away if it suddenly decides to ditch itself, ho ho), but will look to get 120' later on.
    Agreed, killing people with kite=bad. :P It IS nice to not have to take up so much space while learning. People have this way of wandering into your space and setting up a picnic. They have no idea you're a beginner, and that a kite may come crashing down on their toddler's head at any moment.
  9. Welcome! You've received lots of advice already, and even though plenty of it is conflicting, it's actually all good advice. I could make the case for any of the recommendations you've already gotten. Point is, get something and fly it. Don't let yourself get bogged down in the multitude of choices. Best yet would be to find someone else in your area who'll let you have a look at their bag and maybe try a few things out. It will all be clearer to you after that. But if you make a choice just based on what you've read in all the posts here, you won't have made a bad choice! :kid_content:

    A midvent would be great. I usually suggest starting with a standard, but there are advantages to the mid. Good for variable winds, the vents help with that. I'd get the pro. Just be gentle with it. Not that it's delicate, it's just that you don't want to bash the h- out of a kite that nice during the learning process. That's why it's nice to learn on an old used beater. But you'd only need that beater for about a week. So go for the pro, and just take it easy on it. ie, walk forward or throw your arms forward pre-crash, and don't fly it in too much wind.

    Drawbacks to a mid: 1. you'll be frustrated in lower wind. 2. you'll probably eventually want both a standard and a full vent, which commits you to 3 kites. Whereas, you can get away with just a standard and a full vent and cover the same wind range, just have to change out frames more often.

    Handles: Most women and many men like handles around an inch in diameter. Mine are .9". The stock handles used to be 1.25", I think they still are? Anyone know? Go for the 13" handles. This is one piece of advice I wouldn't deviate from. You'll want longer leaders on top, check back with us/me, and we'll walk you through that.

    Frames: 3 wraps and black race rods. The black race rods replace the 2 wraps and are overwhelmingly preferred to the 2 wraps. They are more fragile, so don't put them in until you've gained good control of your kite.

    Lines: Laser Pro Gold (LPG). length: I'd go for the 120s IF you have the space for that, because a) that length gives you plenty of wind window to work with before the ground comes up out of nowhere :sly:, and 120s are the standard for team flying (for later). Even if you don't team fly for quite a while, if you should find yourself ever flying on the same field/beach with others, it's good to all be on the same length of lines, less chance of cutting each other's lines. If you get 120s, though, you MUST watch and rewatch John's line mgmt video, or... bad things will happen. :huh::blink:

    If you like, here's the case for shorter lines, say 75, 80, 85'. Less length to manage, shorter walk of shame, and you won't take up so much space on the beach. You won't want people under your kite when you are learning.

  10. I think that the stated wind ranges are quite generous, yes. But you'll find this for dual line kites too, take a look at pretty much any kite's stated wind range, and you'll see what I mean. I'd say the stated wind ranges are more like what's POSSIBLE, not what you'd actually want to fly in. :kid_brooding: Yes, you could double up the leading edge, or put in the SLE rods to deal with higher winds, but really it's time to switch kites. At 20 mph, I'd want the full vent for sure. No way would I have a standard sail up. Could even think about the xtra vent at that point.

    As far as bungee tightening: rule of thumb is, tight enough so that the sail looks nice and flat (when it's lying on the ground, no wind in it). If you see vertical ripples/creases starting to form next to the vertical rod, that's too tight.

    But it sounds like you're not totally put off, so that's good. I keep hearing of new fliers from Belgium--Henri, Florent (not on forum yet?) and one other I think? Have fun! B)

  11. No worries, mine have only two knots on the bottom, and I often wonder why I don't just burn off the extra one. I have 13s, 14s, and 15s. The 14s are my go to handles. 15s are twitchy at first when you are used to 13s. I used them all the time for a few months, and then they stopped being twitchy for me. Just have to reteach your hands how much movement is needed! B)  

  12. Just got back, and I'll post stuff on fb soon. Henri, I think google translate gave you the word "bores," but you likely intended something like "bothers." ;):) Henri is a rev addict already! He worked so patiently on all the basic skills, even though we had really low winds on the days he came.

    He made wonderful stickers for me!! An unexpected gift. They are large, the kind that can go on a car.

  13. Ahhhhh, just ordered my first REV B 1.5!!!! I ended up ordering one with a 75ft line set. CAN'T WAIT!!!

    Good choice! B) And you got the race rods, it looks like. Everyone should get race rods (black) instead of 2 wraps in my (not so) humble opinion. What about 3 wraps, didya get those too? 75s will serve you well for learning and at kite party, put that on your calendar. March, in Huntington Beach. Hurray Hurrah Huzzah. Welcome!!

    Now just one thing: When the wind's really blowing and your leading edge is bending like crazy, it's time to PUT THE KITE DOWN lest you stretch it too much. A little stretch is okay, it's normal. Just tighten the bungies at the trailing edge tips when the sail seems loose. But we don't want you to make the newbie mistake of being so excited to fly, that you just keep going when really it's time to switch up to a vented kite. :blue-cool:

×
×
  • Create New...