Making less noise

[oldflyer]

Hi there Everyone

This is my first post. The forum looks really good and I have learnt a lot already by reading through many of the posts.

I have a question and would appreciate some feedback. How do I make my high wind Revs quiet?

When the winds pick up above 15mph I really enjoy flying my Rev 2 and my Rev Supersonic. However, the Rev Supersonic in particular tends to be very noisy as the sail vibrates like mad during fast power dives etc. I would love to remove (or just reduce) the noise as it can be quite anti-social when flying on the beach and sunbathers just want some peace and quiet. I was thinking about cannibalising my Rev Supersonic and sewing a 3cm wide band of gauze/mesh around the trailing edges. My logic is that I think this would reduce the sail vibration at the trailing edge. Am I kidding myself here? Would it achieve nothing other than to wreck the kite? Would I be better off buying a vented Rev Supersonic or would that still be noisy?

Any views would be appreciated.

Many thanks

Nigel

[sailor99]

Welcome mate. Nice to see you.

I am afraid that it sounds like the 2 is totally knackered. I should try and sell it off to someone close to hand

I would suggest that the first place to check before more drastic action is the elastic tensions. I noticed they were quite loose on one of your other kites. Start off with the ones at the bottom of the uprights. On the sonic, ensure that the ends of the rod are pushed through elastic before the end connectors on the bottom of the uprights. But at the end of the day that is a fast moving kite and probably will always make some noise.

Out of interest, which beaches in the UK do you fly on which also have sunbathers on?!?

[Choccy]

Hello

Now there's a considerate flyer

Sailor even pointed out our new B was making a bit of noise, and suggested we tighten the sail, is this normal ?

[Baloo]

Sail tends to stretch the first time you fly it. Fairly normal to need adjustment.

[Jonesey]

Sail tends to stretch the first time you fly it. Fairly normal to need adjustment.

Has anyone tried re-cutting a sail? a small seam take up in the edge that is fluttering would be worth trying before discarding... easy to do if you have sewing machine skills.. or any knowledge of basic sailmaking !

alternatively if there is a second hand kite going I might be interested.....

[oldflyer]

Welcome mate. Nice to see you.

I am afraid that it sounds like the 2 is totally knackered. I should try and sell it off to someone close to hand

I would suggest that the first place to check before more drastic action is the elastic tensions. I noticed they were quite loose on one of your other kites. Start off with the ones at the bottom of the uprights. On the sonic, ensure that the ends of the rod are pushed through elastic before the end connectors on the bottom of the uprights. But at the end of the day that is a fast moving kite and probably will always make some noise.

Out of interest, which beaches in the UK do you fly on which also have sunbathers on?!?

Many thanks. I thought it was about time I started to post some comments rather than just reading everyone else's.

I know you love buying kites from me, but the Rev 2 is staying with me – Sorry - I love it!

Thanks for the feedback on tightening the elastic spar tensioners – I have just re-tensioned the sail on My Rev 1.5 and it has made a huge difference to the responsiveness of the flight – I'm not sure it has reduced the noise though.

I go to Cornwall several times each year and it tends to be busy (especially during the school holidays). My favourite beach is Constantine Bay near Padstow. Revs are perfect beach kites, especially on short line sets because you don't take up half the beach and endanger other holiday makers (I cringe every time I see someone flying a 10 foot Flexifoil on 100 foot lines on a beach – it's always an accident waiting to happen!). Although I love flying my Revs on the beach, they are quite noisy in stronger winds. I really love silent kites these days. I will try tensioning the supersonic sail to see what difference it makes.

Why do I never see anyone else flying the Speed Series Revs? I know they are less precise and very twitchy but isn't that part of the appeal?

Does anyone out there have a second hand Shockwave or vented Supersonic they would like to sell to me?

[sailor99]

Why do I never see anyone else flying the Speed Series Revs? I know they are less precise and very twitchy but isn't that part of the appeal?

I think that is both their appeal and the reason they are not flown as widely. Personally I agree with something Jonesey said yesterday - that they are good for a bit of yahoo for a short while during a flying session. But after 20 minutes or so I do find myself wanting the preciseness back.

[Jonesey]

Does anyone out there have a second hand Shockwave or vented Supersonic they would like to sell to me?

Ok so you wont sell me your second hand Rev 2 but now you want my spare Shockwave??!! As a recently diagnosed revaholic I would find it difficult to part with a kite however I notice your in the Bristol area and as a cured Bristolian I do a spend some time up there visiting family so could meet up sometime if you fancy test flying one ... and maybe convince me to part with the spare?

(I have a blast 2~4 arriving this week also but need Sailor to test fly it for me first!)

[lummas]

Nigel,

Good to see you on the forum. Let me have a go at responding to your noise question. The advice above of checking the tension on your elastic to tighten the sail is good. However, in addition to that, part of how much noise is created by the sail is controlled by how you fly the kite.

A rev (1, 1.5 or 2) flys best and under most control when all 4 lines are taught.

A lot of people when doing a dive-stop will fly to the top, face down and then just pull back their thumbs (tops of handles) as hard as they can. This will make the kite dive but there will be no tension on the back lines and hence the sail will flutter, making a considerable noise.

If you execute the same move but after turning over, pull back on the top lines less, you will find that the kite actually flies faster and is much quieter. Practise makes perfect, so you will have to try it a few times to get a feel for just how much pull makes for the smoothest, quietest and quickest flight, but that certainly works. The same is true when facing any other direction and wishing to give the kite a sudden burst of speed.

The speed series are a little different, in that their sails are under much more tension to begin with and in stronger winds they tend to make a little noise anyway (in my very limited speed series experience), but you can try the same concept.

Hope that helps.

Mark.

Team Too Much Fun

[steveb]

I wonder if running a leech line through the hem and adding a slight amount of tension would work?

It wouldn't be too hard to do with a blunt darning needle and some scrap 90# Spectra line.

Many dual line sport kites use this technique for taming the noise.

[sailor99]

Good idea Steve. The same thing works a treat on boat sails. And the idea of diving under control is new to me - yet another thing to try and learn next time out - great!

[Jonesey]

Good idea Steve. The same thing works a treat on boat sails. And the idea of diving under control is new to me - yet another thing to try and learn next time out - great!

Still think if you are going to resort to opening seams to add a leech line a simple take up would be easier.. open seam take out a few mm at leech and taper back into sail .. re stitch.. or take to your local sailmaker who will know how .....

[steveb]

You don't have to open the seam- just run the needle through the end of the hem:

Obviously you need to be careful not to poke the needle through the edge of the sail, but a blunt darning needle works well- you can even reverse the needle first and feed it in backwards.The Rev hem is amply wide and easy to feed the needle & line.

/I need to trim the bungies on my old Rev II!

[Jonesey]

You don't have to open the seam- just run the needle through the end of the hem:

Obviously you need to be careful not to poke the needle through the edge of the sail, but a blunt darning needle works well- you can even reverse the needle first and feed it in backwards.The Rev hem is amply wide and easy to feed the needle & line.

/I need to trim the bungies on my old Rev II!

See that's why I'm not a sailmaker anymore .. trying to sell more work then what's actually necessary!

Nice tip Steve

Of course the other option is to buy a new sail! I just did and was pleasantly surprised it wasn't hugely expensive

[Choccy]

A lot of people when doing a dive-stop [...]

If you execute the same move but after turning over, pull back on the top lines less, you will find that the kite actually flies faster and is much quieter. Practise makes perfect, so you will have to try it a few times to get a feel for just how much pull makes for the smoothest, quietest and quickest flight, but that certainly works.

Hello Mark,

You've just described what I call "Glide Stop"

It is the only way I have flown the dive-stop so far... not had the guts to pull full power when upside down (yet)

And it is indeed a quiet smooth glide down and halt.

Probably because Stephen H recommended this method to me...

walking forwards to slow the flight down helps too.

It's not as impressive visually or noisy but more smooth and won't scare anyone.

[lummas]

Hi again,

You are correct that you can indeed walk forward with this to make it a smooth action. However, with practice you can also get a very snappy and fast moving acceleration and stop in any direction using this method. BTW - I too use the all thumbs back method occasionally just because it makes a noise!! It is especially good when flying high above someone you know, then diving down and stopping just above them. Then the noise is a definite plus, as it really wakes them up! LOL

Thanks,

Mark.

[oldflyer]

Thank you all for your very helpful thoughts, ideas and feedback! I really appreciate it! I think I will definitely try the leech line to see what impact it has. I will also try flying in a more controlled way.

Thanks again

Nigel

[steveb]

A loud, fluttering noise is usually a sign that you've got too much slack on the brake lines and the sail is luffing.

Older and stretched out sails may benefit from a slight amount of leech line tension, but a newer sail should be fairly quiet in most winds.

Try to train yourself to add more brake when you hear the sail luffing and see if that helps.

If you fly in big winds all the time and the sail is maxed out- consider getting a Vented, if you don't already have one.

[steveb]

Hello Mark,

You've just described what I call "Glide Stop"

It is the only way I have flown the dive-stop so far... not had the guts to pull full power when upside down (yet)

And it is indeed a quiet smooth glide down and halt.

Probably because Stephen H recommended this method to me...

walking forwards to slow the flight down helps too.

It's not as impressive visually or noisy but more smooth and won't scare anyone.

At the top of a dive/stop I bend my elbows up, so that my thumbs on top of my handles are nearly touching each shoulder.

When I want to hit the brakes, I quickly thrust my arms forwards and pivot my wrists, so that the thumbs nearly point at the kite.

In stronger winds, I might take a quick step or 2 forward to help kill the speed. With practise (start a little earlier and higher from the ground at first), you'll be able to dust the buttercups with your dive/stops.

[oldflyer]

I re-tensioned the elastics on my Vented Rev 1.5 last night and I have just test flown it – Wow! What a difference! The sail is much tighter and the flight characteristics are much crisper (and quieter). If I am honest, I have always been disappointed with my Vented 1.5. I always found the stock frame too heavy. I tried using a Race Frame which was nice but in strong winds it was buckling. Today I removed the standard frame and replaced it with the frame set from my 1.5 SLE instead. I’m much happier now – the frame was still able to easily cope with the strong gusts but the whole kite felt significantly lighter – I would recommend it!

Thanks again for all the advice that everyone has posted here. I have decided to try a cannibalising my Supersonic and adding lots of venting to it. I will let you all know how I get on!

Thanks again

Nigel

[steveb]

I wonder if having a slight catenary in the outer panels would help with the noise?

Old Skool dual liners had straight trailing edge panels and were very noisy. Later models introduced a curved trailing edge and kites became nearly silent.

A side benefit might be reduced tendency for 'bow-ties', as they usually start when the trailing edge starts to lose tension, flap and have the wind go behind the sail, causing the wing to flip over.