Revolution 25th Anniversary - 100 strong at WSIKF! (Aug 19-24, 2013)

[KiteLife]

Come to Long Beach for what is likely to the biggest Rev party ever held, and an attempt to break the existing Rev mega fly world record (currently 64 kites) with 100 pilots or more in attendance during the Washington State International Kite Festival (www.kitefestival.com) in Long Beach, WA USA.

NOTE: Actual record attempts are scheduled Thu/Fri/Sat, but those new to GRID format are advised to come a couple days early to learn and practice... One hundred kites in formation is NO JOKE, this isn't something a novice/intermediate pilot will just be able to show up and participate in at the last minute - there will be learning, practice and "try out" opportunities for folks who aren't sure... Really, we're keen on helping anyone get into this, it doesn't take much - but showing up early will help ensure your readiness.

Scheduled Record Attempts:

Thu - 1pm to 2:30pm
(+30 min before for set up, same for tear down)

Fri - 1pm to 2:30pm
(+30 min before for set up, same for tear down)

Sat - noon to 1:30pm
(+30 min before for set up, same for tear down)

Field B is dedicated to Rev fliers all week, except for Thursday as the World Kite Museum will be using the field until noon for a themed kite fly - we'll start setting up around the edges and be ready to roll onto the field at noon, preparing for our initial 1pm record/practice attempt... We'll make a run at it even if we don't have 100, still a fun chance to practice, and the old record is only 64 so maybe we can break it twice in one week!

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Supporting our efforts in various ways:

Revolution Kites - celebrating 25 years in 2013!
http://www.revkites.com/

Kitelife Magazine - kiting info online!
http://www.kitelife.com/
http://www.learnkites.com/

The Kite Shoppe - your source for Rev stuff!
http://www.thekiteshoppe.com/

World Kite Museum - kite history and fun!
http://www.worldkitemuseum.com/

================================

We're looking to coordinate the world's largest ever Rev Mega Fly with 100 pilots, 100 kites, 400 individual strings to make a grand total 48,000 feet (over 9 miles) of kite line and 500 spars.

There is a system, and it works!

Conceived by Felix Mottram and his UK teammates (The Decorators), grid format allows large group of Rev fliers to work in tighter formation, with generally simpler turns than typical team flying.

Videos from 2010 WSIKF (64 kite record)

Video from Berck sur Mer, 2013 (30 kites in grid)

A good look through these videos (2008 record of 47 kites) will give you an idea of how far things can go, if we work, learn and have fun at this together...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGygKnDj0eg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMOXesdyJFA

And just to warp your mind a little more...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qbCgPJ8LN4

The key is to pick one kite in the video and watch what they actually do in terms of individual skills, don't let get lost in the big picture... It looks amazing because EVERYONE is doing simple things together, as a group, under solid leadership.

With 100 kites (now 10x10) going into the new record, things will be MUCH tighter and we'll need to work on closer body spacing and VERY clean 180 turns to make it all work properly.

================================

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

First and foremost, we're kitefliers looking to have a good time and do something really cool as a group... All in, through and around that, will be some of the best camaraderie and skill exchange you'll ever experience.

As long as you're aware of your surroundings and keen to keep your feet out of lines, we WELCOME anyone with an interest in Revs... Come on over, make some friends, take a lesson with just about any one of the master pilots in attendance and even try your hand at a little basic team flying!

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SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

For those serious about getting involved, I recommend arriving no later than Wednesday night but Monday or Tuesday is best if you can make it - the festival is 7 days long... Thu/Fri/Sat are usually the days for our record attempts.

The actual job each pilot will be doing isn't so difficult, mostly composed of:

- Solid speed control (slow/med/fast)
- Stable hovers (less than one meter of wiggle room)
- Clean 180 turns (up/down) without losing control
- Flying straight lines up/down/right/left
- Flying diagonal lines in most directions
- Slow reverse ability right/left/down and most diagonal

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AIRPORT

The nearest major airport is PDX (Portland, OR USA) at about 2:20 distance from Long Beach... SEA (Seattle, WA USA) is not too bad either at about 2:45 away from Long Beach.

HOTEL

Depending on where you're coming from, you might try some of the usual online booking places like (www.hotels.com, www.orbitz.com, etc) but a lot of the Long Beach hotels are not in those systems... They're nice, privately owned lodging that can be browsed more effectively here:

http://www.funbeach.com/
** or **
http://goo.gl/maps/XWECZ
(WSIKF is held between Bolstad Ave and Syd Snyder Dr)

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Stay tuned to this page for more discussion, and feel free to add some of your own!

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For more information, take a look at the event in the Kitelife calendar...

https://kitelife.com...trong-at-wsikf/

Or, visit our event page on Facebook!

https://www.facebook...14867438580073/

[Felix]

I got a quote from BA for flights to Seattle the other day.

Four people GB Pounds 4,819.40! (EDIT US$7,662.85)

This looks a bit problematic. I am aware that there are slightly cheaper flights available but they are not direct.

Felix

[kwmf]

Looks about right ... When I went to WSIKF this year it cost me about $2000, perhaps a bit more.

That was for Durban - Johannesburg - Dulles - Portland and the same route back.

[Felix]

Looks about right ... When I went to WSIKF this year it cost me about $2000, perhaps a bit more.

That was for Durban - Johannesburg - Dulles - Portland and the same route back.

About right it may be but somewhat more than we paid in 2010 when four of the team made the trip.

I will probably make the trip but may we may not have a team as such. Portsmouth will benefit! <grins>

Felix

[tonet]

Team bolau want to be this time with the American family of rev of Long Beach ,

We're trying to get our budget forces , working hard, the current cojuntura not help anything in Europe.

It is my dream to fly with you and visit your land.

I will certainly try, this time I have to do well, also coincide with the 25th anniversary of the company.

I look around to find someone who speaks Spanish

Sorry for my English translator.

Saludos desde España.

[KiteLife]

Great Tonet, good luck my friend.

Have you tried communicating with Mario DiLucca?

[Theresa]

Team bolau want to be this time with the American family of rev of Long Beach ,

We're trying to get our budget forces , working hard, the current cojuntura not help anything in Europe.

It is my dream to fly with you and visit your land. :plane:/>

I will certainly try, this time I have to do well, also coincide with the 25th anniversary of the company.

I look around to find someone who speaks Spanish :D/> :ani_wallbash:/>

Sorry for my English translator.

Saludos desde España.

Hi Tonet! I asked Mario Di Lucca (Island Quad) to contact you. He speaks Spanish and will be with us at WSIKF.

Mario! Where are you??

[AldenMiller]

Donde esta Mario?

That's about the best I can do... -Alden

[mdilucca]

Team bolau want to be this time with the American family of rev of Long Beach ,

We're trying to get our budget forces , working hard, the current cojuntura not help anything in Europe.

It is my dream to fly with you and visit your land. :plane:/>

I will certainly try, this time I have to do well, also coincide with the 25th anniversary of the company.

I look around to find someone who speaks Spanish :D/> :ani_wallbash:/>

Sorry for my English translator.

Saludos desde España.

Hola Tonet, soy Mario. Te puedes contactar conmigo en cualquier momento para hacer tus arreglos del viaje. Yo vivo en Victoria, British Columbia que esta unas 5 horas al norte de Long Beach. Formo parte del equipo Island Quad y seria fantastico porder volar con Bolau en Long Beach Asique por favor contactame por cualquier tipo de ayuda , OK. Sin duda este festival va a ser memorable y todos vamos a estar muy halagados de tu precencia.

Un gran abrazo

Mario

[Theresa]

Thanks for the help Mario! Looks like we're confirmed and good to go! Working out the transportation details next.

Thanks!

[Theresa]

On that note...Tonet and 2 team members are confirmed, so I have confirmed/reserved their accommadation space.

Next..have space held for Felix and crew...just waitng on confirmation...

and with this news...I have filled all the space up for WSIKF 2013.

Thanks for all your patience while we sorted this out!

[mdilucca]

On that note...Tonet and 2 team members are confirmed, so I have confirmed/reserved their accommadation space.

Next..have space held for Felix and crew...just waitng on confirmation...

and with this news...I have filled to space for WSIKF 2013.

Thanks for all your patience while we sorted this out!

Thank you so much T I just sent a PM to Tonet with the news!!

Cheers

Mario

[Felix]

As previously mentioned, we could do a convoy from Seatac with a Saturday night stopover (arrival).

The route is familiar now...

Felix

[Theresa]

As previously mentioned, we could do a convoy from Seatac with a Saturday night stopover (arrival).

The route is familiar now...

Felix

Great!

Tonet plus 2 are coming through PDX.

This is going to be so much fun!!

[tonet]

Theresa, thank you very much.Embarcare on a plane ✈ in Madrid but do not know where I'll be down, I hope everything goes well . I hope to get, not like, but I come.

Do feel good, thanks.

[Lauranyyfan]

HI John...

The new digs look great!!!

I will be in Long Beach; I wouldn't miss this for anything!!

[jburka]

Hooray! I'm finally going to make it to WSIKF!

I can't make the whole week, but I'll be arriving in Long Beach sometime on Wednesday and staying through most of Saturday...need to fly home on Sunday morning! Hopefully that'll be enough for the mega fly.

[Theresa]

I now have two extra 1 bedroom condo units at Surfside in Ocean Park available if anybody is interested. Each unit sleeps 4; King bed in the master bedroom, sleeper sofa in the living room, two full bathrooms. 7 nights each, checking in on Sunday Aug 18th out on Sunday Aug 25th. Contact me directly for more information.

Gone!

thekiteshoppe at comcast dot net

[KiteLife]

Just updated the lead post with a TON more information.

John Mitchell is working on animations for a very basic routine that we can all get familiar with (threads, balls, bursts, etc) and will be likely to succeed at, stay tuned for info that this as it develops.

Pasting from my comment on the 100 Mega Fly page on Facebook:

My only worry is getting two rows of 50, may really be pushing it... There are also some concerns about how far fliers may have to walk if we spread the groups too far apart (some of our fliers aren't so quick or mobile in sand).

If we can't fit 2 rows of 50 - worst case, we may have 20 of our most able pilots NOT set up during initial launch... Do two rows of 40 (should fit in the field), have them launch and meet middle field, already forming the grid, then have the last 20 set up quickly (3-4 minutes max), launch and assume their positions.

Without a doubt, we'll also need a few people who understand what a grid looks like on the ground, and assign each one throughout the grid to help position people... WAY too many kites in the air to have people looking at their feet, "Jim follow my voice" and actual "by the shoulders" guidance will be very useful.

There's no way I'll be able to fly in this monster, so I'll likely be standing well back of the action over radio and/or the PA system along with one or two people I can use as runners.

I'll be pretty firm with field management and planning due to the higher number of kites, but pretty much everyone knows what they're doing by now.

The clock is ticking...

[KiteLife]

Please vote in the new poll on this topic, will help us plan a bit - thanks!

[KiteLife]

More fun, cross-posting from the mega fly Facebook page.

Here are two edited versions of John Mitchell's 100 grid layup, one showing how you can identify the kites in each ring of a full concentric ball formation and the other showing concentric balls in 4 groups... The third diagram simply shows how kite 4-7 would quickly line up to make sure they're in the right place both horizontally and vertically.

"Big concentric balls!" (no wisecracks allowed)
"4 groups of concentric balls!"

The trick is finding reference points that allow you to identify shapes before they happen, seeing the formations before and during.

[KiteLife]

Cross-posting more from the Facebook page...

Just posting a reminder about radios for this event... We have not yet confirmed the availability of an adequately placed sound system, so the possibility remains that we will default to using the usual radios.

Be sure to check out Brett Howard's awesome article on radios, good info there...

http://www.kitelife.com/other/technology/radio-equipment-for-team-flying/

NOTE 1 - All receiving radios are typical American walkie-talkies, available in any electronics or camping store - or online via Amazon (see walkie links the article linked below)... Main thing will be to see what kind of batteries they take, keep plenty of spares, and what kind of headset is available (or will work) with the units you buy.

NOTE 2 - I realize that these types of radios are not available (or legal) in some countries outside the US and Canada, but they are very inexpensive (usually $20-$50 for a set of two) and readily available once you arrive in the US... Worst case, there will be a few extra radios around but this is not guaranteed and it is highly advisable to bring your own or make specific arrangements to borrow from an attending North American flier beforehand.

NOTE 3 - Make sure you are VERY familiar with the VOX (voice activation) control on your radios, specifically how to reliably turn it off and keep it off... If even ONE radio is on VOX, it can easily overtake the leader's transmission and create a problem with communications.

NOTE 4 - If we end up with too many fliers who don't have radios, it's very possible that we'll ask everyone to go without headsets, placing the radio on the outside of their clothing... With enough radios on "open air" like this, the ambient sound quality should be pretty good.

Remember, good discussion can also be found at the other links below.

Last year's field preparations (field ...
http://www.revkites.com/forum/topic/5687-wsikf-2012-rev-field/

From the existing world record event in 2010...
http://www.revkites.com/forum/topic/3762-100-rev-fly-at-2010-wsikf-aug-16-22/

Thanks all, let's have fun!

[KiteLife]

Again, sharing over from FB...

Now, just for contrast compared to the other North American videos I just posted... Here's what they did in France last month (30 kites / 6x5 grid) - notice the increased focus on horizontal and vertical alignment, also the higher average level of execution in odd hover positions or slow controlled flight.

While skill helps, the key to it all is a clear focus on particular reference points in the grid and other formations... What will take the 2013 WSIKF group further than years prior, is a clear focus on how to quickly and easily identify rows, columns, shapes (formations), wingmen (neighbors), as well as how to proactively avoid or assist pilots who are struggling.

The pre-flight meetings and practice runs early in the week will be CRUCIAL for anyone who is unsure about their skill or has not worked in large mega teams before... But, I expect we'll also be covering a ton of aspects that have not come up even in past North American record attempts.

One way or the other we'll have TONS of fun, a belly full of laughs, lots of new friends, and we'll help ingrain the reference points will will allow you to be more relaxed during mega fly attempts... And, you'll be AMAZED at how these new skills make a difference in your individual flying afterwards!

[KiteLife]

Another cross-post...

Re-posting this for a quick mental exercise, please visualize these calls when looking at the image below... NOTE - for US mega flies, we traditionally count from left to right and top to bottom to find numerical values in the formation.

How quickly can you find:

Odd columns?
Even rows?

Fourth column?

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"ODD COLUMNS RISE, EVEN COLUMNS DROP, AND... NOW!" (vertical threads)

"THREADING BACK THROUGH, AND... NOW!" (all the way through)

"THREADING BACK THROUGH, AND... NOW!" (all the way through)

"BACK TO GRID, AND... NOW!" (up or down, back to your position)

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"ODD ROWS FACE RIGHT, EVEN ROWS FACE LEFT, AND... NOW!"

"TO THE EDGES ON A STRAIGHT LINE, AND... GO!"

"UP TURN 180, AND... NOW!"

"THREADING THROUGH, LOOK FOR THE HOLES, AND... GO!"

"UP TURN 180, AND... NOW!"

"BACK TO GRID, LOOK FOR THE HOLES, GO!"

TIPS:

1 - Know your correct altitude (don't rise or drop too much), based on where you are in the grid, get a feeling for flying a straight line across the window, staying more or less at that same altitude on each pass.

2 - When flying through, look for the kites sharing your row in front or behind you, 10 kites across, be a part of that line, watch it peripherally while in motion.

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"CENTER 4 KITES FACE OUT TO BALL, AND... NOW!"

"NEXT RING OF KITES TO BALL, AND... NOW!" (2nd ring from center)

"NEXT RING OF KITES TO BALL, AND... NOW!" (3rd ring from center)

"NEXT RING OF KITES TO BALL, AND... NOW!" (4th ring from center)

"NEXT RING OF KITES TO BALL, AND... NOW!" (outer ring)

"BURSTING ONE RING AT A TIME, OUTER RING IS ONE, INNER RING IS FIVE..."

"ONE! ... TWO! ... THREE! ... FOUR! ... FIVE!"

"SLOWLY BACK TO BALLS, NOW!"

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Again, we'll drill a lot but I wanted to share some visuals - I hope they're of use to you! (y)

[KiteLife]

WAY oversimplified, but putting the kites aside for a moment (different set of references - as outlined in earlier images)... I rounded up a bunch of plastic parachute men for an example of an 8x10 grid on the ground so that we can get a good idea at what we're looking for in terms of body positioning on the ground.

It's NEVER exact, but in theory, if everyone has their thinking cap on (see video below), the caller uses using an open tempo of commands and we have 3-4 wranglers on the ground to help guide folks into place, we should be in fairly decent shape.