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Have 1.5 SLE. But... not as stable/precise as I would like. How about B Series vented or 1.5 Vented?


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I currently have the Rev 1.5 SLE.


I have seen others using the B-Series Vented and they seem to be MUCH more precise and stable.


I know it could be a matter of skill and experience.

But, would a B-Series Vented be more stable and precise (instead of twitching and being very hard to "hover")?

Basically, I find it very hard to "hover" sideways and to go up and down while the kite is horizontal.


When I slide up and down while the kite is horizontal, it moves in a 45 degree angle up and down instead of straight up and down sliding.

Any advice is much appreciated.

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Skill and experience - CHECK!! Sorry, it's not the kite, it's the flier!! Any improvements made to the 1.5 platform are real, but without a "feel" to appreciate them, well it won't matter!

You didn't say if your SLE was a standard or vented! If you're looking to add a vented and can afford it, go for a "B"! It'll give you something to compare between!!

Old saying in Rev flying - "no substitute for ( TIME ON LINES!!) The more you fly, the more you'll come to see the differences!

Enjoy!!ani_idea.gif

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Hi MarshallPlacid ,

Have you been flying long? I found it took many hours on the lines to Start getting the hang of Quad.

I know I am not the fastest learner, But don't expect too much too soon.

Also have you watched all of the Videos that JB has done. Heaps of great tips in there.

Now for my personal experience.

I find that Using a vented kite in stronger wind is less "twitchy" than a Standard Kite in the lower winds.

But this is caused by a more continuous sail pressure, I think.

Keep up the practice, and experiment with different methods and setups.

It will come to you. :)

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advice for a 90 degree vertical slide? (if I understand your question correctly)

First take the handles and turn them (thumb direction) to face the same side (L or R) as the leading edge will be facing.

Now stack them, one above the other. From this position imagine what the flight path should look like, remembering that a slide is created by the "difference between the handles" not wrist rotation. One must be pushed forward (the bottom handle) and the other must be drawn backwards towards your shoulder. Maximum forward lift is effected from this fully extended position and relative positioning relationship of the handles is still in-line. (it's called the archer move, you can see why!)

To get the kite to hover (or descend) you will change the positioning of the two handles from the extreme example above used for maximum lift speed (up), but remember the handles are stacked one above the other. (Okay it's actually an arc, but it's in alignment)

Go ahead, rotate your torso and reposition your feet, so all of this is comfortable. One of the handles is creating the stability (L to R) and the other is controlling the vertical height adjustments. Which one? You'll figure it out in short order, it's personal.

Okay now, go affix your flying lines again and practice. The easiest starting point is a tip stab,... the secret to returning to the same spot is to watch a mark on the ground instead of watching the kite directly. Keep your intense focus on that spot, flying only in your peripheral vision. Practice the vertical slide on both sides too and your lines had better be even!

Make sure you have enough "down" in your leader tuning, so the kite is hovering at neutral and you are in a comfortable & relaxed position physically.

It will get better & better with practice,... before you know it you'll be doing sliding vertical threads this way with dozen of other pilots.

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Vertical slide, horizontal slide, angled slide, and inverted slide (including hovers, which are stalled slides) all have the same inputs once you get your mind wrapped around them. Just the orientation of the kite and the complexity of the inputs changes. Changing the relative distance of each handle from your body changes the speed and direction of the slide or stall for a hover. Thumb/wrist movements control the wobble.

When I was learning and smoothing out the vertical side slide, I lined up the leading edge with a flag pole, tree trunk, or corner of a building down wind from me. This provided an extra visual cue of vertical alignment wobble. While sliding up and down in the window, extra focus was on maintaining as close to parallel alignment as possible with the least amount of twitch. That developed muscle memory and very small fine-tuning inputs to smooth out the slide. Practice with leading edge on both left and right sides. Also practice in all directions in the wind window, but straight down wind is the easiest while learning. The inputs aren't static. They change slightly as the kite moves away from the center of the wind window and closer to the top or sides.

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All good advice, but just to reiterate ... do not underestimate JB's tutorial videos. John is one of those people who not only has an extremely thorough technical understanding of all aspects in play, but he is also able to articulate that information very well.

I've had him fix a problem I had in one sentence which likely saved me months of doing things the hard way and (hopefully) eventually figuring it out. I still had to go out and put what he said into practice, but once you have the correct knowledge practice basically means go out and have fun :)

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Videos are great, but nothing beats someone holding our hands during lesson time, that is a certainty. Want your skills to grow fast as possible?, you need to be around other fliers. Preferably those more gifted than you, so you are challenged and assisted immediately as problems or concerns arise.

Being around other fliers allows for easier experimenting too, just trying each others tuning out is sometimes very beneficial. Why it works is less important than the feel of it functioning correctly. Videos can't provide that direct interaction, but I sure do wish they were around when I started!

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Videos are great, <snip> but I sure do wish they were around when I started!

I know what you mean but in hindsight I enjoy the memory of the learning curve when I got my first Rev. There was no-one to watch or talk to! I had previously found out how to fly single line fighter kites so was looking for another challenge <grins>

Felix

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Videos can't provide that direct interaction, but I sure do wish they were around when I started!

Same here! No one to learn from. The video I had was NTSC not PAL, so I could not look at it. So, it was down to learning by myself.

I was able to pick up a bunch of tips from Felix on one of my many trips to London. That helped a lot.

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Same here! No one to learn from. The video I had was NTSC not PAL, so I could not look at it. So, it was down to learning by myself.

I was able to pick up a bunch of tips from Felix on one of my many trips to London. That helped a lot.

<grins>

That will have been Rev1 days I'm sure. The Rev2's were great for slow flying (or not) in high wind as at Damp whichever year it was. Was it in 1995 that the 1.5s were introduced? They were less slow, steady and precise than the Rev1s but that does not answer the question about precision as in the initial post here. My answer could be that application and attention to the task in hand without expecting 'answers on a plate' may be the best way forward. I remember figuring out how to fly in virtually no wind on Blackheath one almost windless Sunday* and went on to do 50x360s just because I could. Probably on 100ft lines at that stage. We went to c130 ft lines later before 120 ft became the norm.

Felix

*It was when Jacob and Romney were running the 2 line local training competitions FJM

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It was June 1991. It was at Andy King's Kite Store and just purchased a REV II from Viv. That was my second REV. Romney was there whom I had met a couple months earlier along with you, Jake and Tim in Vienna.

Romney invited me out to Blackheath to fly with you all. The Decorators were fling the REV I's. You were giving me tips on the REV II when you took breaks. I actually learned quite a bit in a few short hours.

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It was June 1991. It was at Andy King's Kite Store and just purchased a REV II from Viv. That was my second REV. Romney was there whom I had met a couple months earlier along with you, Jake and Tim in Vienna.

Romney invited me out to Blackheath to fly with you all. The Decorators were fling the REV I's. You were giving me tips on the REV II when you took breaks. I actually learned quite a bit in a few short hours.

Oh well that pins the date down but my suggestion of 'going for it individually' looks like it is going nowhere.

However I do wonder if Joe Hadziki would comment on how he figured out how to fly a four line kite <grins>

Felix

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  • 2 weeks later...

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