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New in Tucson with an old EXP


Rick Higginson

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I'm finally in here at the forums. We bought this EXP for my wife around 15 to 20 years ago, and both of us did miserable on our first attempts to fly it. It sat untouched ever since until just recently, when I decided to try it again after watching some of the tutorials on line. So far, I've flown it a couple of times, and am starting to get the hang of controlling it. Despite my novice quad skills and our Tucson hardpack, I've managed to not bust it in my learning curve.

I did improve the flying characteristics quite a bit on the second attempt by tightening up the old, tired shock cords holding the sail taut. I'll likely replace them soon. Elastic doesn't tend to age well here in the hot, dry Sonoran desert.

Anyway, once I have the hang of flying it, my wife might just try to learn again, at which time I think I'll start shopping for my own Rev.

IMG_4600.jpg

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Welcome to the Revkites forum. Glad to hear you've started flying again. That's a great looking kite in a beautiful setting. Hope you are able to get your wife to fly with you soon. My wife has been an encouragement to my involvement with kites for a long time. When I got my first sport kite we struggled to launch in high wind without realizing we should not even fly that kite in those conditions. With her on the handles & me assisting with the kite she finally got it in the air. Then she handed me the handles & I started to get the hang of it. It was a memorable day. She still reminds me that she taught me to fly that day. Best wishes to you both & let us know how it's going.

Just out here in the sticks, SHBKF

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Hi, Hoomi, and welcome to the Rev family and forum. I look forward to flying with you someday, perhaps. Glad you got it out of the bag for another go at it. With the help available here you'll get the hang of it in no time.

As long as the bungees have some stretch in them they are ok. Actually, I prefer minimal stretch in the ones above the vertical spars; I like to keep the tops of the spars as close to flush with the leading edge as possible, and when they wear out I usually switch to zero-stretch round shoe laces in some of mine. If you replace them, remember that the amount of tension you want is just enough to keep the sail tensioned equally side-to-side and top-to-bottom. Just enough to keep it flat, not enough to make it very taut.

In the photo you posted (great shot), it appears that you could use just a tad more tension at the outer tips of the leading edge, to take out the folds that point to the bottom tips.

Smile, have fun and don't forget to breathe.

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Yeah, the photo was from before I tightened up the old bungees. It was a bit lethargic when they were still loose (maybe a help with that first flight), and on the second flight, one of the end caps actually popped off in flight before I tightened them.

I need to put on the GoPro the next time I fly it, so I can get some action shots in flight.

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