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Team Basics


Baloo

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IMHO Unlikely. Maybe you are moving incorrectly, but Mr Ellison was quite clear with me that most rev flyers move far too little, and in my experience since this little nugget he is correct.

Having watched a heap load of iQuad movie files recently, I figure that I am moving around ok....

JB moves around *a lot* even bounces during his performance :)

But *I* will not be moving around so far as to do a 360! :shifty::w00t:

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Either this is an example of extreme movement or it was very windy and I need to put rocks in my pocket.

post-14-1205517710_thumb.jpg

Suggested captions for this photo:

By kitehead:

"Though an experienced flyer, Mike Kory was unprepared for the gusty Southern California winds"

"Kory was later quoted as saying 'I'll bulk up and be back next year'".

by Isaac:

Somtimes yelling at your kite will make it go in the right direction

OR

Disaster was narrowly avoided when Mike calls "All kites right" and then turns left.

by Babb:

Did someone just pinch my butt?

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Either this is an example of extreme movement or it was very windy and I need to put rocks in my pocket.

I don't recall who that was in the black flip-flops, but clearly he was getting too personal with his handles.

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Which is why we in the UK with kids hate the fact that "French Connnection UK" have reduced it down to its initials FCUK

The phenomenal power of the human mind

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg

The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid! Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh, and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt.

NOTE: I read this somewhere and I just had to pass it around. I do not know the origins of the text.

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  • 10 months later...

Hey guys,

Stumbled along this thread while looking at where to start with team flying. Where I am there is no one that team flys but there are 2 of us that are wanting to have a go at some team stuff with a third person getting an 1.5 SLE soon to join us. What I would like to know is some real basic things that we should be looking at doing to get things underway. Yes we all will need to get some 120' lines at some stage in the near future but at this stage we are looking at the very basic stuff.

So, what would use guys suggest we start looking at to get the hang of very early stages of Rev Team flying?

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Hey guys,

Stumbled along this thread while looking at where to start with team flying. Where I am there is no one that team flys but there are 2 of us that are wanting to have a go at some team stuff with a third person getting an 1.5 SLE soon to join us. What I would like to know is some real basic things that we should be looking at doing to get things underway. Yes we all will need to get some 120' lines at some stage in the near future but at this stage we are looking at the very basic stuff.

So, what would use guys suggest we start looking at to get the hang of very early stages of Rev Team flying?

Hello-

From what I've been learning, the team animations are all of the basic maneuvers that are done. There's a link to them to the right on the main Rev website page, under Technique. (To the right, near where you would log into the forum.)

The real basics: You will be standing in line, about six inches back from the person next to you. This helps keeping out of the wake of the kite you are following. Someone will have to call the moves. That takes practice, too. Calling requires you to watch everyone while watching what your kite is doing. There is a definite cadence to calling. You will want to call the move and then say "go" or "now" or something so that everyone turns or goes on that call, at the same time. (180......now, for example). Speed is crucial as you are trying to create an image with the move and being out of sync speedwise effects that greatly. Spacing is important, too. It's good to start off with basic figure eights where everyone can get the feel for the lines crossing, speed control and following the kite in front of you. You'd be surprised how different the control is to keep in line vs. flying alone and feeling as if you're controlling that "line". Once you have that control and confidence with the figure eights, than you can add moves to that. Everything from launching to landing is done together, however the caller calls it.

Most importantly, it IS so much fun to stand next to a friend and fly; never forget that part.

Spotter, is this what you were looking for? If not, please explain.

I don't have the experience of most. Since this is newer to me, since the summer, I'm just giving you my take on my experience and what I've learned.

Hope this helps.

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Hello-

I don't have the experience of most. Since this is newer to me, since the summer, I'm just giving you my take on my experience and what I've learned.

Hope this helps.

Hi Laura, in many respects the experience of a recent team flyer is more important than someone like me who has been flying for decades. It is very easy for us old team flyers to forget what it is like to learn the basics (and how much fun that can be). So don't ever be shy about offering your experience. One thing i have learnt over the years is that it is a little different for everyone so my best advice is to listen to everyone you can find, try what they suggest then use what works for you.

@ Spotter

There is lots of information on here and lots of advice so have a look. Sometimes it is easier to address specific questions, don't worry there is no such thing as a silly question! We all went through the same things when we first started to team fly. Admittedly it is easier if you have a team around to inspire you (I had the Decorators in my case) but isolation could prove inovation. In the first instance I suggest that you look at as much video footage as you can find. You will see several differnt styles, iQuad, The Decorators, The Flying Squad, FLIC, Bolau are allvery different in style and then the Japanese teams are as different again. Take a look at the style you like and then try plotting some of the moves you like best. You will soon discover there are some moves we all love and fly such as "bursts" but other moves may be very team specifc.

If you need any specific input please PM and I will be happy to go through as much as is needed.

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@ Spotter

" You will see several differnt styles, iQuad, The Decorators, The Flying Squad, FLIC, Bolau are all very different in style and then the Japanese teams are as different again. Take a look at the style you like and then try plotting some of the moves you like best.

Yes, what he said.

No 1 have fun !!! we still do, after all these years.

No 2, for plotting - read steal !!! takes a move use it learn it then change a bit or add a bit....

No 3, have fun.

Also like he says watch other teams, I really like FLIC & The Flying Squad, very different but both excellent. With FLIC there is so much more to what you see on video

Where are you based?

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Hi Stephen and Simon-

It's cool to see every team's style. The video from Choccy is a prime example of that. I've been very fortunate to fly with many experienced flyers from all over the country. That has definitely given me a broad point to learn from.

Also, I definitely have and continue to browse the forum and for all of the information/videos. There's tons of information right at our finger tips... literally.

Thanks for the words of wisdom; and have fun!

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Hey guys,

Stumbled along this thread while looking at where to start with team flying. Where I am there is no one that team flys but there are 2 of us that are wanting to have a go at some team stuff with a third person getting an 1.5 SLE soon to join us. What I would like to know is some real basic things that we should be looking at doing to get things underway. Yes we all will need to get some 120' lines at some stage in the near future but at this stage we are looking at the very basic stuff.

So, what would use guys suggest we start looking at to get the hang of very early stages of Rev Team flying?

Mike Kory of IKE, and a member of 180Go as well as iQuad, published this Mega Fly Mannual...

After taking part in my first Mega fly at Treasure Island, I found this mannual very helpful to further understand some of the calls that were made. It's certainly well worth printing, and studding for team flys.

:clap2: Thanks to Mike for all his hard work and talents! :clap2:

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Mike Kory of IKE, and a member of 180Go as well as iQuad, published this Mega Fly Mannual...

I find the animations very helpful:

http://www.revkites.com/main/Animations

The manual is great at alerting to individual kite line twists and has allowed me to ponder the deep and exciting world of wrap-around twists (2 or more kites lines passing around each other, rather than individual kite line twists). OK, so I've barely made any progress, but it gives the residual brain cell something to do.

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Hey guys,

Stumbled along this thread while looking at where to start with team flying. Where I am there is no one that team flys but there are 2 of us that are wanting to have a go at some team stuff with a third person getting an 1.5 SLE soon to join us. What I would like to know is some real basic things that we should be looking at doing to get things underway. Yes we all will need to get some 120' lines at some stage in the near future but at this stage we are looking at the very basic stuff.

So, what would use guys suggest we start looking at to get the hang of very early stages of Rev Team flying?

At the very start...I'd begin with a couple basics to get going.

The Follow.

Basically, have someone lead and the others follow the path of the leader.

The goal, to maintain even spacing, speed, and smooth lines.

The most common format for this among quad team fliers is that the person standing farthest to the right is the leader, with each person to the left following in succession.

The most common pattern, the one you will see most teams and mega-flys perform, is a figure-8 shape turned sideways. The leader will fly to the right in a large clockwise circle in the right half of the window, come up in the center and turn a counter clockwise circle in the left half of the window. You will start to get the feeling of what other kites' lines pushing on yours feels like as you come up halfway for the second circle.

Ball and burst.

Practice hovering in a ball formation. With three kites, you can have the top kite straight horizontal, and the other two will be beneath facing outward diagonally toward the ground. Winds up more of a triangle than a ball, but that's fine for three. Practice keeping your formation steady.

Then practice flying outward at the same time. Do slow, and fast. Try to move at the same speed as the other kites. Keep straight lines.

Practice returning to the ball position by flying backward exactly to where you came from. Remember that the kites coming up can't go as fast as the one coming down, so the top kite needs to match its speed to others so they arrive back at the middle at the same time.

Have Fun

This last one's pretty easy, in my opinion. Hardly need to practice that anymore. ;)

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Have Fun

This last one's pretty easy, in my opinion. Hardly need to practice that anymore. ;)

Now that's one I'm an expert at!

Jeff ~ Great information, as usual... Thanks again for all your help (and patience) at the Cool Fool Kite Fest!

Jynx

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Mike Kory of IKE, and a member of 180Go as well as iQuad <snip> studding for team flys.

:clap2: Thanks to Mike for all his hard work and talents! :clap2:

Studding? Your Freudian slip has certainly put a smile on my face this morning. Adds a whole new dimension to the Pappa Smurf image. I'm sure some of the IKE members will help point out his new status this Saturday.

Cheers,

Tom

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Studding? Your Freudian slip has certainly put a smile on my face this morning. Adds a whole new dimension to the Pappa Smurf image. I'm sure some of the IKE members will help point out his new status this Saturday.

Cheers,

Tom

OMG!

Talk about... Open Mouth Insert Foot!

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Chris,

As a beginner (my first team attempt was yesterday), I can share what I learned from my humbling experience. I quickly discovered that my solo flying sessions needed some practice that I had not thought of before.

The only pattern I attempted with the group was folowing the leader. Seeing others doing this looked so easy, and I had done many figure-8 patterns alone, but I had not realized that I needed to master doing it slowly. Fast solo figure-8's were not that difficult for me, but for team flying it must be done much slower, making the maneuver harder to perform well. After mangling the team figure-8's a couple of times, I spent considerable time during the afternoon practicing large circles and figure-8's alone as slowly and smoothly as I could.

A second lesson was the difficulty in focusing. There is so much pressure with 4-6 other kites that it is easy to lose concentration. I need to learn to keep my attention on flying my own kite while keeping a sense of the kite immediately in front of me. One time I lost focus by noticing a kite flying downwind from us.

My third rude awakening was realizing that my lines were longer than everyone else's. I had purchased a ready-to-use set of quad 120' lines from a reputable dealer, but they seemed 3-6' longer than everyone else's. This led to entanglements whenever others tried to dock with my kite. I learned that this is called "threading", and Brad gave me some one-on-one lessons on dealing with this. Today I checked this lineset and found it to be 123.5 feet long with about 1" variation among the four lines. I will be shortening them to 120' as I don't want to stand 3 1/2 feet behind everyone else.

I hope these lessons can be helpful to you. I also hope that the friendly and patient group I flew with gives me another shot when I get better. Sharing the airspace with one other seems like a good step for me to work up to a full team, but the lessons I got yesterday I needed to learn. I am greatful for the fun, camaraderie, and learning experience.

Enjoy the learning curve,

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The only pattern I attempted with the group was folowing the leader. Seeing others doing this looked so easy, and I had done many figure-8 patterns alone, but I had not realized that I needed to master doing it slowly. Fast solo figure-8's were not that difficult for me, but for team flying it must be done much slower, making the maneuver harder to perform well. After mangling the team figure-8's a couple of times, I spent considerable time during the afternoon practicing large circles and figure-8's alone as slowly and smoothly as I could.

A second lesson was the difficulty in focusing. There is so much pressure with 4-6 other kites that it is easy to lose concentration. I need to learn to keep my attention on flying my own kite while keeping a sense of the kite immediately in front of me. One time I lost focus by noticing a kite flying downwind from us.

Congratulations on a successful first effort. Those things you found difficulty with are the first things everybody realizes after the first time out. There's really no way to describe it, you just have to get out there and feel how it's different.

I had the same reaction after my first team flight. I just wasn't coming close to making smooth turns in the follow, and was sliding out of the path way too far. It was hard to concentrate on flying the path accurately, while at the same time maintaining any kind of even spacing. After that, I got to practicing those figure 8 turns over and over, only this time I had a better feel for what it should be like.

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Wayne,

Don't sell yourself short. You did an excellent job, way better than you gave yourself credit for.

The idea of braking on the way down is important so that you don't overcorrect on the way back up.

Like Jeff said, spacing (no, not that kind of spacing!) in line is the key to a good looking follow. Much different than doing it on your own.

With respect to the other kites, pay attention to the kite immediately in front of you, taking a pause and then turning where they turn. I had the problem of being to anxious and would start my turns at the same time, causing me to turn under them, thus having to overcorrect. It has a tendency to screw up the others behind you as they are in turn using you as their reference.

The sense of panic is urgent if you're not comfortable in line. Trust of your fellow fliers is key. Everyone's been there and the longer you do it the easier it becomes to know how to bail out when there is a problem up or down the line. It all comes back to braking because the ability to slow down or stop in line quickly is key.

Get out there with Barb and go through it. See ya on the 24th for massive team fly with Brian at LSP!

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Wayne,

Don't sell yourself short. You did an excellent job, way better than you gave yourself credit for.

The idea of braking on the way down is important so that you don't overcorrect on the way back up.

Like Jeff said, spacing (no, not that kind of spacing!) in line is the key to a good looking follow. Much different than doing it on your own.

With respect to the other kites, pay attention to the kite immediately in front of you, taking a pause and then turning where they turn. I had the problem of being to anxious and would start my turns at the same time, causing me to turn under them, thus having to overcorrect. It has a tendency to screw up the others behind you as they are in turn using you as their reference.

The sense of panic is urgent if you're not comfortable in line. Trust of your fellow fliers is key. Everyone's been there and the longer you do it the easier it becomes to know how to bail out when there is a problem up or down the line. It all comes back to braking because the ability to slow down or stop in line quickly is key.

Get out there with Barb and go through it. See ya on the 24th for massive team fly with Brian at LSP!

--------------------

I have yet to get the opportunity of flying with others but hope to soon and am finding the articles on the forum very interesting.

Reading Wayne's comments has made me more determined to get it right

Looking at videos on youtube and other sites just make me want to do it more.

I have got some 120' lines on order but Royal Mail have them somewhere, hope to have them before i manage to meet with some other rev flyers. I am going to go to Dunstable Downs on Sunday 15th if the weather is good and hope I might get to see other revs in action.

Keith

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