I just got home yesterday from the East Coast Rev Clinic. John and Steve left me with the feeling and true belief that I can do ANYTHING with a little (OK, maybe A LOT) of practice and patience.
SO....I got my brand new Rev Indoor. I stared at the box all day and FINALLY school was out. I hurried down to the gym, put the kite together, stood it against the wall, pulled, walked backwards and THUNK...it landed face down on the floor. Two more trys....same result.
SO...I moved the top lines in two knots to create more lift and this time it went up a little before the leading edge dove for the floor. I ran...same result. I ran FASTER....you get it....dragging it on the floor!!!
WHAT'S THE SECRET????????????
Anybody have some advice about how to get started with this thing? Is there a beginner how-to video out there somewhere?? HEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!
Flying Indoor is an art that takes time and patience to master. The main thing that helped me was to remember that you are creating the wind for your kite and the wind you create is very very light and delicate. You can't launch like you do outdoors, maneuvers have to be delicate and smoooooooooooth. Sharp snappy turns will just pull the kite out of the air. Concentrate on keeping all the lines tight and making your movements very fluid like and smooth. You are basically floating the kite on the lightest of air, not really flying it through the wind. Let the kite glide, don't force it to fly.
Also, your body movements have to be smooth as well, running will be too jerky to keep any type of control on your kite. Make your launch smooth with long strides and constant hand/arm movements - kind of like softly swooshing the kite off the ground into the air. Move backwards at a very smooth and steady pace so that your kite will have a smooth force on its sail. Probably the easiest thing to start with is flying a 360. Start by walking backwards in a small circle and putting your rev in a vertical position flying side to side. Continue to walk smoothly around in a small circle so that your constantly walking away from your Rev as it flies. Keep even tension on all four lines and try to get the feel of the kite "locked" into the wind you are creating. Adjust your hands ever so slightly forward or backwards to keep the kite flying smooth and straight. Once you start to get the hang of this maneuver then you can start trying others like reversing and up-n-overs, just remember how delicate your controls need to be and don't jerk the kite out of the air.
I am still not the best at indoor flying and Penny or others would probably have a lot more info on this for you. These are just some of the basics that have helped me.
Indoor and light wind flying is probably the most difficult to master but well worth the extra time it takes to learn. Don't give up on your indoor, they are really awesome once you get it figured out.
I just got home yesterday from the East Coast Rev Clinic. John and Steve left me with the feeling and true belief that I can do ANYTHING with a little (OK, maybe A LOT) of practice and patience.
SO....I got my brand new Rev Indoor. I stared at the box all day and FINALLY school was out. I hurried down to the gym, put the kite together, stood it against the wall, pulled, walked backwards and THUNK...it landed face down on the floor. Two more trys....same result. SO...I moved the top lines in two knots to create more lift and this time it went up a little before the leading edge dove for the floor. I ran...same result. I ran FASTER....you get it....dragging it on the floor!!!
WHAT'S THE SECRET????????????
Anybody have some advice about how to get started with this thing? Is there a beginner how-to video out there somewhere?? HEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!
Melanie
Before I ever tried flying indoors, I watched almost all the indoor videos I could find. This showed me how the pros moved, what they were doing, and how the kite reacted.
Here are a couple of my videos:
Remember to make everything smooth. You will end up moving a lot, but as you get better, it will become less and less tiring.
Work on the simple things first: 180's (moving kite around you in a circle) launches launching with an up and over (lauch the kite streight over you, and turn around)
Also, If you are using the Indoor handles, I suggest having your lines on the end knots, or on the end bottom knots and the 1st knot back on the top.
When launching, pull your thumbs back, and toward your chest. Make this movement smooth, but not slow.
Try having a friend start you off holding the kite sideways, so you can practice your 180's
When you are in school, is the best time to start learning how to fly indoors. I'm a sophmore in high school, and I get to fly in the lunch room at school every day. Once you're out of school, it may become hard to find a place to fly, especiall if you are not very experienced.
As another option for the launch, also try with leading edge down on the ground, tips towards you slowly walk back, the kite should slowly raise up, even if it doesn't launch the tips should come up.
Once the tips are up, pul back on one hand, this will make the kite fly to one side. If you keep doing this you can fly a 360, with the leading edge on the ground. Thats OK, its good.
Once you are Ok with this, then with the hand that you've been pulling back, push the thumb forward, this will lift the wing up, you will then do a tip drag, its then a short step to bringing the kite up and flying.
Before I ever tried flying indoors, I watched almost all the indoor videos I could find. This showed me how the pros moved, what they were doing, and how the kite reacted.
Here are a couple of my videos:
Remember to make everything smooth. You will end up moving a lot, but as you get better, it will become less and less tiring.
Work on the simple things first: 180's (moving kite around you in a circle) launches launching with an up and over (lauch the kite streight over you, and turn around)
Also, If you are using the Indoor handles, I suggest having your lines on the end knots, or on the end bottom knots and the 1st knot back on the top.
When launching, pull your thumbs back, and toward your chest. Make this movement smooth, but not slow.
Try having a friend start you off holding the kite sideways, so you can practice your 180's
When you are in school, is the best time to start learning how to fly indoors. I'm a sophmore in high school, and I get to fly in the lunch room at school every day. Once you're out of school, it may become hard to find a place to fly, especiall if you are not very experienced.
Thanks so much for the advice.
I've had a rough week and havn't made it back to the gym.
I will give it a go early next wee and report on my progress.
Melanie
mel i too started indoor last year and i was doing the same thing.. my problem was i was flying to stiff armed and makeing my moves to fast .. relax your self and follow the kite .. indoor requires slow graceful movements to much jerkey flying will slack the lines and make the kite fall
Watty, Agree the practice bit, but I think for learning a bit longer is better, also you have to take into account how big the room is.
Also, the Rev indoor will give you a big advantage (he he) but the SUL will also fly indoors. Back when I started flying indoors we either made special sails or used the SUL. Also, as with everything the more you fly the better you will get, and this will help in low wind outdoors.
When I teach someone how to fly indoors, I usually set them up with my 5' or 8' line set.
A longer lineset makes a big difference in weight of the kite when it comes to flying indoors.
There are two reasons I teach people using short lines:
1. The kite is easier to get into the air
2. New fliers tend to move around a lot, so with shorter lines, it provides more room for the person to move and experement.
And yes, it very mush depends on the size of the room you are in. If you're in a large area, anywhere from 5-15 ft would be fine. I know that longer lines will slow down the kite and give you a bigger window, but remember that with longer lines comes more weight. With more weight comes faster walking. With faster walking comes mora breaks, and less time to fly if you are not yet able to move the kite to the other side.
On another note, I recently tried glueing eraser ends to the bottom of my rev indoor end caps. This provides traction when on hard wood floors or tile floors. With this added, it becomes easier for one to set the kite down, and easily get it back in the air.
Hi Watty, with the rubber on tips, you could try a silicin sealer form a diy store, stays tacky and then when its not just peal off the caps.
As for lines & weight, I think its down to what suits, when I set the current indoor record I used 80lbs line at about 30 feet, 2 reasons, I didn't want any breaks & this gave me a good amount of room to play with.
At the other end I have a just Rev 2 v light, with about 5 foot lines on 50lbs, which is great for flying in Hotel rooms etc.
There are some great indoor flyer in Europe, if any of then see this thread could they post some video, some of these guys are seriosly good, & some ONLY fly indoors. So most of us dont see them.
David Brittain (probably the father of indoor Rev flying) started with a Rev II, that's what he set the first duration world record with.
Remember, as the kite gets smaller, the sail to weight ratio usually decreases, so there's a little more energy or focus required to keep the smaller kites going.
