89 replies to this topic

[Fenman]

Hi All
Just out of intrest What started you on the path with rev kites?
I have just started with them this year,{and enjoying it so much better}
For the last 15 years i have flown birds of prey as a hobby,
{In the wet and cold chaseing after a hawk who wont come out of a tree}
and the new job i have now clashes very heavy with my birds so i had to make a switch to something else so i could still be out in the fresh air
I have flown cheap 2 line kites for a number of years with limited success,
Then watched utube found the rev and thats me hooked
I do get help of ian {i4c i4c}what a great member,
so what started you????

[Baloo]

Saw a Rev at a festival in the Bournmouth, Poole area a few years back.

The guy flying it blew me away, I was used to cheap 2 line Deltas.

He let me smash it into the ground repeatedly, still with a smile on his face.

Dont know who he was but it is his fault.

Looked at the prices and was scared at how much they cost.

Couple of years later I bought my first EXP off Ebay, then a Rev 2, Rev 1, 2 more Rev 2's now I have 10 all together.

Still smash them into the ground a lot. and still got a smile on my face.

If the guy that let a fat balding old man fly his Rev in the arena about 4 or 5 years ago is reading this THANKS for inviting me into this family.

[Choccy]

I have flown cheap 2 line kites for a number of years with limited success,
so what started you????

Hello,
Ditto with the small dual-line kites (and the not so cheap ones, also without much success).

Watching The Flying Squad at a kite festival got me interested in Quads
Then looking through loads of videos on a UK kite website, seeing what the likes of Evolver can do.

Nothing like seeing the kite being flown properly IRL.

[Sailor99]

Was vaguely interested in kites when I was a teenager, but then my interests went off in a different direction. Then last summer I happened to come across a rev video in youtube, and Boing! It seemed to me to be a hobby I could take up without having to spend so much time away from home. The revs I saw being flown at Portsmouth (Flying Squad and some fantastic French guys who's team name escapes me at the moment) blew my mind. And that was that. Now I can't get enough of it.

[Choccy]

The revs I saw being flown at Portsmouth (Flying Squad and some fantastic French guys who's team name escapes me at the moment) blew my mind. And that was that. Now I can't get enough of it.

"The Crazy Drivers" the guys that fly with their feet, remember ?
Yes it's all good stuff.

One month of flying for me, and I'm enjoying the idea of the controllability more and more, whether I can achieve that is a different thing. But I love the concept all the same, self launch, flight in all directions etc

P.S. I've hung onto my Peter Powell diamond kite though from childhood (which started the whole kite thing for me).

[Sailor99]

Oh yes, good old peter powell. Top bloke for bringing kiting to the masses.

And yes you are right - it was Crazy Drivers.

[jay]

For me it was Force Nine in Clacton (now Kiteworld) went in shop for a spare part for delta saw exp hanging up thought it would be a challenge to fly and bought it, took me years to get it off the ground and keep it up for any lenght of time. after the first few attempts it went in kite bag and stayed there then one mad moment in gale force winds it came out and flew and did it have some pull. Carl Robertshaw sorted the low wind or should i say normal type wind problems for me by equalising the lines.
then went onto airbow a few years ago too many birds nests to untangle after flying on that one. so it was back to the Rev and now have 5 with another on the way.Vented rev1.

[antman]

i got hooked in 97 when i saw a few guys flying them in oc maryland .. ive always seen them at all the wildwood festivals i went to but never really got into them untill later in time.. over the years i have found it a kite i cant put down

[Aerochic]

I've been flying single lines at the shore since I was a little kid. Like so many others here, I was attracted to and dallied with dual lines off and on over the years.

When I saw how iQuad was using the revs last year at my first Wildwood festival I was blown away by the versatility of the kite and HAD to have one! :? The more I learn how to use mine, the more I am enjoying them.

[Kitezen]

"The Crazy Drivers" the guys that fly with their feet, remember ?
Yes it's all good stuff.

One month of flying for me, and I'm enjoying the idea of the controllability more and more, whether I can achieve that is a different thing. But I love the concept all the same, self launch, flight in all directions etc

P.S. I've hung onto my Peter Powell diamond kite though from childhood (which started the whole kite thing for me).

Hey, I got one of those Peter Powel kites too. It's how I started, a couple of dual line kites later, antman saw me flying my adreneline one day, I only ever flew it on vacation, he taught me how to fly his EXP, his patience and perserverance are unmatchable. The next day I bought one, and have been hooked ever since. I've been out the last 3 days, (kite month) and hoping for a chance to fly my rev every day now, I don't know why I still keep dual line kites, cause my Rev B is the only kite out of my bag anymore, unless it's real windy, then it's my rev II. Oh, guess I'll keep my 3D, until I can swing a rev SUL.

[browndude3649]

I flew 2 liners for a little while, until i saw Iquad inperson at Berzerkeley kite festival.
It Iquads fault!

[Will S]

At a festival with tons of wind, such that we couldn't really fly dual line, I was handed a rev II to see if I could fly quad, and after I didn't crash that first flight I got a 1.5SLE and fly it when I am bored with dual line kites or the winds are high.

[jburka]

I saw my first Rev at the Smithsonian festival in 1989 when I was back home from college for spring break. When I got back to school the next week I immediately ordered one from Into the Wind. I was surprised when it arrived to no longer say Neos Omega but rather Revolution.

The kite came with the incredibly rare blue handles, which I used for over 14 years before losing them (along with three custom Rev IIs) while returning from a trip to California. I probably miss the handles more than the kites (which I've replaced)

[Watty]

Living in Spokane, WA, I never saw any stunt kites. Up until about three yeas ago I thought that kites were just a single lined dimond sitting in the sky. But then in 2005, my Grandmother took me on a trip to WSIKF. There I saw iQuad, and some others flying revs. I found the training area and thought I'd try it out. Sure enough, I took he kite up, then streight back down. After this, I just sat back in the sand and watched the pros do it. I obsurved how their hand and body movements effected the kite. A little while later, I tried again. This time, I was able to control the kite, and even do tip lands and side hovers.

The next year, I came back. On the first day of the fest, John B. let me fly his kite, and he gave me some pointers. At this time, I had no idea who he was. Then I met Ben and Lolly. For the entire week, I just flew their kites every time I got the chance, and I learned a lot from them. Then, at the end of the week, I had to leave. I told Ben and Lolly that I was leaving, and they told me to wait a second. They pulled out one of their rev 1.5's and handed it to me. That was how I got my first rev.

Since then, I've bought three more ktes, flown with iQuad, and placed in a couple experienced quad line events.

[Kitelife]

The first kite festival I ever went to was as a spectator, with my very first dual line kite in hand (which I'd purchased recently).

It was on the Marina Green, August or September of 1990... Saw Jim Hadzicki flying a Rev I, and he gave me a lesson.

At the AKA Nationals later that year, I got more time in with more help from Jim, and Dave too.

Funny story though... I bought a Rev I after that and didn't care for it, sold it, then 6 months later realized I'd had the verticals on the wrong side of the kite.

Rev II was my comeback, another 6 months later.

Hey, it could happen to anyone!

[jay]

Funny story though... I bought a Rev I after that and didn't care for it, sold it, then 6 months later realized I'd had the verticals on the wrong side of the kite.

Didnt watch the tape then JB lol

[Kitelife]

Too true, didn't have a VCR. *shrug*

I think I've since made up for my error.

Goes to show you, anyone can fly these things.

[steveb]

I started with a Skynasaur F-36 dual line in '89. I struggled with it for 6 months, never staying in the air for more than 5 seconds.
One day at a park, a 5 year old kid kept bugging me to let him fly it, as he knew how and his Dad made kites. Sure, and he probably flies a helicopter and owns a submarine too, I thought.

A few hours later, 2 fellows walked over from the other side of the hill, carrying the biggest kites I'd ever seen. The F-36 that I'd been attempting to fly was the size of a pocket handkerchief. It turned out that young Jason really could fly kites and his Dad really did make kites. They gave me a few tips and I eventually bought quite a few of Ron Bell's kites.

Fast forward a few months- I met Jim Dingsdale, who had entire pages of the Into The Wind catalogue. I thought I was pretty well stocked with the 3 kites I had, but Jim had huge kite bags with loads of kites I'd only dreamed about.

One of them was a Revolution I. I was very leery of trying to learn a quad kite, as I'd just started to get the hang of flying dual liners. With a lot of coaching and many crashes, the little light went on and I started to 'get it'. I made a kite inspired by the Rev II, but it was 2 metres in span, with a different sail shape and learned the basic controls on that, without fear of trashing Jim's very expensive kite. I eventually bought my own Rev I, Rev IIs, Rev 1.5s, ShockWave, Indoors & SuperSonic, plus just about every commercial Quad available.

I still was mostly a dual line flier and usually only flew Quads at crowded kite festivals, as you can always find a spot to fly on short lines. The reason I didn't fly Quads more was the hassle that I had with the lines. It wasn't until a more experienced Quad flier- Dan Burnham showed me his method at WSIKF that I got my string under control and can now wrap and unwrap my lines in a few minutes without tangles.

I've known Steve de Rooy for many years and started flying Revs more down at Clover Point, Victoria with him and a few of the other regulars, went to WSIKF every summer and flew in the Mega-Quad events, but it wasn't until I started dropping in on the islandQuad sessions at Clover Point in January that the quad-hook got set really deeply.

The Clover Pointers all had B-Series Revs and poor ol' Trevor looked pretty out of place, so I ordered a pair of B-Series kites.

I am going to wear those kites out- I've been keeping track of the days that I fly and it'll be my 69th time flying since New Year's Day today. I just can't stop flying those kites. I plan to get back-ups as soon as I sell a few more of my now dusty dual liners.

A big thanks to Jim Dingsdale for starting me on this path!

/my longest post, ever

[antman]

Hey, I got one of those Peter Powel kites too. It's how I started, a couple of dual line kites later, antman saw me flying my adreneline one day, I only ever flew it on vacation, he taught me how to fly his EXP, his patience and perserverance are unmatchable. The next day I bought one, and have been hooked ever since. I've been out the last 3 days, (kite month) and hoping for a chance to fly my rev every day now, I don't know why I still keep dual line kites, cause my Rev B is the only kite out of my bag anymore, unless it's real windy, then it's my rev II. Oh, guess I'll keep my 3D, until I can swing a rev SUL.

thank you greg .. glad to have you with the rev family.. as i told you its the best isn,t it???well cant wait to see you and the misses in wildwood again ..

[Love2fly]

I've been flying SLK for a few years after getting a Polaris as a gift; and I also played around with the dual lines a bit. I put up a nice display considering I hadn't known about any kite festivals here and around the world until last summer. I love to see "kids" of all ages smile as the beautiful shapes and colors float across the sky; and letting them fly them, too. After meeting someone that flew a lot of dual line, he mentioned AKA and I joined. In January, while checking out AKA to see what events were scheduled in NJ this year, I stumbeled across the East Coast Rev Clinic. Having no idea what it was about (actually hoping I could learn more about SLK) I called Brad and he explained what they were and suggested that I check out You Tube. I was blown away!!! After talking with him many times, I decided to go to the clinic. I had never seen one in person to this point. I knew I was hooked even before getting to Wildwood. I love the whole idea of flying. Airplanes, hot air balloons, anything that flies is amazing to me.
When I got to Wildwood, I got chills seeing these kites in action. ...or was it that it was so cold.... NO, I'm sure it was the thrill of seeing how controllable they are.
I bought a used one on ebay the week before the clinic (not knowing much at this point other than it was a REV) and a B'v at the clinic. It's a start..
The rest as they say is history.
Brad, thanks for inviting me into a great family.