23 replies to this topic

[tonycarl]

I have a standard B and a vented B which fly great, but for some winds I wish I have something in between. I am thinking of having a vented B made with only two vents instead of four vents. Has anyone done this and if so how do you like it? Is it better to have 2 inboard vents or 2 outboard vents or split the difference (using the same size vents as the original vented)?

Thanks:)

[Sailor99]

Interesting question and one that has gone through all our mind I suspect. I was lucky enough to have a go with one of revs 2 vent Bs at the recent Basingstoke jolly up. It had been bought by Kiteworld. I cannot remember if it was the inner or outer vents that had been replaced with an iquad logoed panel. The design was a bit like this but with one of the panels vented

http://revkites.com/...11360_thumb.jpg

My first impression was "yeh so what" but later as the wind dropped KevinR carried on with it and found it quite good. I think the joint point of view from all of us who saw it was that all the Iquad logoing was a bit too busy and not something we identified with closely enough on this side of the pond to want emblazoned so much on our kites (Sorry John - I don't mean a slap in the face to Iquad by that comment).

So the jury was a bit undecided that day. Would be very interested in other's views who have flown it.

[Choccy]

I cannot remember if it was the inner or outer vents that had been replaced with an iquad logoed panel. So the jury was a bit undecided that day. Would be very interested in other's views who have flown it.

Sailor, the outer vents (furthest from the centre) were replaced with the panel, see here, the red one.

blue = vented fully
gold = standard full sail.

[Sailor99]

Nice one Choccy - I had forgotten about that photo. Doh!

[REVflyer]

I cut my own mini-vents into an SUL sail using a no-sew method. The vents are in the same locations (2 on each wing) but only half of the standard width. It's a great SUL (but won't fly in no-wind) that absorbs squirrelly gusts effectively too.

I built it for exactly the reason you outlined,... I wanted a competition kite in-between the stock models.

I've seen covers (made for the vents) on several friends' kites, the trouble is the venting is a lot of weight to be draggin' around, PLUS now you've added cover material besides.

Dave Ashworth won an innovation award at the AKA nat'ls one year for for his "active vents" on a quad. It works kind of like your eye lids. Each side is made with a tiny rod of micro-carbon. They are held together with a pinched end, to form 2 parallel lines. In a big gust the wind can blow thru the slit-hole, then the "eye" snaps shut again. It had a nice wind range, but wasn't a high-wind worthy product.

Every solution offers a compromising choice to the kite builder. If you push one end, you'll sacrifice the other! If the kite is so light it flies indoors, then it's also delicate. If it can be flown underwater, you can bet you'll need to be sitting backwards in a golf cart most of the time to use it at all!

This isn't a tough assignment, you can make you own mini-vents, adhere them onto the back of the sail with 3M 9460, then carefully back-cut away the front of the sail to open up the vents. go slow, don;t be afraid, you won't ruin the kite. You can do this, if you're up for it!

Watch somebody else fly your kite and confirm WHERE the venting should go, before assembly. Make a paper template, (do more design/prototyping work than you think is necessary!) move the templates around on the back of the sail until you happy with the vent location. Affix the paper to the sail with painter's tape. Carefully trace the edges of the template with a pencil. Along the interior of the pencil line you'll lay your tape, follow the instructions carefully for use or read up on the bonding subject. Affix the vents & back-cut, geeze that wasn't so tough now was it?.

Are you going to make the venting with a 1/4 inch edge binding on all four sides? I would, . . . then, when you do your assembly, you'll have strong spot to grab onto with the adhesive between the edge binding and the sail fabric.

Why would you build from an SUL instead of Standard REV? Because the leading edge sleeve is 1-1/2 ounce nylon instead of 3.9 ounce Dacron! You're starting with a lighter weight product already, adding the vents will increase the sail weight, but the venting will broaden the wind range and keep most of the performance of each kite you are building this one to be in-between.

[Bazzer]

I have a standard B and a vented B which fly great, but for some winds I wish I have something in between. I am thinking of having a vented B made with only two vents instead of four vents. Has anyone done this and if so how do you like it? Is it better to have 2 inboard vents or 2 outboard vents or split the difference (using the same size vents as the original vented)?

Thanks:)

Contact Ben at Rev. We played with a prototype not long ago with exactly this configuration. The Mid Vent. It flew exactly as you would expect. If you have this kind of wind consistantly this could be the beast for you.
However have you tried the Race spar in your vented???? If you get the chance do.It will more than likely solve your problem.
In my opinion it is the best combination. Not for all ...but in my opinion awesome.
Bazzer

[streamhawk]

Bazzer, that mid vent wouldn't happen to be a 1.5 B in red would it? I know Ben was talking about some sort of semi vent he was liking quite a bit.

Bill

[steveb]

I've have a gold Mid-Vent on order as of last week.

The Vented Rev is my favourite version to fly, as it seems to filter out some of my oopses; allowing it to fly smoother and with more precision.
Quite a few modern dual line kites [BAN!] have a variable vent option, allowing you to tune the amount of venting to suit the winds.

The possibility of doing the same thing with a Rev has been on my mind for quite a while and I did some experiments last Winter on my old Vented SLE:







I was very happy with the results and now that I've sold some of my dusty dual line [BAN!] kites, I've ordered a Mid-Vent B-Series.

[Bazzer]

Bazzer, that mid vent wouldn't happen to be a 1.5 B in red would it? I know Ben was talking about some sort of semi vent he was liking quite a bit.

Bill

Yes.

[Madquad]

Quote : "Quite a few modern dual line kites [BAN!] have a variable vent option, allowing you to tune the amount of venting to suit the winds.

The possibility of doing the same thing with a Rev has been on my mind for quite a while "

This is my semi/vented Rev

The vented parts are removable.
They can be attached/removed with velcro.
Makes the kite just a bit heavier but the advantage is the possibility to adjust the vented parts.

Attached Thumbnails

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[steveb]

The Mid-Vent seems to be 'just right'.
It has a lot of the smoothness and forgivingness of the Vented, but keeps quite a bit of the full sail's 'snappy' response.
It seemed like everyone who flew one this afternoon put it on their next kite to buy list.
I love it! Thanks to Ben and Steve for making it happen.

[Kitelife]

To confirm, the mid-vent IS on the menu... Your local retailer should be able to order it from Rev for you.

[terry w]

i have to agree with steve b the mid vent b series is a sweet kite for sure (nice picture by the way)
the experimentation stage is now on ..... how low or high of wind can it be flown in ... etc etc
there was about 4 mph wind at our field yesterday .... my mid vent( with race rods) flew well but with work ......it was easier to switch to a full sail
perhaps on a day when i had more energy ... who knows what its low wind range might be ..... now for a day for a high wind limit!!!
i did find flying in reverse somewhat easier or rather smoother,than the full , splilling a little more air perhaps..... dive stops seemed smoother and more controlled
a good addtion to the kite bag for sure
cheers to all
terryw

[wufer]

steveb.
How much of the vent cover has velcro on; just the top and bottom ,or all the way round.

Derek.

[tonycarl]

I have a mid vent B on order in lime green, should get it in a couple of weeks. Will let everyone know how I like it.

[mdilucca]

I have a mid vent B on order in lime green, should get it in a couple of weeks. Will let everyone know how I like it.

Me too

Cheers
Mario

[steveb]

steveb.
How much of the vent cover has velcro on; just the top and bottom ,or all the way round.

Derek.

On the old red/black/white SLE, I was just experimenting with vent blockers and used stick-on Velcro strips on the top and bottom of the mesh vents. I didn't want to do anything irreversible in case it was a failure.

It worked OK, but I think that adding another strip in the middle would keep the blocker more secure.

[Theresa]

To confirm, the mid-vent IS on the menu... Your local retailer should be able to order it from Rev for you.

[wufer]

steveb.
Thank you.

Derek.

[steveb]

The water was nearly glassy calm today, but there was a slight ripple near the shore- probably a thermal created by warming air rising over the land and pulling cooler air off the water. I'd guess that it was in the 3-5 knot range. I tried the Mid-Vent with Race Rods on 75' x 80# lines. It took a bit of body motion (a step or 2 backwards) sometimes to keep it going during the lulls, but it did quite well. The Standard sail with Race Rods would've been less work, but I was quite impressed with how low the Mid-Vent flew with the light frame.