25 replies to this topic

[Aerochic]

Well... I felt like a little kid staring thru the patio doors with my kite in hand, watching the raindrops hit the ground. No flying today for me but tomorrow is another day.

Ohhhhh that is Soooo the New Kite Curse! It happens to all of us, my friend.

Adjusting those leaders will help your flying immensely:

Why?
http://www.revkites....h...c=1205&st=0
http://kitelife.com/...?showtopic=1305
How to do it...
http://www.kitelife....s43/content.php

[Kitelife]

Donald, I'd strongly suggest you experiment with some longer leaders on the top of your handles.

Same length leaders on top and bottom make the kite want to fly forward all the time, and makes it much harder to control.

50 cents worth of string will give it a lot better performance.

Try searching this forum for "brake settings" to find more info on this.

[DonaldLL]

SUCCESS It's ALIVE!!!! IT's ALIVE!!!!

The winds we better today not great but better. They were on the light side with some dead spots but every 10 minutes or so a wave of 8mph wind would come along. It was enough that I could work with it.... just had to be patient (not one of my qualities). Anyway the Rev was poised and ready, then with a sharp tug on the top of the handles and HALLELUJAH!!!! it went right up just like a puppy who learned his first command. It just went right up!!! All in all I flew the Rev for about an hour with occasional pauses to wait for better wind. I had a few times where I lost it and had to go untwist the kite and fix the lines but not too many. I did learn to do the inverted take off; that was encouraging. I did 90's left and 90s right, did 180s, did some figure 8s. I even tried hover in the vertical position but there didn't seem to be enough wind to hold it. Gravity was wining that battle. I did pull back on the handle controling the high side and it worked sometimes but felt like it was going to loose it. I landed and launched and landed an launched. No major crashes... a few 'controlled' crashes, hence the practice doing the inverted takeoffs.

It was the first day really flying the Rev. It's technical flying... that's the way I describe it when asked. I like it. It is a envigorating and relaxing at the same time. I enjoy having the option to fly my foils or my Rev.... makes a great combination. Now, I am ready for the next day! I must get to the beach though and see what smooth, continuous wind is like..... hopefully this weekend.

maybe I should start another post but I'll ask it here. As I was cutting across the window, the kite at times makes its buzzing sound as it cuts the wind. Sometimes the buzz was nice and tight but other times it was a looser sound like a flapping instead of the buzz. I couldn't see any rhyme or reason for why this difference in sound. Is it just "as the wind blows" or do you think it is something I may be doing unknowingly with my hand position?

John, I will surely take your suggestion about the leaders. I'm going to do my research now. I'll get back to you.... thx

Thank you!!!

Edited by DonaldLL, 13 May 2009 - 07:17 PM.

[Kitelife]

The leaders will reduce the buzzing.

Think of a sail that is sheeting all it's wind... There's pressure to make it move, but most of it is being spilled out.

Same dynamic at work here... Lengthen the top lines, and voila, more sail pressure, less buzz.

[LS Kite Stakes]

To the darkside another innocent has been brought.

Your next mission, should you accept, is to find other Rev pilots near you to fly with. It will help greatly with the learning curve, and will make learning how to fly much easier. It also is a lot of fun flying with others, and it will open a whole new world to you.

[Stone in Shoe Bob]

Hi Donald

Your last post was a pleasure to read, I was a bit worried that you came across as a little despondent in your earlier post but I think it’s fair to say that now you have had a bit of success you are well and truly hooked. Congratulations, from what you say you appear to have made very good progress.

You talk about trying to find a stable hover, a couple of tips,
1. you may find it easier to hold the kite stable with the leading edge vertical, fly slowly across the window gently increasing break until the kite stops. Try to stop centre window and practice from both side equally, otherwise you could be setting yourself up for problems down the line.
2. though inverted flight is a bit difficult to get your head around, left is right and right is left, once you have got your head around it, it is actually easier to hold an inverted hover stable than it is to do it l/e up. I really don’t want to upset the feminists here but it does feel like she’s never happier than when she’s on her back.