46 replies to this topic

[Stone in Shoe Bob]

Hi Bob-
Yup, purple things are a good thing, any time!

Oh yes, PM sent.

[JoneZ]

Just made this Mod to my Handles, and is looking good so far. Hopefully the wind holds up tomorrow and I can test them.
Thanks Watty!!

[Jynx]

Hi Reef Runner
this is the link to the handles I made
Ultra no snag handles

...and they are REALLY Sweet! LOVE MINE!

[JoneZ]

Yeah, I'll have to pick a pair of those up when I can justify spending the $ on a 2nd set of handles.

Perhaps these ones will suffer a mysterious tire squashing accident in time?

[dazlarsen]

Getting the components together for my idea on handles. Tubing and I bolts. Cost 6 bucs. Looking for some foam grip/handle material somewhere.
Watty's handles are sweet. May end up going that route.

If your looking for foam grips,try the cabelas site,under the fishing section look for the coponents to build your own.I did this and got 1 inch foam with a 10mm bore for around $2 per foam

[SynTaks]

Anyway, should you decide to read my post, in the link below, I have included, in addition to my photos, a link to Watty's video. Take a look. It'll make a good project for you, on some of those long winter nights, up there in cold country...................You must have some really good gloves, if you fly in below zero temps, is all that I can say.

OH, and if you should want to reply or comment on the handle modification subject, you probably ought to do it over there, "under that topic", which I believe is found in the forums - General Support - Set-up/Assembly - "Homemade Handles" (we are probably getting a little off subject, here in the "Ground Stake" topic)

Good Luck and happy flights.......& keep warm........... (see link below)

http://www.revkites....dpost__p__62434

Hopping over from another thread here. One of the other fliers here had a set of the pro snag-less handles which I quite liked, but I was feeling like a challenge.
After all, a 1.5 SUL without a bridle just yells for "come up with something ingenious!"
At the time I was working in the plumbing department and poked around and found a 45 degree elbow in copper and it went from there. The first set I made were strictly 1/2" M Copper, and there's some definite weight to them. Liking that idea but not thrilled with matching heavy handles and a light kite, I wandered about the store some more and discovered 1/2" aluminum tubing, which by wild chance fit 3/8" copper fittings. Came up with the rubber grommets as a lead attachment system which gives some flexibility. Its hard to see, but I used some nylon hole plugs for the ends just to keep junk out.
Now that I read this thread and after having gotten a set of indoor handles, I'm considering running the leads through the plug itself and gluing it in.
I think I lucked out when I measured these out, but the elbow works as a nice balance point on the bridle-less setup and quite enjoyable for short-lining it.

Indoors on the left, aluminum home-made in the middle, and standard handles on the right.And why yes, thats green frog tape.



--Syn

Edited by SynTaks, 09 February 2010 - 03:22 PM.

[SynTaks]

At the time I was working in the plumbing department and poked around and found a 45 degree elbow in copper and it went from there. The first set I made were strictly 1/2" M Copper, and there's some definite weight to them. Liking that idea but not thrilled with matching heavy handles and a light kite, I wandered about the store some more and discovered 1/2" aluminum tubing, which by wild chance fit 3/8" copper fittings. Came up with the rubber grommets as a lead attachment system which gives some flexibility. Its hard to see, but I used some nylon hole plugs for the ends just to keep junk out.
Now that I read this thread and after having gotten a set of indoor handles, I'm considering running the leads through the plug itself and gluing it in.
--Syn

I wanted to add here a few things... You can generally tell which one of us is writing, as I tend to use blue text.

When my better 3/4 started making these handles, I was a bit skeptical as I have seen so many people modify rev stuff and pretty much ruin them.

These aluminum handles are actually pretty cool in a few ways. One thing was that, for flying bridleless, these handles were great for her. For me they caused more hassle until we added the extra grommets so I could adjust them a bit and prevent snagging the leaders. Then I used them on my black and gold barresi and found a few neat things. The first is that, depending on how you have the kite hooked up, there are different "balance points" that allow you to fly pretty much with 2 fingers. This is good for me when I'm having a bad day with my disability. (I have nerve damage in my neck and shoulders that make it hard for me to grip the handles.) Depending on which grommet you are using top and bottom, you get some pretty interesting flying ability It makes the dive stops and inverted slides a lot easier and spins are a whole different experience. The one main thing I like about these handles is that you actually feel the kite and what it's feeling a lot more than you do with the standard rev handles. The cost is almost nothing and it adds a bit of fun. *NOTE*: For those who, like me, fly is freezing cold weather, adding tape or some kind of covering is HIGHLY suggested. LOL.

--TaK