20 replies to this topic

[SynTaks]

Just out of curiosity, (and because our wind for the last week has been horrendous ... i.e.: Monday - No wind, Tuesday - 30 mph, Wednesday - No wind, Thursday - No wind, Tomorrow - 25mph, etc. (Alaska in the Winter...hmmm?



I have a 1.5 full vented with the standard 4-wrap frame innit. Would 20-30mph be too much? I've done it with limited success. Had to stay somewhat out of the sweet spot. For some reason, as opposed to the other revs, say when doing simple spins, the vented seems to move itself to the wind center...lol


What's the highest wind you've flown a standard full vented in? Did you break a line? Break a spar? Tear the sail?


The most I have done was, before I became experienced enough to get the idea, I was flying a standard 1.5 in 20mph wind and trying to launch from inverted, got up about 5 feet, then slammed back down again. Only broke one vertical spar but went through several endcaps for those. Now I can fly well enough in strong winds, but that's mostly from using a 1.5 SLE to pull us around before we got the Power Blast.


Anyone up for telling an embarrassing story or suggesting wind limits?


--TaK

[Baloo]

I have flown a full vent B with dual rods in the Le and 150 lineset in 50mph and gusting winds. Read on a reasonably reliable wind thingy.

Also held JB's rev (I say held cuz there was not much flying going on) when he came in to Blackheath a few Years ago. He and some of the other good guys were flying tricks in similar wind conditions. Chris Goff, the Robertshaws. And Lam was being dragged around by a Sea Devil.

So they are able to fly in very high winds. however how much fun you will have while doing it depends on jst how mad you are.

[REVflyer]

Personally?,.. I'd use the full vent and 4 wraps up to the mid twenties, then want something else.

I've flown Elliott Shook's mesh/waffle weave masterpiece in a steady 28/35 mph wind (w/4wraps and 90# lines) for literally hours at a time with perfect control, in fact my highest MMB score ever took place under these most outrageous of conditions a few years ago at OBSKC event on the outer banks. I'm in inland flyer for Pete's sake.

Sometimes you just have to make it work regardless.
~ Add a couple more inches of DOWN (don't even let that leading edge get square to the wind!) to your tuning.
~ Switch to 150 or 200 pound flying lines.
~ Add drag, You can thread some ribbon (I use holographic mylar wrapping tape) thru the bridle or if you use 'em, thru the magic stick truss lines on the back. That adds tremendous drag but no weight, so you're keeping more of the wind window. Venting eventually makes a peep hole instead of window! I also try to be overpowered if I guess wrong, unless I'm team flying.

I've flown baby revs in near hurricane strength winds, they don't even take-off until about a steady 20 mph is reached. You don't bother setting them up unless you can't see your feet (because there's so much "sand blasting" taking place). You'd best hide behind some type of barrier or your skin is being surface etched as well!

The high winders are built around a 36 inch leading edge, but a 6-pack stack of 'em, so they're both fast and generating some pull as a response down the lines. They fly on ONLY the width of your thumbs. A quick touch forward and reverse by each hand, done in unison creates 24 wraps in less than a second. We call 'em the final exam of quad-line. You have to remind folks to breath and fly the back kite. My set was donated by Paul Dugard in the late nineties. These conditions require a shovel, . . .... 'cause you'll be diggin'-out anything left on the ground for more than a few moments! In a couple of hours it's completely buried and may be difficult to locate. I also recommend ski goggles for eye protection and seal up my clothing as much as possible with velcro strips.

High winds are such a treat for me though I'm usually the first one out there and the last one off the field. We get a 10 mph breeze in the nation's capital and the schools are closed for a week!

a quad-line lesson provided during very high winds is how you can quickly separate the leading edge screening from the rest of the sail. Crashes are cumulative!!!

[stroke survivor]

Sounds like you need to go with the new extra-vent!!!

[Kitelife]

I've flown a standard B-Series Vented in 65 mph... Double 4-wrap leading edge, 4 wrap uprights, 150# line.

Slow controlled flight only, otherwise it would have blown out.

The verticals explode first.

Would have LOVED the Xtra Vent that day!

[lylenc]

I've flown a vented Rev II in 35 mph wind for extended periods of time. It used the regular full window without any problems and kite speed was reasonable. There was some pull, but not enough to wear out my back or hand grip, unless I spent a lot of time in the lower center of the window. Of course, that's where it's the most fun!

As mentioned above about drifting sand, I probably wouldn't fly in much higher wind speeds. That's time for a beer break and token family bonding time, while anticipating the next flight.

[Reef Runner]

I've flown a standard B-Series Vented in 65 mph... Double 4-wrap leading edge, 4 wrap uprights, 150# line.

Slow controlled flight only, otherwise it would have blown out.

The verticals explode first.

Would have LOVED the Xtra Vent that day!

Hey John, That wouldn't have been up on Jockey's Ridge, by chance ? Would it ?

[SynTaks]

Just out of curiosity, (and because our wind for the last week has been horrendous ... i.e.: Monday - No wind, Tuesday - 30 mph, Wednesday - No wind, Thursday - No wind, Tomorrow - 25mph, etc. (Alaska in the Winter...hmmm?

It didn't even get windy until it was almost time to go home....sheesh


--TaK

[Reef Runner]

It didn't even get windy until it was almost time to go home....sheesh


--TaK

Hey Tak, It's actually snowing right now in NC......................

[SynTaks]

Hey Tak, It's actually snowing right now in NC......................

We got a bit last night, but not much...low system went farther south than they thought it would.

[Reef Runner]

We got a bit last night, but not much...low system went farther south than they thought it would.

Just curious - How many people in the AlasKiters Kite Club ? Are there a bunch of rev flyers up there ?

[SynTaks]

Just curious - How many people in the AlasKiters Kite Club ? Are there a bunch of rev flyers up there ?

*Technically* about 130 members. Probably more like 30 active members. We started with 3 rev flyers. Now there are 10 or so. We're working on them one at a time...lol


--TaK

[Reef Runner]

*Technically* about 130 members. Probably more like 30 active members. We started with 3 rev flyers. Now there are 10 or so. We're working on them one at a time...lol


--TaK

Pretty neat...........I wish I had a club here, to fly with. Basically, I'm all alone, here on Kerr Lake, in NC. I do occassionally see other fliers, when I'm at the coast, during the summer, but most people around here, look at you kinda strange, when you mention something about flying a kite. Bottomline, I'm still pretty much alone, here, when it comes to flying..............

[SynTaks]

Pretty neat...........I wish I had a club here, to fly with. Basically, I'm all alone, here on Kerr Lake, in NC. I do occassionally see other fliers, when I'm at the coast, during the summer, but most people around here, look at you kinda strange, when you mention something about flying a kite. Bottomline, I'm still pretty much alone, here, when it comes to flying..............

Yeah...In the Winter I am generally the only one out. Which sometimes is okay, because it helps me think through things, but it's always fun to fly with other people...lol

[--Pete]

...pretty much alone, here, when it comes to flying.....

I suspect that flying on braided Kevlar® is why I always seem to be flying alone. The heads rolling in the grass and all that, y' know.

Edited by --Pete, 04 December 2010 - 09:06 PM.

[SynTaks]

Personally?,.. I'd use the full vent and 4 wraps up to the mid twenties, then want something else.

::snip::

The high winders are built around a 36 inch leading edge, but a 6-pack stack of 'em, so they're both fast and generating some pull as a response down the lines. They fly on ONLY the width of your thumbs. A quick touch forward and reverse by each hand, done in unison creates 24 wraps in less than a second. We call 'em the final exam of quad-line. You have to remind folks to breath and fly the back kite. My set was donated by Paul Dugard in the late nineties. These conditions require a shovel, . . .... 'cause you'll be diggin'-out anything left on the ground for more than a few moments! In a couple of hours it's completely buried and may be difficult to locate. I also recommend ski goggles for eye protection and seal up my clothing as much as possible with velcro strips.


::snip::

We have more coastline than any other state here. Thing is, we don't have much sand, so that's not an issue. I do, however, generally have a shovel in the back of the truck so that I can clear a 10x10 area of snow to make flying a bit easier...lol


--TaK

[Kitelife]

Hey John, That wouldn't have been up on Jockey's Ridge, by chance ? Would it ?

Nope, Argentina... Although I did have a 60+ mph competition on Jockey's Ridge in 1992.

[jburka]

Nope, Argentina... Although I did have a 60+ mph competition on Jockey's Ridge in 1992.

Ooh, that had to be the '92 OBSKC -- the competition where the spine of the kite Hawq Offredo was flying in a ballet event blew out and he finished the routine anyway...

Good times.

[jburka]

What's the highest wind you've flown a standard full vented in? Did you break a line? Break a spar? Tear the sail?

Yesterday's WOW First Sunday fly down on the Mall had, for the Mall, rather high winds. For a while we were in the mid-teens gusting into the 20s, but then it picked up. Definitely gusting up around 30. I think we had 6 people flying full vents (a mix of standard B and Pro) on 3 wrap frames. As the winds got higher, the kites were feeling like they'd behave better with a 4 wrap LE, but nobody was really having problems keeping control of their kite.

Highest sustained winds I've flown a full vent in would be in the 30s with gusts up around 40 or a bit higher. We were flying team with 4-wrap frames and an extra 3-wrap shoved into the LE. The kites flew fine, though that would have been good xtra vent wind if they had existed!

[Kitelife]

Ooh, that had to be the '92 OBSKC -- the competition where the spine of the kite Hawq Offredo was flying in a ballet event blew out and he finished the routine anyway...

Good times.

Aye, the same year well over 1/2 the dual line fliers used Chris Shultz's stack of Mirages since all their stuff was exploding.

Kite bags were being buried in under 5 minutes, lost if you didn't have a spreader stuck upright in the sand next to it. LOL