13 replies to this topic

[gos]

Hi there !

Had an excellent session today with my new 1.5 SLE. Wind was 10-15mph - a little unsteady but fine. After a couple of rather unsuccessful trips to the flying field I was really happy about this session - I think I really made some progress today - focusing on basic routines, keeping me hands closer together and making my contol movements smaller really helped. I think my main mistake in the earlier sessions was to pull to hard on the "power lines" - flying on the upper lines only (like I can do with my foils). This really doesn't work with the Rev. Pulling too hard on the upper lines (maybe during launch in lower winds or even during flight) caused the Rev to stall and fall LE first to the ground - loosing all power. Is there any way to revover from such a situation - run backwards ?

The thing I also found very diffucult is sliding sideways and hovering while the kite is upside down - need a bit of practice . Anyways, had an amazing time on the field today !

Thanks, Gos

[AldenMiler]

Well, I can recover from most everything you describe but I am still working on the hover and slide. Paul told me at the wildwoods to remember when the kite is upside down pull on the right handle to slide left and otherwise to go right. It made sense to me and I am working on it now. My figure eights are getting better also. It's tough to know what to work on when you fly solo.

-Alden

[Watty]

When this happens to me, it is usually intentional. The only times it isn't, it usually falls towards me, and I am able to catch it before it hits the ground, then throw it back out. Earlier in my Revving life, I found the easiest way to recover from this is to, you guessed it, run backwards. It may not look, feel, or sound very professional, but it works. I'm sure one of the pro's here has a better solution though.

As for the inverted hovering and sliding, you must remember that moving left and right is inverted. When upside down, I find that it is easiest if you focus on pulling with your pinkey rather than pushing with your thumb. This makes me pull more on the bottom lines (on top when inverted) allowing it to stay in the air better.

[Kitezen]

I LOVE TO SLIDE AND HOVER, INVERTED. ACTUALLY EASIER FOR ME THAN UPRIGHT. I FOUND THAT WHEN HOVERING UPSIDE DOWN, TO LOOK AT THE LINE GOING FROM HANDLE, TO THE KITE, MAKE CONTROL MOVEMENTS, AND THIS ACTUALLY BUILDS THE (MUSCLE) MEMORY FOR BETTER CONTROL.

[antman]

slideing and hovering are the best 2 moves as well as the throw and catch witch i can only do on short lines. ive seen it done on 100 footers some guy did it 2 years ago in wildwood it was cool you can recover the kite from a flat angle just jerk on your reverse lines a few times and youll see the tips flap up ..

[gos]

Thanks for the advice guys. I´ll try pulling on the reverse lines next time to recover from a stall (hopefully I won´t need it) . I took my Rev out yesterday for a short session and I'm glad to say I´m getting better at flying. My reflexes are much better but I definately have to practice alot to be really good. I´m still working on the inverted hover/slide as the kite usually "corrects it's self" (turns LE up) after a couple of seconds of hovering. Also - sliding inverted or not - in any direction - is challanging, especially keeping altitude while sliding. I think I´ll try following the flying techniques series on the Revolution website for a while - good times !!

gos

[antman]

just remember not to use so much of your foward as you are used to with your foils the revs are trick kites as the foils are power kites they fly diffrent

[REVflyer]

try this next time you're workin' on the inverted side-slide. Stick one handle's bottom edge directly into your rib cage, move only the opposite hand/handle to control speed and height. Having one handle stationary will assist muscle memory and lock the kite into the proper flight path. You'll find it's much easier than expected too!!! After a couple of trys in each direction you won't need direct contact with your torso, (then you can stab the guy standing next to you with your handle for fun <LOL>

to practice the hover, start with the kite inverted and slowly press both thumbs forward at the kite, in lower winds maybe you slowly walk backwards as well to add energy. If it doesn't rise up then you need more "Down" in your tuning. That means you will shorten the bottoms by bringing the flying line attachment point one knot closer to yourself, or lengthen the tops one knot (you do have leaders with several knots on your handles, right?) Bring the kite to waist high, hold it and then go ever-so-slowly back to the ground. When that's a straight as possible, then double the height and try again.

You know you're lookin' good when you can back the kite all the way up to the top of the window inverted like it was on railroad tracks. Oh this will take some serious effort on your part, don't get discouraged, keep practicing!!!

[antman]

hey paul will i see you at sunfest this year???

[REVflyer]

yes Ant,
I believe the misses and I are doing Sunfest this year. (In fact I think she's paid the hotel invoice already also) We go early and stay longer, 'cause it's a busy time of the year for us professionally ,so we need a long break to recover from that daily grind.

We'll see you then if not sooner.

This weekend I'm heading down to Richmond to compete in no-wind underneath an airport landing path.

I think it's one of the best competitions, as the conditions are just like home! My buddy Dave Ashworth and I are traveling together,.... should be great fun but not necessarily a huge success. I have no music or a routine, luckily there are also few quad-heads flying in masters so I might still trophy unless I DQ (again!)

Dave flies in experienced and has never received a positive score EVER! We don't have to work too hard to beat our previous efforts. Last time i scored an adjusted number of FOUR out a possible hundred. Dave's kite blew out of bounds after he was finished, but before he could carry it over the boundary so he was disqualified.

It's all good fun though, hangin' with da' homies and enjoying each others kites.

[Jim Foster]

to practice the hover, start with the kite inverted and slowly press both thumbs forward at the kite, in lower winds maybe you slowly walk backwards as well to add energy. If it doesn't rise up then you need more "Down" in your tuning. That means you will shorten the bottoms by bringing the flying line attachment point one knot closer to yourself, or lengthen the tops one knot (you do have leaders with several knots on your handles, right?) Bring the kite to waist high, hold it and then go ever-so-slowly back to the ground. When that's a straight as possible, then double the height and try again.

You know you're lookin' good when you can back the kite all the way up to the top of the window inverted like it was on railroad tracks. Oh this will take some serious effort on your part, don't get discouraged, keep practicing!!!

gos

I had trouble hovering as well. I was flying at the monthly San Diego Kite Club when Ron Despojado happened by. I asked him how to learn to do an inverted hover. "Start with the kite inverted on the ground. "Slowly do an inverted launch to a foot or two and hold it until the kite becomes unsteady, then drop back to the ground. Do that over and over, for longer and longer." I did just that. Then Ron said "Now it's the P word, practice, practice, practice." Pretty soon your brain learns to control the kite when everything is upside down and backwards. It has to become automatic like riding a bicycle. You don't have time to think, "OK now, the kite is falling on the right side, so now I must give it a little more DOWN on the LEFT handle." By the time you go through that thought process, your kite is headed for somewhere in Nebraska (or in your case, Greenland).

Good luck and stay with it, Jim

[gos]

Thanks again you guys! I´ll try the inverted launch Jim - sounds very good. Anyway - I´ve been following your advice and I feel today was somewhat of a turning point for me. I´m getting much more confident, no crashes or stalls. I haven´t had this much fun with a kite since . . . EVER. This kite is totally AMAZING and I´m looking forward to my next session - tons of things to practice and explore - "GOOD STUFF"

gos

[antman]

it only gets better from there

[Sage]

gos

I had trouble hovering as well. I was flying at the monthly San Diego Kite Club when Ron Despojado happened by. I asked him how to learn to do an inverted hover. "Start with the kite inverted on the ground. "Slowly do an inverted launch to a foot or two and hold it until the kite becomes unsteady, then drop back to the ground. Do that over and over, for longer and longer." I did just that. Then Ron said "Now it's the P word, practice, practice, practice." Pretty soon your brain learns to control the kite when everything is upside down and backwards. It has to become automatic like riding a bicycle. You don't have time to think, "OK now, the kite is falling on the right side, so now I must give it a little more DOWN on the LEFT handle." By the time you go through that thought process, your kite is headed for somewhere in Nebraska (or in your case, Greenland).

Good luck and stay with it, Jim

I have had only 3 flying sessions so far and I was proud of myself that I could take off inverted, however I thought of this only as an issue and quickly learned how to spin the kite to its normal position.