57 replies to this topic

[Stan]

Been wanting a Rev for years. Just something about 4lines vs 2lines. I mean much more opportunity to tie oneself in knots (literally and figuratively).

So here is what I have....

1) bad 4 line habits coming from 2 line flying
2) most 2 line experience with larger kites (think Team Hawaiian). Just showed my age ;-)
3) bad case of Jonesing for a Rev.
4) bought a used Shockwave. I figure that if something is worth doing it is worth doing it in the extreme.

Talk about a learning curve ;-) as I move from 2line large kites to zippy 4line Rev.

I understand the basic physics of these things which is what has been so attractive for years.

Now that I am on the Dark Side of things, it seems to me that

1) shockwave rod placement looks to be different than the rest of the Rev world. Correct? All pics I've found have the rods in front.
2) the bottom part of the bridle is different in that there are two vertical rods on each wingtip. Also the bottom is adjustable (add/reduce brake?) Any help on initial setting of this length would be appreciated as well.

Stan

[goestoeleven]

Welcome to the forum! Nothing like jumping in to the deep end of the dark side pool. You must like quick kites. You'll find that the Shockwave might be your first, but it is probably not your last Rev . . . .

My second Rev is a Shockwave . . . . and it was a while before I learned enough control (and unlearned 2 line habits) to be able to fly it successfully. I spent a lot of time on my first Rev (1.5 SLE, leading edge now 3 wrap most of the time) before I took the Shockwave out of the bag again. My first couple sessions consisted of me pulling the Shockwave out of the sky (instead of flying). I'd recommend connecting with some local Rev pilots, if possible, to get some flying time on "standard" 1.5s. It will ultimately make your Shockwave experience much more enjoyable.

On the bridle, I've never adjusted it. Most of us adjust / tune the brake settings with knots on the handles - i.e. on the handle leader lines. Makes for a lot less walking to the kite to make adjustments. Of course, I'm new here . . . so it'll be interesting to see what others have to say.

[Dutchrev]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Rev Stan,

Beside the 1.5 I am the happy owner of the Zen, Supersonic and a Shockwave. Great kites to fly, appreciate the different skills of them. So welcome and enjoy . One question I do not understand your remark upon the Rods in front of the sail? I fly Supersonic and Shock with the Rods behind the sail.

[jburka]

ALL revs are put together with their longerons on the back of the sail. Always. Disregard any photos you see on the interwebz suggesting otherwise; they're wrong.

[stroke survivor]

Stan: to the Rev World, and the "Dark Side"!! You gave NC as your locale, there are many fliers over there in that neck of the woods that can help!! If at all possible, meet up with some experienced fliers!!! They can cut huge chunks off the learning curve!! Let the addiction begin!!!

PS: If I could give one piece of advice - If you are going to crash, give to the kite, don't pull, step forward and the kite will fall much more gently !!! We all think that pulling back will somehow "save" the kite, all you're doing is driving it into the ground harder!!

[makatakam]

Now that I am on the Dark Side of things, it seems to me that

1) shockwave rod placement looks to be different than the rest of the Rev world. Correct? All pics I've found have the rods in front.
2) the bottom part of the bridle is different in that there are two vertical rods on each wingtip. Also the bottom is adjustable (add/reduce brake?) Any help on initial setting of this length would be appreciated as well.

Stan

Welcome to the "deep end of the darkside"!

I don't own, nor have I flown a Shockwave, but I do have a Supersonic. It is my understanding that the Speed Series kites are all structurally "similar", having two upright spars on each side, the lower tips of each pair bridled to a central tow point directly below the upper tip of the outer spar. The upright spars, after being inserted into the leading edge endcaps should be "rolled over" to the back of the kite. This action forces the leading edge to "roll over" along with the spars, giving the leading edge of the sail an airfoil-like curvature when viewed from the right or left side of the kite when fully assembled.

This curvature is what gives the kite its speed, and eliminates the need for the leading edge venting found on Standard Series kites (1.5sle, exp, and the rest), which lets air flow through the mesh when moving backwards, because air slides off the leading edge instead of "damming up" against it, allowing quicker reverse flight in the process.

The only adjustments I would attempt to the bridling at the top or bottom of the spars would be to ensure the upper and lower tow points are aligned with each other vertically on each side of the kite.

Please understand that any change to one aspect of the bridling may also change some or all of the others, so be sure you are very familiar with the dynamics of this design before you go "screwing around" with it. You may just make the kite uncontrollable in certain situations.

[Madquad]

ALL revs are put together with their longerons on the back of the sail. Always. Disregard any photos you see on the interwebz suggesting otherwise; they're wrong.

What about this one ??????????

[nckiter]

Stan,
What part of NC? There are rev pilots all over the state but they / we hide sometimes. I'm in the Raleigh area but I know rev flyers from the coast to the mountains. Give me a shout, if I cann't hook up with you, I can probably set you on some one else.

Oh, welcome to the dark side!

[makatakam]

What about this one ??????????

I would definitely try it with the uprights mounted on the back side.

Beautiful kite -- I've just been inspired to build a similar one. Is there any sail in the clear areas, like Mylar or some other transparent plastic material?

[Exile]

I would definitely try it with the uprights mounted on the back side.

Beautiful kite -- I've just been inspired to build a similar one. Is there any sail in the clear areas, like Mylar or some other transparent plastic material?

Nope, sail is completely open. There was one flying similar to it at WSIKF. We were all calling it the Victoria Secrete Rev. The Thong kite. LOL And even on that one, the spars were on the down wind side of the kite.

[stroke survivor]

That was Alden's alright!!! Even less material than this one!! But the verts were on the back!!!!

PS: We called it "The Flying Thong"!
Alden - Got any pics??

[Stan]

Geez I feel like a real newbie on the vertical spar location.... Put them on the back and looked at it (ok oggled over it) and thought about the sail dynamics. Makes a whole lot of sense.
Now onto the bridle issue. I called Rev and talked with Lolly. I was able to describe the situation to Lolly. She concluded that it wasn't tied on correctly. Instead of the bottom part of the bridle (part that stretches from the bottom of both vertical endcaps) being knotted (prussic) onto the second knot of the vertically hanging from the top part of the bridle, it was larksheaded onto the side of the loop so that it would slide between the knots on the vertically hanging part.


Now it is larkshead knotted on the vertical portion at the second (inner) knot thereby leaving a long loop. Tried to upload pics but I wasn't successful...


Then it was time to try to fly again.... DANG NO WIND.


Stan

[awindofchange]

Yup, spars always go on the back of all Revolution kites. You are also correct that the Sonic and Shockwave only have one attachment point on the bottom and one attachment point on the top on both sides. The bridles are NOT adjustable. All angle of attack adjustments should be made at the handles for ease of adjusting.

One thing to note on the Speed Series kites. The vertical spars should be placed behind the wing tip bungee before they are inserted into the wing tip cap. Once this is done, you can then insert the spar into the leading edge cap once you roll it over the leading edge. Inserting the spars this way will help maintain tension on the sail as well as help keep the vertical spars secured into the kite. If you don't put the spar behind the bungee, during a high speed 90' turn, you could pop the wing tips spars out of the kite from the G-Force it creates. If you need a picture of this, let me know and I should be able to get one for you.

Hope that helps...and welcome to the dark side.

[goestoeleven]

Yup, spars always go on the back of all Revolution kites. You are also correct that the Sonic and Shockwave only have one attachment point on the bottom and one attachment point on the top on both sides. The bridles are NOT adjustable. All angle of attack adjustments should be made at the handles for ease of adjusting.

One thing to note on the Speed Series kites. The vertical spars should be placed behind the wing tip bungee before they are inserted into the wing tip cap. Once this is done, you can then insert the spar into the leading edge cap once you roll it over the leading edge. Inserting the spars this way will help maintain tension on the sail as well as help keep the vertical spars secured into the kite. If you don't put the spar behind the bungee, during a high speed 90' turn, you could pop the wing tips spars out of the kite from the G-Force it creates. If you need a picture of this, let me know and I should be able to get one for you.

Hope that helps...and welcome to the dark side.

I need a picture . . . I'm pretty sure I've done what you are describing (the "pop the spar out" part anyway).

Oh, and beautiful kite, Madquad. Alden's is nice too. Hard to believe they stay up in the air with almost no sail (especially Alden's). I think the sail on his is barely wider than the spars.

Glad everyone chimed in on the spars . . . I forgot to answer that part. BTW, putting the spars on the front is a VERY common mistake, so don't feel bad about that. Plus, when you look at pictures of the Shockwave online, it's really hard to tell because there are black vertical fabric stripes on the kite that look like spars.

[Stan]

the online pics are "display" photos not "flying" photos (my guess). My shockwave's bungee (at the bottom of the wing tips) are knotted at the end so there appears that there is no loop for the vertical spar to fit through (assuming the bungees have not been replaced). I think that I've seen a pic of this somewhere but one placed here might be benefical.



Stan

[hyzakite]

check out post #13 in blast setup for the bungee knot

[Jim Foster]

Here is a photo of Alden's "Thong". I flew this kite several times. Amazing how well it flies.

Attached Thumbnails

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[awindofchange]

Thought I put this up somewhere before. Thanks for the research Hyzakite

http://www.revkites....01-blast-setup/

There ya go.

[Stan]

Well I have retied the wingtip bottom bungees to form a loop on the backside. They were tied in a simple overhand knot after going through the plastic washer.

Welcome to NC. No wind when I want to sail/fly kites and blows like crazy when I want to fly model aircraft.

[jburka]

What about this one ??????????

It's not a rev. At least using the definition of a product of Revolution Enterprises.

Anybody who's spent any decent amount of time doing 3-d bridleless flying knows that a Rev will work "inside out." But they also know the kite flies better the other way around.