33 replies to this topic

[Flippa]

Morning all

I wanted to introduce myself on this forum as I have recently acquired a Rev 1.5 SLE, vented.

I have been kiting for about 20 years, mainly single and dual line. I first saw a Revolution at one of our local events in South Africa, but it's only recently that I have made the decision to get one.

The winds inland are variable at best, so I'm looking to maximize my flying time in between mountain biking and my 7 week old son.

I took the Rev out for its first flight yesterday and struggled to launch it upright unless my wife lofted it into the air, but was really easy to launch inverted. I have an idea why and was able to make adjustments to make it easier, but wanted to ask the expert collective first.

[B-13]

Hi Flippa,

Welcome to the forum and to the Dark Side of flying and congrats for the purchase.
1.5sle Vented should be a smooth kite for learning in the winds you described.

Launching upright get easier with thumbs completely back and sharp tug on both arms bringing them almost towards the chest.
Yes launching inverted is easier and you will find this the only launch position with time and practice.
There are lots of tutorials on the forum here and on our sister site kitelife.com where JB has great tutorials.

Congrats to the little new comer too

Have fun and may the sweet winds am getting from Mauritius gets to you

B

[Flippa]

Hi B

Thanks very much. We are currently getting some nice (for Johannesburg) wind. Quite gusty, but quite acceptable. I'm really looking forward to getting to grips with the Rev and building my skills.

[LS Kite Stakes]

Hi Flippa, welcome to the darkside!

Are you staking your handles when you set up? It does make things way easier......

[Flippa]

Hi Flippa, welcome to the darkside!

Are you staking your handles when you set up? It does make things way easier......

No, not staking the handles. Should I be?

[awindofchange]

Yes, stake the handles for setup, makes things soooo much easier to set up as well as to park the Rev while you are resting or waiting for wind.

If you need help with staking, let us know and we can help you out.

[RevWizard]

A word of caution:
When you park your REV staked out, for the safety of others, please park the REV with the leading edge down.

If you were to park your REV with the leading edge up and someone walks into the lines. The REV will most likely launch by itself, which could result in injury to others or damage to the REV when it hits something.

You also need to be observant of people walking around. If they are going near your lines, warn them that the lines are there. These thin Spectra lines are hard to see and can cut the bare skin. The lines are particularly difficult to notice on the sand.

[LS Kite Stakes]

Here is a photo of my handles staked with a kite stake.

[Flippa]

Thanks guys for all the kind words and good advice. As mentioned in my first post, I wasn't able to launch the Rev from the ground with the leading edge up, even with thumbs all the way back and a sharp tug on the lines. After reading through the forums it seems I might have too much brake. If I'm correct, this means that my bottom lines are too short. I don't have any pigtails on the bottom of the handles, so I want to try some pigtails I made from 300# Dacron and see if that makes it easier. Am I correct in doing this?

[B-13]

If you are having trouble launching it with the LE up, it means that you have too much brake. You're right here Flippa.

Now regarding leaders, you will get LOADS of infos over the forum..just browse the numerous discussion about this.
To resume it all, put some long leader of 15-17cms on top with knots every 2cms and starting about 10cms from handles to end. Bottom leaders now, just 4-5cms long with 2 knots on mine.
Now just try it different settings with the top leaders until you can launch. But in good winds, you will find that having longer top leaders give you more fine control and more smooth flying (just what i noticed from my flying style)

Good winds to you

[stroke survivor]

If you've made new top leaders, just put a knot in the original bottom leaders, about 1/2 way! Start with the line attached on the outside knot and make all your adjustments on top!! If it really blows hard, move to the inside knot!! If you've made good, long, and evenly spaced knotted top leaders, then you should be able to adjust til everything works for the wind conditions!!
Also not to be a "know it all", but you are putting the vertical rods on the backside of the kite?? Many have made this mistake starting out!!

[Khal]

Hi Flippa,

Sorry if this sounds pedantic. Not trying to be condescending, just making sure the fundamentals are covered. You say you acquired an SLE vented. If this was a used kite, with used lines, then the top lines may be stretched out. This gives the effect of more brake, maybe too much. Have you tried equalizing the lines and/or swapping the top and bottom lines? By design, modern Revs should have all four lines of equal length.

The standard SLE handles have only very short pigtail leaders on the top and bottom. Do your handles have longer top leaders with multiple knots? If so you can reduce the amount of brake by moving in to a knot closer to the top of the handle, without adding bottom leaders.

Finally, are you sure you're holding the handles the right way up? The end closest to the foam is the top. (If I bought a used kite without the DVD and never saw anyone else fly, I might be confused about this.)

Hope that helps.

[Flippa]

Hi Flippa,

Sorry if this sounds pedantic. Not trying to be condescending, just making sure the fundamentals are covered. You say you acquired an SLE vented. If this was a used kite, with used lines, then the top lines may be stretched out. This gives the effect of more brake, maybe too much. Have you tried equalizing the lines and/or swapping the top and bottom lines? By design, modern Revs should have all four lines of equal length.

The standard SLE handles have only very short pigtail leaders on the top and bottom. Do your handles have longer top leaders with multiple knots? If so you can reduce the amount of brake by moving in to a knot closer to the top of the handle, without adding bottom leaders.

Finally, are you sure you're holding the handles the right way up? The end closest to the foam is the top. (If I bought a used kite without the DVD and never saw anyone else fly, I might be confused about this.)

Hope that helps.

Hi Khal,

Kite was used, but I purchased new lines and made sure that they were equalised.

Handles have long leaders on top and no leaders on the bottom. I put the top lines on the knot closest to the handle, but still really struggled to launch LE up.

Got the handles right way up, thanks.

[Watty]

Hi Khal,

Kite was used, but I purchased new lines and made sure that they were equalised.

Handles have long leaders on top and no leaders on the bottom. I put the top lines on the knot closest to the handle, but still really struggled to launch LE up.

Got the handles right way up, thanks.

There are some great free tutorials out there made by Kitelife that I think would be beneficial to any new flyer:
http://www.learnkite...door/free-quad/

There are also some premium tutorials focusing on more in depth and advanced things that are available to subscribers to Kitelife Magazine.

[Khal]

Hi Khal,

Kite was used, but I purchased new lines and made sure that they were equalised.

Handles have long leaders on top and no leaders on the bottom. I put the top lines on the knot closest to the handle, but still really struggled to launch LE up.

Got the handles right way up, thanks.

That's a poser then. It should be pretty easy to launch the kite LE up with those settings, unless you're starting with the kite lying flat on the ground. The videos Watty linked to are very helpful to most new quad flyers. The "Flat Re-launch" might be a good one to check.

[awindofchange]

Check that your handles are hooked up correctly. The bent end of the handles should point towards the bottom of the kite. The grip end (where the padding is at) should be connected to the top of the kite.

Also check your setup - spars always go on the back of the kite.

If you have enough wind, the Rev should launch instantly and go straight up.

[hyzakite]

This sounds like a mystery kite to me, one that doesn't want to fly. Is there a bridle on it, is there enough wind to launch it, are the rods filled with lead, are the lines really equalized, launches real easy inverted is all we really know. Is it a stock vented 1.5. Sounds like not enough forward. People here want to hear you say " I got it, it's launching and flying great now"

[hyzakite]

Also if you haven't, try tucking your index fingers right up against the top leaders, let the handles balance on those fingers as you try to launch take about 3 steps back as your pulling your handles back.

[katrina]

Flippa, you've received great advice. I only have a very few things to add, mostly just supporting what's been said already.

1) You said this is a vented kite. It may simply be that there is not enough wind for it. Once it's up, does it fly well? Can you get it up high in the sky, say to at least 70 degrees or so?

Did you say what rods are in it? If you've only got the original SLE (fatter) leading edge, that's pretty heavy. If you don't have them already, you'll want a 3 wrap LE (with 3 feathers on them, or they will say ultra light). You'll also want a complete frame that is lighter than that. Black race rods are the way to go in my opinion, and most will agree--but they are more expensive. To save money, you can get a set of 2 wraps. Having lots of rods is cheaper than buying 2 kites, initially. It gives you more range. ie, if the wind is on the low side, you put in your lightest rods, and you're good to go. And if this rev thing hooks you and you end up getting a second kite later (a standard most likely, but poss. a midvent), you'll still want a complete set of 2 wraps or black race, 3 wraps, and for higher wind you can use your SLE or get 4 wraps. So you won't have wasted money.

2) You said it came with long top leaders and no bottom leaders. That's not factory standard. But it's not bad! It's actually good. What it probably means is, the person who sold it to you learned to fly, and then got rid of the factory leaders, in favor of longer top leaders. Many of us do this. The problem is, it's hard to learn with long top leaders. Learning to launch with a lot of brake will come, but for starters, it makes things harder. The fact that you can launch in reverse (tips up) says you've got plenty of brake/reverse. You can add leaders to the bottom of the handles, OR, you can just tie more knots in the top leaders, closer to the handles. The spacing isn't critical, just make sure the left and right sides match. Whether you essentially shorten the top leaders (by adding more knots and flying on those) or lengthen the bottom leaders, it's the same difference. Both result in more forward/"go", which will make it easier to launch.

[kwmf]

Not sure if anyone pointed Flippa to me but I got this one guys .... Turns out it's my 'old' SLE that he has

The kite and handles are 100% (unless someone did something to them after they left me), the lines are not mine but considering Flippa's kiting history I'm guessing he's smart enough to equalise lines.

We will be getting together when he is down in Durban at the end of June - either I will be helping him get going, or I will be adding to his flying skills if all the advice here works out. It's going to be a little nostalgic seeing my sail visit me again.

In the mean time, thanks for helping out until we get some hands on time together