Stephen Hoath

Some of The Flying Squad are off today to the south of France for our last festival of the year.

It's a great event with people from all over Europe.  I'll try to take some photo's but not sure if i will have the time.

So, if my plane ever leaves, next stop Nice.

We recently talked as a team.About some simple,but good practices we could follow when in an arena or just flying together.Some ideas can be quite usefull and some very funny.Perhaps some of the larger or more experienced team pilots can help the topic along.Are ther any 10 commandments.Unspoken rules on how to behave when in the field.
  

BRIAN...

Thou shalt do as you are told by the caller.
*_{unless i meant something else in which case it is down to you to know what I meant and do that instead.+}
+_{It is up to you to know when I meant what I said and when I meant something else, no further clues will be given.}

Hi Brian, sorry I can't make this weekend as it sounds like a real blast.  Unfortunately I have other plans that can't be moved.  

Still it sounds as though you have some great fun lined up.  What are the chances of getting Fraser to write up another weekend report like the last time?  Keep on letting us know what we are going to miss, it's good for the soul.

Wishing you all the best with the weekend.   You'll just have to plan another so that all those of us who can't make this one can come and enjoy the pleasures of the North.

Stephen

Well, i am back from Holland and what a great weekend.

Scheveningen is a great kite festival and has everything you can think of with kites.  The wind was a little light this year but this only seemed to make everyone work harder and the huge crowds that gathered both days were well entertained.

The Flying Squad and Time out both performed ballets in some very light winds and then joined forces to fly as an 8 person team.  Time Out's new kites look even better in the flesh than they do in the photos and the team did some fantastic flying even in the very light winds.  Watch out for more from this team they just keep getting better.

There were a few other Rev fliers around but the beach was so crowded with big single line kites and public that there just wasn't anywhere else to fly.

So, Scheveningen is a great festival to visit next year if you get the chance.

So The Flying Squad are off again to another festival this weekend and I am really looking forward to it.

There is a great beach at Scheveningen and I have some fond memories of the place from when I flew dual line team.

I know that Time Out will be there but is anyone else going to be at the festival?

Details of the festival can be found here

And we know why   dont we Gary !!

We had a great time in Ireland and met some great local fliers.  Many thanks to Chris and Connor especially for making us feel so welcome.  

It was super light winds all weekend with the occasional bit of downwards blowing winds so we had a good chance to try the new printed SUL sails.  These kites just keep impressing me.  They feel so alive even in 2mph down.  We used Race rods and didn't even need to drop down to the 50lb lines to make them fly.  It would have been a great place to fly the team Blasts but we just did not have the weight allowance on the plane to take all the gear.

There are a few Rev fliers in Ireland but they all seem to be spread around a lot and so it is unusual to have someone else to fly with.  Now they have tasted team flying I wonder if they will try and get together more often.

A big thank you to the organisers and The Kite Society for arranging a great event.  Let's hope that it runs again next year!

ps, here's a shot of the new kites all lined up and ready for battle.

Very nice guys!  All you need now are some larger rev bags to carry the huge selection of kites you have!!!!!  LOL

Keep up the good work.

Mark

Nah, I much prefer to lug 4 full Rev bags everywhere I go!  It saves time on going to the gym.

Ohhhh, it's there Simon, it's there.
I hadn't noticed the mark when I started drooling the first time. Maybe I need some kinda drool damn.....

So I'm curious.... is this just a personal mark on your own sail, or maybe like the signiture of the design artist??? Do you all have your own mark?

This being the 3rd kite I've seen with a mark, it's tempting to figure out something of my own.

Curious.....

Dean

If you take a look at the graphic file you can see what the full kite design is.  Through some cunning and clever printing technique I don't fully understand (let's just call it magic) Los Hermanos have been able to print a water mark onto/into the kite.  There are lines on both left and right of the kite which are almost invisible from head on (see Simon's photo) but that show up clear as day from the side. All I know is that I love it.

It took a while to design the skin which is one reason that we have 6 the same.  However, with the printing process it is possible to have any variation you like even to the extent of having your name (and contact details) printed on the kite discreetly if you prefer.  Mr Mitchell will be able to testify how long it takes to perfect the design and stop thinking applique but it is well worth the effort.  Just for interest the final design was number 13z!  I have attached a picture of some of the ones that did not make the grade.  Did we make the right choice?

One tip for anyone designing their own sail, use darker and richer shades than you think as they work much better when the kite is lit from behind.

WOW

What can I say, there are not enough superlatives to describe The Flying Squad's new SUL Revs.  A huge thank you to Los Hermanos and Revolution for making these kites happen.

We picked up the new kites at Portsmouth and as they were SUL kites the wind was strong all weekend.  However, we got a chance to fly them on Monday and they are amazing.  The light wind range on these kites is jaw droppingly good and the single piece skin gives the kite a responsive feel that anyone should be happy with.  Add to that the fact that they look stunning then you can tell why I am so happy.

I have attached a photo for you all to look at and the original graphic so you can see some of the detail.  The design is inspired by the beautiful Twister kites that Bazzer made for us last year (thanks Bazzer) and when you get up close you can really see some amazing details.  Step back down the lines and you get a strong pattern that really stands out.  

We will hopefully get some more air time on them soon and we can feed back in a little more detail on how they fly but if you fly in light winds and you want something special you could do a lot worse than get one of these.  

Revolution have really pulled off a coup by getting together with these guys and I love it!  (can you tell?)

Is there a rev arena this year

Sure there is, you just have to share it with Peter Lynn.  Good luck!

Blimey.. 15 minute slots ... could be challenging for all teams / groups involved!

Ah well, we shall enjoy... see you guys down there!

Hezz

Yep but we get three slots a day and those 15 minutes will certainly feel long if there is no wind!  Who wants to volunteer to run 360's this year?  I promise not to make you do it with the stacks.

Hi Chris and welcome to the forum.

My team has just got the new Blasts having flown the SLE/Rev 1.5 for 10 years straight.  The new kite is aptly named and is reall great fun to fly.  It may well be the thing you are looking for.  It is a little (and I do mean that) more precise than the shockwave but if you want pure precision then the Barresi is the kite to get, however it flies in a really light wind and because of it's size it retains a good feel on the lines.  I already love this kite and we are now working on some new moves to fly in team so we are still playing with the possibilities.  It sounds like this could be the kite for you if you fly mainly on your own. oh and in a big wind this kite will give you plenty of excitement!

If you were looking to start flying with other Rev fliers (and you should seriously try and do this) then you need to get a 1.5 of some sort.

I hope this helps but it's probably best to make it along to a kite festival and chat to some other fliers first.  Brighton is 11th 12th July and Dunstable the following Sunday.  After that the next big event is probably Portsmouth the last August bank holiday weekend.

Stephen

Anything happening in Southwest England on Saturday, June 27th?   I have that day open during a week long business trip in England.   Staying in Newbury, Berkshire.  I know it's southwest of London.    
Just asking.   Thanks for any response.

Steve

There is nothing official on that weekend but it would be a pleasure to arrange a little fly-in.  Maybe we can ask some of the locals to find us a nice field to play on.  Will you have a car with you Steve?

STOP PRESS

I have just seen on the Spanish Forum http://foro.cometas.info/index.php that they are holding a raffle to win one of four of the new Printed Revs made under licence by Los Hermanos.

The tickets are 10 Euros each and if you win they will make the kite with your design on it.  There are only 20 tickets left so if you are interested you should move quickly.  This is an amazing opportunity to get your hands on one of these kites for only 10 Euros.  That's just under $14 or £9 at today's exchange rate!  The winner will need to pay the shipping costs in addition to the cost of the Raffle ticket.

The competition is on a closed part of their forum so you either need to register (well worth it as there is loads of good stuff on there) or you can email the forum administrator direct at miguel@gnomo.net

If you have not seen these kites yet you can see some of the first ones here.  The white one with the butterfly wing design is mine and let me tell you that it flies like a dream.  The single piece skin makes this kite very smooth and it handles low winds with ease as well as flying beautifully in stronger winds.  They are truely unique and even the bag is a work of art.

Wheres WISKF? Don't ya'all come over here?

Dean

We'd heard there were some new guys who were doing alright somewhere around there so we decided to let them get some experience before we come over!

Actually I would love to come back to Washington, I came over for World Cup years ago and had a fantastic time with great people.  The guys from Cuttin Edge kites have been good friends ever since.  I have promised to bring my wife so we shall have to see what we can do.  

S