Tim

I might be pointing out the obvious, but it's more likely that your lineset has stretched a fraction than the bridle is off. I'd check that first.

Edit: Duh, you said you checked the lines. Sorry.

Hey Ben D.,


How about a colorizer for the Eliot Shook vented?


Any chance of making that happen?


Adam

I've been drooling over his "mesh" revs for quite some time. I'm getting tempted to let him do the designing, because I've missed spring winds trying to come up with my own design, and now there's no way I'll be able to fly it for a few months.

However, i have a passable graphical model of his mesh rev in Fireworks (old graphics editor), and i can export it to Photoshop. This gives you colorizer-like behavior. If you're interested, send me a PM with what graphical program(s) you use and we'll see if I can send you a version that will work for you.

And maybe Eliot would give me a discount if I ported the Fireworks version over to Flash... Been a long time since i used flash, so I don't know how much work it would be... or how picky and demanding his customers would be. :-)

I also like JuiceDefender. I bought the ultimate version and it makes a big difference, though not all of the advertised features work on my phone. These new gadgets are very tough on batteries! I even bought an external battery for my phone so I can use the heck out of it when I'm on the road without fear of running out of juice.

For kite stuff, I like Windfinder for wind forecasts and reports, and Go Fly A Kite for a little kiting interlude during the day.

As my two B1.5s broke in over the last year and a half, I noticed small wrinkles in the sail, perpendicular to the vertical rods, near the wingtips. It seemed as though something had stretched to make the sail a bit loose. I recently tightened the wingtip bungees very slightly, hoping to take the wrinkles out without overstressing the sail.

I'm not a pro with Revs, but if you see that stretching and those wrinkles, it might be a clue that something is a bit loose.

Yeah... I've already been looking at more kites. ::sigh::

I've also been looking at line and am already thinking of making my own set of lines. I've seen where you can get LPG in bulk and then I'd need to cut and and sleeve the lines. But I don't have a sewing machine that I can use to seal up the ends and create the loop. How well do knots hold? Just a couple of overhands on the end of the sleeve and a figure 8 to create the loop? Would that hold or am I better off buying a pre-made set.

Kelly

You certainly don't need a sewing machine to seal up the ends of the lines -- you just need some sleeving material, which is bridle line with a core of spectra. You pull out the spectra core and then you have a tube of material for the sleeves. I use this braided dacron line. Some people don't sleeve their lines, but I prefer to just because it makes the lines easier to handle. You'll also need a strong pole or something to loop the ends around, because you'll need to pull on the lines to get the stretch out. Then a pen or permanent marker to mark the lines, scissors or a knife, and empty winders. I also got a pair of forceps in the fishing section of a sporting goods store to help tie good knots. (Edit: you'll also need a sleeving tool, which is a section of stiff wire that helps you pull the spectra through the sleeve.) There are several different methods for measuring and tying the lines -- I'm not sure what the best way is, so I'll leave that to the veterans to say.

I enjoyed making my own linesets (and I saved some money doing it), but my homemade sets are not as good as the sets I bought pre-made from Cath and Eliot. I must not have stretched the lines out well enough because I kept having to adjust them until they had all the stretch out and stopped needing adjustment. So that's a factor when you are considering making versus buying lines: are you willing to adjust the homemade lines?