REVflyer

slow,

try to turn where your partner did, (the location) not when he turns  

try to follow the line drawn by #1 and keep a even speed, so you (the 2nd flier) can set the pace influencing spacing between you.

hover or tip land

slow

breath and relax

this is great fun, enjoy

it's that time of year again, some are hurt, or missing entirely but the show must go on!

10-am until 3:pm, free, downtownDC, Smithsonian Institute's Nat'l. Air & Space Museum

Come and enjoy the show and activities planned.

-plm

By the way, we are flying back in the West End – please be careful not to hit the overhead displays. 

We are asking all volunteers to wear black, if possible.

Flyers:  Andrew Albosta, Dave Ashworth, Pauly Berard, Jeff Burka, Paul Dugard, Dawn Haworth, Jared Haworth, Tom Humphrey, Jeff King, Paul (the Other Paul) LaMasters, Richard Mervine, and Scotty Weider.  That’s twelve flyers this year – unfortunately Mike Mosman busted-up his elbow, so he won’t be flying this year or will be flying crooked as our 13th!

Presenters:  Mearl Balmer (and Adrianne??), Harold Ames and Joyce King.

A warm congratulations to the Albostas – they just welcomed a new sister Eleanor, for Charlotte!

Thanks so much for volunteering,

Barbara

The Blossom kite Fest is only a few days away, complete information is available on their web-site.  It's going to be another great show too!

http://www.nationalc...-kite-festival/

Come out and enjoy the spring's arrival in the nation's capitol

(but take the METRO Rail to the Smithsonian Stop to get here, don't bother driving!)

I hope to see you soon, look for the WoW banners/base-camp or ask,... somebody will point us out!

-plm

PS: go onto the site and look at the fantastic photo they snagged of Paul Dugard in midst "throw"

there's always a place to fly!  It might be the most convenient or easily accessible to you or it might be the BEST place in your area.  Myself? I live almost next door to the "soccerplex", 26 soccer fields, some are even indoors!  You can hardly ever find one of them available for kiter usage though.  I generally fly in the parking lot, sitting on the tail-gate with no one to see me.  On the other hand, I drive most of an hour's time to get to the Washington Monument grounds, no parking, inaccessible bathrooms, no food (or beverages unless you bring 'em along), huge hassles occasionally w/security personnel,.. but always lots of witnesses to our activities!  The best winds in my area take place at least a ninety minute drive away at Sandy Point State Park, nearby Anapolis.  

You can fly in crappy locations, in fact it will improve your skills the most quickly!  MAKE the kite fly,... change the frame or the bridle, shorten the lengths of your flying lines, go to longer handles, learn the values of mass & momentum.  While you are working in the stinky valley surrounded by foliage or buildings be saving some dough to travel with your kiting friends to meet in a location where the wind is worthy of your investment.

Huntington Beach, Treasure Island, Widlwood, & WSIKF are some of the best locations I am aware of currently in the USA.  I go to Huntington Beach occasionally, but haven't been able to arrange a kite-party stay as of yet.  Anyway the wind there is so clean and smooth that kites almost fly themselves.  If you trained there you are pretty much ruined for place like Richmond Virginia in June.  You don't know how to maximize the slightest breeze, recover your field or modify equipment to gain an unfair advantage. you ARE spoiled.

Now examine the other side, if you practiced in the sewer you'd be absolutely amazed at how sweet the conditions can be (if you spend a few bucks on travel) when you come out into the day-light of a pristine kite flying area.

Not flying because everything is not perfect with your location is just plain wrong!  Someday you'll be expected to perform in a place that makes you sick, but the show must go on.  Make that kite fly, it's a Rev!  If it will not go, YOU are the reason why, not the location where you set-up.  Don't watch, get out there and prove you can fly in any surroundings, conditions or weather.

A curve is built into the airflow's shape, just like a plane's wing.  Proof lies in the fact the you can "dead-launch" the speed series kites

you have to fly the back kite,.... the others are just in the way of your completely focused vision

there are precision figures available (for pairs multi-line) which you can examine, fly on sticked micro kites to understand the necessary movements and then practice them together in the air when you get around to meeting up as partners.  This is a great practice technique as you can easily refer back to the active diagrams created by ReedDesign.  Hit the animate button under each diagram < http://www.aka.kite....pulsory-figures >

Fooling around flight patterns available include: ~ you can "mirror" each other ~ you can fly aligned on each other's leading edge (formation) ~ follow the leader and ~ interact with each other/(while one hovers the other pilot moves).

The old adage is own your hover to fly with other Rev pilots, (that means getting comfortable with the kite an inch off of the ground and in a stationary inverted hover, flying it all by yourself!)  Practice the side slides in all directions, it is a lot tougher to master when mixing-in with your partner.  Try balancing on a wing tip, walking the kites in unison is a real crowd pleaser too!

Dual throws and catches, in unison?  Nesting one's throw thru the other lines as you intentionally "cross the streams"?  Kisses or an the Iron Cross, how about a refuel?

You should have line sets just for using as a pairs team performing (or practicing together), not for you own general usage at all!

Cleanly flown straight lines and tight corners make the tricks stand-out if you choose to add them, but you have to master speed control as a unit to look like you belong together as a pairs team.  Slow and precise flights mixed with sudden bursts of excess as appropriate, in time with your music, plus a lot of practice hours flying together will make you guys into a dynamic pairs team!

The kites should be the same style/size (if not matching or at least coordinating in color schemes) and both should be tuned such that either pilot can fly them consistently. In my local club this is an utterly foolish expectation! Everyone does their own thing, like it or leave us.  Some are home-builders but refuse to copy exact dimensions (so their kites fly differently, however slight the change happens to be).  Some of us prefer the Shook weaves and some prefer the Bazzer mesh venting choices.  Some frame light & flexible, using venting to tame the savage beast.  Some of us frame heavier and use less venting or a full sail as long as possible.  We don't even keep a common line weight or brand between us.

Keep us informed and enjoy the journey!

-plm

every school or park has a ball field, usually with a fence to keep out the soccer and golf folks, scale that fence, claim the field, grab the spectators, make your mark on the community!

 REV 1.5 Magix Stick.pdf   673.66K   38 downloads  French Bridle 1.5.pdf   249.64K   29 downloads

My demo short set is 60+ feet.  I practice on longer sets and when necessary to show-off and look good I'll go back to this demo size.  I throw and catch on 75 feet routinely during practice sessions in no wind.  I can catch 120s in the right conditions and 90 feet on the Zen is very reasonable/reliable expectation.

Don't just learn the catch from directly overhead either.  Fly it up to about 2/3rds or 3/4s of the wind window and then do a strong yank on the top lines (as the kite is moving forward).  You want the kite to arc upwards, apex and then glide down thru the wind's direction and to your outstretched hand.

A long distance throw require big movements with your whole body. You need to run with the kite a couple of steps (acceleration builds up free momentum) like you were pitching a javelin.  I'm left handed, so I pitch towards the opposite corner, the right edge of the window for me.  After releasing the kite you have both handles in one hand already, just press your thumb forward and the kite will paste itself inverted at the end of the lines.  Since I use magic sticks on the back, if my efforts wind-up short of the line's overall length the kite just waits on the ground for me to walk the slack out backwards.  Sticks allow you to be aggressive with learning techniques, dare I say sloppy too?  At least you don't have to do the walk of shame.  The public thinks you meant to have it fall short!

I flew a couple of years ago at Liberty State Park (NJ kite competition) on 120s and the catch at the end of my routine WOULD not come down to the ground at all!  It floated along for so much time that conversations stopped and folks stood up on the sidelines to see what would happen next. That was a set of near perfect conditions, nothing to do with the flier at all.  You just had to put it into the proper position and the wind did everything else!  That glide could have been timed with a sundial.

I've probably worked on these techniques for the better part of a decade.  It's hard on your equipment but really separates you from the masses.  No other sport kite design I'm aware of can do these tricks so effortlessly.

Shorter length line sets turn any Rev kite into a flailer's dream!   They also let you walk around in a crowd and annoy folks who aren't paying attention to their surroundings <LOL!>

if you took the lines off entirely and threw the kite (correctly!),... it should glide out, rotate upside down and finish pointing with the leading edge parallel to the ground (inverted)

The "catch" part of 3-D flying doesn't come back to you (as John described) downwind, in fact I have found it impossible!  It makes a horse-shaped flight path and winds up facing back upwind with the leading edge inverted.  Play with it and see how far it travels without any more input that that first move.  It's all about positioning your catch "yank" properly.

You can throw the speed series kites though,.... that thick leading edge won't bend and it pierces right thru the wind like a javelin.  There's a lot of mass, so you should not be practicing over a concrete sea-wall or a big parking lot's asphalt surface.

Glide is about recovering your flying field, either upright/inverted or laying out sideways, with practice you can throw half axels and still walk forward.  Bigger kites require bigger movements (flailing) so don't be shy, yank & spank your way to success.

Hey Kurt,

I've been to that great location and seen his trailer too!

sometimes you can clear enough space to fly, but as soon as you take a break those gaps close-in.  I've been chased out of large locations occasionally too.  The crowd just swells until it's dangerous (or expensive) for me to keep trying.  A group of rev fliers can generally keep their space, but a single or a couple of us have little chance.  

You've got to have your stuff down tight to fly throughout the crowds and you need somebody in charge to actually approve of this activity.  I've fallen backwards over a stroller and stepped on lots of stuff I should have seen!  I've hooked onto earrings, fence posts and moving vehicles.  My wife says I'm a bad role model!  

"Back in the day when sponsorships were available and common" ... We've been paid performers where we were expected to interact with the crowd, no boundaries, other activities in action.  Some of us go big SLKs up on the hills and some of us go short and quading into the mix of folks.

Not much is more fun than knocking the hat off of some unsuspecting bystander when their focus is buried into a i-pad!  Dozens of folks are all howling in laughter as the dope looks around trying to figure out what keeps brushing up against him.  I love to chase spectators and use converging sidewalks and fences to trap my quarry.  The Park rangers at the DC monument grounds see me often enough to enjoy my antics.  I need to lure them onto the grass first though, so nobody can complain about my aggressive style.

You need to be able to see the folks CAREFULLY as you interact with them, some like and some don't!  Watch their faces and pay attention when they get concerned and wave you off.  It's only okay if everyone agrees.  Move slowly at kids in strollers.  I like to land in the empty ones, since the child isn't using it, my rev can take a break.

frame lighter and don't worry about the increased flexibility,  You can fly a quad when NOTHING else will go,

never too hot or humid either (cold or wet, insert whatever weather you don't like etc) only a poorly equipped kiter

cut down the frame members on your proposed ultra light, so the sticks end at the edge of the sail, try a tapered spar, at least on the down tubes

go to longer handles so you don't have to move as much

go to shorter line lengths so you don't have to move as much

pick a location with nothing to interfere with what little wind you might otherwise obtain

keep coming back to no-wind flying, eventually it will become a preference instead of a curse!

oh you'll look ever so good side-sliding across the boardwalk in front of the tram cars on one of these machines Ben.  Drag one onto the plane and let's abuse test it at Wildwood.  I can see you doing an indoor routine and unwrapping your twists with newfound style!

ah, light wind binding-up when wet,.... I forgot to mention that!  Thanks Felix, now I know why this seldom happens to me.  I'm such a fair weather flier and seldom give it go in less than a steady 10 mph breeze to boot <LOL!>