Kite Rookie

[PJ Clements]

Hi Everyone!
I'm a toy heavy rookie,with hardly no flying time!

Got a parafoil on vaction several years ago and fell in love with the wind! One Kites on Ice later, I was hooked!
It's a longer than interesting story that I've ended up with a Quad Line ( Rev 1) and a Dual Line stunt kite with hardly no fly time at all. I've attempted to fly them on my own, with not much success..... so along with small flyers I got myself an 11' Delta to help fill my need to smile in the Sun. But, after several years of not much experience I'm still in love with kites and want to conquer some of the skills to enjoy all of them.

Just stumbled on this website this week ... I'm close to Antioch and I'll be at the festival next week... hoping to see some quads in the air.

Can't believe it's fall already....
PJ

[BillLamm]

I'm in Winthrop Harbor... maybe we can find all the best fields between here and their for club flies..

[Jeff]

Hi PJ, welcome to IKE.

I'm from Round Lake, myself.

I'm hoping to be at the Antioch fly also. We've got a neighborhood (non-kite) festival scheduled that day, but I might just be able to go fly earlier and then leave around noon...

[BillLamm]

Hi PJ, welcome to IKE.

I'm from Round Lake, myself.

I'm hoping to be at the Antioch fly also. We've got a neighborhood (non-kite) festival scheduled that day, but I might just be able to go fly earlier and then leave around noon...

is Antioch 26 Sept or 3 Oct??? (I have a farmers market this saturday so I hope it is in Oct)

[RevJB]

Welcome to the forum.

Bring your kites to Antioch and look for anyone with an IKE shirt (see the group photo on the main page) and they will be happy to work with you.

After 4 weekends in a row of festivals, I have to pass on Antioch.

If you are going out flying on the weekend (or mid-week) post it as a club-fly and see if anyone else can make it.

This is a great group that has helped me learn to fly.

Enjoy!

[Jeff]

Antioch is Oct. 3.

[Knoted4ever]

Welcome to the club!

[PJ Clements]

What a nice bunch of foks, thanks for the replies of welcome.

I'll be there next weekend in Antioch and will be looking for those Red Tshirts... I think the only way to learn this skill is from the experienced ...(or should I say expert ) fliers.

thanks again everyone. Have a great weekend!

PJ

[BillLamm]

What a nice bunch of foks, thanks for the replies of welcome.

I'll be there next weekend in Antioch and will be looking for those Red Tshirts... I think the only way to learn this skill is from the experienced ...(or should I say expert ) fliers.

thanks again everyone. Have a great weekend!

PJ

Im always wary of the title expert... ex + has bin, spert = drip under pressure?!?!?! (sounds better than it types

[Jeff]

It was nice to meet you out at Antioch today, PJ. Sorry I couldn't spend a little more time with you before you had to go, I was kind of going in a couple directions there working on quad and dual line stuff. (And keeping an eye on my daughter.)

That quad you've got appears to be a 1991 model. Check out the special edition Revolution History kite...

http://www.revkites.com/forum/index.php ... st&id=6042

It's a Rev I, Sedgewick Signature model, with the SLE leading edge, and what seem like 9" handles.

We've just got to get you a 1/4" leading edge, and 13" handles with proper leaders on it!

[PJ Clements]

Jeff,

Thanks so much for the time you spent with me on Saturday, the weird wind and the added diversions were alot for you to manage. I felt bad for manipulating your time, but appreciate the kindness and patience.
that's a great pic to keep on file, a Very cool "history" kite of Revs!

I sized the smaller 1/4 spars into the lead edge rigging and they'll fit inside the diameter perfectly! ( rather than outside , as that heavy spar does now) I think then that will work out ... My mission now is to find a supplier for a 9ft, 1/4 leading edge.
Thanks again for you time!

It was an odd day for flying. Amazing to see the skyline of single line kites... all flying steady, to watch them suddenly and simultaeously fall to the ground!
The large inflatables bouncing so dramatically was amusing to onlookers, but a trial to those managing them, I'm sure! It was still a good day to be outside enjoying the last of the season's mild days , hoping there are a few more left for us.

It had been a very long time to have some of my kites out of their bag.... I left smiling and content and challenged to try again another day.

[Darkspark]

Give Chicago Kite a call, tell him you need a three wrap leading edge for a rev 1, he will be able to order it for you. make sure you get Revolution spars, a bit more money but well worth it. Chicago kite has a link at the top of this page. You may also consider getting a new larger set of handles, 13" ones. If you are trying to fly that big kite on 9" handles you will find the longer ones give more control and more leverage. If you get handles there is a thread on the forum about adding leaders to them to get some adjustment, to suit your flying style and wind conditions. Welcome to the club, Mike

[Jeff]

Oh, and by the way, the vertical spars you have now, the 1/4" ones, are 4-wrap spars. I know I had started to explain the spar types, but I don't recall if I used all the exact terminology.

The heaviest, but strongest spars, are the 4-wraps. It doesn't specifically say that on the label, but you can tell from the sticker on the spar. Yours says "Revolution Equipped." That translates to 4-wrap.

The next step lighter is the 3-wrap, and those have a sticker that says "Ultralight."

The next step lighter than that is the 2-wrap, and it's sticker says, strangely enough, "Professional Use Only."

And then there are the Race Rods. Those weigh about as much as the 2-wraps, but are a bit stronger and stiffer. Kind of a hybrid. Their sticker says "Race Frame" or something like that...

You could get a 3-wrap leading edge, and use that combined with the 4-wrap verticals, or just get a whole frame set in 3-wraps. While it's nice to have all the different framesets for any given kite, you may want to just get one for the Rev I, and depending how much you like flying it, the next time you look at spending money on a kite you could get a Rev 1.5...which everyone eventually does anyway....