Greetings from St. Charles, Illinois

[makatakam]

[quote="Just stay a way from Makatakam's. He always mods his kites. [/quote]

I haven't modded my Supersonics or SuperBlast 2-4 (yet). I don't mind getting the modded ones get broken. It lets me know which mods need to be made stronger, and they are simple and easy fixes. I just don't bring the tools I need to make the repair with me. Anyone who wants to try my kites is welcome to.

[backdraft]

Welcome,
Would love to fly a rev's with you. Hopefully we can meet at an event/club fly soon.

Big Mike

[basicbill]

Welcome,
Would love to fly a rev's with you. Hopefully we can meet at an event/club fly soon.

Big Mike

Thanks. I believe you might be the man to talk to if and when I decide to purchase one.

Bill

[TMadz]

Big Mike supplied me with some stuff. Discounts usually for IKE members, so it helps that you're here. Mike's responsive. The good dealers realize that kiters are people just like them. They work hard to get and protect their great reputations. I prefer a network of real people dealers rather than the anonymous internet.

[goestoeleven]

Big Mike (backdraft) is the real deal. Plus he has the best line sets money can buy.

First time I met Mike, I was a brand new flier, and he gave me the handles of his Rev, which I (or my son, who was 9 at the time) then flew the rest of the day.

[backdraft]

Yes we can help you with purchasing a Rev! Give us a call when you're ready. We have alot more options that are not on our website.


Big Mike
The Kite Site
www.thekitesite.net
815-953-8303

[basicbill]

So I've been watching a few dual-line and quad-line video tutorials. Are there habits that one would have to "un-learn" if beginning with a dual-line kite then moving on to a Rev? Negative transfer I believe it's called. Looks like the duals use arm motion and the quads use wrist motion.

Bill

[goestoeleven]

You have it right - quads are more in the wrist, but there are some arm motions as well related to holding position and altitude in the window. They're just different - like airplane vs. helicopter. More trick flying with duals, more social flying with quads. I could go on for a long time, but since I'm almost exclusively a quad and single line flier, I'll let other folks who do more dual flying chime in on the differences.

[swannie]

More trick flying with duals, more social flying with quads.

Interesting way of looking at it ... very true.

[KiteVoice]

You have it right - quads are more in the wrist, but there are some arm motions as well related to holding position and altitude in the window. They're just different - like airplane vs. helicopter. More trick flying with duals, more social flying with quads. I could go on for a long time, but since I'm almost exclusively a quad and single line flier, I'll let other folks who do more dual flying chime in on the differences.

What 11 said. I started on dualies and added Rev flying later, it has been a challenge to not use the push and pull from dualies. But it is surmountable.

[goestoeleven]

Push and pull are still useful . . . just in a different way. Push/pull to round off arcing turns and to maintain a steady height when changing direction (i.e. when flying figure 8's). . . . . . or for axels . . . still can't throw them consistently . . . .

[basicbill]

Yes we can help you with purchasing a Rev! Give us a call when you're ready. We have alot more options that are not on our website.


Big Mike
The Kite Site
http://www.thekitesite.net
815-953-8303

I took the plunge on an EXP. ( Had Paypal funds from my RC quadcopter sales that "needed" to be spent.)

Might be here this weekend. Just when the winds die. Maybe I'll practice line winding.

Bill

[Mike]

The EXP is great fun, try to hook up with some other Rev flyers for your first flights and the learning will go much faster.

[goestoeleven]

Wind looks like it might be OK this weekend, if you miss the storms. Weather tomorrow doesn't look promising . . . . maybe Sunday. I'm now trying to figure out when I'm going to mow the lawn . . . since it just keeps raining . . . .

[basicbill]

Wind looks like it might be OK this weekend, if you miss the storms. Weather tomorrow doesn't look promising . . . . maybe Sunday. I'm now trying to figure out when I'm going to mow the lawn . . . since it just keeps raining . . . .

What are "ideal" winds for the Revs? My impression is about 7 to 12 mph.

Bill

[Mike]

What are "ideal" winds for the Revs? My impression is about 7 to 12 mph.

Bill

That's about right for a beginner on an Exp. The higher end may make it a little easier.
When you get good you can fly that kite, with no wind, indoors!

[basicbill]

My EXP arrived early enough this morning from TheKiteSite to fly today except the wind is not cooperating. Gusting over 25 mph at times. So I've practiced assembly and dis-assembly a few times while inside. (And it fits fully assembled in my little car, too. Neat!)

One of the bridle ends had become detached from one of the vertical end caps so I had to figure that out by comparing it to the other side.

Also, I was expecting black and red sleeved line ends as shown in the video tutorials I've watched. Instead this is what showed up:

Rev Lines.jpg (127.88 KiB) Viewed 7006 times

Which I suppose is good since it will indicate the lines for each handle.

The included DVD has some good beginner tips, too.

So here I patiently wait.

Bill

[goestoeleven]

Yeah, the "color coded" line sets are nice. The new 180Go! line sets have the same colors, and I like 'em.

[basicbill]

So today I spent about 3.5 hours at the Burlington Prairie with my first Rev flight attempt. Barely any wind for the first couple of hours which made it a challenge. The first issue was the left upper bridle connection had come apart. So I had to reverse engineer that by looking at the opposite side. I'm sure that I don't have the exact same knots but the lengths and connections all appear to be the same.

I have been watching the various tutorials and had some idea of what to do. The first launch got the kite about halfway up the center of the wind window. Whereupon it gracefully spun over and descended slowly onto the leading edge. That was about the best of the next hour's worth of attempts. Various spins, weird darts and other indescribable flight maneuvers ensued. Part of the problem was that I was reacting using dual-line pulls and pushes. Definite negative transfer. Nearly every launch ended with a walk to the kite for a reset. The few times I was able to get the kite to near the top of the wind window for a bit I was able to think before doing and control it correctly.

By the last hour, the wind was much more consistent and so was I. Almost every takeoff and landing was under control. Very few walks to the kite. I could fly to the top of the window. Back down and generally maneuver to either side of the wind window. The wind did quit once while I was at the edge but I was able to soft land in the grass and clover.

Rev EXP in Clover.jpg (155.33 KiB) Viewed 6987 times

A couple of impressions for what it's worth. Dual-line seems to me to be much easier to pick up. More intuitive I guess. The quad-line kite looks to be more precise but may take more practice for just the basics. Finally, to me the bottom control lines were too slack. So not as much precision at times. Or maybe I was just holding the handles incorrectly.

But I had fun.

Bill

[goestoeleven]

Awesome! Good to hear. Hope to fly with you soon.