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I purchased a Rev 1.5 SLE back some time ago. There is a long list of thinks that kept me from flying it. But glad to say I'm leaving for the beach in the morning and it's packed in the truck.

I've watched all of the training videos on the Rev kites but I don't seem to find anything about the first launch for a beginner quad person.

So my first question is do you try to start inverted with the handles staked like the gentleman shows in the line management video and make the kite roll over, or set it in the upright position with the top leaning back to keep it on the ground?

My second question is how do you know that you have the correct setup at the handle? Example how do you know you have the line length at the top and bottom correct? Is there a neutral position?

Thanks in advance for your help!

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Hi and welcome to the forum.

I and many people always stake the kite inverted. When you do this, stake the handles at the TOP (i.e. the stake is between the top of the handles and the top lines). This position "drives" the kite into the ground, and it pretty much won't inadvertently launch. I would suggest trying this first. However, I understand that for someone's first launch, this might be a difficult position to start from. For example, if I am teaching others, I will land the kite right side up before handing over the handles to give them the best chance for success on a first launch. But if you're on your own and don't have someone to flip your kite over for you, it wouldn't hurt to start by learning how to roll the kite over from inverted. It's a skill you will want to learn quickly so you can get back into the air without setting your handles down. Your first flight will likely end with the kite LE down anyway, and if that happens to someone I am teaching, I don't flip the kite over for them, I teach them how to roll it over themselves. IF you've already tried rolling the kite over and are getting close to frustration with no luck in getting a first flight, and you really want to start with the kite right side up, you could stake the kite right side up leaning back, but make sure you stake the BOTTOM of the handles. Remember, if you stake the top, you are giving the kite input to fly in the direction the leading edge is facing, so it will want to take off on it's own if you try to set the kite upright. Staking the bottom means you are giving the kite the "reverse" input, which will direct it into the ground if the kite is right side up. However, this method is not as reliable as staking the kite inverted from the top of the handles, which is why I said try inverted first.

Since you have an SLE, my guess is your handles have only one knot at the end of each leader (the short lines coming off the handles). Just attach the lines there. All four flying lines should be the same length. The handle settings from the factory are "gas heavy" meaning the kite will want to fly forward. (Gas as in gas makes the car go; the "car" is the kite in this case.) Eventually, you'll want to try longer top leaders to ease off on the gas and make it easier (and more ergonomic) to find and hold the neutral position. The neutral position on the handles is where the kite stays in one place.

It's all about balance - balance between the right and left hands, balance between gas and brake. Any deviation from the balance point will cause the kite to react in some way. And keep your inputs small. It doesn't take much on a Rev.

Good luck and remember to have fun.

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Hi and welcome to the forum.

I and many people always stake the kite inverted.........

It's all about balance - balance between the right and left hands, balance between gas and brake. Any deviation from the balance point will cause the kite to react in some way. And keep your inputs small. It doesn't take much on a Rev.

Good luck and remember to have fun.

Wow! If I had only had this superb advice when I first started..... But in my impatience I just got out there & spent some time getting this figured out. You have come to the right place for help from the Masters. I hope you find some steady wind too. SHBKF

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It's 8:30 am, but if you're not out there yet, then this may be helpful:

Wait for the right wind, feel it blowing on your back. Feel it pulling the sail. If it's not pushing the sail away from you, then you have no lift and the kite won't take off. On the beach in NC you should have steady wind, so you're already way ahead of us in the Midwest.

When you lay out your lines, ignore all the twists you see in the lines. Once you put some tension on them 99.9% of those will disappear and you should have no more than two or three to deal with.

Smile, have fun and don't forget to breathe.

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When are at the beach and which beach. Kite Festival at Atlantic Beach on the 24-25th. Many Revheads there to help you out. Also where is your not beach location? I fly often while home and would be happy to meet and help any way I can.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Sorry, the information on that link is out-dated. Go to the Facebook page - "Kites Unlimited and Bird Stuff" for the latest information on the Carolina Kite Fest in Atlantic Beach, NC.

https://www.facebook.com/Kites-Unlimited-BirdStuff-etc-82661657778/

Edited by John Barresi
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What a beautiful day at the beach. I'm staying in North Myrtle Beach, SC. I had a great day learning.

Thanks to DragonFish and Makatakam for the help!

I was able to get the kite setup, learned to roll it over from inverted on the ground, launch it, and set it back on the ground. I'm still smiling even now!

DragonFish I had the longer top leaders. I had to shorten them up to get the kite to launch.

So that leads to my next question. Do I just keep shorten the top leaders until I get the handles to a neutral position and the kite will hover? Right now I have to hold the handles with the bottom pointing at the kite and it will just settle back to the ground.

Tomorrow is another day and I'll give it another try. Still Smiling!

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Glad you had a successful day.

As for the handles and leaders, a picture of what you have might help. You obviously don't have what I guessed you had. Leader lengths can vary a lot from person to person, and the ideal difference in top leader to bottom leader length varies from person to person as well. Where you hold the handles will play into this too.

If you can, go to the festival that has been mentioned. A lot of things will make sense a lot faster if you can see others doing it and ask them questions.

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An upright hover is accomplished by tilting the handles forward and backward until you have them in a position where the kite stops moving forward or backward, a "balance point" that is never really static. You will need to constantly adjust this angle of attack to keep the wind from moving it in some direction. Tilting one handle at a time, or both in opposite directions, is what makes the kite turn, pivot, or spin, depending on the amount of input. Use small inputs for better control, and keep the kite moving slowly at first. This will give you more time to make corrections. Hard to make corrections to speed or direction if it has already hit the ground, right?

Start with the top lines on the knots furthest from the handles, and with the kite upright, try to launch. Won't take off? Bring the lines in one knot at a time until you can launch it. With time, begin moving the lines out one knot each time you fly and try launching. The further out they are, the more control you will have.

There are three stages of flying a Rev. : 1. The kite flies you

2. You fly the kite

3. The kite and you fly as one

Stage 3 is achieved rarely, even by experienced flyers. You'll know when it happens by how still your mind becomes. Most of us spend most of our time flying in stage 2. How quickly you make it from stage 1 to stage 2 depends on how much time you spend flying, and being able to clear your mind of distractions as you fly will improve your ability to learn.

More important than anything else is simply this: Have Fun, Smile, and don't forget to breathe.

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Well another beautiful day at the beach. Yesterday was preety also but little or no wind. I had a great afternoon flying. I moved the top lines in one more knot and now I know what gas and brakes are all about. I found out real quickly that there is no netural. There is no launching the kite and putting it on cruise control and relaxing. It's constant input to keep it doing what you want it to do.

It was a session of hovering, trying to do it where I wanted it to happen and not letting the kite fly me. And then were the couple of humbling moments that has a way of letting you know that your hands and brain are not as quick as the kite. At the end I was mentally exhausted. I can't wait until tomorrow.

Thanks again to the forum members for your help!

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Mentally exhausted and can't wait until tomorrow, is a good thing!

Brakes, Forward, Neutral.

Hover, Hover Forward and Hover Inverted are two different animals. The place you hover in the window, in both directions relaxed is your neutral.

If you hover close to the ground forward, you need your top settings closer in. If you hover close to the ground inverted, you need your top settings further out. Much of this hover is dictated by the kite, standard, mid vent, vented. The speed of the wind. And where you want to hover in the window.

Hovering by the ground in forward is harder than hovering close to the ground inverted simply because the leading edge has the weight, and top heavy is always going to be harder than low center of gravity low in the window. I fly and hover in forward, low in the window with some masterpiece kites because they just don't look correct upside down.

Get out there and get exhausted again!

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