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Jeepster

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Jeepster last won the day on June 21 2022

Jeepster had the most liked content!

About Jeepster

  • Birthday July 13

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Profile Information

  • Favorite Kite(s)
    Rev Pro-series ... Mid-vent
  • Flying Since
    2008
  • Location
    Queen Creek, Arizona
  • Country
    United States
  • Gender
    Male

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  1. happy Birthday John ... may you have many, many more.
  2. Here's what a show kite friend taught me to use for the Mid-west clay flying fields. The stakes are "form stakes" that are sold at any big box home repair store. They are driven in the ground at an angle to each other and leaning back away from the kite. A loop of 1" nylon (sew or knot for the loop) is pushed through the bottom "V" and the end is then brought back over the tops of the stakes. Tie the kite off to the other end of the loop and you're good to go. The double stakes and the angles allow the kite to move sideways quite a bit before you have to move the stakes. And, most importantly, if the stakes pull out of the ground, they will come free of the nylon loop right away. http://kitelife.com/forum/gallery/image/5585-/
  3. Jeepster

    Jeepster

    Pictures by Jeepster
  4. Food for thought: super glue is a brittle adhesive that will, due to rod flexing, break down over time. Here's what I posted on the Rev forum last year: A couple of years back, at Kite Party, Laura pulled out her Zen on a very light wind day. The ferrule had come loose and rendered the kite useless. She had paid for a ticket to travel across the US, paid for a number of nights in a very nice motel, paid for her meals, even paid for the darn Zen ... but, because of a simple loose ferrule, all that money was wasted on that morning. Epoxy is not overkill ... I'd even coach you to go further: 1) remove the dried glue from the ferrule and sand the glued half to increase bondage ... then degrease with a solvent 2) clean the inside of the rod (tube) with a roll of sandpaper or a gun cleaning brush ... then degrease with a solvent 3) apply a thin coat of epoxy to the inside of the rod and the sanded end of the ferrule 4) insert the ferrule, twisting it slowly as you insert it to about a quarter inch from the correct depth, clean off the excess epoxy and then insert it to the correct depth ... then tape the ferrule in place until the epoxy dries. When done like this, I've yet to have one come loose. One of the Skyshark 8P tubes on the spreader for a DC Coyne kite split this spring. Tried to get the ferrule out inorder to use the now shorter tube in another location. I could not get the ferrule out of the tube ... it had been installed like the above recommendation. Cheers, Tom
  5. Love the "first proto" part of your quote. So, on to the next configuration. I have a number of commercial winders for my 500 lb SLK line. One area of their design that I find discouraging is the long points over which the line is wound ... the bottom two points in your picture. For your next prototype, you might try reversing the lengths of the end points ... "short" to wind over and "long" to serve as back up. Then wind and unwind line on the two prototypes a number of times to see which you like the best. This is an example: http://kitelife.com/forum/gallery/image/5375-/ Now to make a couple more modifications on the above winder before it's "just right" ... Cheers, Tom
  6. Jeepster

    Winders

  7. I make my Rev winders out of 1/4" (6.35mm) oak. Have made some SLK winders out of the same stuff. There is minimal loading on my SLK winders ... small stuff only. Never a problem in about five years of use. However, if you are going to hold the winder to fly the kite, you might find the thicker woods to be more comfortable on your hands. Don't have any pictures, but many wooden winders use an angled notch in one end of the top of the winder to "catch" the line for holding. They will then thread a strap through the hand hole to anchor the winder to a stake. The notch allows one to adjust the line length while still anchored. This is what my Rev winders look like. Just angle the top of the notch backwards towards the center to visualize a SLK winder. Cheers, Tom http://kitelife.com/forum/gallery/image/3351-/
  8. Good score Steve. A full sail B-series is what I started with also. My first Rev flight was with a full vent sail that was owned and set up by an experienced flier. The winds were high, but the fact that the lines/handles were correctly adjusted allowed me to fly for about 20 minutes without crashing ... led me to believe that there was nothing to flying a Rev. I immediately went home and ordered a full sail B-series kite, lines, handles, etc. When it arrived, the winds were 15 plus mph for several days. Hmmm ... flying it seemed akin to trying to ride a bull for 8 seconds. Very frustrating to say the least ... luckily I'm stubborn and hung in there. I'd offer two pieces of advice: 1) Find someone in your area who flies Revs reasonably well. Even if you have to travel 100 miles or so, go fly with them. They can help you set up the kite correctly ... and correct bad habits before they take hold. 2) If you can't get with someone, then make sure your lines/handles are set up correctly. You want the lines to be even in length ... within a quarter inch will do in the beginning, Your lines will creep in length as they're used, so check them periodically when they're new. Because the load is greater on the top lines, they will stretch more than the bottoms ... rotating the top pair and the bottom pair each time out will help with the equalization. Dual line fliers don't worry about balance and creep as much as quad fliers, so don't go by past experience. Adjust the flight lines on the handle pig tails so that the top lines are about four inches further away from the handles than the bottom lines. That's a good starting point only. Your ultimate goal is to be able to balance the handles on your middle finger with the kite stationary in the middle of the wind window in a vertical position. In the beginning, simply launch the kite and see how it feels ... if it is still has too much speed, then let out the top lines a little more. Keep doing that until you've tamed the kite down to an acceptable level. Good luck, Tom
  9. Oh yes ... the "I-70 Diner" in Flagler Colorado. Yep, it's on I-70 east of Denver out in the middle of nowhere. Great old time dinner. Great food ... no actually it's fantastic food. We stumbled upon it quite by accident four or five years ago. Now we plan our trips so that we'll be hungry when we get to Flagler. The chef's name is Rick ... if things are not busy, ask how he got from the mid-west to Flagler. Oh yes, also ask how the dinner made it's way to Flagler. Both are interesting stories. Cheers, Tom
  10. Well, I guess that's better than a Styrofoam head form ... probably even more intelligent. Thanks for the smile, Tom
  11. Try hanging the hat upside down by the straps to dry it. Better air circulation to speed up the drying ... and, it keeps it's shape better than laying it on a hard surface. I told you to have faith!!! Makes you pucker to treat it like a $5 baseball cap doesn't it? Cheers, Tom BTW ... ust double checked and I own a LTM6 and a TM10
  12. Arizona is a spectacular state to visit. From sand dunes through old pine forests and on into the high plains area it seems to have unlimited beauty. Glad you're getting some time to enjoy it. While you're bouncing around in the area you might keep Canyon de Chelly in mind ... it's a hidden treasure. And then, just across the northern border into Utah is Monument Valley which is truly beautiful ... especially with a Rev in it. Cheers, Tom
  13. The very best to you on your birthday ... may you have many, many more. Cheers, Tom
  14. On the street, they're not that expensive Fair Dinkum. Check out OutlandUSA.com or hollandhats.com for better prices. I have an LTM6 and LTM8 hat ... both are much less than $100. I suspect that there is a similar supplier down under. Cheers, Tom
  15. I'll be there Wednesday afternoon ... provided the storm coming cross country doesn't mess with our travels. Heading for Denver and then over the mountains this year. Cheers, Tom
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