Leaderboard

Rain...rain...and more rain.... Figured I would take the time and contribute a small amount It has been sometime since I have used the forum and with a busy kiting season approaching, personally and with #TKL , might as well get back into the swing of things. What better place? Since Jekyll Island Buggy Expo this year.... I dove in. Acquired a full size buggy (Elliot Virus?) and a trio of fixed bridle Peter Lynn Vipers consisting of the 3 smaller sizes 2.6m/3.9m/5.3m near the same time a friend got her Peter Lynn Drifter and a full quiver of Peter Lynn Phantoms 6m-18m. I have wanted to do this for sometime and with the addition of a friend interested pushing me along, So be it. After all, I am a #floridakiteflier / Kitebumbychoice and have an awesome beach locally..and Jekyll is just a short drive away. Some struggles at the start, a few rolls , some out of control slides, even ejected the kite once or twice. Once a good onshore and proper conditions hit, I was hooked....literally (Captive). A video of my first good long ride on the 3.9 Viper S and Drifter (Jekyll Island) can be found in the playlist link below. It only took a few rides on the handles and strop before the de-powers were shouting.... " Fly me!!!!! " ..and since I have been in the care of the Phantoms... I did ,once the bigger buggy was acquired Totally different flavor between the 2 styles of kites and buggies ..each producing sore muscles and smiles that make your cheeks hurt. The de-powers are easier on my body in the long run and provide more ride time for me. The larger buggy is luxurious...lol Adjustable too fit me where I feel comfy and holds the body way different than the Peter Lynn. As things progress ...naturally you get faster and braver 😛 I think I have the minimum basics down now....consistent speed in similar wind conditions on the 9m and 12m Phantom (Top Speed 40mph ), the ability and knowledge to scrub speed in a few ways , knowledge and comfort with my gear and most of all.... Common Sense. Looking forward to some good wind next ride, work on some slides ,upwind turns and maybe some reverse play It has been horrible wind/weather and rain for weeks here it seems lately. Next good day is looking like the day after Xmas and I will be there with an onshore of 13-19mph...... Anyways....I have added a link to the Kitebumbychoice : buggy playlist and a few photos of the adventures so far. Look forward to adding more in this section in the near future...... until then.

OK - lines - 90# x 120' No major delay, just does take some time to get used to. Rods - SkyShark will interchange with each other, but not the Reflex rods. They do sell a cap on some sites that would accept the SS, if you choose to put them in the Reflex. A midvent will handle those 15 - 20 mph better, but that would be the top of that sail's range for sure. A better choice would be a full vent in those winds - IMHO! It really depends on how much pull you can handle. Having had a stroke, I don't need too much pull. So I get something out that has more holes in it! Think about those leader settings as a manual transmission in your car. You want to set them at "neutral". Meaning to make it go forward or back, you have to "tell it" or put it in gear! You want to take out that surging feeling, that out of control feeling, and get it back to where you are directing the sail. PS: had 2 HA's and both hips replaced!! But still flying!!

Just getting my feet wet with quad line. I have been a dually for a long time. flying a Revolution reflex, second hand, on the beach.

I'm new to the Rev community so please bear with me. Is the 1.5 the same size as the revo reflex? What are P90's? I see you modded one to half vent? Did you put vented material in? the same as leading edge material? Spared in p300? Could I use my 65 ft 90 lb lines with no problems? I am beach side so 3 to 5 mph winds are common but the reflex is hard to fly. Is this considered light winds? On the other end we have 10 to 15 which to me is also a little too much for the stock reflex, having to hang out in the edges of the window. Hope I am not asking too much. Thank you in advance.

One piece of advice - if no matter what and the kite is going to crash - LET IT!! Step forward, take all the power out. The kite crashes with little impact. Pulling does nothing but drive the kite harder into the ground, risking breakage. Better to go set it back up, than go down and find a broken kite! Learn to "Give to the Kite!!"

@Corey Bell You'll get there faster than you know it.. One statement of wisdom for you.. There is no alternative to practice time on the handles.. Only you can make yourself a better flier..

Hi, Corey, and welcome to the forum, as well as the dark side. You'll love quad, eventually. Takes a touch of unlearning after you've been flying duals, but other things you've learned while flying duals will flatten the curve. Good luck. Good wind!

Let me see if I can answer a few: Lines - yes, you can use the lines you already have. You can also invest down the line for some longer. 120' lines are the team standard length, if you ever hope to fly with others - get some. Is a 1.5 the same size as a Reflex? Depends on the Reflex model you have. The "XX" is just slightly larger, the others are pretty much the same. P-90 + P-300 - rods sold by SkyShark. Slightly different diameter than Rev rods, but an excellent replacement for them. As the numbers get bigger, the spar gets stiffer and heavier. 90's are very light, 400's would be pretty stiff and heavier, 300's are sort of middle ground. Modded one to midvent - Yes he cut out a section of sail and replaced it with mesh Allows the kite to fly in higher winds by letting pressure out of the sail, keeping it manageable in flight. If not exactly the same, should be very similar to the mesh in the LE. 3-5 mph winds - light? Yes and no. Yes for most beginners. Pretty tough learning how to control the kite when there isn't much wind. Just keeping it up is a chore. Light wind flying is a learned skill. No flying in one spot. You learn to move, how to feel every puff in your sail, how to use those puffs to your advantage, when to glide and when to power up. How to recycle your ground, so you don't just keep going backwards. 5-10 mph is great stuff to learn in. Kite flies, you learn the controls, everyone is happy. A word on those higher winds - do you know how to change your leader''s settings for the wind? Are your leaders adjustable? If so, make the top leader longer in high wind. Changes the kite's angle into the wind and makes it much smoother to fly. 10 mph should not be out of the Reflex's wind range, adjusting should cure that.

Here’s an old article about Will Sturdy. http://kitelife.com/2010/12/01/issue-75-profile-will-sturdy/

It occurred to me that you might be talking about the Sturdydesigns. Saber II kite by Will Sturdy. I read a kite review about them when I first was looking into kites.

Framing complete.. Just need to pick up my bridle jig from storage to tie a bridle and I'm done. Will flight test before Christmas.

I don't crash anymore -- I do unexpected landings.

For tricks, it'll depend on your style and the kites (tuning) you're using. 70bce8d2bf85420be7d89223402126f9 " data-width="466"> Post by John Barresi.