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Splitting of a rod on the leading edge of her full sail kite is exactly what has happened. I’ve replaced the end caps on the leading edge with the Freilein external caps that came with my OSKUSA kites. The rods that came with her NYM kites fit snug into the Freilein end caps. Currently awaiting a slow boat to bring me more external end caps to replace the end caps on all three of her kites. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Holding an inverted hover indoors isn't difficult for me, that's about keeping the pace up to hold it aloft. This has been about making an active transition from forward to reverse indoor. My next phase indoor will be converting "I can have controlled reverse indoor", to "I can always fly in reverse indoor." I love the mantra: An amateur practices until they can get it right, a professional practices until they cannot get it wrong. Outdoors I'm confident (until I have 2000 spectators, then my brain freaks out), I can do the soda can wingtip landing, and I love flying with teams when I can be with them. My current difficulty is holding a position even when the wind doesn't want to cooperate; at SPI in the group flies I lost some control on one instance after holding an inverted diagonal hover in a ball for an extended time in light wind, and more than once had difficulty moving and staying at the very top of the window in light wind. John's calls were reaching right up to the very top of the window and I had been experimenting with adding even more brake; so even fully pulling back my 15" handles so the line and the handle were basically touching the entire length still couldn't gain and hold the position. As mentioned on the last page, doing it even when the And as for dropping handles occasionally, I spent about 2 hours at SPI pre-event working with the other Paul on some precision work, and my own sudden tugs were sometimes enough to pull it from my grip. It was a bit embarrassing, but he said not to change the position of the grip since it allows better feel and reaction. When working with Brett on quad axels, I similarly lost the grip a few times, so I think I'm there with the gentle grip.

Now that IS cool. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

I approve. Nicely done. I still like the Painted Desert the best, but feel free to top that one.

Practice day six of this. I can now feel and see a transition. Here is an edited video this time, five minutes long, with some comments I added for what I suspect at various points. I'll still take comments on those if you see something different. There is a moment of transition where one of several options tend to happen: Top side moves in reverse, bottom side stays put. Usually this seems to need more pressure. Kite doesn't have power to move, slides down or stays stationary. Needs more foot power for pressure. Kite moves in reverse, but bottom wing reverses rapidly and swings up, turning the kite to face the ground. I have discovered I need to push forward drive hard on the bottom side while pushing reverse on the top side. Top side moves more rapidly into reverse pulling the kite back to level, or entire top half of wing pulls in toward me. Too much pull on the top side of the wing. Or, SUCCESS, sail catches the air and moves in reverse. That moment happens at the apex of a stall. If it has too much momentum #3 or #4 will happen. If it doesn't have pressure #1 or #2 happens. If I turn too strong or too weak #2, 3, or 4 happens. If I get all of them right, the center body of the sail inflates and the kite moves powerfully in reverse. In today's practice I could frequently, but not always and not reliably, fly in reverse. I can also feel and see the transition point that was invisible to me before. I think a few days of feeling the different conditions and gaining a more intuitive / automatic feel for the required motion should bring me to reliably completing the action. It's a small addition I think, but it was hard to overcome so it feels like a huge success.

Is this the very first Kaiju? Wow Sent from my N9136 using KiteLife mobile app

@Paul LaMasters We are actually in agreement but for the sake of this particular topic Eliot stayed with Revolution for a while after the fallout. He and @Cath did indeed pioneer new ground for Rev and have continued to do so since that parting. Bazzer and OSK were blazing the ground non-Rev very early after the fallout, even while Eliot was still sewing the Rev Brand on his Masterpieces. Eliot is still the master of all things Icarex and I owe the vast majority of my kite building skills to his tutelage. Eliots Flying Smiles Mesh's and @John Barresi's Djinn are both extremely important to the final mix but neither of them were doing their own brand yet during the Phoenix and Freilein timeframe. Like Bazzer with the "quarter vents", Eliot is doing things now that Rev would not let him do. The Djinn mixed JB's original concepts with Pro reinforcements and his innovation with the Sync bridle. Innovation has (and is still) happening but it is spread across several people now and not exclusive to Revolution.

I'll stick with my original opinion for balanced venting.. regardless of how much or how little, the balance of the venting is the key for me now..

HAHAHA ! I get dizzy rolling my eyes over the 'Club 38' thing. Rev had all ready lost my interest when Club 38 came out, and I can't even read to the last line of their blather before I scroll. I still like to fly my 4 liners (most of them are Revs), but this regimented approach to kite flying skills, just a laugh... Where's my gold star ? 8)

Club 38 is like grade school quizzes. You get a little gold star if you can show you've acquired a skill. The problem is, unlike grade school, they don't tell you or try to teach you how. It's like a school expecting you to learn the skills elsewhere, but pay them the tuition. Some people react poorly to that.

I don't compete because it brings out the worst in me. I fly to have fun and increase my skills. Club 38 is a promotion for Revolution kites that measure skills according to their way of doing things. I won't say it's right or wrong. I will say it's not consistent with what the general quad community flies by. That being said, your motivation for kite flying should be, at its core, to enjoy the kite, the wind and your time. Failure to do any of these requires adjustments in how you enjoy your hobby. If you aren't having fun, you aren't doing it right..

Hey guys, My name is Joe and I live in Montana. I'm pretty new to the world of kites, but I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can here.

Thanks John, I am glad to be on board. I have a long way to go and your videos are really helping. Looking forward to crossing paths at the end of May in Long Beach.

Thanks for the welcome. One skill I learned from RC helis, planes, trucks, kiting, and various motorsports I enjoy participating in is how to unload a wing and minimize crashes. I hope to carry that skill to quads. It is really sad how much I got to practice learning this skill. Your other advice will be used and appreciated in the coming weeks. Thanks

Thanks for the welcome. I did not make it to Treasure Island this year since I usually work on the weekends, but I was ready to go up to the last minute. I hope to have many more years doing this to get there a number of times. Thanks.

I think I know him. Wears glasses and a Gilligan hat. 😜. Pretty sure he's in a group with guy named Paul?

P.S. -- Put the bottom ends of the spars tucked between the bungee and the sail. The rather quick moves inherent to the Speed Series tend to make them fly out sometimes.

Snuggly rolled together in a burrito bag. There is safety in numbers.

Thanks guys!! This makes a lot more sense now. I was about to re-tie the bungees, glad I asked first. As always you guys rock!! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

The Supersonic (and all the Speed Series) is a special critter. You put the vertical spars into the top caps and then swing them over to the back side. This puts a curved "rollover" leading edge on the kite once all four uprights are installed. It's supposed to look like that. Think airfoil shape. This also eliminates the air dam created by the leading edge spar on normal Revs while the kite is flying in reverse which reduces drag enough to make the kite nearly as fast in reverse as it is in forward. Use plenty of brake until you get used to this beast. It has moves you didn't anticipate. It also does some interesting things that regular Revs don't. Type supersonic into the search bar and read about it. If you want to learn to do circles leading with the tip, both inside and outside, this is the kite for it.

you are right, the spare should be in back of the sail. Also the caps are moving on the bungee or with them give you at one moment sensation they are on front . at assembly just move them on the correct position and you are good to go

All revs have their verticals on the backside of the kite....however the Speed Series...Super Sonic and Shockwave....have a little frontwards curve on the LE when assembled.... bt

Hey all, I am starting to fly again after about 5 years of life getting in the way. I was looking at the dual line selection at Prism’s site and they have really reduced their sport kite offerings. Is anything up with them? I wanted to order a Quantum Pro and it has been discontinue along with several other carbon frame models. Besides Prism Kites, what brand(s) should I look at for lighter wind sport flying. Thanks for the info.

The early basic sessions If you flew your duals enough to know how to avoid hard (unplanned) landings by rapidly extending your arms that's excellent, because it carries over to the quads. I got by the first times with quads by pretending that the right brake line corresponded to the right line of a dual line kite and vice versa for the left side. Beware, I have not heard anyone else swearing by that method though. The next set of sessions At least if using a REV-like (Hadzicki wing) quad line kite start gradually ”extending the top lines”. I.e. start using the knots on the top of the handles that is as far as possible from the handle itself when you connect it to the top lines. When doing so, occasionally do a few leading-edge-deforming good tugs on all lines to get a feel for the sail (and to do a distinct start/stop). Continue to feel through the lines and be aware of the sail surface also when doing more gentle inputs. Avoid constantly fluttering trailing edges – Then your trimming of the handles/leaders/lines is wrong. Good luck and welcome!

Hello Everyone Recently had a family vacation planned at the beach and felt I could not do a trip like that properly without a couple of kites. Being the collectoholic that I am, I quickly had a few dual line kites to start my collection. Enjoyed flying them along with sharing them with the family and friends. After getting home, I realized my back pasture would be great for continuing my new hobby. Boy, was I right. Have had a great time with the duals and then I stumbled upon the "quads". It did not take watching many videos, before I had my first one on the way. I mean, are you kidding, a kite that can fly forward, backwards, hover, twirl, dance across the ground, and shot through the sky. That is the kind of kite flying I want to do. Really looking forward to tiptoeing on the freaky side of kiting (no offense to anyone). I will keep you updated. I have a number of questions and no one to ask the to, so I will be posting them as individual threads over the next few days. Any kite clubs, gatherings, or flying fields in Pasco County, Florida? I am aware of the Treasure Island gathering. Thanks in advance for your help.

This Vega UL is a really good deal from a respected maker

Level One USA has some nice offerings Living the Dream; One Nightmare at a Time.