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Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/14/2019 in all areas

  1. I think the difference as I feel it is that Rev wants you to keep using their product, that’s the end game of Club 38... Honestly, I know that most fliers end up with multiple brand in their bags eventually, my end game is the experience and fortification of the end user regardless of what they’re flying. Its a natural difference though - I’m 24/7 kite from business to family, friends to romance, sport and hobby, it’s all-encompassing for me so my focus is the community at large... The folks at Rev just aren’t “day in day out” fliers, they don’t fly regularly and their depth of terminology / skill reflects that - compounded by the fact they haven’t endevoured to go out and learn what their buyers know. I think partly for that reason, their focus is now on the entry / intermediate level, and they’re very good at it. 👍🏻 But, you also won’t find many (if any) of the world’s true known “quad aces” flying a currently made Rev product - it will be some other brand, probably made by someone who spends the time to know why differences are important. All that being said - I’m with Riff, it’s all good, whatever gets you there... The more you know, the more perspectives, the more styles and tastes you can sink your teeth into, the more you’ll know who YOU are as a flier irrespective of everything else. ✊ All IMHO, only worth the wind it blows on. ✌️
    4 points
  2. If you are truly just starting out we'd be remiss if we didn't refer you to a few truly foundational videos. The only true disconnect between Club 38 and the rest of the quad flying world is Club 38 wasn't consistent with established terminologies. The techniques are mostly good but the name for the maneuver might not be the same. Not saying anything is wrong with it. Just identifying the disconnect. I flew kites with Joe Hadzicki a few weeks ago and I have nothing but praise for the design. I finally got to thank him for his invention and showed him a few of my own "improvements" FWIW, he made a real difference in the kiting world and we are indeed grateful. I also have to agree with Paul. Flying with others makes all the difference in the world. I hit only a few events a year and they are usually 2-5 hours drive each way. FWIW, I've flown with Paul LaMasters, I've flown with Joe, and I've flown with John Barresi. I also learned something valuable in my mind from all three. Bottom line, if you can really learn from it, the source doesn't matter. Whether you pay a premium price for private lessons or glean it all from youtube is also a personal choice. The important thing is you learn and have fun in the process. Paul taught me a lot in one day about kite attitude and I respect him for it. His ideals for kiting and mine don't necessarily always line up but his technique and flying style is unique. I'd fly with him far more often if I had the opportunity. As John would say, "Fly with intent." I spent several days with John learning about the kites and the person that flies them. Again our styles are very different but his advice is solid and sound. Joe still has a special zeal to teach the newcomer that is refreshing after all these years. I watch him tirelessly work with the public at my latest event. He put a smile on a lot of faces. When it comes to sharing kite knowledge, none of these fliers are standoffish in any way. they will share their knowledge and insights with you without hesitation.. Club38 was a sharp turn in Rev's business approach. Some of Rev's changes impacted fliers (including me) and some dealers worldwide and not necessarily in a positive way, the competitors to the market have in many cases improved on Joe's design. This includes improvements that have been suggested to Rev over the years. FWIW, they are all variants of the Hadzicki wing. Some direct from the source, some improved but at this point the design is public domain now and you can find pretty much anything you want based on it.
    3 points
  3. I own 2 revs that I don't know how to fly very well yet. A 1.5 full vent and a 1.5 B series standard. Since May I haven't been able to make the 2 hour trip to learn from the club. Broke a ton of dual tubes learning on my own and don't want to do that on quads. Since I do own quads I'm going to put in my 2 cents. If out of line please be kind. I have a very fragile ego. Number of years ago I was doing a shakedown on a new bobber build. Think HD 48 before they made them but hot rodded to the edge. Merging onto a 4 lane this daft pigeon wobbled up off the side of the road. Ducked and the dang thing bounced off my head cracking the windshield of the car behind me. Wouldn't ya know it was the police. 30 seconds later I was pulled over. Cop asked if I knew why I'd been pulled over. No I says still slightly dazed from the impact.For flipping me the bird he says. WELL I NEVER!!
    2 points
  4. Sort of only glossed through the Club 38 stuff but when setting up and breaking down ALWAYS park your kite inverted. In the DVDs that came with my Revs they show the kite Leading Edge up instead of down. LE down is far safer. Use the tools and resources that help you. Sent from my SM-G950F using KiteLife mobile app
    2 points
  5. Picked up a set of the Matrix 75' x 90# when I recently acquired a Badass. With kite purchase, there was a nice little discount which made it a no brainer. Have used the lines maybe 1/2 dozen times on various kites and so far so good. While the orange seemed bright to my eyes on the winder, I have found that in flight there are so many other things going on that I don't really notice it unless I expressly turn my mind to it. Functionally, they are invisible, which is kinda the way I want it. Clearly visible to the eye on the ground, however (mostly grass for me). A good thing. Rather like the winder, too, which I am using along with Freilein straps. Most of my other line is older and goes way back, including some ancient BlueLine which blends in to the sky even more I think. .
    2 points
  6. nope, no REV history published from me, (John Mitchell maybe?) I'm considered a new guy in my local club, only owned one since '93. My friends there are in even deeper w/Revs, since the late 80's. Club 38 is free, their kites are not. Our club is free too, the kites and lessons come with the membership, maybe lunch if your arrival is early enough. Anyone only needs to show up to feel included and welcomed, we fly the first Sunday of each month at the Washington Monuments in DC. Everybody lives at least an hour away, there's no free parking nearby or otherwise, inconveniently located bathrooms and always street closures for special parades and national activities. But there's also a crowd to watch us! I guess by some viewpoints I am wealthy, I get to buy kites and travel to visit with friends and fly them. But I've worked my ass off to get where I am in my profession too. College education, decades of work experiences, doing whatever slime it takes to make myself indispensable at my current job. I live well below my financial means and have since meeting my 2nd wife. She runs the household money and believe me it's not easy to squeeze her! I get a daily allowance, not weekly or monthly ~ oh heavens NO! So, if I bought a thousand dollars worth of kites since '93, I've probably spent 10 grand each year so I could go travel. Does that seem excessive? Sometimes the gigs are comp'd/free, sometimes I gotta go even if I have to give something else up and pay my own darn way. When the misses travels along, she ain't sleeping on a prison floor just because it's free! No, we will do less festivals but do each of 'em up right when we can! We save for a whole year to make it work out. So this year our big vacation trip is to WSIKF, (23rd year on the kiting road circuit) it came at the expense of my bride's 70 birthday celebration (and 16 months later too!), we'd intended to go to Iceland. When this mega-rev world record thing came up she said we can go, BUT kiting is only for 3 of the ten days we are there. I screwed up Treasure Island, FL (not spending sufficient time w/her) so not allowed to go again as a constant reminder of my spousal errors. My financial luxury is quad-kiting, I have earned the right to do it exactly as I want to after 50 professional years of working and struggling to make the ends meet. My bride Barbara and I have both been so poor in the past, the backyard was considered a king's vacation retreat. We aren't ever going to be in that position again! If I couldn't travel I'd still walk to fly kites in the local park and chase the kids there. I'll drive up to about 5 or 6 hours for a good fest, thereafter I have to fly instead, which means less stuff for my pleasure upon arrival due to weight/freight restrictions and less festivals attended overall due to increased travel costs.
    2 points
  7. i am looking to buy my first every big kite, or should that be BIG KITE, budget and shape is an issue, where i was looking was the tube wind socks, 12 foot round and 75 foot long ( 4m by 25m in english) I was going to buy rather than make it as its way past my skill level, so questions are, is this able to be done and used as a single person kite, what sort of pull do they have and do you normally set them up with a lifter?
    1 point
  8. Honestly it was one of my early Mesh kites made out of tails.. it absorbed a lot of seawater and became VERY heavy. FWIW, he didn't hesitate at all. I still side slide over water every chance I get. But I've also learned a lot since that first incident.
    1 point
  9. My error, correct info below: https://www.facebook.com/events/2063175117276024/permalink/2424977064429159?sfns=mo
    1 point
  10. Or it’s just a recurring sentiment with some customers, no real fancier way to say the same thing. I also don’t care for drama, but I will not stand quietly when the community itself is being disserviced in any way. ✌️ There are lots of dramatic things that happen behind the scenes, or more often, that most people simply never become aware of (recreational user), and it’s all mostly irrelevant - as I said, whatever gets you to a grin in the sky. 😎
    1 point
  11. Like everything else. it comes with time and practice. There is no video, no lecture or no observation session that will substitute for time on the handles practicing. You can get pointers and instruction for anywhere both good and bad. You can only learn skills by practicing them. FWIW, I spent literally days honing my inverted side slide. I put a kite in the ocean first day.. John Barresi went into the drink and retrieved it..
    1 point
  12. Hi Kev and other UK members. Late on the scene with this one but it's great seeing how far JW has come from only a short while ago. I live in Lydney, Gloucestershire on the edge of the Forest of Dean and have recently started flying in a small field close to the River Severn that seems to offer smoother winds than other locations around my town. Happy to fly anything but enjoying my Rev 1.5 and XE almost too much. Just need more time to fly like a lot of others. Pete
    1 point
  13. I suggest the Sixth Sense. Middle ish inputs, very forgiving, open source so normally would be cheaper. Big and slow.
    1 point
  14. Nirvana. A classic. It is big(ger), slower, and very capable. Arm movements more middle-ish perhaps. Wide range of models to suit your preferences in wind. Several variants over the years, but if you can get ahold of one to fly (assuming you haven’t already) it might work for you. I, too, came back to kiting in the last couple of years and that was a kite that I had heard of and decided to try. Quite precise, yet capable of teaching me some moves without too many moments of "what the heck just happened there". Not overly sensitive or jumpy. There is a place for those… but it is sometimes nice to just Slow. It. All. Down. Anyways, that is a thought. Ymmv. .
    1 point
  15. Absolutely those kites are completely capable of every trick out there ... well, the R-Sky, anyway. The Sano, too. There are people on this forum that could make them dance. I'm having a little trouble progressing with them, though, and I'm suspicious that they might just be a bit too fast in their reactions. So a bigger, slower kite that still suits the way my hands are programmed might good to have in the bag. ....or I just need to spend a few hours with John B. 🤔 But that's a lot harder, logistically!
    1 point
  16. Looking over your list: Wouldn't the R-Sky and Level One kites do everything you want? i'll preface my post by saying I mostly fly quads, but this winter picked up a Hydra (on sale @ ITW). I missed the transition from one trick at a time to the slack line stuff of today, (stroke kept me grounded). so I really don't understand the thought of "big kite with small kite inputs"? Every kite is unique in how it handles, even among the quads. Yes, the basics remain the same, but every kite has its own personality. It's why us fliers go through so many til we find what works for us. I'd suggest getting some of those out and give them a fly. See if they don't work for you - you might be pleasantly surprised!!
    1 point
  17. I've sent Revolution over $25K during the past couple of decades. Not what value of products I bought from kite shops, but direct sales from the factory. We have supported each other over many issues and developments. I own a few dozen official Revs, quads are all I fly. That said, their last "go around" w/me ended that relationship! I ordered 26 custom spars for a Zen, they were made the wrong size, instead of fixing the problem or refunding my money they sent a prototype XX and stated they were now going to provide a different diameter spar in the future as policy of business. I'm old school, I like what I like, heck I'll pay you to do it my way too, but don't jerk me around. I'll circumvent you in a heart-beat! I used to make my own kites, my expectations are quite high, my bride's money is quite green, I will find someone to do what I want. I will support those firms/individuals that make my life easier. A local kite club is vastly superior to any on-line experiences available, I recommend you incur travel expenses instead of buying and learning alone. Nothing beats trying out a kite for 5 minutes and see if you connect to it. A coach can correct and encourage, a club can share a dozen kites, each one appropriate for today's conditions. Tuning, framing and options don't matter, only how it feels. You pick the best feeling kite and use it all day, or switch off every few minutes. It's the best of everyone's efforts for you to test out. My very first lessons always start out inverted, backing up is the key to the quad-line effect, how to cart-wheel the kite when grounded. The kite is not about shooting to the top of the window, although that's fun. No the quad-lined kite is about control, landing into the hole of coke can balanced on top a fence post EMPTY. Club 38 vs Wings Over Washington Kite Club...... no contest! Our teaching method you don't even need a kite, they are provided if you like how it feels keep it all day. If not grab another and give it a spankin'. Someday, when you look down the line you'll notice you aRe nOt tHe wEaKeSt flier and you'll have to get you own equipment (and share it)
    1 point
  18. AeroStar Sano SS - What can you say? One of the great ones. Benson MiniGem Beuna Vista Laguna (sold) Blue Moon Mako - One of my favorites, but limited trick potential. Mamba - Wanna love it, but don’t. Should probably fly it more. I’d like a stiffer frame. Flexfoil Psycho HQ Breeze (sold) - Yuck … who approved this for production? Level One Amazing Black Jack (sold) Easy Light Easy Vent Level Two (sold) New Tech Dynamite (gifted) Prism Alien Elixir (sold) - Needed smoother inputs than I could offer. Felt floppy to me. R-Sky Frenezy Krystal FX Seattle Airgear Skydance 2 - least tricky kite EVER 🤣 SkyBurner Wahoo - getting it to fade is practically impossible
    1 point
  19. Usually a large tube has to have a lifter. The lifter can have quite a bit of pull. I don't know were you can find a tube/line laundry with that size diameter and length. You can look at aliexpress, where there are many show kites and tails for sail but not one that big I don't think. You want a big showy kite that will fly by itself, look at trilobites and octopus kites, many to choose from.
    1 point
  20. Hi Kevmort and other Fellow European Flyers. Newbie Kite flyer from Plymouth, Devon. Own a decent lead kite Peter Powell since March 2019, a HQ 1.8 foil for the kid, recently sold a Radsails 2.4 Quad and a Skydog Freebird. Though looking to replace the Quad foil with something else. Purchased a Pulse Quad based on the B series Classic and sold it after 3 flights. Currently awaiting a custom Rev Reflex RX due possibly end of this month. Fly in my local playing fields and occasionally Bantham Beach. Attended Westward Ho's first kite festival this year as was local.
    1 point
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