John Barresi

More food for thought, the aforementioned “players” are all in support of free market, letting “god and skill” sort them out amongst the end user... Whereas the brand in question still shouts “ours is the only way”, in one way or another. In their shoes, I wouldn’t be doing battle, I’d be taking notes from all the evolutionary process (both from makers and pilots) and using it to grow - but for that, you actually have to be fully aware of and empathic to the community at large. It is a different perspective when your world revolves only around customer calls, emails and an occasional presence on learn to fly fields at events - a lot was lost for them when Ben left, as he was their “boots on the ground”, bringing real data and feedback from the actual community.

Indeed. I think the only worthy debate is “backward and argue about it” or “forward and evolve”... One toe in the past, or looking to the horizon. Damned shame Rev doesn’t see that, I think the entire community would support an effort on their part to be exclusively forward moving - Club 38 and the Reflex line was a fair start, but this backward moving stuff has me truly amazed and disappointed. It is quite telling that Polo, Bazzer, the Shooks and myself have ALL officially parted ways with Revolution now, all for very similar core reasons (with different details). Why would so many of the big players be stepping away, food for thought.

Most new pilots can’t even launch my kite without added instruction, lots of brake.

I am now officially blocked from Revolution's Facebook page, and all my posts relating INTIMATE knowledge of the Bazzer Eyes history have been deleted from the discussion there. Short and sweet - I was right alongside Bazzer (as was all of iQuad) at the time he created the very first Eyes kites, I owned two of the original four (Rev I size), received directly from Bazzer in July of 2006, two were also made in orange for Ben D'Antonio at the time. Those four kites predate the entire masterpiece idea, and actually sparked Ben to create the program so other renowned kite artists could participate as well... First official branded "masterpiece" was made by Ron Gibian ("Archi-Rhythm" as I recall), the first of the 1.5 series, and I seem to recall they were shortly followed by Bazzer's licensed 1.5 reproductions of his Eyes motif. == Some historical reference here: Raffled off on KiteLife in 2009: https://kitelife.com/forum/topic/3210-raffle-original-masterpiece-prototype-revs-sold-out/ Changing hands again in 2017: https://kitelife.com/forum/topic/7746-original-ninja-eyes-rev1-set-by-bazzer/ Moral of the story, Ben had a No Fear T-shirt with some eyes on it that may or may not have been the original inspiration, but other than them being EYES, there is very little aesthetic similarity - the original Eyes art was created exclusively by Bazzer, period, me and several others were very close to the process and discussion while it happened. == All things aside, the Hadzicki wing design is now public domain (like the airplane, zipper or elevators) and it will serve all companies, designers and artists well to create NEW aesthetics, leave the old behind, avoid contention and invent new horizons. Moving forward and onward!

Just in case it hasn't been mentioned already, be sure to check out http://learnkites.com Lots of free tutorials there, and some premium stuff too if you'd like to help support KiteLife.

Good show Andy, nice to see you and your kites this past weekend.

99 sold, 2 weeks to go.

Hello @Matty, Welcome to KiteLife®! Although this is an automated message, it is written with heart - I love kites deeply, and I believe the KiteLife community represents this passion with a very friendly and helpful environment for everyone. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Need to tweak settings? Edit your profile here - View Member Edit your settings - http://kitelife.com/forum/settings/ Other than that, here are a few handy links that you might have a use for... Member Chat Member Map KL Shop And while it's never an obligation, we always love hearing about our new members if you'd like to share some of your kite stories, videos, and/or background... Tell us a little about YOUR kite life!

Hi all, We just did another forum upgrade, fortunately minimal changes to the aesthetic and function but we did add a new BOOKMARKS app that is now accessible to admin, forum staff and paid KiteLife Subscribers... You'll see a bookmark link just above signature area of any post, as well as a link to your bookmark list (and categories) in the user menu at far top right of the forum. Enjoy!

Most new pilots can’t even launch my kite without added instruction, lots of brake.

Good tuning will cause a launch to feel slightly "difficult", until you get a good sense of how it functions, then the rewards are clear. Another tell, if your kite's trailing edge is regularly making noise (more than a full toned hum), you probably need more brake (longer top knot), this relates to "over sheeting" as described by sailors (sailboat).

Remember also, there's "happy" (safe feeling) and "HAPPY" (good feeling)... When using the "start long and shorten to taste" method, remember that a well tuned quad doesn't simply "lift off" the ground with ease - it should take a little "kick" in the lines to get it moving, and once moving, the power will increase exponentially (while in forward motion). When you stop the kite, it will get "soft" (stall), then take a little kick to get moving again. You can find some references or examples of this in the following videos... http://kitelife.com/forum/files/file/702-rev-tutorial-sail-loading/ Remember, the Hadzicki wing is flexible, it's drive and performance change as we add or reduce pressure, coupled with the subtle angle of attack (top knot tuning or in-flight hand position). Might also be stimulating to you to search references to "Whump" throughout this forum, directly relevant.

12th Place - Shanxi Taiyuan / China Dolls (China)

11th Place - Team Flame (UK)

10th Place - Red Alert (Russia)

9th Place - Team Silat (Malaysia)

8th Place - Andesky (Colombia)

7th Place - Dalian Storm (China)

6th Place - Panam'air (France)

5th Place - Les Mademoiz' Ailes (France)

4th Place - Four-CE (USA)

3rd Place - ATEMOC (Colombia)

2nd Place - Cerfs-Volant Folie (France)

Note, each competitor flew THREE ballet and THREE precision routines to reach the final overall scores. == 1st place - Start'Air (France)

FYI, this video contest was extended until 11:59pm PST tonight... Deepest apologies for not posting that info here earlier, no excuse. 😇