mebeatee

In transit you only need a couple of kites to more or less cover all the wind ranges. However it is nice to have a whole bag and this also provides more justification for more kites...;) Until this past year I toured as a musician for many many moons and kites always came along in all seasons. No probs at all....just had to make sure they didn't get wet. The last few years have been perfect for keeping kites in travelling unit(s) especially with 0 wind glider kites. As a drummer by trade, I keep an iFlite in every stick bag. Revs are great because of travel frames and with interchangeable frames you don't need many sails. I took the aforementioned iflite's, a Prism Zero G, and a mid vented Rev 1.5 with a both a 2 wrap and a 3 wrap travel frame. Handles and a few linesets and voila....a small touring kite ensemble. Of course if driving locally(ish) I would keep more more in the car but when at home my flying spot is across the street...lol. I wouldn't leave any not broken down dualies in a small vehicle though. Besides the kites are a lot tougher than us....well me anyway. I've seen kites being flown in the snow....not me...no way....I ain't (that) tough. bt

Kudoz at ya!!! “x”number of builds later...;)...a snap. I hand sewed some venting onto a Rev 2 I had vented myself. The hot cuts are fine but there are tons of bumps and wiggles in the sewing... I’m fine as you can’t see the sew....age hack, but it has held together for many years and ain’t going anywhere. bt

Indeedly....how right you are!! I'm sure a whole slew of us have been lucky in acquiring some nifty flying units that just aren't around or made anymore. Some being cherished more than others....I have some kites that I will not let go even though they may be flown very rarely. Having said that.....never say never. I always said I would never sell my old Moog Minimoog, or a '63 set of Gretsch drums....but I did so there ya go. These were tools of my trade and were looked at a little differently than kites....lol. For example an email addy I have goes kites and drums.....NOT drums and kites....;) I never got to experience any R Sky kites and I've obviously missed out on the Bird X glider, but good on the folks who ran the company....had a pretty good run at that!!! bt Most excellent pic btw!!!!!

Wow.....your builds (and techniques) are getting better than they already are!!!!! I can’t even see the framing.....or are there new translucent tubes on the market..... Wait a second, is it Apr 1st already or am I late......;) Other than that kewl pic!!!! bt

Akin to the ol' candy drop at a kite fest...bad enough being bonked with a tootsie roll let alone run over by kids....or the parachuting teddy bears... bt

Interesting how things are fine until they break...;) To the right of your post are some site sponsor folks...an excellent place(s) to peruse! bt

What about 9” Rev 2 handles.......too short? I may have some around, as well as maybe...??...some 11” ones lurking around the kite closet.... bt

Your kites and your kite making journey is waaaaay kewl!!!! “Good stuff!!”....as Mr. Bethel would say back in the day.... bt

Here’s the oldest one I have.....from 1964. Some way cool kites inside and some early versions of some of today’s kites. I wonder if there are any writings....“scrolls”....of some centuries old kite designs somewhere....?? I remember the compendiums for boys and girls as a kid. My grandparents would send one for me and one for my sister over from Wales....late ‘50’s to early ‘60’s when (seemed to be more of an UK thing?) we were...body wise anyway...kids. I still am at heart...lol. bt

Hello yourself flgrit! You must realize you are posting in(to) an area of salivating kitefolks awakening from our winter flying deprivation, who get quite excited when a bunch of kites are mentioned....so "too many" does not equate at all.....the more the merrier actually. Thank you in advance for the wake up call.....;) If anyone here remembers the infamous Mr. Fouts' kite list and pix on the old GWTW site, you can certainly attest to that! Indeed a lot of work cataloging said kites and a list at least.....pix later or by request...would/could be the ticket....of course posted in the for sale/swap/trade section. Looking forward!!!!! bt

The weights were/are mildly interesting. I like them a lot better with a Rev2, and one of them has the weights....haven’t had that kite out in a while.....soon though.... I tried them both on the le and bottom of the vertical rods....and kept them on the verticals. One thing I did do is wrap some TP around them so they fit snugly inside the rod, otherwise they would be clonking around, and you could feel that clonk clonk through the lines... They added a bit of “zestyness” to the kite and you can definitely feel the added bit of weight in any hovering position and slow inverted slides....again this on a Rev 2. Aside from the obvious ongoing refinements and evolution of all the aforementioned kites which is fantastic, plus Rev finally upping their game (and following suit) with small refinements a number of years ago....ie sewing the le so no more Rev fray...lol, wear strips, the reflex system.....meh. All of the current manufacturers have their own spin (sic) on details and that’s way kewl....however most, with a couple of exceptions (Detox....very intriguing), still are of the 1.5 size which is ok...but not so much for us old...yeah I’m relatively that too...1 and 2 sized kite fliers. Don’t get me wrong as I have some very nice 1.5’s, but my Sedgwick 1, Robertshaw 1, and Zen are where it’s at for me. bt

Not insinuated at all....as shipping is NOT cheap. It....shipping...has been a deal breaker before....especially out of country....then there's currency exchange....ouch!!! In this case the shipping would have been about the same as going there in person....bus, ferry, sky train. I live in a fairly rural area and travelling by public transit to and through the city during a pandemic doesn't appeal to me at all. During "normal" times this would have been a no brainer, as I used to go to the city quite regularly and worked in the city from time to time. I could have driven there but the ferry alone....car and driver....would be way more expensive. I wasn't in a hurry to get the kites...it just seemed odd it took so long to go relatively short distance. Irregardless of any shipping distance(s) there is always that trepidation of will it....the kite(s) get there or arrive here ok. Glad everything worked out riffclown!!!! Breathe...lol. bt

I was talked out of placing an order with a US retailer because of delivery problems last fall. The US, Canadian postal services, plus Canada customs would come play and they were having delivery problems. Another retailer plain did not ship outside of the US at all. I’ve had customs hold onto and quasi misplace kites before as well. We cut the postal folks some slack last Nov/Dec because of sheer mail volume, plus I know my postal delivery person....he said things were nuts and understandably so. However it took almost 4 weeks to deliver 2 glider kites from Lam Hoac’s place to mine...a distance of about 50 miles (including a ferry ride). Tracking????....scanned and left Lam’s PO...then nothing..... If it wasn’t for the covid stuff I could have taken public transit, meet him at his place, have a visit, and return home that evening. Didn’t matter in the long run as they haven’t been to the beach yet, just tossed around the living room. bt

You are exactly right John re this....independent sails on the old Rev 1's, and for me that is an advantage as my Sedg 1 has a 2 wrap....the only Rev I have that only has one frame in the bag. I'm so used to flying this in puffs of wind using the independent engines as you say. The Zen and Robertshaw 1 have the bigger bellies and I like them with a little more wind and as you say comes down to personal preference. I'm a slooooow floaty flier as well so there ya go. bt

As mentioned before re the original Neos Omega and early Rev 1's had different bridles and clip attachments. I removed the metal clips and added leaders to my initial Rev 1's for equal length lines. There were different panel layouts and sail materials over the years. I quite enjoyed the old "soft cloth" Rev 1's. Sold 3 of them....2 of the 3 panel ones and 1 "hot" Sedgwick that I vented and have kept 3. These daze I have a cool Sedgwick 1, a Robertshaw 1, and a 1 sized Zen. Check some history here... https://revkites.net/ They used to have a graphic timeline of the evolution of the kites....that was pretty cool. I'm a diehard and still like the 1 best, followed by the 2, and then the 1.5's. Most of my Revs are 1.5's....go figure...however still after 20 plus yrs of flying them they....1.5's....still, and are to me a (good enough) compromise between the 1 and 2...with the 1.5 being the "best" of both worlds....hence all the new models by many companies now staying at the 1.5 size. However it's those differences I like..... Which is a drag in a way as there are new generations of Rev fliers that may never experience the amazing precision and slowness of the 1 and sheer speed and quirkiness of a 2. (I have 4 Rev 2's....1 single panel that I vented and 3 Sedgwick style sails). Rev still makes a quasi sized 1, but I'm not in the market for one at this point in time however. Scoop that sucker I would say!!!!!! Only if it's pretty as they had some pretty horrid colour combo's back in the day....;) bt

I know that when Rev "changed" models in the 1.5 size, frames stayed the same however sticker labels did change, so maybe there some without labels during that change. By this I mean the original Rev 1.5 standard had labelled 3 wrap rods. When the design "split" into the SLE and EXP, then further with the B's et al, the general frame was 3 wrap, except the SLE rods. Then there was a change when labels got printed rather than being a sticker......could be some escapeez.... Yay....a Rev 1!!! Sail/panel pattern? btw the rods in the Rev 1 may be 4 wrap??? For me the Rev 1 size has always been my fav!!!! My fav Rev is a "Cool" Sedgwick 1 w/2 wrap, tied with a Robertshaw 1 with a race and some fancy diamond frame. The Sedg Rev 1 is the only one of many Revz with only 1 frame. All the rest except for the 2's have a 2 wrap plus something else...3's, race, 4. All either stickered or printed labels.... bt

OOOOOOO...butcher paper.....and heavy butcher paper at that.....plus a roll.....MMMMMM..... A roll or a roll? Either/or....heavy butcher paper....MMMMMMM...yaarrgghh! Ooops....sorry wrong tv show.... Maybe it's best with no pic.... bt

Nice flying spot!!!!!! bt

I received a Lam Hoac Magic Angel 2 in the mail just before Xmas and holy kamoly...... First off....Lam is waaay kewl....nuff said! I've only managed to toss it around the living room, and yowee it's quite a bit different than any 0 wind kite/glider I have.....it's like an aerial boomerang or yo yo, and will glide forwards and backwards.....this in glider mode with no line attached! Lots to learn about this unit!!!! I won't know for a while how it will be outside because of the weather....finally stopped raining today..lol. I'm sure it will be phenomenal. However I can't judge it's flight by any of Lam's vids because he is flying it way faster than I would. I'm one of those old skool, no to low wind slow floaty fellows....like a PD sul or a Rev 1 w/ 2 wrap....!!!!! Anyway here's a short vid of Lam testing my kite in his apt. lobby....it survived the Lam crash test!!!! bt

I've only had a chance to toss it around the living room and try a couple of "Lam" moves......wowee!!! I'll start a Magic Angel thread and show vid links et al........ bt

I was able to get a Grace, along with another kite, and it came this past Mon.... Haven't had a chance to fly it except to toss it around in the living in room....lol. The other kite is a Lam Hoac Magic Angel which literally floats in the air...wow!!! Did manage some pix to show the different shapes and sizes. The Grace has an interesting two sail system and should be quite fun. I have a collection of Wala's, Emong, Skates....ITW and Focus, Zero G, and iFites. bt

Not negative at all.....just the way it is. I'll keep it to online stuff....as the quasi "waning" of kiting is another topic altogether, keeping in mind the culture of kiting and our "western" style of kites/kite flying is but a small portion of the kiting world....which is pretty big considering where one resides. The Grandaddy of all online kite forums was the old Gone With The Wind forum which ran for many many years and was a hive of activity and information...of course dropping off a bit this time of year...weather/season in our hemisphere....but would pick up when flying season started up. This also when there was lots more kiting activity/events etc. There were/are of course others....this fine site, fractured axle, local and manufacturers sites, etc. There is a manufactures forum that is so "dead" you'd think their kites don't exist anymore...but the kites are quite popular. Lately Blue Moon Kites has (again) started up their forum and I have "reacquainted" with some of the old GWTW folks. Some others went on Facebook and whatever other antisocial media thingies there are... Personally I don't know about that stuff and have no interest. Maybe that's a small problem right there....sorry fellow kitesters, but I ain't going on FB...for Kite's sake.... I'll stay here thanks. Yup things change....and then there's Covid....I have a friend who, as a sponsored flier, has been a wonderful kite ambassador for many years....not this year though. Like the Frank Zappa quote....substitute kiting for jazz.... Jazz isn't dead it just smells funny. bt

Today at the beach the wind was steady at 0 with puffs around 2 mph off the water. I had a blast with a Wala and a Skate. Two days ago we had a storm/wind warning so I stayed home. Yesterday was about 4...no.....10...no 2...no 20.....I stayed home as well. I love kiting!!! bt

Short answer....Never ever...... I have a number of kites that will handle tons of wind....vented Rev 2 for example but do not like flying in winds above 12 mph or so when the whitecaps start forming on the water. I live right by the ocean and those constant ocean breezes I've heard about certainly don't know about this place.....😃 My fav winds for flying are from about 7-8 to 0 so none of any standard or ultralight kites flight would be approaching top wind ranges. Very rarely will I fly a dualie over 8 mph even though I have a vented airfx and a pd vented. I would switch to a vented Rev by that point. So for me I fly in the lower wind ranges as again I don't enjoy flying in lots of wind....there ya go....a long time kitester who doesn't like wind but I'm out flying as often as possible. However, if I was to fly at the top of the kite's wind range regularly I would just get another (appropriate) kite. I would be more comfortable having a vented version or a vented kite on hand and switch to that. Same going the opposite way standard to ul/sul.... Revs have an excellent advantage in being able to immediately switch out frames as wind conditions change. Even then I still go,the opposite way....a 2 wrap frame in a vented Rev?.......ooooh la la!! As usual the same end result.....buy more kites!!!! bt

There have been many kites offered with different sail cloths over the years, mostly dual liners....ikky vs poly versions for example. There were slight differences in performance.....at least given manufacturers specs...ikky versions usually had a lower wind range. Some Skyburner/Premier kites, Jam Session, Stranger and more. iirc PBSK offered up a few sail options for his line of kites.... Some sails just feel different in the air. I have a couple old "soft cloth" Rev 2's and a couple of newer "crispy cloth" 2's, and the soft cloth ones feel "smoother" in flight. Same with a new 1.5 sail vs an old 1.5 w/mylar....the mylar one feels "slicker". bt