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If you don't like them they are easily swapped. You can rotate the spring spars so they're not engaged. Then you'll use the slightly wider 5/16" spars without the spring. If you prefer the variety of 1/4" spars you'll need different caps (and the alternate spars) Some stores like A Wind Of Change will swap out the end caps and spars if you ask when you buy your kite. Or you can buy the hardware yourself and replace the six caps as fast as you can retie the six knots.

Isn't that what caused the 1960s?

Depends on the airports involved. I've always seen the 5-pound limit in text, but from the stories I've read about run-ins with officers the weight of the kite is never discussed. The rules as I understand them: If you fly within 5 miles of an airport, 150 feet maximum altitude. Or better yet, don't fly near airports. If > 5 miles from an airport, 500 feet maximum altitude. Never so near clouds or aircraft that a low-flying pilot couldn't react, at least 500 feet. In general it is the "don't be stupid" rule. Do you really want to be in the news for interfering with commercial flights because FAA folks couldn't figure out your intentions? Do you really want to make the news because an emergency helicopter came out of a cloud bank and crashed on your kite? If there is a chance a pilot might be distracted by your kite then don't fly there. I've skipped flying at parks that had great kite potential because they were too near a major highway for my comfort, and I wouldn't feel comfortable being responsible for a distracted driver's crash.

"Brakes" are the difference between the top and bottom lines, which adjusts the kite's pitch. The greatest difference you can get is the length of your handles, that's the difference between all the way forward and all the way back. That distance is limited by handle length. If you need more drive than you can get from pulling parallel to the lines, get longer handles to allow a bigger difference in pitch. The Rev typically ships with 13-inch handles, but many stores also sell 15-inch. Common sizes run from 11" to 17".

Thanks all. I've made equal-sized small sacrificial loops out of the old bridle for the caps. I'm not sure about the central attachment point on the leading edge. since the center has a loop that ties to another loop tied to the LE, does that loop need a sacrificial loop added? Or should I just let the little central 2" loop that came with the new bridle remain without an additional sacrificial loop, since that can be easily replaced later? That central loop was the most worn, which makes since as that's the central contact point for being on the ground. And because that extra loop is tied directly on the leading edge instead of an end cap, I assume I could replace that loop easily when it wears out (unlike the worn wingtips, which could not be salvaged). That loop wearing thin doesn't require a full bridle replacement, so I'm not sure if it could benefit from the extra piece. Would the extra length (or lack thereof) cause any issues?

I've had the kite for just under two weeks. I know how to fly outdoors reasonably well, and I've seen indoor performances both in person and on video, so I thought it wouldn't be overly difficult. After an abysmal first attempt, I rewatched the setting up and tuning videos. Walking slowly through each step, I realized a critical tuning step is moving the bridle knots. After tightening them all the way it no longer felt like I was tugging on a brick, it felt merely sluggish. (It felt quite a lot like when the wind suddenly dies...) There is something to be said with the Rev defaulting to a terribly short handle leader line and strong forward drive to make it easier for beginners, it might be good to ship these adjusted for the absolute novice. The novice won't know they need to change the lengths, but an experienced pilot will instantly recognize if they need to step it back a knot. I'm now at four flying attempts and I've learned it is a serious workout and a great way to get dizzy. I could record myself but I think it would be more of a comedy routine. I'm thinking something like this: * Up, nearly over, and not quite crashing: 1 point. * Launch, most of a 360 until either tripping over feet or running out of power: 1 point. * Style: At least he made an effort, 1 point. I know I can't improve if I don't put in time on the lines, and I can't win if I don't submit a video. I'll aim to do both, but my hunch is I'll keep the video set to "private".

Got it. No more ground flying for me, only air flying. ;-) While I understand having sand, gravel, asphalt, or even grass rubbing through the center attachment, I'm more confused about the wingtips. While I've done plenty of wingtip landings I doubt it was enough to cut through them that much. I'm inland and in 2.5 years I've only logged six beach days with that kite, cleaning out the sand immediately on returning home, so I don't think the brief exposure to sand could have done that much to them. Either way, I've learned I need to add some extra protection to my remaining bridles, and to the new one ordered through the site yesterday.

That is an interesting idea. I thought about adding a fresh layer of 100# sleeve over the top, but getting in through would be difficult and trying to cut and tie it off cleanly would likely cause more damage than it prevents. I don't think I'd use heat shrink material (you pointed out the dangers there), but maybe finding a way to slip something similar over it. My first thought since I'm around network cable so often is some of the wrap off of that. It is somewhat thicker around, but sturdy enough to make it last a while longer. Thanks for the suggestion.

I already put in a purchase for a new one. (Thanks JB or TK, or whoever ties them.) Now that the bridle has changed changed from heavy fraying to only having the inner core, it's time to carry one in my bag. Mostly I'm wondering how to make them last a little longer. I've only logged 71 hours on that sail plus or minus rounding my flight time in my notes, so I'm not sure how I was particularly hard on it.

I've had lots of wind, which means time for repairs. The bridle in this picture is about 2.5 years old. It has cut or frayed through most of the bridle in the center leading edge and both wingtips. The lower attachments are only slightly frayed. Any guesses at how much longer it could hold out? I'm not sure if this much wear is normal, or comes from my irregular hill-country turbulence, the lack of a soft sandy beach to land on, or my flying style, or something else. Is there something I can do to help extend the life?

Then don't. Many people take photographs of cemeteries for a wide range of reasons. Topo surveys, maps, documentation, and memories of those who have died, to name a few. They're legal, and you shouldn't stop someone who is doing it. If someone wanted to do it would be fine. If someone posted KAP of a cemetery writing "This is where grandpa is buried, I miss him; maybe he's watching me and can see me fly for him", they could build some touching tributes. But if you don't feel comfortable taking the photos, or don't feel comfortable flying there, that is your choice. Listen to your conscience and personal morals. If you don't feel good about it, don't do it. My most recent case of not flying due to discomfort was being asked to fly at a location right off the highway. I was concerned about potentially triggering a crash from a rubber-neck driver, so I declined for moral reasons.

Agreed about using it as a narrow tail of custom length. It works well. Full price is about $5 for 600 feet, so you can get several. That can mean tying on one strip or five, a single color or a mix of colors. If you're careful cleaning up you can reuse it. If you've got the space in your bag and can handle the weight, some stakes (or perhaps several broken spars) coupled with surveyors' tape can also help discourage people from walking over your lines. I've got a set of stakes with about 150' of tape that I can set up when laying out my line. I use it when I'm in an area with occasional foot traffic and I'm set up for hours. When I land and step away I can put down my kite along the taped stakes so people are more likely to avoid them. (There are still some people who will walk through, break the tape, and trip over the lines, but they're the rare exception.)

Careful of that, you may jinx it so Kent & Daelyn from A Wind of Change will win. They've got a kite store so they don't need it. Those of us with the birthdays need it. It can be my precious birthday present.

The questions were back in December, and you replied quickly each time. No problems or complaints there. They're a great list of kites and I'm sure it is difficult for him to stop flying. Had I known at the time or thought to ask the question I would have taken action and spent the money. I'm sure many people would have. But someone else asked so they should reap the benefits of asking their questions.

Nah, my own fault for not asking questions earlier when I asked about two others on the list. Get that kite, they're fun to fly.

Agh, shouldn't have spent time time in chat and Breezin beat me to the reply. I kept looking at the list but the Rev 1 is so large with few replaceable parts. On the other hand, a 1.5 is a great deal even with the SLE. But Breezin, I think contactmic should be getting in first on a potential bidding war since he was the one asking about the update.

If you don't want the stigma for 4/20, you can move it two days earlier to my birthday. In that case you can just send it my way without the drawing, no need for giftwrap. The thing I love most about foils is when a stranger asks if they can fly I can hand over the lines with no worries about abrupt unplanned landings.

They look good, but that wasn't the place I was thinking. You may want to update the other videos page to point to that forum, or have more links. It is rather outdated.

I imagine this is a new record for most panels. At 450 panels you're approaching the complex patchwork quilts that sell for thousands of dollars. Maybe you can start doing that as well to pay for your kites. It looks beautiful.

You know you could also post those to the KiteLife video tutorial section, to replace the "stay tuned" notices.

I love kites, but I don't have anything I could bear to put up. I think it was brilliant to offer the $72 prize (shop money plus subscription) as their karma prize. I may have to steal that idea with a future karma drawing when I have cash but no prize.

(Just to be clear, I made sure it was marked as 'hidden' until approved.) That's Eli's hand, helping show off my future birthday present. Time to start reserving more money to my kite budget.

It was beautiful up close, although I'm not sure if this is too much of a spoiler or not:

Thanks for the great experience. I learned things that would have taken some months on my own.

That looks like a fairly good animation package. It doesn't have anything specific to kites, but the animation controls and audio sync seem good enough to build this type of animation. It may have a learning curve, but it seems straightforward to me about building a choreographed routine using the tool. Looks about on par with what I'd do in Adobe's tools, anyway. And it is hard to beat the price. Animation keyframes generally don't work that way. You can select portions of a timeline and apply a few operations to the keyframes as a set, but often that requires many modifications to fix up the animations when done. As for making changes to a continuous sequence of an animation, typically for movement you need to select the entire sequence from the active keyframe all the way through the end, then move everything remaining in the sequence. Unless you've got tools that allow re-parenting animation sequences, chained animations can be time consuming to build well.