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Everything posted by Hedgewarden
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I can't help a lot, because I am not a trick flier .. but a few observations that might help you. The Silver Fox UL is not a true "ultra-light". I have a few (not expensive) ultra-lights, and I have all three 2.5 Silver foxes (ultra-light, standard, vented). The following is my personal opinion. The standard and the vented fully live up to their expected wind range - I totally love how the vented behaves in 20+ mph winds. The ultra-light, however, extends the wind range only a little bit below the standard. In light winds that the standard would become uncomfortable to fly, the ultra-light is a better kite. But it does not take you down to 2-3 mph unless you are quite skilled in low wind flying. That said - the SF series are a great value for the price, and should be great kites to learn tricking. If you have not already, check out JB's demo on the SF UL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xneIMNyBJM. Of course John could probably fly an ash-can lid better than I could fly a custom high-end trick kite. However, from your questions I'm guessing that you have not yet mastered normal flying. It is important to learn to control the kite across all areas of the wind window, and to be able to stall at the edges, and stall in other areas of the wind window depending on wind speed and kite model. This can become fairly athletic if the wind is higher, which is why this old bod hasn't pursued dual-line tricking. I like dual-line ballet, and quad-line everything because those are less athletic - I don't have to "run like the wind" to hold a stall. An excellent tutorial video for dual-line tricking is "Freestyle Pilot" from Prism kites. It will lead you through the skill sets you need to develop for trick flying. I can often axel at the edge of the wind window (some kites always, some never, SF kites are great for me), which I learned from an on-line instruction "easy-peasy axels" I believe. I can also generally turtle and appreciate how the SF floats stably in this configuration, and do side-slides when I have the energy. Beyond that, flick-flacks, lazy-susans, etc. ect. are not my bag. The dual-line tricks are generally "slack-line", meaning the kite is "stalled". This is easiest to accomplish at the edge of the wind window. Once you have the timing down pat, you can move toward the middle of the wind window, which requires you to move forward more aggressively to achieve the stall condition. I will now turn this discussion over to the fliers who actually know how to do tricks... But I repeat my endorsement of the excellent Prism DVD - which should be available from many kite shops, or from the Prism web-site. Enjoy the wind, friend.
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Thanks for the welcome. I totally agree about the B2, lots of fun and well behaved. What would you regard as the proper lines for a B2? Mine came with 80' x 90#, but it's so quick that I'd think long lines would work well too. As for my luck rubbing off, well, I figure mine is pretty well depleted for now. Let's see, one drawing about every 5 weeks, so ~10/year. With 300+ active subscribers I should be due again in just 30 years. Hopefully longer if Kitelife grows. But who knows? I for one believe the RNG is just what it says on the tin, so anything is possible. I think I enjoy my Rev 2's on 50# lines best - seems to match their size better than 90#. 80 ft or so is a blast, but each length will give you a different experience. I was pleased at the response on 120 ft 90# lines, but I think I prefer 50# 80 ft lines - emphasizes their speed. All very personal and condition dependent. You'll have to search for your own sweet spots. :P
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I missed the offending posts, so this is part conjecture... Duane and I have similar mindsets - often we like to challenge people's set ideas. As a result, we sometimes overstep what is appropriate for a particular forum. I know I speak for Duane ... reminds me of a United Way committee meeting when the chairperson (lady) said "I know I speak for Howard...", and I replied I'd rather speak for myself. Next thing I knew, I was nominated for President of the United Way chapter. So, I will not speak for Duane. Anyway, if you want to break up an "Old Boys Club", join it. That's the nice thing about forums - you can invite yourself in. John does a great job of keeping things close to topic, and not offensive, yet allowing a lot of banter. Waiting to hear your voice again, PhotoMom.
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Earlier this week, took a break from my Rev 1.5s to hook my vintage (solid color) Rev 2 to my 120' 90# lines - too lazy to layout the proper lines. The Rev 2 always amazes me - it is zippy, it is also a true gentleman. Lots of fun. I can only imagine what a B2 vented would be like - YUM. Glad you won the kite, Khal, and glad you are posting on the forum. Maybe some of your luck will rub off on us.
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My b-day was June 6th, and I didn't get anything this year for my b-day. *have almost everything I want, and more than I need*. My gift to my wife and myself will be a trip to Portland OR to take in the mini-clinic and finally do some Portland sight seeing that was interrupted several years ago by a death in the family. Would I accept this kite as a late b-day gift? I just might kill for it! Cheers
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OMG! Everybody back off - OK? This my MINE! Precious! My Precious! Oops - sorry, kind of slipped back a few years before the shrinks caught me. Since I have about 1 chance in 305, I am all tingly - just to own for a few minutes, in my fevered mind, 1/305 of a vented B2. Let the drawing commence ... now ... or when specified ... I can wait ... NO NO NO, I cannot wait. (Thinking calm thoughts ...) Great prize, JB (and Rev) - TNX!
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Years ago I ordered several "AT" compatible PCs for my unit at work (anyone remember how long ago that "AT" meant something?). The manufacturer's advertising slogan at the time was "The quality goes in before the name goes on!" Unfortunately, as we removed the CPU units from the shipping boxes, the names fell off. Hey people, if you want to inspire confidence in your product, pay attention to detail! I love revs, and have not personally had quality problems. Well, OK, I did have to fish out and re-glue the ferrules (dammit dowels) in one of my 1.5's when the fdd's stuck in the outer spars instead of the center spar. But flying on the beach introduces a lot of sand to cause fdd-freeze, requiring maximum pull force to disassemble the leading edge. (Maximum force is relative to my age, kids ) I also love "Silver Fox" dual lines, although I have had issues with the stand-off (whisker) spars on every one. Fixed with Bond 527. (BTW, I'm kind of oldish, and I missed when "problems" were officially changed to "issues" ) I understand gluing can be a black art. I personally believe that super glue, helicopters, and glass cutters work by secret mojo magic, which I only occasionally can summon. But if you want to call yourself a quality manufacturer, get the proper witch doctor to summon up that mojo magic, please. I have used "Bond 527" (I guess that is now "Beacon 527") successfully in place of superglue. It is more flexible when cured, but probably not as strong. I have used "Gorilla glue - white" to bond golf balls to fiber-glass rods for ground spikes. It seems to expand and fit tightly and strong. Again, I think it has flexibility, but the expansion as it interacts with water (must wet one or both surfaces to make it do its thing) can be a problem if a fillet of glue would be a problem (see Pete's advice.) And in the realm of "super glues", I have had more success with "Zap-A-Gap" than most. That is probably because it does not require a tight fit. Modelers use it a lot in RC airplanes and such. But with a tight fitting fdd and spar ... I leave you to your own experiments. Whew, well that probably did not answer anyone's questions, but maybe it provides a clue for your own experiments.
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Typical, typical, so typical. Throw me a party and don't invite me! Thanks, all. Entered a new phase of my life. "First childhood" is over. Taking in my mother (92 years old), and hoping to be able to overcome her confusion she was suffering in the assisted living facility. Again, thanks and hope to fly with you all soon. (Duane - the Pacific ocean is much bigger than the Atlantic, so by definition, the beach flying is better. Actually I think you live close to that little "golf" pond. )
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Duane, buddy... I've seen Florida thunderstorms close up. Sheeesh! Bang-bang on power poles all around me. Not like our polite thunderstorms on the left coast. (Kaboom somewhere miles away.) Remember, a thunderhead can strike out a mile or more horizontally from the cloud. But then as a Floridian, you already know that. Any-hoo, take care pal. Thanks for the green rod review. I've two sets of race rods + 1 spare, and I feel rich, and I think they will do me fine for now. -H
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JB - Finally Breaks the Residential Speed Limit !!!
Hedgewarden replied to Reef Runner's topic in Off Topic
PS Three years ago, JB, you were 1/2 my age. Now you are MORE than half my age. You are catching up. You are getting SO OLD. (Not) -
JB - Finally Breaks the Residential Speed Limit !!!
Hedgewarden replied to Reef Runner's topic in Off Topic
Here we are in the Air Sign, Gemini, again. And all the air heads are chalking up another Birthday. More realistically (if not scientifically recognized), the typical Gemini has at least two directions in which his/her energy is directed. Let's see: 1. World class kite flier (rather airy) 1.1 both dual line 1.2 and quad line 2. Professional web designer (technical = airy) 1. Native westerner 2. With his heart captured by a delightful oriental lady (also Gemini) 1. One of the most influential persons ever in sports kite hobby development 2. And one of the most generous with his knowledge. HAVE A -
As for "Play, Play, Play" v. "Practice, Practice, Practice" - I actually do both. I think everyone does in different ratios. I'm now flying at an advanced intermediate level (i.e. much retarded advanced level), so there are quite a few maneuvers that are easy for me, and many that are still hard or impossible. Each time I go out, I spend about 75% of my time doing the easy stuff, trying to fit it to the music (i.e. dance with the kite) - HAVE FUN, about 20% trying the harder stuff (trying rather than practicing) - currently the rolling-forward landing, and 5% or less "practicing" the hard stuff - e.g. blew that landing, let's try it two more times today then go back to fun stuff. I am at the point where I can "Jazz" the kite - usually just above the ground I yank and spin and back and fro the kite, recovering from most of the "mistakes", and building "muscle memory" for the rest. I heard a Jazz musician say one of his (or was it Mary McPartland?) methods of improvising was to make a deliberate mistake and try to recover such that the mistake was artistically woven into the final improvisation. This is definitely NOT deliberate practice, since I don't even know ahead of time what maneuvers I will try. But it has greatly improved my skills of connecting to the kite. I've been amazed that even a 45 minute flying session will result in better skills the next time I fly. This has greatly expanded my skills at inverted flight, and has developed some interesting side slide loops - usually they spiral inward, but they are developing with practice toward a true side slide circle. Oops, there's the word "practice". That can mean either "play" or "work" I guess. Each person has to determine when "play" has become "work", and how much he/she enjoys each. For the past year, progressing from advanced newbie to advanced intermediate (sounds better than retarded expert) I have wondered at how the body develops memory such that what was hard yesterday becomes easier today, even without concentrated "working on it". It is said, first the kite flies you, then you fly the kite, and finally you and the kite fly together. Very true. The first stage requires more work, the last stage requires more play. When learning the Rev, you may have to spend more practice time than play time. As you master various maneuvers, they can be incorporated into the play. But, Bazzer's technique for developing inverted hover and flight uses more play than work, IMO. Flying a Rev is sort of like walking - you have no idea what muscles you use in what sequence to take 3 steps (think quadriceps, toes, calf, hamstrings, etc. - extremely complicated). Similarly, as you develop skill in Rev flying, you will "think" a maneuver, and it will almost magically happen - like walking. As for practice at the beginner level - the Rev literature has great suggestions. Learn hover, forward and backward motion, in all 8 orientations. As a beginner, you will probably need to practice this a high percentage of your flight time. But when you start getting frustrated (or tired if you are 68 like me), then just bash the kite around in whatever maneuvers you can do reasonably easily. All flight time will increase your skill level. JB's tutorials are great. But remember a 5 minute tutorial may require 5 hours of work to master the material. Definitely watch them, and practice his suggestions. Don't expect immediate results. They will come. Don't expect to be able to unwind your lines in the air with a beautifully smooth bicycle rotation as he does as he pauses between maneuvers. Not at first. It comes with experience. I'm certainly not there, but my raggedy bicycles work for me now, and get better every time I get air time. If you don't have fun as a beginner, then I will be lurking on eBay as you try to sell your Rev kite "only flown twice". (The above is based on one person's experience - mostly flying by myself. Flying with partners will be more fun, and accelerate learning.)
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Practice, practice, practice...............I hear you mate................practice, practice, practice Reef, when it starts to really click, it really clicks! Keep bouncing those low hovers. Move side to side, maybe. Just keep twiddling them. As you try to gain altitude, the natural inclination is to tense up, and try harder. That results in over-control, and out-of-control kite. Relax into it. It doesn't really get harder as you gain altitude - just harder to believe you can do it. You may need to increase your "brake" (adjust the lower line shorter, or upper line longer.) You want lots of reverse thrust. But there is a limit at which you start to flip the wings. You probably already know that! Just go slower. I find I can now launch inverted and rise to the top of the wind window fairly smoothly. The smoothness comes with practice. And relaxing into the controls seems to be very important. That is usually my first maneuver when starting a flying session. It lets me adjust my lines, my attitude, and gives me confidence. If the ascent is too ragged, I think about the adjustments, calm my self, try again until it is acceptable. BTW, the more venting the kite has, the easier it seems to be to control the reverse maneuvers. Obviously, one needs sufficient wind to fly the kite. The less venting, the "twitchier" the kite seems - especially in reverse. Hope this helps. I just keep seeing "practice, practice, practice" as if this were an onerous task. It doesn't have to be. Rather, keep "playing, playing, playing" and it will come.
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Yeah - the inverted hover changing from hardest to easiest is totally weird. Well, almost easiest. The vertical hovers are still probably a little easier skill-wise, but more work. Bazzer shared with me, during a clinic, great advice. Park your Rev inverted on the ground - the easiest way to keep it from misbehaving anyway. Put some relaxing music on your MP3 player. Start jiggling your lines until the kite starts to leave the ground. Just relax and keep playing with it. Before you know it, your "muscle memory" will figure it out, and your inverted hover and flight will click. Do NOT try to reason it out while flying. Still takes some practice to develop control and avoid the "How do I do this again - OOPS crash" syndrome. Just some encouragement for the newbies that are where I was a year ago.
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Hmm, some of Duane's pictures are not displaying for me. One example, the Elvira poster. That is a shame. Elvira combined over the wall sexiness with over the wall campiness - the perfect host for late night TV horror flick returns. You young'ns probably never had the chance to experience.
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Yes, including the loops. If you can just loop the ends over nails which are xxx feet apart, you have xxx foot lines. I am getting inspired. I have a LONG, straight, well-lighted concrete wall in a 4 foot by 8 foot by 106 foot tunnel: Wow, I thought I was lucky having an RV garage a bit over 40' long. I placed large cup hooks on the rear wall and a side wall measured to 40 ft. At that distance, it is a snap to measure 120' lines, 80' lines, and pairs of 100' lines (or cut in half - quad 50' lines). However, I do have to remember to add the appropriate extra length for the sleeved loops, and an inch or so for each knot. The base loop is of course free (of computational complications.) After that, it depends on how many scotches I had the knight befor. But tunnel! Now my early efforts I tried to use kite stakes in the yard, and I forgot about the loops. Hence the original short 120' line set. Regarding the convenient spools of 333yd or so, Theresa at the Kite Shoppe still carries these. I haven't checked the other major sources - Kite Connection, Into the Wind, and the other great advertisers on KiteLife. But my advice to those seriously attracted to group/team flying, the 333 yd or 1000 ft spools are definitely more attractive than 900 ft (300 yd) spools. (2 line sets * 4 lines/set * (120 ft + 2*0.5 ft loop/line = 968 ft or 322 yd --- and add a few inches for each line for the knots.) As for the 12 step, Pete, --- I hereby declare myself way too old to change my ways.
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Duane: To revive lines that are tending to sticky, try some Sewer Aid. That is "Sow-er", not "Sue-er", and can be found at some sewing, craft, or fabric stores. It is expensive, but goes a long way. It is a fabric & thread friendly lubricant. Put a few drops on a very small rag, and run it over the lines while they are stretched out. All: I have two sets of 120' lines. The first set I carefully measured to 240' (6 x 40'), stretched. Cut in half and sleeved with 12" sleeves. Repeat to make a total of 4 lines. The first time the lines came close to another flier's, the remark was made - your lines are a little short! Hmm - yeah, obviously did not allow for the loops. Conclusion - two feet is obvious to seasoned fliers (with loops the lines measure close to 118'). Also, in a Rev Clinic I attended, the point was made that the lead kite in a "follow the leader" group should stand in front, with each successive flier standing a few feet behind the flier in front so that the turbulence from the leading kites has less or no effect on the followers. It seems that with a 3' variance, each flier would have to stand 4' behind the flier in front. This is probably an example of over-thinking a non-problem - making from a "mole hill" the unsightly mountains visible in my yard. ( moles.) Anyway, this topic did settle for me a nagging question - are lines measured with the end loops, or measured before loops. After looping! Right? Both Theresa (Kite Shoppe) and Dave (Kite Connection) make line sets which are certainly at least as good (most probably much better) as I could hope to. But I have a "Do-it-yourself" gene and cannot help myself. Is there a DIY 12 step program?
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6 inches of snow here, on the hill behind Chehalis - mostly melted into slush, and due to freeze tonight at 18 deg F. One more post from Florida-Duane and I may go cabin feverishly ballistic. Regarding setup and tear down, I find the Rev kites are much faster than large duals - especially if you need to get them into a package less than 5 feet long. It makes up for the slightly longer and more care-required quad line vs. dual line wind-out and wind-up. Some of the other brands of quad kites, now, are a different matter.
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Strange, I think I would have applied the terms the other way around. Does that make me a Realist or a Nominalist? :confused!: In a real world issue of confusion: there are some who cannot understand why the first track on a hard drive (or the first memory location in RAM) is "zero" . The answer is that "0000" or zero is the name of the location, not the position of the data. And, of course, the "name" is happily easily implemented in the electronic circuitry.
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Named: Lime, Black Rainbow mid-vent Black Rainbow JB full-vent. Two II's, I've only flown the Aqua, forgot the other color. And about 30 duals picked up "unused" on eBay a few winters back when a lot of stock was being unloaded and prices were TGTBT. IOW, I don't have the memory for names for all my children. I'm doing well to remember what the manufacturer calls them. But lovin' your names, Duane. "Elvira" (how many forum members are old enough?) and "Lucy".
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OK, I misinterpreted the algorithm being described. I thought it was: if the RNG picked 105, and 105 was no longer active, then go to member 106 ... 107 ... 108 ... until you hit an active member. Yes, if the RNG delivers a set of randomized numbers that cover the available member numbers (active and inactive), then going down the RNG list (NOT the member list as I interpreted it) appears to be a fine way to find the lucky active member. IOW "Never mind"
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Duane, you may need to get some help for your subuculaphilia. (Heehee!) Hint: subucula... (Latin) Yeah - still floppin' and getting as much Rev time in as I can. March (and JB and crew) portend a Rev Clinic! If I could fly the rolling bicycle spin like Ben at the WSIKF - I could die a happy man.
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During High School, at the Portland (OR) library, I looked up the origin of my (at the time) unusual first name "Howard". The only other Howards I knew of were my grandfather and Howard Keel. One book identified Howard as "Hog Warden" - (I'm guessing maybe pig farmer? Or maybe royal inspector of swine? - Explanation was lacking.) A second book identified it as "Hedge Warden" - (Gardener? Maybe he who measures the hedges for dimensional compliance?) When it came time to create an on-line moniker, I found that "Hedgewarden" was far less common than "Smith123" - and thus the single tag could be used on many sites. If you see a "Hedgewarden" signature on the web, it is most likely me - except for You-Tube. If you wish to use it, I shall bequeath "Hogwarden" to anyone who asks.
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Sounds fair at first, but if someone has a number with 5 expired numbers just ahead (say 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 are expired, and he is 106) then he has 6 times the chance that active number 107 has. (Six numbers pay to 106, only one to 107). And, since I haven't won a wonderful Zen or Sweet Inspiration yet, I am obviously (and mathematically) more likely number 107 than 106. So, regeneration sounds like the best way short of sorting the list and using only active numbers. If I come up with a better solution, I'll trade it for a nice Skydog kite.
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DuPont Teflon Dry, Wax Libricant
Hedgewarden replied to Guru4tru's topic in Adjustments and Modifications
My trusted source indicates that according to their careful observation, the area of maximum wear is centered approximately "about a little over 1/3 of the way to the kite". Thanks for reminding us - I have a set about due to be switched end-for-end. Good to see you back on the forum! -Howard