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quaa714

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Everything posted by quaa714

  1. quaa714

    quaa714

  2. hey there "doctor flailer" (RC) we miss you up north!,.... Smithsonian Folklife Festival in June, WSIKF in August, Sunfest in Sept, Nat'ls,..... you going to make any of these activities sir? It is so quiet on the line without you, it's barely any fun at all -plm when is smithsonian? Yes to Wsikf, Yes to Sunfest......and I have soooooo much to say! Miss my Pauls!
  3. 15s only unless I'm flying OPK in which case if you have 15s in your bag that you're not using, I'll use em for ya! Less input, more gooder results...... when one flys with a lot of down and drive with ones bottom fingers, only using the tips to do so, the benefits of longer handles make themselves abundantly clear. Subjectivity reigns...........so do slack lines!!!!!!!
  4. On and off the field in 5 minutes.....wrap on your handles....done!
  5. The key to a flat axel which no one has addressed yet is that the trailing edge (bottom point of sail) is what initiates the "flat" sail portion of the move. If that trailing edge doesn't come towards you on the initial move, the sail will never get flat and you will not get the slack into the line to begin the rotation. Probably one of the main reasons an axel fails is lack of the above. If you can get the trailing edge to point at you as the initiating move of the axel, the rest will come by completing the slack line rotation. Kinda makes you look like a flailer at first until you get the motion but as slack line fliers will tell you....there is nothing wrong with flailing....right Paul!?
  6. March yourself into flying smiles and demand to fly a 75% mesh. Tell em comras sent ya. Thats all you'll need to know................. errrrr.....leave out that last part about knowing me and you'll do just fine! Seriously tho.........borrow one of Cath or Elliot's store demo sails and fly the crap out of it.......then decide! Butter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  7. Loosen up on your handles and let them sit more in the fingers than the palms of your hands. Then use your fingertips for your control inputs........and by all means, remember to breathe!
  8. quaa714

    your handle

    I had better not divulge the origins of my handle lest I be described as something/somewhat untowards. That said, if you use a little heads up it shouldn't be too difficult to find the result.......... How's that for cryptic?????!!!!!!!!
  9. A very happy birthday to my friend TK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  10. Tom is correct..............I will have a huge grin on my face............always there!!!!! Look for me wearing a Rev Riders T-shirt. Oh yeah...........thats high praise from Cath. I hope I don't let her down!
  11. I WILL BE THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  12. Duane, Much like your pictures comparison, no one wants to put a video up of a fly gone wrong but your thinking there is only correct when it comes to individual videos...imho. Group fly dynamics are such that there is usually a wide diversity in the experience level of the pilots. That is always taken into account at the start and as I said in a different post, there isn't a single person that started any differently then you. There are plenty of video examplesand pictures too, over in the rev forum of flys gone awry. They are an interesting study in my opinion because it gives a perspective of where things start to go wrong and lends to ideas on how to improve them overall. As for pictures.....there are plenty of them showing the after effects and work that goes into untangling. Check out the pics from Wildwood last year for example. Also, there is a young gentleman over on the rev forum as we speak, experiencing the same trepidations of flying on line, small group or otherwise. Sharing and talking it out could help. In addition, I fly now with a guy, 62 year old ex marine who's fear of group flying has totally washed away and has been replaced with the grin and laugh of a little kid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Again I say.......jump on over to the rev forum and express yourself there; you'll find it quite comfortable and beneficial!
  13. Duane, This post is not about names of moves and terminology as John has already covered that and yes, he most certainly is the master of phraseolgy when calling. I've followed behind many and they don't come any better. That said, the key takeaway that John gave you in his post is that these questions could also be more adaquately and thouroughly answered by a wider and more diverse group that has come up learning these moves and the phraseologies over on the Rev forum. The group there, myself included, all started in the same place as you.....a newbie. We don't bite and in fact, we like to "kiss"and "refuel" and "wrap" in mass quantities!!!! There isn't a single one person that I've met along the way that won't immediately stop flying to help someone out and put their kite in that person's hands in an effort to get that person up and flying sooner. Gods honest truth. I can name names of people who you can ask who have had the same trepidations as you and are now part of the bigger fold. For that matter, I could name those people over there that you could absolutely expect a response from with in the first 15 minutes of your asking. You offer tremendous insight into the learning process as you document all your trials, successes and failures along the way. Others there do that as well. I assure you, we've all been there. Get on over to the Rev forum and start asking your questions there; I think you'll be surprised with the responses and the quantity of them that you receive. I for one will surely welcome you with open arms and 15 inch handles, as will others. If nothing else, we serve milk and cookies and aha moments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  14. As it turns out, I'll be in Florida that weekend but not arriving in Ft Lauderdale til about 1PM on the 17th. Unfortunately that is approx 2 plus hours south of where you guys will be flying in Ft Pierce and thus, I don't think I'll be able to join you given the time constraints I'll have while there. Perhaps if Mr Denny could travel further south and you could pick a location substantially closer (say an hour) to Ft Lauderdale, I might be able to make it. If not, no worries and have an awesome time!!!!!!
  15. Nice job Guru!!!! Mr Denny is "the man"!!!!!!!!!!!
  16. Team animations can be found......here. That said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First off, I admire your tenacity. Good on ya first for having the time to get out there and then sticking with it through what is the most frustrating aspect of Rev flying, the learning process which can be lonely and heart wrenching. The learning curve could be dramatically reduced if you had another flier with you to help correct bad habits. Since you don't, just continue to stick with it. I think Tom has hit the main points quite succinctly but feel #5 should be first on the list. That being Sense of humor and having fun. After all, that is what this is all about!!!!! His last paragraph is also one we encourage heartily! Denny too, has given great advice. While holding a hover in any place in the sky and a dead hover are extremely important and required, the thing I see new pilots having the hardest time with is speed control in a line/team fly. Riding the brakes as it's called is a process that can be learned and practiced as a solo pilot but when the pilot is first introduced to flying in line the ability to control it or not becomes evident. Additionally, smooth turns and turning where the kite in front of you turns and not before is also key. The latter part is learned once the pilot feels confident that he can keep up with whats going on in front of him with out feeling rushed to do so. Again having at least a partner in flight would be key to speeding up the learning process. The former, riding the brakes, is more easily learned as a solo pilot but can be seen more easily once involved in a group fly. I try to encourage folks who have the basic abilities down to relax their grip on the handles by lowering their hands and loosening their death grip on the handles. The way to do that is let the foam sit in the crooks of your fingers near the their tops and to take your thumbs off the handles, basically using very slight pressure/inputs from your 3rd finger and pinky to drive the kite in figure 8 patterns across the window. You'll be amazed at how much more control you will feel almost immediately. I know this contains less about what you asked for in your message about figures to do to improve but those will come quickly for you, especially given your time and dedication. I will say one other thing as I put on my headsets & flame retardant suit for the response(s) that might come but you're hurting yourself by going from quads to flying dualies if only in the sense that the processes are so totally different from one to the other. Semi-kidding here as there are many many folks that fly both for fun and competitively, (myself included for fun only, tho not in a very long time). I just think that as a new pilot trying to learn new skills that are radically different from dual line kites, rather than switch to them when frustration kicks in, sit down, have a drink, enjoy that you're outdoors and then get up and repeat! .02 deposited! P.S. Forecast for my flying today..... bright sunshine, 30 degrees with NNW at 10, effectively making the wind chill about 15!!!!! Enjoy Florida my friend!!!!!
  17. Whenever the wind drops it is a steady progression of kites coming back to earth. Same when when there are strong or subtle wind shifts where the edges change rapidly, etc. People complain the wind is this or that and the kite is this or that. Ask anyone that knows me and they'll tell you what I say.......... YOU fly the kite, the kite doesn't fly YOU! Basically the advice given by others above is sound. You just need to get out there and fly and fly and then fly some more. With respect to the race rods. They are normally my go to set up on all kites when flying alone or just bumping around the sky with others, but when flying team, one needs consistency so you go with the masses and use the same. Since you are new and not yet really flying on line with anyone, it's important to try different set ups. The thing is, this hobby/sport is so subjective. You really need to experiment and decide what works best for you. As you improve you will be able to make the snap, on field decision on what suits your style the best. Caveat here....while at TI earlier this month, Ben handed me a set of ZEN rods for my B series kite and said "have at it". Where a lot of people say the race rods flex and then snap back at the outside of the leading edges quickly after the sail has loaded up and come out of the heavy pressure zone, I found the ZEN Rods to load up in an entirely different manner. The flex comes more from the center of the leading edge and slightly stiffer on the outsides of the leading edge. Makes the sail load up in a different way. I found them to be a little less forgiving then the race rods but a whole lot more precise in feeling the kite throughout the window. What I noticed most was that I used less pressure on my fingers to give input to the kite, making the turns that much more precise. LOVING IT! The above said.....I haven't taken those 1.5 ZEN rods out of my full sail yet. Today however, I'm gonna put them in my mid vent and check out their characteristics in a kite with holes. Keep pushing the envelope Duane. There is nothing you can try that won't encourage you to try some more!
  18. A suggestion if I may...........??? Loosen up on the handles and lower them down on the foam a little. Additionally, take your thumbs off the handles and try to "drive" the kite with small inputs from your pinky and third fingers. BTW, your "very sexy Elvira" mid vent would absolutely love that 4-6 mph breeze!!!!!
  19. Awwwwww COOL!!! So when you gonna come fly with us?? We miss you. Maybe you can school Scotty on how to do an axel properly....
  20. Ok Duane, I think you witnessed these three culprits: Paul LeMasters, Paul Dugard and Revolution's main man Ben Dantonio!: (see comment #141) http://www.revkites....-kite-festival/ Wish I could have seen that myself!!! Nah.....it was us. We were working on some axel passes for our routine.
  21. Treasure Island....DONE!!!!! Hmmmm....where to next?!?!?!?!?!

  22. I see your in Royal palm Beach. Will you be attending TI????
  23. I don't know about the "slam the snot out of your rev into the ground and suffer no damage" part of your comment.....unless of course you're using that big ole 1/2 inch SLE Rod. But even then, your 1/4 inch down spars will have to absorb that load and the subsequent explosion will sound like a gun shot!!!!! Oh yeah, you'll also be out the cost of at least one if not two new spars.
  24. Rain aint no thang!!!!!!!! Get out and fly it baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  25. While they're not for me style wise, I admire your ingenuity. I would suggest however, longer top leaders with less spacing between the knots.
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