Jeepster

Psst, John ...

Yea, probably to "Wet Mike" ... Funny thing is our RC club had a member who moved from Oregon to Tucson. After about two years he packed up and moved back to Oregon. Said he simply missed the rain. Cheers, Tom

Juan, If you lay the sail out flat on the floor without any rods installed, you'll notice that the kite has been sewn with a small curve/arch in the leading edge. Install the rods and the curve stays ... in fact, I don't think you can get it to be straight. Fly it with the curve, that's the way it was meant to be. The pictures on the Rev site are misleading for the JB Pro's. Cheers, Tom

Opps Bear, that's one part of the Rev site that's confusing. The Rev page lists the leading edge length of the sail fabric (wing span) and not the length of the assembled rods. All five of the 1.5 rods (tubes) with Juan's Pro should be 31 inches long. That makes the leading edge rod assembly of three tubes 93 inches long. With a leading edge fabric length of 91 inches, approximately one inch of the leading edge rod will be sticking out of each end of the sail. Since the end cap pockets are approximately 3/4 inches deep, that means the end caps should be almost touching the leading edge fabric when it's assembled. I've never measured the Zen tubes, so don't know their specific lengths. But, if tradition holds true, then the leading edge rod assembly would be 110 inches long. That would leave 9.5 inches sticking out of each kite. Way too much to get the end caps over. @Juan The kite should have a leading edge arch ... it is not straight. Please post a picture of your assembled kite and we can help a little more. Cheers, Tom

XXL ...

Congrats Terry! Victoria is heart broken and lonely ... Thanks for the opportunities John. Cheers, Tom

Good morning John. Don't forget what an important day this is for the Rev flying part of Kitelife. Can't wait to see whose day the RNG is going to brighten. Cheers, Tom

Bud, If no one comes up with an answer, you might try asking the question over on Kitebuilder. That group is more into experimenting with bridling of SLKs. Cheers, Tom

Boy are you guys going to be disappointed when John hands it to me! After all, Victoria really does need a playmate. Cheers, Tom

Geez John, I don't know. Looks more lavender than purple. And a mid-vent ... like it can't make up it's mind if it wants to be a vented or non-vented kite. Already got the DVD ... that's the one where your washing your kite in the bay right? And, I've lost at least two sets of weights ... never have tried to use them. I guess if the RNG picked my number I'd take it. Cheers, Tom Thanks for the opportunity ... I'm sure it would love to meet Victoria!

Congrats Steve! Enjoy. -tom

kwmf, It's great that you talk about the measured difference between your brake and power lines. Many references are to the the "y" knot on the bottom pigtail and the "z" knot on the top pigtail. That makes no sense because pigtails are like snowflakes ... no two are the same! Even straight from the factor difference handle sets will have different knot placements. I generally start at a six inch differential and adjust from there based on how the kite performs. Many other variables play a small part, but where you place your hands on the handles will have the greatest affect on pigtail settings. In other postings, John has advocated achieving a balance across your first three fingers. Put pressure on your pointer finger and the kite will move forward. Put pressure on your ring finger and the kite will back up. That mental picture has been the most beneficial for me towards achieving a repeatable feel after changing handles/lines/kites/winds/etc. I check each new setup by putting the kite in a sideways hover, directly downwind, and about ten to fifteen feet off the ground. If the kite will maintain position when the handles are held only by my middle fingers, I smile and go about flying. If the kite moves forward, the the top line moves out a knot. If the kite moves backwards, then the top line comes in a knot. Cheers, Tom

Thanks Bob. Your website is a great read. The challenges you need to overcome before breaking the record are very daunting. Cheers, Tom

Congrats Wayne ...

Congrats Sammi ... if I couldn't win it, at least someone in the mid-west did. Cheers, Tom

.......... ZERO .......... Okay, sleepy head, it's time to wake up the random number generator and make one of us a happy kite flier!!!!! Cheers, Tom

Hmmm. 250 paid subscriptions. The bear probably still has two, so I vote we give him the first shot at calling John early in the am. After all, the bear was sure he wouldn't win, so nothing lost there. If the rest of us take turns, that should make for a very cheerful morning! Yea, that would work. Cheers and good luck folks, Tom

.......... ONE ..........

Bear, Certainly. After careful consideration I think it's only fair that if you can guess the next number correctly, I'll provide you what the number after that represents! Sounds like what you and I will win anyway ... right? Cheers, Tom

.......... TWO ..........

.......... THREE ..........

Pssst ... John ... John ...don't for get to set your alarm clock ... only one week to go!!! Cheers, Tom

The very best to you on your birthday. May you and TK share many, many more! Cheers, Tom

In the Midwest (USA) it's hard to find enough room for power kites and buggies ... thus, only one kite flier in IKE with a power kite/buggy setup. It only gets out about once a year and looks like more work than fun. And on water, well they seem to get lost in with the sailboats. Plus, if I'm on a beach then the Revs are out! So, power kites have never drawn my interest. However, last winter by brother-in-law and I watched three power kite users out on the ice with six inches or so of powder. That looked like a real blast. Lots of open space, lots of clothing (padding), rooster tails of powder, and an off-season use for kites. -tom

Mitch, You might find this part of Andy's website interesting. Cheers, Tom