Jeepster

Duane, The black centered rainbow is a neat looking kite. It's a B-series that Dave had designed special for "The Kite Connection" and introduced it at Kite Party 7. I've flown Jynx's mid-vent and my son's full-vent ... both are good flying kites. If I hadn't just purchased a Pro mid-vent, I would have bought one when they came out last March. You can buy it as a kite only ... no DVD or handles for about $25 less. The only hick-up with the mid-vent is that it comes with just one frame set ... yep, same cost, but just one frame set. Both the full-sail and the mid-vent come with two frame sets. If you call Dave at The Kite Connection, you can usually talk him into supplying the Revs any frame set you want. Dave is a good Rev pilot and is very knowledgeable about them ... he won't lead you astray. You should talk to someone, who flies Revs in your local area, about what they have in their kite bag. In mid-Illinois the winds are such that the order of purchase is: full-sail, full-vent, and then a mid-vent. If the winds are generally under 15 mph in your area, then adding a mid-vent next probably is a good choice. If they get up into the 20+ mph range quite a bit, then you might want to think about a full-vent next. Or, you could simply buy one of each and get the agony over quickly. The advertising says the mid-vent range is 8 to 28 mph. Yes, it will fly in 28 mph winds, but the fun factor disappears well before you reach 28 mph. I pull mine out when the winds are in the 8 to 15 mph range ... maybe up to 18 mph. Cheers, Tom

All right Duane!!!! The general rule with Rev rods can be summed up like this: Revolution Equipped ..... 4-wrap ... 4 feathers Ultra Light ............. 3-wrap ... 3 feathers Professional Use Only ... 2-wrap ... 2 feathers Since you recently bought your "wife's kite", I'm assuming that you have silver labels on the rods. With the change over to silver labels (from gold) Rev added a "feather count" to the label. The more feathers, the heavier and stronger the rod. A speed of 18 mph is close to the maximum for 3-wrap rods in a full sail, so you were wise to double up on the leading edge. Skilled pilots can push the limits of rods because they gain a feel for when to and how to unload the kite. But, you and I need to keep a good size safety factor. I did some calculations once and determined that a 2-wrap plus a 3-wrap in the leading edge is approximately the same as a single 4-wrap leading edge. So, if you don't like to double up the leading edge rods, you can substitute a 4-wrap frame set. Of course, the simplest way of getting a 4-wrap frame set is to buy a vented B-series ... You own a number of dual line models because you need an assortment to handle all of the wind speeds you normally encounter. The same thing holds true for Revs ... except that you really only need two models. A full sail and a vented sail with three frame sets (2-, 3- and 4-wrap) will handle about 90% of the winds you'll encounter. I flew today in 15~20 mph winds with my full-vent and 4-wrap rods. No worry about breaking rods and quite comfortable to fly. My full sail would not have been as fun to fly ... The Zen, mid-vent and mega-vent kites are for the final 10% of the wind conditions that you'll experience. Great to have, but not necessary yet! Glad to see you're enjoying the Rev!!! They are quite addictive. Keep us posted! Cheers, Tom

John's easy to look at just 'cuz he's all over the site. Now, Takako's easy to look at 'cuz she's a pretty lady. Try these two out. Japanese traditional USA traditional Of course, if you have to see them together, you can check out this thread: Announcement Cheers, Tom

Congratulations Calvin!!!!!

Chris, This thread just appeared over on Kitebuilder. It's not strictly a kite, but still might interest you. Cheers, Tom

Oh sure, you're early now ... but, will we have to wake you on the 15th? Cheers, Tom

That kite belongs to Jynx ... it was a few hours old at the time the picture was taken. Jynx loaned it to me to fly for awhile at Kite Party. When they called for the mega fly, she wasn't around, so I continued to use her kite. Thus, I was lucky enough to be flying that kite when John took his picture ... makes the picture extra special for me. What was going through my mind was ten sets of lines ... $80 apiece ... $800 of macrame if I make a mistake ... please God don't let me make a mistake. Oh yes, I decided that if I made a mistake, I'd drop the handles and yell "Jynx did it!!!" ... I'm sure it would have worked. Actually I've found few problems flying in groups. Mike Kory is one of the leaders/callers I've flown with the most ... Mike, as well as others I've flown with, keeps the maneuvers within the capability of the weakest flier. And the rest of the fliers are have always made me feel welcome. I'd only been flying for a month when Mike put me in a line up of four fliers. I learned more in that one session than I'd learned in the prior month. Team flying is one of the really great things about flying a Rev. Keep "borrowing" the Rev from your wife, get a little knowledge, and then enjoy the fun of standing side-by-side with others while flying your kite. Cheers, Tom

Actually I'd like to know their supplier. Can you imagine a Rev kite built out of 0.05oz fabric? Silver bullet rods, 0.05oz fabric, built by Bazzer in the Pro configuration ... why you'd probably not even have to use lines, just think it around the sky. It's time for coffee, Tom

Duane, Rev will make any color combination you can think up ... for a price. John gave you a link to Rev's standard Pro-series page ... again, for a price, Bazzer will fill in the colors exactly how you want. Rev also makes dealer specific kites. A Wind of Change has their "Night" B-series kite ... as you can imagine, it's a very bright kite. Kent had it made because folks in Las Vegas, due to the summer heat, do a lot of their flying in the late evening. The Kite Connection has several different specialty kites. The one from Kite Party this year, Custom Black Rainbow Barresi, is especially pretty. Kite The kite that Howard has looks like an SLE kite with the same rainbow color idea. It shows up on ebay as being sold by The Kite Connection ... can't find a picture of it on his web site, but can see the title there. So, for a few dollars more, you can recreate your most vivid image from the 60's and fly off into the sunset with it. Good morning, Tom

Dodd, Question on the UL kite: The video lists the fabric weight as 0.05oz ... you really meant 0.5oz, yes? Regards, Tom

Jeepster-Who is this guy? Well Duane, I'm pretty sure it's either Ben or one of the iQuad guys after a Saturday night on the town. If I had to guess, I'd probably go with Ben before he's had his coffee. Cheers, Tom

Duane, Are you just stringing the Bear along? Cheers, Tom

Thanks John ... Should the pictures be posted as a thumbnail or full size? How do you do each one? Is there another method that is prefered? If I post full size, can I change the size in the post or do I have to go back and change the original gallery picture. I apologize if this is basic info that everyone else understands. Cheers, Tom

This is probably the wrong thread to post this in ... move it if necessary. Posting pictures is frustrating for me. Every forum has a different allowable maximum file size, allowable pixel count, etc. Most times you can't find that info until after you've sized your pictures and tried to upload to the forum gallery. How about a primer (Uploading Pictures for Dummies) that's easily accessible and contains, at least, the following: 1) Maximum file size 2) Maximum pixel count 3) How does one post pictures? In the gallery, off site, thumbnail, full size, etc.. 4) Recommended method for easy of viewing. 5) What software/freeware will make life in the "posting lane" easier? I use Photoshop on my main computer, but would like some advise for freeware on my travel computer. 5) Any other available information that I'm don't even know exists. I hate it when reading an old thread and the pictures are no longer available because an off site website dropped the pictures. Thus my approach has been to save the pictures on the website I'm posting to. Is that a good idea? What else will work? There's probably a group of semi-lurkers who would be more inclined to share pictures if the directions were readily available ... that would be a positive improvement to the forum. Cheers, Tom

John, Yes ... that's the one I wanted!!! Sometimes my denseness amazes even me. You sometimes have to hold my hand. The "View New Content" verbiage is misleading, but the function is correct. Just like on the Rev forum, I can now see the discussions that are taking place today. I can read one and it stays on the list as long as I haven't left the forum. As to the rest of the website ... I'll let Jeff (on the Rev Forum) be my proxy. After reading his posts, I found myself saying "yea, that's what I wanted to say." Cheers, Tom

Duane, Yea, it's frustrating I know, but John is not an animation!!! I really do love the videos like dock play. What looks like an impossible area to fly in becomes a fun place. And, there is almost always a move or two that I can try to duplicate. Plus, the anticipation of watching him step off the dock and join the kite in the water does add to the charm. Cheers, Tom

And, your second weekend with a Rev went how? Cheers, Tom

These are neat kites at a festival ... gently floating in the background. One of the IKE members has three that he puts up periodically during the summer. Thanks for the opportunity. Tom

I found it ... I found it ... I found it. Wow, is that feature well hidden!!! My plea is that it be moved to the top of the page right next to the "View New Content" button. It would be more valuable if it was easily accessible while surfing through the forum. Could add the ability to set the default time parameter on your "settings" page ... some might choose 24 hours, others might choose one week ... but, 24 hours is a good compromise. Thanks again for continuing to work at improving the forum. Tom

John, Congrats again ... life is much sweeter shared with a mate. I have no doubts that TK will support the team and wind her lines accordingly. But, when you're at home, and that little voice in your head keeps saying "I'm the boss ... I need to change her", it's in your best interests if you learn to ignore that voice. Honest!!! Cheers, Tom

John, Let me second the bear ... I sometimes like to think for awhile before adding to a thread. On the Rev forum that's no problem 'cuz it's most likely in the currently active list when I return. With the Kitelife software, I have to dig through the main forum page to fine the thread after I've read it. Yes, I can click the "watch this tread" button, but that's not a good solution. The Kitebuilder forum has a "view all posts since" option with choices from 5 min to 3 months. That's probably overkill! A single "View active posts" button, at the top of the page, that brings up all activity in the last 24 hours would be great. Oh, and in the I'm a dunce category; by using a different computer a few days ago to view the forum, I lost my automatic forum log-in for my main computer. Since returning home four days ago, I've been madly clicking the new content button and wondering why no one was posting. Seems that if you're not logged in, the "View New Content" button doesn't work ... it makes sense that it doesn't work. My suggestion is to change the "No New Content" response, that shows up when you are not logged in and click the "View New Content" button, to a more appropriate response like "If you want the view new content button to work, I have to know who you are ... please log in dummy" ... or something like that. I hate transitioning to new software. I know the new software is most likely better, but the old stuff was so comfortable. I also hate new shoes, new hats and new traffic signs. I keep reminding myself that no matter how neat PCWrite was at the time, no one, in their right mind, would want to go back to it. So, the new software needs some tweaking to accommodate user peccadilloes, but let's keep going forward with it. Cheers, Tom

Congrats Ben ... Tom

Duane, Hasn't anyone fessed up and told you that Tristan's not a real person? Honest, he's just a video creation, created to cause undue frustration to the geriatric generation. Sorry you got sucked in ... Cheers, Tom