Jeepster

1st of August? Promise? Thanks for the chance, John. And, even though Choccy can't get inside this one, I'm sure she'd be able to fly ON it. Cheers, Tom

All Right!!! I'll be back to watch this video many more times. At Grand Haven, Bazzer showed me how to do a tip pivot in reverse ... and more importantly, showed me how to break the move down into individual steps. Under his guidance, I had the concept within two minutes. Been practicing them faithfully since then. Your video gives me several new varients on the move. Love tip pivots ... Cheers, Tom

Congrats Grandpa ... that'll be cool on the field. And thanks to John for the chance at another cool kite thang!!!! Cheers, Tom

John, Cool, that would be neat if you could make it easier to surf. Also, don't take any of my suggests as criticisms ... change is inevitable ... test driving the software on Kitelife before changing the Rev forum is a demonstration of your desire to make it easier for all of us. I appreciate that!! The advantages of modules I understand ... Cheers, Tom

Okay, that's a so-so answer to the problem. Have to go look for it (not at the top of the screen) ... click it to activate (no problem) ... dive into one of the threads (no problem) ... want to see the list again (have to either back out of where you are) or (go back to forum, go to the bottom of the page and click on the button again). In the past, I go to the forum page, click on the button on the top of the page, read a thread, reclick on the button on the top of the page, repeat as necessary. Maybe someone has a better process. Please, Tom

John, Next question: I like the way the Rev forum currently handles new postings; even if you've read the thread, it keeps it on the list when "View New Posts" is re-clicked. That way it provides a list of what is/was being talked about during the last few hours. Plus, it also includes posts that you've made ... yields an extra check to know that your post actually made it to the thread. Wrong key strokes on my part or is a change to the site needed? Thanks, Tom

Watty, Please don't take my kidding so serious ... I don't kid with people I don't like. Okay? However, I do hate it that youngsters have such an intuitively easy time with computers and software. It's almost as if they were bred for the task. Where as, my generation was raised with slide rules ... didn't have an electronic calculator until I was twenty some years old ... didn't touch a computer until my thirties (we had one computer for a room of fifty people) ... had to walk to school uphill both ways ... etc. Your response last night told me that it was something at my end causing the problem. The exercise this morning narrowed the fix down. One has to hit the "Mark Board As Read" button as the first step towards activating the new content feature. Then realize that your postings don't show up in the new content ... as they did prior to the new software. And, instead of clicking the flag to the left of the title, just click on the title of the new content to go to the first new posting in the thread. Simple!!! Now where is my guinea pig treat??? Cheers, Tom

Nope, didn't make it to the new content ... Maybe that's 'cuz I'm both the poster and the searcher. Will wait for someone else to post something new. Mumbling to self, Tom PS ... this software doesn't like double spaces either ... sounds like sensorship to me.

Okay, now I've clicked the "Mark Board As Read" and the "View New Content" button shows an empty folder. Hopefully this post will show up the next time I check it. Testing... one, two three ... Tom

Okay, I like how the new software handles the multiple quotes ... they're displayed very logically, so that editing/deleting is much easier. And, the cut and paste feature works ... don't believe it did before. ...................... I haven't clicked the "Mark Board as Read" button yet. When I go to the forum home page, and look in the "Recently Added Topics" section, the "Forum Upgrade" thread is missing. These threads, in this order, show up: "Team Island ..." "Smaller Res ..." "What is "Rep ..." After I click the "View New Content" button these threads, in this order, show up" "Team Island ..." "Smaller Res ..." "Best Kite ..." Notice that the third thread is different. Again, the "Forum Upgrade" thread is missing in both screens. Cheers, Tom

It seems to do the right thing for me. Watty, It's not nice to fib to your elders ... or brag ... or several other things ... When I click on "View New Content" the first item in the list is the "Best Kite for ..." thread. To find this thread, I have to go back to "Kitelife Magazine - Forum" and scroll down to the "Site Topics" area. Still grumbling, Tom

Okay, first question ... where is the "View New Posts" button that I've come to love and cherish? "View New Content" doesn't seem to do the same thing! Grumpling, Tom

Grumble, grumble, grumble ... damn 'IT' folks never leave anything alone ... yea, I'm sure it's better, but I just got the last one figured out ... here's hoping there's a special punishment in the after life for software tweakers ... probably will have to do all their word processing with PCWrite ... yea, that would be fitting. Seriously, growing with software is just a fact of life. Once counted all the different word processing packages I've had to learn while working for one company ... eight!! Absolutely would not want to go back to the original, but it does take time to become familiar with the quirks and clicks of new stuff. I'm sure you're wetting your pants in glee over the new look, but give some of us curmudgeons time to grouse ... we'll come around. Cheers, Tom

John, Thanks for the contest last January. My subscription came up for renewal and you covered me for the next year ... thanks. That also means I've now been flying Revs for a year. Last year the closest Rev flyer was about 50 miles away. Thus, both the Kitelife and Rev forums assumed the role of substitute teacher. The IKE club members helped me out once a month, but those two forums filled in for the rest of the time. Thanks for contributing the energy and focus to keep both forums interesting and informative. Cheers, Tom

Drive across the river........ River?? You mean riverS! Let's see; there's the Illinois, then the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Yellowstone, the Snake and probably the Columbia. And those are just the big rivers!! No, the dremel is probably faster. Thanks anyway. Cheers, Tom

RX, The trouble with a $100 ~ $150 dedicated arrow shaft saw is that it uses up money resources and it's not useful for much else. I've cut about 70 carbon fiber rods in the last two months ... but, not a single one in the previous two years. In my case I upgraded to what you see in the picture ... a flex shaft. In the past I've simply duct taped the Dremel to a two-by-four, clamped the end block at the set distance and cut the shaft. I had to provide a couple of spacers to raise the shaft up to be even with the axis of the cut-off wheel ... no big deal. My first Dremel was fat enough and the cut off wheel small enough that I first had to cut the shaft by hand about a half inch too long. Then it could be cut on my Redneck arrow shaft saw. The upgrade to a flex shaft allowed me to route a couple of groves in the two-by-four to lower the cut off wheel to the same level as the surface of the board. No more duct tape (redneck pewter) to hold the Dremel in place. And, the small profile of the bit end of the flex shaft and the large diameter of the new cut-off wheels alleviate any preparation ... simply cut away. Cheers, Tom

Some folks wrap the spar tightly with tape and then cut it with a very fine toothed hobby saw. Follow that up with some sandpaper on the cut end. A table saw or a skill saw with an abrasive wheel would work. That would kind of scare me though. The small saws to cut ceramic tile seem like they would work. I'd still give high consideration to buying an inexpensive rotary tool (Dremel). Harbor Freight has them for about $10. You'll find so many other uses for it that it'll soon wear out and you'll be forced to buy an expensive one, so that might not be a good idea after all. Seriously, I probably have about six rotary tools (Dremel, Black & Decker, no name) around the house with a large assortment of accessories that get used all the time. Cheers, Tom

All good advice. Check your equipment to see if you can determine what caused the separation. Make that part of the bridle ... provided you know how and can get the same bridle material. Check with your supplier for warrenty. But, no one has said positively "Be sure to replace it" and that's probably the best advice. Chances are good that it will last for quite awhile. However, when it breaks, the winds will be high and gusty. There is a good chance that that wing will flex enough to spin the kite into the ground, and a good chance you'll break a leading edge rod and double the cost of getting the kite back in the air. The cost for a new bridle is minimal ... replace it. Cheers, Tom

Three feet in diameter and 15 feet long with a full cover at one end and a partial cover at the other yields about 18 square yards of material ... add about 20% for the eyes, legs, etc and the total material should equal about 22 square yards. It's probably made out of 1.5 oz per square yard material ... the weight is not for a a true square yard, but close enough for an estimate ... so, that yields 33 oz. Add a little for thread, heams, rigging and it should weigh somewhere between two-and-a-half and three pounds. Okay John, how close is that? Cheers, Tom psst, the post office has a good scale ...

Fantastic!!! Win or loose, I'll get to see one on the flying field. Way to go Zack!!! Cheers, Tom

One of the things that will cause CA adhesives to set or "go off" is moisture. That's why you want to be very careful not to get it on your hands ... the moisture on your hands will cause it to set much faster than expected. Seems like it sets instantaneously on your hands. That also means that if you can keep the parts to be glued together as dry as possible - maybe a heat gun to drive off the moisture - you'll have more time to move the parts about. Not a lot more time, but a few more seconds is all that is needed sometimes. The moisture difference between Nevada and Washington will affect the set up times. So, experimenting on something disposable, before gluing together your non-replaceable parts, is not a bad idea. If you make a mistake, acetone is a reasonable debonder ... make sure it doesn't affect the parts. It's time consuming, but acetone can work to debond many parts. Zap is one of the top companies in CA adhesives ... you might look at Flex Zap as an alternative. Or, if it doesn't have to be permanent, the canopy glue is another alternative. It is like a flexible Elmers glue that dries clear. Take a look here: http://zap.supergluecorp.com/zapglues.html Cheers, Tom

Ben, Welcome to the forum ... and welcome to the curse of kites and wind. If you have an Ultra Lite, the winds will be bending large oaks. And when you have a lead sled with rebar rods, the wind will disappear. The only solution is a rather large kite bag ... and lots of practice so you're ready for any wind condition. Cheers, Tom

Kyle, Try to find a place to fly where lots of traffic is passing by. I have one place, the front lawn of a rather large church, that is along side of a four lane highway. That's how I found two kite flyers. My second favorite place is right in town behind an auto dealership. Again, lot's of folks see the kite flying around and stop to watch or talk. That's how I found two more kite flyers. BTW ... the owner of the auto dealership loves that I fly there ... don't know if I've sold any cars for him, but lots of people have stopped at his dealership to watch. In fact when the salesman aren't busy, they also take their breaks where they can watch. Even the church likes the fact that people will pause to watch the kite, notice the church and maybe decide to visit one Sunday. So be brave about asking for permission, never been turned down yet. Cheers, Tom