Jeepster

As you can see from the earlier posts, these guys are all about partying early. Then when the real day arrives ... they're all too tired to even glance up. So, from the slowest of the group, let me wish you a very happy birthday on your actual birth day. All the best. Cheers mate, Tom

Opps ... the rabbit hole is in the first chapter of Alice in Wonderland ... Alice goes down the hole and starts a really wild and crazy journey. Maybe a little like the journey all of us are taking ... Cheers mate, Tom

Eli, John is a little out of it due to excessive tequila consumption in Mexico. What he meant to say was your subscriber number is 861, but pray for #477 to be drawn. Cheers and welcome to the rabbit hole, Tom

Hey Paul, welcome to the Kitelife forum. Drop Big Mike a PM ... he built one for the Davenport festival last fall. Very simple box structure with the lid closed via a Velcro piece. Utilized a second line to trip open the lid. The advantage was the light weight (safer), positive release (no electronics to screw up) and simplicity. Cheers, Tom

I noticed Ben putting the Green rods in his instruction kites at Grand Haven last weekend. So, you might have something there. Cheers, Tom

The French bridle is a modification that some folks use to tighten up the kite. Check here for a thread on the Rev forum. Read down a little and you'll see the dimensions posted. Magic Sticks (quad sticks, training wheels, etc.) are used to tighten up the kite and reduce the amount of flex. Revflyer is a strong advocate for them. Scott Wieder is making and selling them. See his website here. Check here for a thread on the Rev forum. Cheers, Tom

Oh yes, you've touched on a subject that interests me. I'm a test engineer by training and experience, thus I love to measure things and make deductions from that data. It's very easy to measure the weight and stiffness of the rods we fly with. That's what the archery industry does ... they call it weight and spline. Ben tells me I'm missing the recovery measurement, but I'm concerned that he's just trying to drive me crazy. Once you have that data though, what do you do with it?? Try to relate it to real world flying? Well that's a problem. 1) We're all at different skill levels and have different flying styles. 2) We're are flying kites with slightly different characteristics ... B-series vs Pro-series vs SLE; full sail vs mid-vent vs full-vent; new vs old vs really old; etc.. 3) Don't forget the environmental characteristics ... beach vs inland; gusty vs smooth; varying vs steady; high vs low; etc.. 4) Oh yes, how about the kite set up ... do you have a new, well balanced bridle or the French one ... is it accurately tied? Do you fly with magic sticks? Shanti or Laser Pro line? What size handles? 5) There's scatter in the stiffness of Rev rods ... manufacturing tolerances cause that. My son and I each have a set of 3-wraps that are out side the norm ... lighter and stiffer than normal that is. They're like gold to us!!! I've probably missed something, but all of the above affect how the kite reacts and how we perceive it handling. So, when someone states emphatically that they've found the new "rainbow rods" to be the answer to their prayers, that might be true. But, for you and me those rods might be our worst nightmare. The absolute best way is to try different rod sets in your kite at your flying site and decide if they match your parameters. Oh, and don't throw away the other rods ... your flying style might change over time and they might become the newest, best thing!!! I've measured the weight and deflection of a set of green rods, but haven't flown them enough to have an opinion of their flight characteristics. One of our club members has the set right now and he's in love with them. I'll probably stick with my 3-wraps ... that's what I tend to fly mostly. Okay, now where does this soap box go? Cheers and thanks for asking, Tom

Watty, Good work pulling together a single page overview of all the commonly available rods. That's a great help for someone joining the ranks. I stumbled upon Kent's explanations on his website (A Wind of Change) for the SLE, 2-, 3-, and 4-wrap rods and it helped me tremendously when first starting. One correction ... The SLE rods have a 7/16 inch internal diameter. One point of clarification ... The 1/4 inch indoor rods have a variety of labels. Mine has the Race Rod label. I only have data for my set of indoor rods, but they are close to the same stiffness as some outdoor race rods, so I'm not positive that they are built with more flexibility. Second point of clarification ... In the Race Rod description you say that they are more flexible than the standard rods. Yet, they are advertised as being "as stiff as a 3-wrap". They don't meet that standard, but they are stiffer than a 2-wrap. One question ... Please explain what you mean by the highlighted sentence in the attached write-up. You've included it the 2-, 3-, and 4-wrap write-ups. 2-Wrap: 2-wrap rods are the lightest and most fragile rods for outdoor use. These rods have a similar stiffness to the 3-wrap and 4-wrap rods. These rods should be used in the lower wind ranges. 2-wrap rods are identified by their label with either 2 feathers or the words “Professional Use Only” with an internal diameter of ¼ inch. Cheers, Tom

I take it I should click on HERE to sign up? That link doesn't work for me. Or do all kitelife members get entered automatically? Nat What John means is that you can "sign up" to become a Kitelife Subscriber at that link. Once you've become a Kitelife Subscriber, you're automatically entered in all of the drawings ... even if you signed up minutes before the number is pulled out of the hat. Cheers and good luck ... Tom

Finally found out where Duane is at ... he's helping his brother out in Quartz, NM. So, he'll be posting as soon as his working vacation is over. Wonder if he'll be bringing any new flying ideas back with him. Well, we're off to Grand Haven in a couple of minutes ... Cheers, Tom

One of these days I've got to take the time to learn to read ... saw the Grand Haven title, but didn't see any names "right" below it. Just had to jump over the line and there was the info. Thanks, Tom

Good luck on your dental work. Personally, I take pain medicine to get my haircut! Just checked and don't see a list of iquad members on your website for Grand Haven. Who's coming? Cheers, Tom

This is the order I found logical ... 1-Indoor Rev Tutorial – Introduction 2-Indoor Rev Tutorial - Assembly and Disassembly 3-Indoor Rev Tutorial - Launch and 360 4-Indoor Rev Tutorial – Relaunch 5-Indoor Rev Tutorial – Redirection 6-Indoor Rev Tutorial - Up and Over 7-Indoor Rev Tutorial - Slide (Float) 8-Indoor Rev Tutorial - Catch and Throw (Basic) 9-Indoor Rev Tutorial - Catch and Throw (Advanced) Cheers, Tom

Like Duane, I heal a little too slowly for much power kiting. But, my offspring would love to fly this one. Count me in for the lusting!!! Thanks to Jim and John for this opportunity. Cheers, Tom

Congrats Scott ... enjoy your new/old kite. Cheers, Tom

Are you trying to tell us that your flying is in the crapper?? Cheers, Tom

Been off the computer 'cuz we're slowly working our way home from vacation. Glad to know that fellow kiters are all okay. Once had an opportunity to move to Raleigh. Went so far as to go home hunting, so understand the problems with tornadoes in that area. No self-respecting mid-westerner would own a house without a basement ... couldn't understand why many houses in that area didn't have basements. We've spent quite a few storms down in the basement waiting out the warnings. Been through three tornadoes that went within a few miles of us. Again, thanks for the good news. Cheers, Tom

Congrats Mike ... enjoy your kite. Cheers, Tom

Nothing against John, he's helped me a lot, but I believe that Bazzer has a hidden talent for simplifying the learning curve. Or, maybe it's just that he relates more to the older gents. Cheers, Tom

The idea of cards is great ... even for the hearing enabled. I'm always trying to explain how to get more info ... via IKE, REV, KiteLife forums. Having a business type card in my kite bag to "supplement" my arm waving would be a positive addition. How about coming up with a generic side to the card that all of us could use? Cheers, Tom

I'm on vacation, so don't get a chance to check the forum as much as normal. I read through the posts this morning and have been thinking about them all day. The underlying tone bothers me. Some of our elder members probably remember (if they're not too elderly) the 1950's game show called "The $64,000 Question." It was extremely popular until it leaked out that the contestants were "coached" on the topics and answers. A number of game shows were caught up in the scandal and also went off the air. Just like the game shows of the 1950's, there is WAY too much for John to lose by influencing the outcome of a kite giveaway. Why would John risk his reputation, a part of his income and a lot of what he represents in the kiting industry by messing with the drawings? Talking about and questioning the mechanical aspects of the drawings and if it's fair for everyone is okay ... all of us participated in a thread on that subject a few months ago. But, questioning the integrity of the man running the contest is unacceptable conduct amongst friends. I trust the RNG ... and I trust John ... please run the contests and don't touch the results one way or the other!! Enough, Tom

Small typo Duane ... no worries, I've corrected it for you!!! FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---4767---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---83 477---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---4767---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---83 477---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---4767---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---83 477---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---4767---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---83 477---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---4767---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---83 477---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---4767---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---83 477---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---4767---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---83 477---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---4767---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---83 477---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---4767---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS---83 477---FOCUS---FOCUS---FOCUS Cheers, Tom

Hmmm, since it's in the IKE colors, maybe you guys should "will" your chances to me! Sounds good, yes? Cheers, Tom

Congratulations Dom ... enjoy your kite!! Cheers, Tom

Just a little over an hour to go ... keep your eyes open ... you can do it ... gambatte! Cheers, Tom