Hadge

The Prism DVD is old but OK. Trick or treat is great when you have the basics down but if you are just getting into it then it will probably confuse rather than help as it assumes you already have a basic skill level. The best I've found is Dodd Gross kite school - it starts from absolute basics right through to complicated combination - if you look on youtube all the scetion are there for free. these are two to start with. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BxVhl3Z3ao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbxWySL5MRk

The Shadow will fly in lighter winds than the Zephyr, 2-4 mph winds no problem but not everyone likes the handling of the Shadow, it needs a delicate touch to get the best from it. The 4D will fly in virtually nothing, but gets very twitchy and lively over about 5mph. works best on shorter lines than supplied.

Here.

Ok, first push the loop end of the tensioner through the lower hole Take the other end, loop it around the nock and back up the other side take it through the lower hole loop and up to the top hole thread it through the top hole ( from the back to the front) and pull it down tight back through the nock where the knot in the tensioner should hold it tight. I'll try and put a picture up later if you have trouble.

Do these help?

No no no ......one gives you a good work out, two drag you around like a rag doll and THREE make you airbourne!! Great little kite on a windy day, pulls waaayyyy more than you would expect!

You can easily make some weights with 1" sticky back velcro and lead strip - cut the lead into small pieces approx 5grams, 10 grams and 15grams and sandwich the lead between the velcro. You can then put the weights beneath the velco strip at the end of the spine.

Lots of pages have been written on the Revs V Chinese copy arguement. The problem is there are so many firms in China making 'rev' like kites and quality varies wildly. Some are actually pretty decent kites, some are rubbish but it's knowing which is which, even then the copies often need a bit of tweeking to get them right and that needs experience. The good thing about Genuine Revs is that, while they cost more, you know they will fly properly straight out of the bag. If you are a beginner and considering the price you can get a new Rev for over there ( they cost a bomb on this side of the pond!) I would say get a genuine Rev, it'll save you a lot of hassle and if you decide you don't like it you will be able to sell it on again for a fair price - a used Chinese rev is worth practically nothing.

If you are really struggling one of the telescopic poster tubes you get at art shops would probably do the job. You can probably get one for $20 or so. Secondhand Zephyr cases tend to go for silly money on Ebay.

There is a whole side of kite flying devoted to KAP ( Kite assisted photography) - usually panoramic scenes from high up - but it's not something I personally know much about. Reading your first post and what you are trying to do, my first thought would be wouldn't it be a lot easier with one of those camera equiped RC quadcopter drones? It seems to me that you would have a more stable and controllable platform to film from than you would get with a kite set up and you can get a pretty good drone with a pretty good camera for not too much money these days. Just a thought.

I use the Delta Hawk regularly. 150lb line is the minimum I use and then only in moderate - 10-15mph - winds. As soon as the wind gets over this I go straight to 220lb lines - this isn't overkill as in 20-30mph this kite will try and pull your arms off!. Don't underestimate it because it's small, it's a beast in strong winds and will give you a real work out. If you want a similar fast high wind experience but still want to keep your arms I can recommend the HQ Limbo - similar size and flying style as the Delta Hawk, similar wind range, but a little less savage. I've recently bought one and it's good fun.

The 'minimum ' usually means the absolute minimum the designer can get the thing into the air in perfect conditions, the maximum is the speed the second before the kite explodes! Mere mortals need to take these figures with a pinch of salt! Design and materials have a lot to do with the kite wind performance. Lines makes a difference in as much as an Ultralight kite isn't going to fly well with a heavy 150lb line - too much drag but it won't increase it's top speed rating. Realistically a duel line kite isn't going to trick well at much above 15 mph even if it's vented, better to get out something you can paint the sky with instead.

It shouldn't be a problem, you can mix up all sorts of kites in a stack. I'd put the smaller kites at the front - you may need to beef up the frame on the leading kite as it will be taking a lot of strain with 4 kites behind it.

I have these screw in fittings in several kites and never had any problem with them coming loose. It's worth rubbing a little candle wax over the cross head screw as with time they can get rusty which makes them hard to unscrew if you need to remove them especially if you fly on the beach a lot.

Generally speaking I usually have 3 different lengths/strengths of line I regularly use. 20m (65') @ 50lb for light winds 25m ( 80') @ around 90-110 lb for general purpose flying 30m ( 100') @ 150lb for strong winds. I do have others longer/shorter/stronger lines for specialist kites but for most kites in most winds those 3 linesets will cover you. Spend a little more on good quality Dyneema lines as the ones that come with kites are often cheap and the lines will bind after a few twists, a good quality set will let you put many more twists in the line without binding.