Hadge

I hardly even use a stake. If you set up your kite, attach the lines and let a couple of yards off the winder. Now stand behind the kite facing into the wind holding the spine to you, nose up . Tip the nose back towards you so the lines trail over the trailing edge and put the kite down nose pointing into the wind with the lines running over the back of the kite and nose ( in the 'dead' position). now run out your lines and attach your straps. When you're ready to launch take up the tension on the lines, pull slowly and the kite will flip over into the launch position. This works in even the strongest wind. At the end of the day I also wind up the lines from the kite and remove the straps, that way each time you unwind the lines (as above) you use each end of your lineset in turn which seems to make them last longer as the wear is divided evenly rather than all at one end of the lines.

Not a Rev, but I have a Flying Wings Soul which had been converted to a mid vent when I bought it. I have made it into a variable vent by carefully sewing a 1/4" strip of velcro ( fluffy side) around the edges of the vent and making some panels slightly bigger than the vent with velcro ( hook side) sewn to them. To convert from a full sail to a mid vent just needs the panels removing. Seems to work well with no noticable problems caused by the velcro.

It was filmed on 1080hd @30fps - it seems to play better on youtube for some reason. That is actual speed - it's quick!

GF rod - just the ordinary 3mm glass fibre rod they use for standoffs. This is my Delta hawk on a windy day to give you a more realistic idea - ( originally edited to different music but youtube won't let me use it!) Edit - now redone with original music!!

Yes it was a Delta Hawk but the winds were a bit extreme - 50-60mph! In 20-30mph winds its good fun - still quick and it will give you a bit of a workout, but nothing like as much as in the video. I think you'll enjoy it. One tip - the standoffs fit into a pocket in the sail and on to a usual fitting on the spreader. If you have a hard landing they can occasionally pop off - not a problem on grass but on a beach they can get lost. I made 2 spares up from some oddments of GF rod I had in the garage complete with end caps and I keep them taped to the spine with electrical tape so if I lose one I have a spare.

Yep, I do like to fly fast, and in good winds. Holy cow, I can't wait to catch one of those 30+ mph days at the coast, and rip it up with that Delta Hawk. That's the days I like, when the blowing wind and sand, runs everyone off of the beaches, and down from the dunes. I suppose that's why I have two Microns, a couple of Nighthawks, a Rev II, and three B2's. They are all F-A-S-T ! ....like I said, Psychotic Micron..........

It's a fun kite. If you get one make sure you get some strong lines - 150# minimum - and a set of padded straps....you'll need them! Add a nice long tail and everyone on the beach is going to notice you!

Someone over here once described the Delta Hawk as a 'Day saver' - you know, you've driven a long way to the beach in perfect flying weather then 30 minutes later the wind blows up and you've nothing that will fly. It will never be a 'go to' kite but it's very useful to have in the bag. It's fairly cheap too, and a simple design. All plain 6mm carbon tube so easy/cheap to repair and hard to break- it tends to bounce when you crash - I've only broken mine once when I misjudged a set of goal posts and hit them at full speed mid window! Think of it as a psychotic Micron that wants to rip your arms off! I've just bought a Prism 4D as a day saver at the other end of the scale when the wind dies away.

Small kite, big fun! Pulls like a train!

Once the winds get above 15-18mph you are going to struggle to trick any duel line kite unless you have a mega vent competition kite. In 20mph plus winds the best thing is just to put on something like a small foil or maybe a dedicated high wind kite like the HQ Delta Hawk (rated to 47mph)and just rip up the sky - you won't be doing any tricks, but you can have a lot of fun!

Just ordered myself a 4D in purple! We've had a lot of really weird wind days lately when it just drops away to nothing - even my HQ Shadow can't get off the ground so hopefully this might do the trick!

I'm not sure if the 4D would roll up as I would have thought it was far too light - you need a little weight to get enough inertia for it to roll and if you add weight to something like the 4D it would probably ruin it for anything else. More of a no wind rotational kite than a proper tricky SUL. Check out these videos from Alex Belov - if he can't roll it up then it's probably not really possible.

The Hypno is a big kite with a fairly strong pull so you are going to need a fairly strong line. Remember than the line poundage shown is a minimum braking strain so the actual is probably going to be 10-15% more with a good quality line. I wouldn't fly it on 50lb , but you should be OK on 90lb in lower wind speeds.

NO!!!!!.... you'll end up with an even bigger hole! Best thing would be a small circle of clear Tedlar tape or similar either side of the sail. As it's a very small tear the other way is to use a piece of sticky tape on the back of the sail to pull the edges together then carefully run a little superglue along the tear edges and let it dry before removing the sticky tape - it should hold it just fine.

A screwdriver works fine or you can use an old tent peg with a bit of ribbon tied on so you can see it. The best way to wind up lines is in a figure 8 around the kite winder - http://www.monkeysee.com/play/2143-landing-your-stunt-kite-and-the-clean-up-process

Yes it should hang down like that, it's just the same as mine. No it shouldn't come with a weight - this kite is made high winds and is not a trick kite, a weight wouldn't make any difference unlike the E3. It really needs at least 10mph to get airbourne and gets really fun at 20+ when you say it flops nose forward I take it you mean it fall forward when you try to launch it? If so it is probably not enough wind. In good wind it should take off pretty easily with a good firm tug on the lines. You can adjust the bridle at the metal rings by shortening the up line slightly 1/2" at a time no more. This should help a little in lighter winds but it is really much better in the 20+mph winds you spoke of in your earlier post....I've never bothered to adjust mine. Specs for the hare here : http://www.invento-hq.com/supportkites_e.php?art=Delta_Hawk_2002

I don't know if you can still get them, but if you can find one the Premier Addiction was a really good beginners kite for not a lot of money. Good wind range, hard to break, easy to fly and if you want to start flying tricks, very tricky for the price.

You will need 100-120 foot lines minimum of 150lb - I use 220lb - padded straps are a good idea too. This kite is quick!

25MPH is a LOT of wind for any kite and right at the top end of what the E3 can handle - sooner or later you're going to have a broken kite. You,re going to struggle to find anything dual line that will trick in that much wind as you won't be able to move forward quickly enough to give slack line to the kite. If you are going to fly regularly in those sort of winds and want to do tricks then your best bet would probably be a full vent Rev. If you are happy to forget the tricks and just have fun ripping up the sky then something like the HQ Delta Hawk is great fun ( and cheap) and will handle winds of 40mph + but be warned it's very quick and can have quite a pull

You have PM.

If you want to try roll ups then HQ clip on yoyo stoppers are cheap and easy to fit and won't damage your kite. Fit them 2/5th's or 40% of the length of the leading edge down from the nose as a starting point.

Unless you have a very specialised kite you just won't be able to fly in 0 wind let alone learn how to control your kite. Start off with lines around 60'-80' and a nice steady wind around 6-12 mph. You'll pick up basic control very quickly - remember if you think you are going to nosedive into the deck run towards the kite!

As Rob says, take a look at the HQ Symphony range, they are designed for fun rather than power and come complete ready to fly, reasonably priced too. The Prism foils pull pretty hard for their size whereas HQ's are much easier to handle. The 1.3 is about £22. they also have a 1.7 and a 2.1.

You could also take a look at the Flying Wings Silver Fox range. Nice kites, well built with a good spec and very tricky but still beginner friendly. The standard Kite ( rather than the UL) will cover you from around 4-20 mph and prices are around $160. The 2.3 standard is a bit quicker and trickier, the 2.5 standard is a bit bigger and slower flying but will still do the tricks. I have the slightly more expensive Soul and it's a really nice kite.

Mark, Check your messages mate - top r/h page next to sign in - I've sent you some info.