Reef Runner

Well, I'm glad you guys had wind, but I just can't fly in "0"................I'm just not there !!!

Come on down anytime! OK, Mr. Sunny & 70... I'm planning to head out tomorrow and take advantage of our tropical forcast of sunny & high of 35. Winds forcast to be out of the north-northwest 3-10mph. Sounds like a 3-4 hour session in the making... Well, we are having a beautiful Sunday, here in NC, today. It's not quite Sunny & 70, but would you take, Sunny & 62. Sounds great, right ? Unfortunately, the winds are a blistering, "0" mph ! Yep "Z E R O".................

Hey Rob, I can surely relate to that sunny & 35F & 3-10 mph, here in NC. We just don't have the snow cover to deal with, that you have up there, during the winter. That Guru4tru (Duane) has just got it made down there in South Florida, he just doesn't want to admit it. Can you imagine being right there near the beach, and having that 70F+, all year round. Man, what a life...............now he does have it kinda rough, during the middle of the summer, but still, I will always pick the extreme hot, over the extreme cold, to fly in...............I hate winter !! This is my idea of a flight deck......... Yes, the flying is 100% rookie (1.5 B-series full-vent) I'm still learning, but just check out the flight deck !!! And yes, that's an SLE, in the photos, below, same flight deck, same rookie, different rev !

Oh, I can surely relate to that "Lone Ranger" feeling. I rarely get to fly at home, so most of my flying is done, during the summer months, on the sand dunes of Nags Head, NC, which is right in the heart of North Carolina's Outer Banks. There's a really famous place there, called Jockey's Ridge, which just happens to be the tallest sand dune, on the east coast. This place, over the years, has also been host to numerous kiting events, most of which, I manage to somehow, miss. The Rogallo Kite Festival is held there annually, right now, but usually not when I am around. Oh well, at least the winds up on the dune, are always great, no matter which direction they blow, and the view from the top is spectacular. Anyway, back to the Lone Ranger issue! It seems that I am lucky enough, to spend several weeks, on the NC Outer Banks, maybe 4 - 5 trips during the year, beginning in late May, and somewhat spaced out, through mid to late September. When there, I am located very close (within walking distance) to Jockey's Ridge, and I tend to get up there, several times, most every day. I have been flying there since 2002, when I got into dual line kites. In more recent years, say the last 2 or 3, I have changed my focus, more to the quad line kites, and specifically, Revs. I can't tell you the number of times, that I have climbed up that sand dune, where I would fly for hours, and never once, have I run into another Rev flyer. It seems that even back when all my attention was on dualies, I would fly all week, and then, just like clockwork, on Thursday afternoon, or Friday, someone might just show up, and then eventually we would strike up a conversation. But, being near the end of the week, usually, I would be leaving on Saturday morning, so, there was never a chance to plan another fly day, so once again, it was the Lone Ranger on the hill, all over again. Well, last summer, as chance would have it, one day I took the binocs, and looked over on the dune, and low and behold, there was a guy flying a "Rev". Well, holy Toledo, let's go ! This is the only flying Rev, that I have every laid eyes on, in person, other than my own. Hey, maybe I'm not alone in this thing, after all. There really are, other Rev flyers out there, somewhere. So, I quickly grabbed up a couple of my favorite Revs, my kite spikes, my lines, my wind meter, etc, threw everything into my quick fly bag, put on my flying hat, and began the trek across to, and up on, the dune. As I crested the top of the hill, sure enough, there is a guy flying a Rev. Well, as I headed over his way, I see him take a pretty hard landing, and I thought, maybe I better stay back, for a minute or so. I don't want to crowd him, and the wind was cooking, about 15 - 16 mph, and I surely didn't want to get in this guys way, but I did want to make sure, that he wasn't a mirage, or something, and actually a real live Rev flyer. Anyway, after a few minutes of watching him struggle with the grounded Rev (after that hard landing), I realized that he was having some kind of problem, and wasn't going to get back into the air, immediately, so I figured, this would at least give me a chance to get mine set up. Boy was he going to be surprised, when I whipped out a Rev, or maybe not. I proceeded with setting up my kite, temporarily topping it off with a little sand (15 - 16 mph), then I connected my lines, and believe it or not, they unwound perfectly, thanks to a certain video that I had recently watched (thanks JB). Man, I was doing good, so far. So now I've got everything laid out, and now all I've got to do, is connect my handles and stake them out, and I'll be rea............ "oh no - my handles !!!". Where are my handles ? Yep, in my haste to get to the hill, I forgot to grab a set of handles. Talk about a walk of shame. What was I going to do ? My kite was laid out, my lines were attached and stretched out on the sand, my spike was in my hand, and now what ? Man, how can this be happening, and about this same time, you know how you can kind of sense, when someone is looking at your, or maybe coming up behind you. Yep, the guy that had been flying the other Rev, unknowing to me, had walked over to where I am setting up. He greets me, we shook hands, and then he asked, if just by chance, I might have an extra 3-wrap, leading edge rod, in my bag, and if so, could he possibly buy it, or borrow for a while. It seems that during that hard landing, which was actually a very fast rotation, a little bit too close to the ground, he had snapped an outer rod. Well, in this case, fortunately for me, I did not have a spare rod, and as much as I wanted to finally fly, with at least one other Rev, in sight, it wasn't going to happen that day, for more than one reason. Without the spare rod, this guy's day was done, and as I said, fortunately for me, with him now leaving, it gave me a moment of solitude, to gracefully gather up my "handle-less" Rev & lines, and exit, stage right, without the embarrassment, that I had been dreading. I'll have to admit, that I have done this before, but with a dualie. Fortunately, though, that time the winds were very light, and I was able to proceed without the straps, but I don't think I could have faked it this time, with the Rev. Moral of the story - "Never leave home without your handles !" I suppose that I'm going to have to make a check list..............talk about a major "senior moment". You know, being the Lone Ranger in the sky, is much better, than taking a "major", walk of shame, or staying on the ground.............. Hey, what can I say

Ok Guru4tru, I felt a distinct jab there.............(just kidding) ! Gotta take up for the poor old SLE, now !! Hey Rob >>>> What Jeepster said...........definately..........just because you have a SLE, with the 7/16" super leading edge (SLE), doesn't mean that you can't replace that 7/16" super leading edge, with a set of standard 1/4" 3-wrap rods, for those lighter wind days (an inexpensive fix). Don't loose site of that fact, which will really turn the 1.5 SLE, into a very different rev, adding a bit of versatility. The SLE is a great kite to learn on, and even though you have a lot of two line experience, I can just about guarantee you, that you are going to experience some very hard landings, with the rev, during your initial learning process. And yes, Jeepster also mentioned that 100+ foot line set. Well, not only does that help slow the kite down, just a bit, and give you a larger wind window to work in, but (IMHO) all of that boils down to giving you a bit more reaction time, when that kite is heading south, at a high rate of speed. As Jeepster said, you are going to get a bunch of different opinions here, which are all worth exactly what you paid for them, or should I say, what you make of them, however, everyone has their own experiences to pull from. So personally, I think it makes good sense, to go through the learning curve, with a kite that's not going to cost you an arm and a leg (just a few toes), and then if you like that, move your way on up to a B-series, and if the notion stays with you, then go for that JB-Pro, or whatever. I doubt it seriously, but you just might hate revs, again, I really doubt that will be the case, but get out there and test the water. You'll never get that perfect set-up, that suits you to a tee, on the first try, so ease into this thing..........again (IMHO) I do agree with Guru4tru, on the full-vent issue, though. I will have to say, that out of the 9 revs, that I currently own, my favorite (if I could only keep one), would definitely be the 1.5 B-series "full-vent". If I didn't fly on the coast, I'd probably pick the 1.5 B-series mid-vent. But call that SLE a pile of tomato stakes if you like, it's still a great kite, and I bet there are a lot of rev fliers out there, that began this wonderful journey, with an SLE on the ends of their lines. And yes, it's a tank, comparatively speaking, but it's a good tank, and it will serve you well..............and there's plenty of time to think about that next move, and should you continue to relegate your 15 mph+ days to the rev, then when it's time for that next move, definitely consider that full vent rev, whether it be another SLE, a B-series, or a B-Pro. But for now, don't overlook the SLE. As mentioned, in the very first paragraph, on the 1.5 SLE page, on the Revolution website: "The REV 1.5 SLE, continues to be the most dominant quadline sportwing on the market today, both with leisure fliers and competitors alike", and yes, as Guru4tru said, they are selling the SLE, but I'm not......... Good Luck with your choices ! nick

Flexifoil Kites, seems to have a viable website, with a help section, a repair parts section, and some sort of customer service. If they can't help you, I don't know who could................. good luck............. http://www.flexifoil.com/us/ << HOME PAGE http://www.flexifoil.com/us/company/contact.cfm << CONTACT INFORMATION

Way to go Connor !!! What a wonderful performance on Tuesday, and last night (Wed), the suspense was about to kill me. I can't imagine the pressure you must have been feeling. All I can say is "way to go", and you handled it all with such grace. When they finally announced that you would advance, I'm sure that we alarmed the neighbors, way over here in North Carolina..........................keep it up..........we're pulling for you ever step of the way. Tell Mom "hi"......................

Thanks John, appreciate that..............nick

I guess this is the silver lining to the lost REV Instead of being lost and forgotten, it will bring joy and hopefully more fliers to the sport we love :) You did a great job Nick. I think the outcome, even though it is not what we all wanted is a positive after all. Well Done thanks................... nick

The "Lost Rev" has now gone into "TRAINING MODE"...............[done deal] Can't you just see the Newbies, being drawn over to "the dark side"........

Ok, I'm back at Jockey's Ridge, and Kitty Hawk Kites, in Nags Head, NC. The temperature is near 100F, the humidity is near 200%RH, and the heat index is around 115F. Needless to say, not to much flying, going on, up on the dunes. But more importantly, the "Lost Rev", is still unclaimed, and there have been NO inquires, in nearly two months. I think it's time that we chalked this one up, as a DONE DEAL................

Hey Guys and Gals, I'm afraid this thing is turning into a lost cause ! We've surely tried, but it's just not happening............ I'm sure that everyone on the forum is getting really tired of seeing this thread, but my intentions were good. I'll be back down at Kitty Hawk Kites & Jockey's Ridge, in just a few days, so I'll check with them, to see if they have heard anything. If no one has claimed the "Lost Rev" by then, I'm going to call this a done deal................. The kite will then enter into another life. It will be used as a "trainer" and a "demo" kite, at Kitty Hawk Kites, in Nags Head, NC. At least it will be put back into service, and maybe it will help to bring some more "Newbies", over to the "Dark Side"..........

Time is running out on this thing...............

Still nothing !

Way to go Connor ! I wish they had showed more of your routine, but what I saw was great. You know, you've made a huge step, for all of us, in the kiting world. I've only been a kite flier, for about 7 - 8 years, and Revs, for just about a year. Believe me, I can't even think or dream, of touching anything that you do, so please, please don't be discouraged. There are so many people in this world, that just don't get it. Not that they mean to be cruel or unkind, they just don't understand what it is, we do. As I said before, you have taken a huge step, for all of us, and you have introduced our sport, to so many people, that would have otherwise, still been in the dark. Stick with your dreams and keep it up. You are great at what you do and I'll never forget your performances................. Take care & "No X's" ............

And what a great job you do. Thanks............

Congrats..............Dale................ I'm beginning to wonder about this randon number thing. These things are hitting all around me Just kidding................

You're a real pal............thanks

I realized that it was pinned over here, and thank you. Can it be pinned, over at Rev ? Maybe ?

Yep, I think John is helping out here..........I wish he would pin it over on the Rev forum...........(hint hint)

Congrats Stuart....................... Enjoy

Oh, go on.............

Connor................All I can say is CONGRATULATIONS, there guy............you've made us all proud, and especially your Mom. Amy, what a special surprise, and congratulations to you too.............nick ps............No "X's"..........Priceless

Thanks to all for the advise. I still have one spar that refuses to move, so I will try the "right grip" and a little wham, wham, wham ..... then I will purchase some surgical tubing. It's nice to know that I am not the only one who has this problem. Thanks again. Cheers, Ray Hey Ray, If you are going to try the surgical tubing, here is an illustration (attached below), to show exactly what I meant. Also, on second thought, probably shouldn't remove the factory dust covers, due to wear and tear that may likely occur, between the leading edge spar and sleeve, and the vertical spar, itself. Just slide a piece of surgical tubing up against that end cap, just as you do on the other end caps...........reef