Reef Runner

Can't beat it...............go for it............

No problem, I'm retired, so I'm in and out of the house all day. Computer stays on 24/7, so when I check email, in the morning & evening, or just walking by, I just give it a bump, or thank someone, as yourself, that is trying to help. I suppose, being on the east coast, my 6:30 - 7:00am email checks, or forum bumps, register on the west coast, as 3:30 or 4:00am. Trust me, I'm not up at those hours, my time, anyway. Normally, I'm up around 6:30 in the morning, down around 10 at night..................... Also, another factor, I spend 4 - 5 weeks, during the summer, in Nags Head, NC, much of it up on Jockey's Ridge flying, or across the street on the beach, both which are right at Kitty Hawk Kites, so needless to say, I'm in and out of the store, nearly everyday, when I'm there. I know a lot of the people that work in the store, so I told them that I'd try to get the word out,,on line, for a month or so, anyway............kinda been fun, actually, trying to see how many people that we can get the word to. I know the AKA has spread it to most all of their members, plus lots of people have viewed the information on Kiitelife, GET, and the Rev forums. So worry not.........I've got the time to do this, and I'm doing bunches of other stuff, in fact, I'm off to the lake, right now.......... Happy flying.....nick:)

Can't say we haven't tried................thanks for the bump!

May be daft, but thanks for the bump, anyway...................

Hey Brett, thanks for the bumping.............I'm going to add you on as a friend.................nick

Thanks for the Bump

Congrats "Sammi"..............you lucky dog...................

It's about time................................ta da !!!!

Hey Baloo, That's definately the idea. Bump, bump, bump. I was hoping, that if I kept bumping this topic to the top of the active topics, and if people kept seeing it, that the word would eventually get out to the rightful owner, who as you say, obviously is not a forum troller......... Again, thanks for the bump.......we need more bumps, and I'm about to bump out..........:sly:so bump people, bump Just keeping the topic active could do the trick:P

Hey Baloo, thanks for the bump. That's the only way to keep the topic easily visable..................... Bumpers Needed, just thru the end of the month..............let's give this poor blooke a chance to find his rev.........

Hey Baloo, thanks for the bump. That's the only way to keep the topic easily visable.....................

My wishes, exactly...........

Kitelife, I have tried your wham wham wham, method, but I had no luck with that. The sand, where I was flying (Jockey's Ridge in Nags Head, NC), was just so fine, that it locked up every end cap on the kite. It even got into the joints of the leading edge, and locked them up. I suppose it was unusually fine and dry, this past week, as the humidity was low, but the sun was hot, and the wind howling. I literally couldn't get a vertical spar out of the kite, to wham wham wham, with. I even tried using my kite stake to wham wham wham, but that didn't work either. I finally had to go and get a couple of sets of pliers, wrap the end cap and spar with a rag, to keep from scaring them, and then turn very hard. I was very concerned that I was going to break something, and I still had a really hard time, getting them apart. After that little episode, I put on the pieces of surgical tubing, and I never had another problem, the entire week. I suppose that size of sand particles, varies from place to place, and can create drastically different situations, as could the frame being used. In my case, I was using a 4-wrap frame, which theoretically, should present the smallest gap, between the inside of the end cap and the spar. But obviously, the sand I was in, was fine enough to get in, and it really created some genuine havoc for me. Very possibly, a two or three wrap frame, may have left enough space inside of the end cap, for the sand to fall out, but the winds were definitely howling 4-wrap, up on Jockey's Ridge (I believe you are familiar with that place). So, as they say, different strokes for different folks. Not that the wham wham wham approach, won't work in most cases, but after beating them with my stainless steel kite stake, I was afraid that I would break something, for sure.....

I used the have the same problem. What I do is take a short length (approx 1/4") of surgical tubing, and pull it over the end of the spar. Slide it onto the spar, not quite to where the end cap will reach, then put on the end cap, using the end cap to finish pushing the piece of tubing, as far as it will go, onto the spar. Now, the bungee, on the end caps, will keep the end caps pushed tightly against the piece of surgical tubing, which in turn, will block sand from getting into the gap, between the spars, and the inside of the end caps. Hope this all makes sense. When I fly on the beach, or on the dunes, I put the tubing on both ends, of the 1/4" leading edges, as well as on the tops and bottoms, of the vertical spars. This actually works better than the factory dust caps, that come on the top end caps. You can find surgical tubing on eBay, pretty cheap, or maybe at a fishing tackle shop. I have found that the perfect size tubing, for a nice snug fit, is 3/8" outside diameter, with a 3/16" inside diameter. Just chop them up into 1/4" lengths, and put a dozen or so pieces, into a small pill bottle, or other suitable container, and drop them into your kite bag. Make extras, because sometimes the get away from you, when you are initially, putting them onto the spar. Good Luck................and don't stay away from the beaches, they have the best wind....

Surely, someone out there remembers leaving their Rev behind. Maybe some of you have a flying buddy, that has mentioned accidentally leaving their Rev at the coast. Somebody has just got to claim this Rev...................

Oh, Happy B-day JB....................you're really getting up there ! Best Wishes on your special day !

If by chance, you just happened to leave your Revolution kite, out in front of the "Kitty Hawk Kites" store, in Nags Head, NC, right across the highway from Jockey's Ridge, please contact me. I can put you on the trail, back to your kite. I'm sure that whoever left this Rev, wants it back, but you'll have to be able to describe it, perfectly, before I'll give you the information. If you can come up with the details, PM me, and I will put you in contact with the person, that can get your Rev, back in your hands............... You'll need to know the following: 1. When and where was it left ? 2. What is the model of your kite (B-series, Supersonic, Rev I, Zen, etc) ? 3. What is the Color of the kite ? 4. Describe, "How you wound up your lines" ? 5. What kind of handles did you have with the kite ? 6. What color was the bag (sleeve) ? 7. What kind of bag was it packed in (straight sleeve, sleeve with handle, sleeve with pockets, drawstring bag, etc) ? I hate to be so rigid about this, but I want to make sure that the kite gets back to it's proper owner, and not someone just claiming that it was theirs. Heck, I could have done that..........All it will cost you is the postage, to mail your Rev home, and it's yours again. And BTW, I don't have your REV.................... Let me know...............

Oh man, I've already got it's identical twin. Wouldn't that be special, to have a matching set, of Lime/Black, B-series, full vented Revs ? ............ Then I'd have to make a set of stack lines............. RIGHT !!

Hang in there Ray..............this ain't exactly "rocket science", or maybe it is? Think about the flight line, as your finger, and the sleeving, as Chinese Handcuffs. Hope you know what they are. There's tons of help here. Just ask.............John's tutorials are great, man knows what he's talking about...........just apply it to two lines......................Ask and you shall receive...................

OK Duane, you've got the Pros in here now - listen up - these guys know what they are talking about. As for me, I'm just a tinkerer, with a bit of mechanical knowledge, and the tools to back it up. I really enjoy improving, improvising, and revising, already great ideas, and there are tons of them out there. If only I could fly a Rev, so well. As for the "Watty Way", my mistake (sorry Watty, but you did make the video), and I suppose that is what I remembered. I do remember that the original idea came from, "Stone in the Shoe Bob", so credit given, where credit is due (sorry Bob). No harm intended, only thanks - Bob, thanks for the idea - Watty, thanks for the video. As they say, a picture is worth, well, a lot. Ok, so now it's the "Stone in the Shoe Bob" method. Either way, thanks guys. Now, as JB has pointed out, the length issue is probably a personal preference. I'm sure that for the seasoned Pro, the slightest change in length, and/or diameter, is extremely annoying, however, for the novice / newbie, it may not be, quite so critical. I would suppose that whatever feels comfortable to you, would surely suffice. I hope JB will agree with this. So, as for the dilemma, "Do I cut the handles down to the original length, or do I let the length, fall where it may?", my advice on that would be to fix a set of handles, using the "Stone in the Shoe Bob" method (as illustrated in the "Watty Video"), then take them out for a flight, or three. If the length feels too long, awkward, or unwieldly, then it's simple enough, to go back to the work bench, take them apart, and cut them off at the inner edge, of the original holes, where the rings used to be attached (side of the hole, closest to the grips). After the cut, smooth off the rough edges, ream out the ends, and reassemble everything. This should put you back to within 1/16" to 1/8", of the original length - Voila! No snag handles, original length !! After all, it's a lot easier to shorten a set of handles, than it is, to lengthen them (now surely that make sense, doesn't it?) Just for ease, of you that may be reading this, here is my original post to "Stone in the Shoe Bob", concerning his revision, which originally appeared, over in the Revolution Kites Forum: Hi Bob, I was reading about your handle modifications, using the drywall anchors and the screws, which would enable one to rid themselves of those annoying metal rings, on the ends of the handles. A while back, Watty Watson sent me a video that he obviously put together, to help me understand his explanation of this procedure. I thought it worked like a charm. Now, I see, where you have now, gone back and reversed that modification, on the upper ends of your handles, and reattached the metal clips. I believe you said this was due to the additional handle length, which is created, by this particular modification. Now, I've got a stupid question. If this additional length is a problem, why not just cut off the top end of the handle tubing, maybe .25" to .50", or whatever seems to be right, and put you modification back as it was. I mean, that is such a clean and trouble free modification, and those clips (hog rings) are really a pain. My thoughts would be to cut the tubing, immediately below the holes, where the metal clips were mounted, and then reinsert your anchor and screws, as you had previously done. This should put you back, very close to the original handle length (+/- 1/8"). Surely you've got several sets of handles, just lying around, that you could experiment with. I hope I haven't misunderstood your point, but I think I'm hearing what you were saying correctly. Just my thoughts on the issue. Also, as for me, I suppose that I'm not quite as tuned in on the Rev, as you may be, and obviously, I haven't been flying long enough, for that small amount of additional length, to be a bother. Maybe one day, I'll get to that point, but for now, I'm just very happy, with your idea. Thanks for sharing it ! Now for my additional two cents - For those of you, who don't want to go to this extreme, of cutting the tubing, and would just like to use the anchor and screw idea, I have modified several sets, with very little trouble, however, if you have access, a few tools, other than a screw driver, it will make this job much easier and neater. WARNING - Do be careful, when removing the rubber covers, from the ends of the handles, because most of the handles that I have seen, have a very sharp and nasty burr, around the holes, where the metal clips were attached. You can see where the holes were drilled in the tube, so beware. Once I carefully removed the metal clips, and the rubber end caps, I took the handles over to the grinding wheel, where I smoothed down the burrs around the clip holes, and then polished the ends of the tube with a rotating brass bristled, wire brush. You could probably accomplish the same effect, with a little elbow work, a flat file, and some emery cloth. Just be careful. In fact, the file is probably all that is really necessary, if you will be very careful, and try not to scar the exposed part of your handles, while filing the burr. A padded vice, would be quite helpful, for holding the handle steady, while you file it smooth. You just need to remove that sharp metal burr around the small holes. I also found it necessary to ream out the ends, of most of the tubing, as there was some kind of hard residue, just inside the end. I don't know what that was, but it definitely needed to be removed. Either way, it just makes for an easier job, once the grinding, polishing, and reaming is done. Then it was just a matter of forcing the plastic anchors (with shoulders), down into the ends of the tubing, and inserting a #10 stainless steel screw, leaving just a small gap under the head of the screws, for the pigtails to be looped around. This can be seen clearly, in Watty's video, which can be found here http://www.vimeo.com/7746634 Also, I'll try to post a couple of pics, of one of my latest modified handles.(see below)

Oh, and Duane, if you are worried about the extra length, doing it the "Watty" way, just get your trusty old hack saw out again, and cut off each end of the Rev handles, right at that jagged hole, then smooth them down a bit, with a file, or preferably a grinding wheel. That's not too critical, since you will be putting the black end caps back on, when you are done. Anyway, once you make the cut, just insert the drywall anchors, put in the screws, add the lines and replace the end caps, and you should be within 1/8" or so, of the original length. Personally, I didn't even cut mine, and I never knew the difference. I have however, heard of some, that have done the cut off, just because of the extra 1/4", on each end. I suppose that it changed their feel, for the kite. As for me, I'm not quite that precise yet, so, to each his own, you know, different strokes................and all that

Hi Duane, I know you look at a lot of the info on the two forums, and you've probably already seen this, but just in case, you might want to check this out................... Here is a link to my post in the forum - http://www.revkites....es/page__st__20 If that link doesn't take you there, it's in the Rev forums, of course, at Revolution Forum > General Support > Set Up / Assembly > Home Made Handles Go to post # 22 - and you can read my two cents and I have a link to Watty Watson's video on fixing the handles You might find this as an interesting alternative..................and much much easier..........

Hey Duane, Looks great, and gives me some real ideas, for sure. I'm assuming, that in your original description, of your creative process, when you referred to putting the piece into the drill bit, you actually meant, that you were putting it into the drill "chuck". Is that correct? Not meaning to be critical in any way, and for sure, I realize that everyone doesn't have access, but these inserts could be made very quickly, and with much greater accuracy, on a metal lathe. If you know someone that is skilled with a lathe, you could probably get them to make you a hand-full of those inserts, for little of nothing.........eh? Never know when you might need a spare, or another set. I only have one question - What do you do, if you need to replace the pigtails? Just curious, because if I understood completely, once you epoxy the aluminum inserts, into the ends of the Rev handles, you can no longer access that inside knot, which holds the pigtail in place? Am I correct, or did I misunderstand your process? I suppose you could use something very strong, that you know will never wear or break? Again, you have surely given me some real food for thought, and I think I can hear a lathe turning, right now............ Thanks for sharing your idea..................

Well, I'm here in NC, on a large reservoir, however, I do most of my flying during the summer, on the NC Outer Banks. Man, the hotter the better, so far as I'm concerned..............Those 95F - 98F days are when I'll be up on the sand dunes all day, except for an occasional break, to enjoy nature, IYGMD................. Now, as for that quad building, sounds interesting, should it take shape. Just curious, though, does Rev allow that? Anyway, good luck with you future projects, but it you get into the sewing part, take Bill's advice, and get a sewing machine, preferably one that zig zags...............