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Wayne Dowler

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Everything posted by Wayne Dowler

  1. Wayne Dowler
    Not sure Rev handles will work. The Deca's handles are much flatter and the "foam" is very much centered. Lines, I believe to the equal. They fly completely different from any Rev - I know - I tried and failed miserably. The person to ask - and he flies one with absolute beauty, is Scott Weider. Not sure he is on this forum, but he is on Facebook. I would PM him and ask any questions you might have.
  2. Wayne Dowler
    I know a guy that has a key ..........!!! Been using it for almost 5 full years now. I have a great relationship with the owner and manager. Except for some college classes on Tuesday and Thursday in the afternoons, I can use it whenever not in use. No nights or weekends though, soccer games from sunup to midnight, although if they don't stay in business, where do I go?? PS: that's me with the blue indoor Rev, black and gray shirt. This was taken at an interview for indoor flying by a local TV host as part of his - things to do show - Grant's Getaways. Pretty short notice, but we had a good cross section of men, women, boys, old, and young , pretty much a representation of who can do this!
  3. Wayne Dowler
    And that was taken at the 3/4ths line!! Add one more section to it!!
  4. Wayne Dowler
  5. Wayne Dowler
    Since I wear glasses - I dislike the rain! No fun looking through streaks. Real cold is no fun either! Since I have an indoor place 5 days a week available, I get my flying fix pretty regularly. Not so weekend dependent!!
  6. Wayne Dowler
    Looking pretty snazzy!!
  7. Wayne Dowler
    When you hear 1/2 the price - remember that many of us already have lines and handles. So for us it is much cheaper, if you are just replacing an equal type. Hence the 1/2 price! Yes it is expensive to join in. Unfortunately,there is no good inexpensive alternative available that flies well. Most, if not all the "cheapies" are in fact copies, and don't come near the quality set by those the copies are based on. The EXP isn't a bad start up kite. It will do everything any other Rev can do, just with a different feel to it. And that "feel" comes with time on the lines. I seriously doubt that any beginner can really tell what kite he has in his hands. But over time you develop a connection to your gear, knowing what it takes to make it work. It becomes a part of you. An old friend! If money is your guiding factor - the EXP isn't a bad buy. But be aware of one thing - no one single kite can do it all. Most of us have several different configurations of one style. Myself, I fly Rev "B" pros in 5 different venting types or models. Because I fly in a team - we have as many options to choose from as we can. That can get expensive!! And the only thing an EXP package needs to start - a stake!
  8. Wayne Dowler
    Inclement weather??? One year we had rain, crazy winds, and hail - still flew!!
  9. Wayne Dowler
    All Revs so far: 2 Indoor 1 Zen 2 SULs 2 std Pros 1 mid Pro 1 f/v Pro 1 x/v pro 1 100% Shook #6 in their pix album 1 SUL, 1 std Pro, 1 mid Pro are in my street bag (included in count) - beat up badly and borrowing a team mate's mid Pro til I can afford/decide on a replacement! Total = 11
  10. Wayne Dowler
    I suggest that if you are not comfortable doing the work yourself - that you get in contact with Andy at Ocean Shores Kites in Ocean Shores, WA. Owns a store there and can fix darned near anything that flies!! EDIT: by the look of your kite arsenal - you should be set for now and getting this fixed ASAP is low priority. Why I mentioned Andy - you can get it fixed right and take your time having it done. IMO
  11. Wayne Dowler
    And I think you might need some stronger verts in that design. Funny - but the verts have the most stress put on them! A lot of times I put 3 or 4 wrap verts in, while using a race LE! Nothing says I can't mix them!! As it is, my Zen has 3 different types in it!! But looking at how big the sail area, and shallow the "V" area, I would suspect more stress at the verts. IMHO
  12. Wayne Dowler
    Be careful using no bridle, like the indoor, on outdoor kites! The bridle is there to equalize the stresses on the frame. Attaching at only the top and bottom of the vertical, ends up putting all your stress on them and focuses more at the intersection of the vert and LE. Reason for no bridle on the indoor is you never have the same amounts of overall stress, as you do outdoors. I use an Indoor outside some, but can really feel a difference between it and my usual outdoor stuff.
  13. Wayne Dowler
    Glad to hear you are still "on" Walt!! Might try to get back to Bill about what you do have in stock right now!
  14. Wayne Dowler
    Nope. Seems like the nose tipping works for both ends of the range. When I flew dual line, all my adjustments were either middle or nose forward. Might have changed over the years as we've gotten better at design and stuff, but that Quantum design is "old school" to a degree, and all the old adjustments should still apply!
  15. Wayne Dowler
    Flew dual line for many years - tip the nose forward! It won't turn quite as fast, but will have less pull! I know it is against the manual - sometimes you find out stuff just trying things.
  16. Wayne Dowler
    The Freilein's are now using holes where the LE mesh goes. Durability still out on that as they haven't been out long enough to say one way or the other.
  17. Wayne Dowler
    Elliot donated one of his earliest (#6 in the album) 100% sails to me. Compared it to Paul Dugard's new model - major improvements - wear strips, more curve to the LE, might even have fold strips, not sure. Mine has a dead straight LE, but I made it work a little better by using a race frame in it.
  18. Wayne Dowler
    Looks to equal about a 20% by my eye. I talked to Elliot once about his originals that had no spaces. His comment - Way Too Heavy! Yours looks to have twice as many strips as a Shook, at least to my eye!
  19. Wayne Dowler
    Portland, Oregon here.
  20. Wayne Dowler
    That's funny!!!!
  21. Wayne Dowler
    Efficient doesn't always equal the best for flight and stretch dynamics, IMHO.
  22. Wayne Dowler
    Throw enough money at them and ............! But it is unlikely they understand or will pay attention to things like fabric orientation, etc.
  23. Wayne Dowler
    Straps are very much an upgrade from any handle. Save you a lot of wear and tear on the body. Don't need to be those oversized foam things either, good wrist straps make a bunch of difference! Straps attach pretty easy if they have a loop on the end, just put the line loop through the strap loop and then put the strap through the line loop. Done!
  24. Wayne Dowler
    Just don't cheapo out on lines - it is your only connection to your kite! Got lines that stretch and give - all the feel gets lost in that. Good lines give you better feedback on how your kite is reacting!
  25. Wayne Dowler
    Dyneema is OK, LPG (Laser Pro Gold), Shanti Speed, and Shanti Skybond are also better IMHO. Prism used to use a set called Modulus, guess that went away. Several line makers did go out of business, but a few remain. The market is small for us fliers!
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