makatakam

I remember you saying you would end that session with a "near miss", so it was done with intent.

Just teasing -- Indiana Dunes are just a wee bit smaller. Looking forward to the rest of your vids.

Congratulations. Enjoy it.

Indiana Dunes?

The painted desert one is just great.

That's a damn good one, John. When the wind, kite, location, music and mind-set all come together.................awesome happens. Definitely now one of my favorites also.

That's why I fly in the Midwest -- no palm trees. First time watching the Goal Study video. Needs editing badly. I would definitely cut out the two or three times adjusting the buds. That should get it down under 14 minutes. The rest I would leave as it is. Truly awesome.

That's why I like flying over grass; it doesn't get up and move when the wind blows.

I leave a very short tab, which eventually disappears as the knot works its way to the end of the loop. If you tie a figure-eight instead of a simple overhand it won't move, but it is more difficult to untie when you equalize your lines.

Thanks, Robbie. I didn't like what I had designed at first, but it's growing on me quickly.

Tie a knot at the end of the loop. Easy to grab.

Any weight you can shave off the total weight will help. This includes every part of the sail, including the type and amount of thread used in the stitching of the sail, the type of material used as the sail, the frame members, the hardware used to hold it all together, and the type of bridle (if any at all) used. The frame only needs to be strong and stiff enough to withstand the most radical move you intend to make; anything more than that is "dead weight". This applies to all parts of the kite, indoor or outdoor. Most commercially made kites are built much stronger and heavier so they can withstand the abuse of less experienced flyers. No one likes a multi-hundred-dollar kite turning into splinters and torn material the first time they fly it. Once you are familiar with the flight characteristics of a particular design, you can build it extremely light. Then you can fly with ease while most others are either struggling to fly, or totally grounded.

978

Congratulations, Marshall! Hey, John; since you raided the warehouse, are we to assume there is more HQ coming our way?

Revolution extra vent is no problem in 25-30 mph. Haven't tried higher than 30, yet, but if I do I will probably move faster than the kite.

Beautiful scenery! I think you'll go through a lot of line sets, unless you launch and stay far away from the ground.

I want to fly there, it looks great. Maybe next year.

Now you got me wanting to stack something. Winter project? Hmmmm.....

I can see improvement already, less wobble and crisper moves. Watch the videos and you can see it too.

Yes, they are! Nice flying. Good control on the Rev, and it will get even better. I'm sure you've seen the Barresi videos. Now you can watch them again and pick out the finer points in the instructional ones. There is not limit to what you can make your Rev do. Have fun, don't forget to breathe and keep the videos coming.

Thanks for the positive input, everyone. I was a little disappointed in my design capabilities when I first received them (except for the Zen), but the design is growing on me as time goes on. The Pros look like an angry frog to me when the kite is inverted, but I'm getting used to it.

Thanks, John. If you look closely, you'll see that it is part of the B-Pro pattern, so it actually matches the Pros.

And both of those shots are, I believe, courtesy of basicbill.

Finally got a couple of good pics of my new babies. Here they are. The blue NYM is not mine, I got a red/wht/blk of course.

I flew my new Zen this past Sunday. It came with black race rods, and I flew it in wind from 0-2mph, maybe 3, on 90# x 80ft lines using 13" handles. I was yankin' and spankin' like I do with 1.5s, and I believe that over-input is what makes it drop from the sky. I also was using maximum brake to keep the sail loaded, so much that an upright hover was impossible without constant whumping. It is slower to react and slower overall than a 1.5, but can still be spanked, albeit gently.