makatakam

Welcome to the forum.

Did you know that England is half the size of Illinois, and even if you add Wales and Scotland it is still less in area than Illinois. That excuse just doesn't cut it. If you want it you must go get it. Two hours one way for one day is worth the time and money to fly with experienced pilots. You will learn and enjoy 10 times what you will on your own. Trust me, I've done both. There are several festivals in the UK. Get out to at least one or two a year. You can do it!

I've met Lolly and David and flown with them at kite festivals. I've met and flown with JB. Club 38 is fine for beginners and anyone else who wants to partake. I have no issues with anyone who joins. I have issues with how it was planned and executed at the early stages, probably before you were flying Revs. I have no issues with the people, the kites or the company, just with how things were done and how some folks were treated. As I mentioned there's some history that you may not be aware of, that if you read every thread on this forum you will become aware of. There's bruised feelings and then some on both sides, so sometimes newcomers can say things that irritate old wounds without even knowing it. Club 38 is a touchy subject for a lot of people for various reasons. My experience with it was not the best, but I won't get into the reasons. I have 14 various Revolution kites, and no competing brand of quad kite, and don't have any reason to acquire any, including the Djinn, unfortunately. I am thinking about getting a Djinn bridle or two to try on my Revs. Welcome to the forum. I look forward to flying with you someday.

@Buellbloke I see that you've joined the KiteLife forum recently, and don't know how long you've been flying Revs or viewing the forum or the Revolution Kites forum but I just want you to know that there is a lot of things you may not yet be aware of regarding both. There is some history and I wonder if you would be as bold if you knew everything that happened. Unless you read every post to every thread on the entire forum you will never know. P.S. -- I don't appreciate you giving me the finger. What have I done to deserve it?

Put the end through the center of the hoop, out the other side, under the standing line, throw a half-hitch around it. It may loosen a bit in the bag, but it will never tangle.

Welcome to the forum.

You can pretty much do anything as long as you don't mind being sued and having everything you own taken away from you and your earnings garnished for the rest of your life, or fined and/or imprisoned. If you kill someone with your kite, who is responsible? These risks are taken by the sponsors and organisers of the festival and they must purchase insurance usually required by law to hold the festival which exposes the public to various risks. They want you to register so you are covered by that insurance they purchased. They give a list of those persons who are insured to the authorities. If you're not on the list, you are not covered and not allowed to play on their turf. If you want to go fly further down the beach you can, but you're on your own. You hurt one of the spectators you are only covered by whatever insurance you have. It's not so much a matter of if they like you or not -- it's all about liability. Fifty years ago if someone was injured by a kite it would be considered an accident and no one would sue anyone. Nowadays someone has been negligent and must be martyred. It's the mindset of being victimized and greed that has screwed things up, not the festival organisers.

If you're downloading to a phone or other mobile device, do you have enough free space?

Hi, Danno, and welcome to the forum.

Jak jest prawdziwy Freilein, kupuj. Cena wspaniala za ten wyrob. If it's a real Freilein, buy it. Great price for this brand.

Freilein is great. Imitation of Freilein, maybe not. However, $50 is a great price. You can fix it if something is wrong. The materials on cheap kite are usually of lesser quality -- that's why they don't cost much. If you have someone experienced who can help get it. If you are new and not familiar with Rev-style kites it may become a problem. Remember, you need handles and lines too. If you can afford it, buy the better quality. It will last twice as long, at least.

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum.

I hate to burst your bubble, but the goal posts are hollow pretty much their entire length.

Welcome to the forum.

Hi, sniperdog, and welcome to the forum.

I'm on PC, but I can imagine it on a phone. But it's ok -- it paraphrases a lot of the stuff we have all gone through and serves to tighten the bond among members of the community by reminding us of shared experiences. It's all good.

Depending on how often you can get out to fly, the time it takes to gain basic control of the kite, which means no more crashing, can be multiplied by three and that's about how long it will take until you can feel the changes that subtle adjustments make to how the kite flies. For some people that's three years; for others it's three weeks. It all depends on how much time you put in on the handles. Of course, some are "naturals" and it just clicks for them. For most folks who get out to fly frequently it takes about two seasons to get to the point where you understand the how and why of what makes it work. To put it simply, there are three stages of flying a kite, whether it is single, dual or quad line: 1. The kite flies you. 2. You fly the kite. 3. Both of you fly as one. Most people never get to the third stage, or only feel it briefly in certain circumstances when everything is ideal, including mindset. Watch videos of the pros flying. It's easy to see that they are somewhere else mentally and no longer have to think before making a move. It's difficult to explain, a Zen-like state that you will only understand when you've felt it. If you stay with it long enough it will happen, and the desire to have it happen again is what will keep you in kiting. It is an addiction to bliss.

I live in the Chicago area -- "The Windy City"! Unfortunately, that's a reference to its politics and not the weather. Really, Google it. The wind we do get is at best inconsistent away from Lake Michigan, and most of the time is choppy just as yours is. This is the wind I learned in. The best advice I can give you is to embrace it and learn to fly well in it, for when you fly afterwards with others in decent wind you will look like a pro. If you can fly in bad wind the good wind becomes very easy. It will help teach you how to stay airborne when most others are grounded. It may take a bit longer to learn, but you will be much better for it, and the satisfaction is much greater when you do fly in good wind.

Hi, @Buellbloke and welcome to the forum. Glad that you enjoy the quads and kite flying in general.

Simple advice for beginning pilots so that the kite is slowed down in strong wind and the pilot struggles less in lighter wind. Notice I said lighter wind, meaning still well above the lower end of the kite's range. Once it's down in that lower end of the kite's range a beginning pilot has little chance of getting airborne and staying there. As the pilot gains experience and control we start talking about squaring the sail to the wind and how tipping the nose will affect performance. You can kick in drive with a dual, but it is less effective the further back the nose is tipped.

Congrats!

Yes, I was definitely thinking of mandrels and ovens and such. I have had "parts" for various projects machined for me and on small batches the cost per unit is very steep. I have four custom endcap sets for Revs that fit inside the spar that were CNC'd that cost about $90 per set/6.

The initial setup cost would exceed the cost of 12 complete quad frames, and that's just one size of tube. Unless I was planning to go into commercial manufacture there's no reason to do so. It would be like building your own textile mill so you can make some Icarex sail material.