makatakam

Cool !

What they said -- ditto. Try before you buy. Consider all options. Other pro tip, watch the video tutorials available on this forum, especially assembly, line management, and basic set-up and launch. If you have already watched them, watch them again and again until you're sick of watching, and then watch them three more times. Everything JB tells you is GOSPEL, and will save you much grief. Definitely get together with Dragonfish. She knows her stuff, backwards and forwards.

Hi from the Chicago area, and welcome to the forum. Keep a close eye on eBay. Used Revs show up quite often, and if you spot one that you like, post up here and we'll let you know if it's worth buying. This way, if you buy used, you can keep the cost down to something comfortable, and you won't feel guilty about beating on it. Learning to fly quads will usually put some wear on the kite. Also keep an eye on the kites for sale topic on this forum. There will be some available sooner or later. Don't be in too much of a rush to buy. There are flyers in your area who will be happy to let you try theirs, and advise you on which will be best for the winds in your neck of the woods. Tons of flyers up and down the West coast. Some of the people you meet may have used equipment they can sell, and you can see what you're purchasing up close and personal. Pretty much everyone here will recommend to "try before you buy". Good luck. Have fun, smile, and don't forget to breathe.

Should be fine. Look at the number of openings on a Shook. The size of the openings looks to be about double the size of the largest on a Shook. I think it'll be just fine. I wouldn't add the extra weight, and if they should become necessary, can added at that time.

I like it.

Then you will definitely find plenty of use for P100 frames. Try some P90 in your SUL's as well as some P90/P100 hybrids. I think you'll like them. This one has a P90/P100 hybrid. I fly it in 1/2-mph wind, sitting on my butt. In this photo, it has a black race LE with P100 uprights for heavier wind up to 2-mph. The aspect ratio is higher than a 1.5 Rev, longer LE, shorter uprights -- custom lengths that fit this sail only. If you look closely, you'll notice that the bungees are very short and don't double back. The LE mesh has been replaced with "holes". The endcaps are stick-pen end plugs, and the bridle is made of 70-lb spectra line. In addition, the center bridle loop on the bridle is adjustable so it can be lengthened or shortened, depending on the wind strength, because the bridle is attached to the ends of the bungees at the tips to increase duration of sail loading.

A handle, consisting of a knotted rope loop, where the knot is too big to pull through the holes in the two sides of the pulley bracket but the rope diameter is small enough to slide a doubled-over length of rope through them, will make fast work of the set up for it, and decrease the possibility of the pulley becoming a projectile if you lose your grip on the rope. I have seen pulleys of that type at the hardware store that will easily fit in your pocket.

The SS rods don't have the snap and quick response of race rods or diamond rods, but if you're looking for straight tracking and slow precision flying, they can't be beaten. If you're a flailer, you probably won't like them. If you're style is all about smooth and graceful, it will be love at first flight. I especially like them in very light wind sails. The slow response/return rate keeps the sail loaded longer, requiring just a bit less effort to stay airborne. In the end, the conditions will determine which of the choices is preferable. My two cents on the topic. P.S. -- See my avatar? P100 LE + P200 Uprights, custom lengths. LE 96", uprights 28.5".

Hi, Ike, and welcome to the forum. I look forward to flying with you someday. I'm guessing you're in California.

Happy Birthday, John. See you down the road.

Congratulations. Should be fun zooming around with the tube tail.

That should work. Look for vinyl caps, the kind that go on the ends of the rods on wire shelving, only big enough to fit very tightly on the endcaps. You don't need to force them all the way on. You can leave some empty space inside. They are available larger than what I have here at most hardware stores. I just grabbed whatever was handy to photograph. Not as much weight as the tubing, but they wear faster.

15' box kite flying line = 150' of braided steel cable.

Did you guys fly?

My bad. I thought an Eddy was about 25% down. I never checked the specs or built one. All the "diamond" kites I made as a kid and afterwards involved unequal spar lengths, and tended towards tall and thin. All were made with bowed cross-spars and were fairly steady in flight with no tail. They were all equipped with line bridles and the location of the bridle anchor points made a dramatic difference in flight characteristics. I, and my father, built mostly box kites using laminated basswood spars that we would make in the basement "shop". We built many large ones, up to about 15 feet tall that could lift a small person. The small box kites that I made as a kid were the only ones with a direct-to-frame attachment point for the line. The large ones were all bridled for load distribution.

The spars in that configuration = Eddy. The Eddy kite is less stable when stretced flat than the typically available commercially made diamonds, and should make it easier to replicate the action. If you bring the bridle point down a 1/4" it should increase the tendency to rock. Even 1/8" should make a difference. The bridle point is the actual intersection point of the spars as I understand it. Am I correct in this assumption? There is not a bridle made of bridle line attached to the frame? distal = army medic

A (relatively) small parafoil is a great kite to learn with. The lack of a frame makes it very forgiving when you crash the kite, and it's a good intro to stunt kiting in general. It will give you a good idea of the dynamics of the wind window and how to work the wind to your advantage. Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe.

All Rev fliers are awesome, and extremely humble.

I had that happen once, a very long time ago. I remember trying to duplicate it on several occasions, and nearly had it a couple of times. A few variables have to mesh to make it possible. Fascinating how the rocking motion and the oscillations in the line seem to strengthen each other. One thing I remember is that the tail has to be just a little bit less than what the kite can possibly lift, and the rocking motion of the kite can be amplified by making the distal end of the tail heavier than the rest of it, for instance, using a rock or other object to add weight to the existing tail. I spent a whole summer trying, but never got it to work as well as the time it happened initially. The weight of the tail, wind speed, length of the tail, weight of the line, length of the line, area of the sail, how high or low the attachment point on the bridle, and even the bow in the frame that the wind creates all have to be in exact proportion to each other. Absolutely mesmerizing when it happens.

This should be helpful. Zero_Wind_Deca._manual.pdf Even with instructions it can be mind-boggling the first couple of times. I once tried to assemble one in the field without instructions and got nowhere. Best to have someone show you, and even then if you don't fly it for a year or two you'll probably need a refresher course.

@RonB Definitely take Brett up on his offer. To have an experienced pilot only an hour away, who can help you in the early stages is worth its weight in gold. To have someone that close who can also set up a Deca is priceless! A couple of times out with Brett will take months off the learning curve. Smile, have fun and don't forget to breathe.

I would like to see the "TKL" a and the two lines going out from the figure bit bolder. The other figures don't look like figures to me. They look more like the graphic normally used to indicate a figure in motion. If they do indeed represent motion, then it's all good, but if they are meant to represent the rest of the team, I think they would be better if they were thicker and went all the way down to the ground. Of course the TKL doesn't stand for TeamKiteLife, right? It stands for T.K. and Luca.

I meant the forum page, not the home page. I probably just didn't notice when it disappeared.

If driving, I prefer the chairs originally installed by the vehicle manufacturer, especially if the vehicle is a stick-shift. When flying, I prefer an armless chair, so I don't keep bumping my elbows into the armrests.

Speaking of logos, I just noticed that the KiteLife logo - the kid flying a kite, like on the pin - no longer appears on the home page.