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Paul LaMasters

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Everything posted by Paul LaMasters

  1. 15 inch handles might help you out with low wind conditions, more throw, less pilot effort
  2. Gortex waterproof outer and insulation inner layers, maybe a sweat wicking base layer too, good fitting (dexterous finger-tip & grip) gloves, sound appropriate footwear and covering for your head and neck, sunglasses or if it's windy enough goggles from a motorcycle business. I look like an advertisement for LLBean\/Cabela's when it's less than 60 degrees outside, everyone's laughing, but I hate being cold, damp That list is what I would have you invest in, if you lived nearby and asked about a used or beginner / intermediate kite. You can borrow mine or other people's kites each time we meet, but you must be comfortable outside (all day) to use them with us! There's no bad weather, only a poorly equipped kite flier. If you lived nearby and were close to my physical size I could probably dress you out of the excess apparel in the trunk of my car for an afternoon of foul weather fun. Borrowing clothes that fit and work appropriately is tougher than asking a kite club member to loan you a wing for a few hours though.
  3. good great guy Dave was & he will be sorely missed by us all
  4. wow I couldn't wait that long, a couple of days is all it takes for me to start twitching' and moaning for another "fix"
  5. Soon you'll have more moves than ex-lax®!
  6. Eliot Shook for example builds the leading edges in advance. That way you can reinforce INSIDE at specific points and still keep a silky smooth outer leading edge surface. You don't want the end-caps to be pushed above it when tightening bungies either. Add a square inch of kevlar material where you want a hole eventually, maybe even affix 3.9 ounce dacron "over-patches" on top of the kevlar, so the inside of the L.E. sleeve is less abrasive. Punch a hole (don't hot-cut with a soldering iron) and affix a metal grommet (they can be acquired in colors to match the sail too!) that goes thru all the patch pieces and the sail fabric. You'll still use a plastic washer and a knotted piece of elastic (unless you opt to experiment with an "oh-ring & belt-loop" sail tensioning method so there are no knots whatsooever. You can fold in the L.E. ends to prevent fraying too, all before affixing it to the sail. Building the leading edge flat means you can drop functions into the leading edge prior to it acquiring it's 3-D shape much easier. Say you wanted rare earth magnets sunk into the leading edge sleeve (probably in a pocket of Icarex?, so they can be removed easily and that fabric thickness will not interfere with the polarity/adhesiveness/magnetism, so kites could LOCK together when kissed in flight. Or you want mounting tabs for magic sticks built into the L.E, but you want each wing to remain independent (Dave Ashworth's style). Maybe you have a solution for affixing LEDs? Building the leading edge in advance means you can play Thomas Edison, not just Tom Copy-cat. It is extremely rewarding to make you own kite, removable covers over the sail venting strips or active sail vents, different positioning of the basic components, what happens if you move the location of the down tubes, chafing the angles? What about a leach-line, or micro-carbon fingers along the trailing edge? Graphics are only limited to your imagination and the ability to manage the sewing machine. Folks are so intimidated by sewing,... it's less than 10% of your time! Planning & acquisitions, pattern creation, transferring the image, all that crap is way more time consuming than the actual time you will sit at the machine. I used to make kites and still have a room in our humble home dedicated to these endeavors. But I've gotta' tell you how sweet it is,..... to just email\call Bazzer, or Eliot or Lolly and have them respond to my wild ideas and then build my kite beyond my own meager abilities. They could probably bang it out is a few hours where it would take me hundreds alone! Sometimes they even agree that the modifications I desire actually have merit. I wholeheartedly endorse that everyone should build a kite personally, even if it's out of a dihedral and some wooden dowels with a trash bag sail. For me personally though, I stopped building kites when Bazzer and Shook came on board with Revolution. Since that time Rev's own in-house QC capabilities have risen four-fold as well. Forced to exceed even their own previously high-held standards. I can assure all the readers that building a kite yourself will not be cheaper unless you attend a workshop where borrowing tools and sharing building experiences are included. I've built several kites out of the parts bins of Harold Ames and Dave Ashworth. In fact you should sit near them so it's even handier access,... HA! One time I borrowed a sewing machine and got lessons before the classes started. I've seen folks building a workshop kite with a sewing machine so old it would not do anything except a straight stitch! I've built kites with no sewing at all and then flown them for thousands of hours (9460 bonding) What's your time worth? If you're like me, I'd rather be flying then fiddling with bits in the house! I so enjoy your kiting efforts though Scott, I just wish we lived closer together to share some of these design/build adventures regularly. Thanks for pushing the content, great fun sharing your adventures my friend. -plm
  7. It is always fun to put a new person on the flying lines, .... particularly if they have watched you doing it for awhile. Their interest is already pinched tightly, just have to get passed sticker shock
  8. Webbing? WHAT? next time ask around on the forums with us and see if somebody will mail you a right stuff packet, I hate to see double effort or redo work. One thing's for sure Scott,.... that knot covers-solution is going to be durable! The extra LE patches are a many times proven mod, sure eventually the venting will still rip away, but you've effectively doubled the sail's lifespan with 'em. Honestly?,... I don't carry but maybe a couple of kites that don't have those tabs built into the leading edge initially. I consider it a necessity as a hard flailer, plus giving lessons is tough on your equipment as well. What tricks do I do to my ride? Ha!,... I replace pretty much everything on their kite except the logo (in an effort to get my own unique feel)
  9. and yet John, we all use Skyshark tubes occasionally in something made by Rev, even you ~ Be that a tapered spar as in the 1.5s (for down tubes as an example, cut down to end at the bottom of the sail too! ~ thereby pushing weight and the balance point more towards the leading edge) ~ Some kiting friends are just as happy with p-90s as the leading edge tubes as I am using the new Diamonds, Paul Dugard comes to my mind immediately, he's either on Green Race or p-90s with his 1.5s ~ None of us complain when the Rev2/ B-2 is outfitted with p-90s, it's more responsive and lighter in weight, flies just as well as Rev tubed, if not better than certainly different. ~ Some favor the 2 wrap tubes as well, but there's no comparison with Rev's Diamonds for a ultra snappy response and lighter weight. If you haven't compared 'em,... how could you know about their superiority? I stuck Scott Weider on a set, so he would seriously consider them for the Rider team kites when conditions are challenging. You get used to something and change seems unnecessary, . . . . yet it is inevitable. Stiffness matters (diamonds vs p-90s comparison being quoted here) but rapid response (the "snappiness") as a personal preference and your wallet's thickness may also have an impact. Can you afford $30 individual sticks, even if they are the greatest thing ever? You could buy tapered 2-P spars from Skyshark blemished for a couple of dollars INCLUDING the freight! Retail is probably under a ten-spot each for p-90s. Yeah you gotta' cut em down to size and ferule, but the price! Where the frame bends when loaded hard is also a factor of response. Maybe your kite bends in the middle, but mine all bend on the outer thirds. I could use a stiffer tube in the center for weight, but it has little impact on the bending aspect . I use a hybrid frame on some Shook kites. It's a travel frame configuration, the center two sections are Green race and the outer four pieces are Diamonds. Flies fine until you demand it to fill with air instantly, then it's like a supercharger on your kite. Heck I still carry a set of SLEs too, imagine a "throw" on those tubes, it's like a javelin instead of a willow branch. You can throw it thru other folks lines intentional nesting. Short lines make it completely reliable, thrown directly at the stroller while momma-san and the child shout & giggle. That stiffness is caused as much by the fat diameter as the raw materials selected & wall strength/thickness.
  10. the best bridle line depends on your needs,.. for leaders, I like a doubled strand of hi-test bridle line (100#) with the (overhand) knots in only one of the two strands, spaced very close together (3/8" or less). Some folks use only a single strand (or the 140# strength), some even use a Dacron weave. I believe the leaders should be "tuned from the bottoms", as this allows the top lengths to remain a consistent length for 3-D tricking. The further out there (on the top leaders) that you can reach, the more dramatic the impact on the flight dynamics. You do NOT want to reach out beyond the leaders onto the raw spectra fibres though, as that is a sure sliced open pinky finger ( and right at the finger's fold too, so healing takes forever!) The length of the top leaders should be "just short" of reaching to the bottom of the handle leader attachment point (across that gap, but not reaching entirely). By having only a single knot in the leaders you can easily open and retie it into a new position, so adjusting your line sets when eventually necessary (to a neutral setting, back on the stake or fence post) is super easy. When doing one-handed stuff it's really tough to tangle the leaders if you follow my guidance and snagging the bottom attachment point can be overcome as well thru further modifications Obviously these recommendations are my own preferences and in no way is this the only path to the promised land destination!
  11. location is everything! everything around here is booked ALWAYS with some ongoing indoor activity, the schools, gyms, covered tennis courts, indoor soccer field, etc. Our kite club could pay $150 for an hour (say at the soccerplex), but we can not commit to regularly monthly/weekly scheduled times in big chunks, so that eliminates us from any possible consideration.
  12. indoor sport kite flying is not difficult, just different. Those soon to be obtained skills transfer well to outdoors in low/no wind conditions as well. If you have the correct equipment and enough room to move around using it, it's great fun. The conditions are usually always the same too, .... 360 degrees around is your window, plus up & overs so you can stand more centralized, catch your breath on occasion. One of the key skills is which way you'll move personally so you don't get trapped into a corner! there are single line gliders and fighter kites that are highly moveable, maybe even flown on a magic wand (a stick makes your arm instantly longer) if your giving lessons to kids or just extraordinarily lazy. A dedicated indoor sport kite is very delicate though, so plan to "crash gently" whenever possible. The toughest part about indoor flying is where can you practice regularly. I live nearby Washington DC, a huge metropolitan area and we can't snag a spot to save our own lives!
  13. Safety: You should land a quad so it drives into the ground naturally (forward), or in other words,... you place the leading edge direction pointed into the ground (for safety). It can be held in a rigid position on the ground without your intervention (inverted, nestled into the soil) with a tent stake or a phillips screwdriver If the kite doesn't want to balance in one position (hover) there's really no point in using four lines on a framed kite, ouch, so sorry! You have to "tune for neutral", with the handle leaders having adjustment knots closely spaced together and the appropriate bridle working in unison to tame the beast. When the kite has a proper neutral and a decent amount of wind it can balance on one finger of your hand, stationary. With enough experience you get to decide where this balance point shall be placed for your own ultimate comfort on your equipment. The kite only goes forward if you allow it to (that's the natural direction generally that the it wants to go, forward, not "up"). In higher wind or for that matter, any time you make an adjustment to the tuning,... ADD down first (more brakes, shorten the bottoms or lengthening the top leader knot position) and see if that is an improvement in flight dynamics. NOT my recommended first choice with a stack though, HA! The bridle should distribute the forces of wind in a controlled manner. Here's an example, My friend Dave Ashworth makes great flying indoor kites, a fart in church light air worthy! Sometimes the frame is so flexible in en effort to control overall weight that the frame distorts when given an sharp command. Well that's what's happening to you in higher wind on the Transeye. The frame is being distorted in sudden gusts (or from your sharp commands) Dave's solution indoors was to add a long, no an outrageously long bridle (to an indoor kite, what?) Outdoors you can play with tuning quick and cheap though, but a stiffer whilst still being a light weight frame is why the most widely recognized brand in quad builds their own tubes in-house. If the frame members and connecting ferrules are both hollow, you could try fitting a single piece slim carbon tube inside to add more strength. I've used this technique but it was on a kite 6 pack stack designed by Harold Ames to have this function available (in case of higher wind or if you wanted to double-stack 'em) * * * If you don't have adjustment leaders on your handles, that is your first step. little tiny adjustments on each end, top and bottoms, not an inch all at once either, but 3/8s or less. This allows for a front-end alignment on your race car. You can tune a neutral so the kite goes straight, unless you tell it to do otherwise. * * * The flying lines that are connecting you to the kite are like a set of tires on your race car. They can ruin a great time if they aren't right for the current conditions! Too worn, too stretchy, too uneven,... just not the right stuff. * * * Drop all four flying lines when affixed to your flying handles and pull them tightly against a stationary fence post or a well-placed tent stake, screwdriver. All four lines to one point with no tangles or nesting back to the handles. Pull the handles tightly with them squeezed next to each other & perfectly aligned. As you slowly give slack, sight down the top lines towards the stake, like an archer. If they are properly tuned one line will NOT show slack before the other! Go ahead and visualize it several times, rotate and test the bottoms too. Check the handle alignment and see which one is the longer line. You have to make 'em match. Not "close or that's good enough",... no PERFECT. Use the knot leaders or add an overhand knot directly into the flying line that is longer. Whatever you need to do!, if you fly without making this perfect alignment your kite will pull (towards one side of the race track speedy) unless you constantly adjust your technique to compensate. Okay the lines are even and the handles are tuned to neutral and they align perfectly, next? Now you need to set up the kite inverted (forward direction is flying into the ground) and affix the flying lines. You "tune" for neutral flight by adjusting DOWN/reverse/brakes (shorten the bottom leader flying line position or lengthen the tops) until the kite will backup inverted. Don't turn it over or go draggin' across the ground to gain flight. Stand flatfooted or even walk backwards slowly and make the kite fly backwards, slowly up from the ground, all the while inverted. Note the position of the leader knots and flying line attachments loops. Now that beast is tamed! If the frame flexes too much? then it's too windy that day or you need to replace and experiment with different frame choices. That can be fun if you have a group of people who can meet regularly. Example? We didn't like how the Steve LaPorte's Spirit flew, so 3 of us spent eight months fiddling with the design during weekly meetings. Afterwards we called our resized, rebridled design a T-I-R-I-P-S (spirit spelled backwards) and I flew that design configuration for about 3 years religiously, just to be different from everyone else using Revolution 1.5s. If it's howling wind outside and you have to fly,. . . . then add still more DOWN in the tuning of the handles (remove all that forward drive entirely and bleed that excess air pressure off of the leading edge), use heavier gauge flying lines than typical to add still more drag. I've seen folks weave stuff like kite tails thru the bridles, or affix screens to disrupt the airflow between the kite and the flying lines, wetting a nylon kite sail to soften and weight it down more. I've seen people pre-tension the leading edge with high-test bridle line. When you have more kites the solution is easier. Just change your weapon to one for those specific conditions. I still remember when I had only one quad though and it was always the right choice regardless of the conditions, HA! good luck and thanks for sharing your adventures with us. -plm
  14. fun times Scott, thanks for all the filming efforts you have put forth! -plm
  15. Ah, so you selected the convenience path, excellent decision! When you want to take this mission on as a D-I-Y project, you should acquire a set of lock-jaw forceps first,... you can use them as a consistent measuring device, a heat-shield to melt the ends and prevent fraying, a second gripping device, or to untie a pre-existing knot. To use the forceps as a measure you grip the melted end of the roll into the jaws and go around the locked part, back up to the jaws again where you carefully place the line over the edge snugged tight and repeat the wrap-around a second time. This is where the center (release) knot will be constructed. You form the loop AFTERWARDS! Make these loops big enough that any overall length adjusts are made into the longer line by adding more overhand knots (or figure of eight knots, uses more overall length). Pinch the single line measured-out using the forceps at this newly determined location, between your finger and thumb nail, indent the spectra. Carefully unthread the wraps and re-pinch the forceps at this new center point. I pass that single line strand twice around & then back through itself, snugging back to the repositioned jaws of the forceps (the stopper). Snug it down tightly and remove the forceps. (the only movemen/or change of length is how much the knot collapsed or moved ~ Not much!) Now add a double stranded overhand knot. (it can slide and you intend it to do so, right down to the stopper, separate the two strands and yank em apart forcing the overhand knot into it's end position) You finish the loop building with a figure of eight knot. This knot will travel in two directions while tightening, you don't want that though, so one of the loops (a figure eight remember?) has to PASS OVER the rest of the assembly and all the slack needs to be pulled out in the opposite direction as the pass-over was done. Now you can exactly position the closing knot, particularly is you use the foreps as the guide to which your align. You don't need sleeving as the stress part of the figure of eight knot is four thicknesses of line wound around and threw each other. You immediately notice that you can build this knot sequence from either end point too, the end of the roll or the edge of the stake marking you expected length. This technique is highly repeatable and accurate. Eventually you'll know you need 13 inches or 18 inches of excess length to make a end-loop for the larks head. (If you are making bridles then these knots and directions work almost as well as "bridle board") I use division to make my line sets though. I build a loop into the roll end first and walk out the desired length (including the amount necessary for loops, exact measurement depends on what size forceps you bought), one on each of the two lines which will be created after division (cut and melt stage). By making the lines two at a time, even if they aren't perfect they match as tops or bottoms perfectly. I never use sleeving useless I buy pre made lines sets that came that way. Special order lines are done "my way" and I also buy bulk spools, but I don't rush out to replace lines,... as long ones become less effective for team flying they get hacked-down to shorter and shorter lengths. They might wind up as one inch loops to affix train/stacking lines or they are given away to poor souls in need with some useful life left in them. I'd say to practice the PASS OVER a couple of times on crap line so you understand the figure of eight knot action necessary and can do the proper placement. Forceps usage make this a much more accurate assignment if you decide to give it a go and create your own line sets. -plm PS: If you're going to shorten an existing set it's even easier. Pull two lines tight from a well-placed stake or fence post, use the forceps to hold 'em and cut or melt away until you get back to the jaws. Use one of them to measure the next line needing to be shortened, and so forth until all four are the same length. Then follow the directions above to complete the loops. Use the end without sleeving on the kite and you'll find your line set-up becomes much easier too. The sleeving tangles instead of cleanly separating like a stopper knot equipped set works, use the sleeved ends on the handles.
  16. buy a cheap folding lawn chair and when it breaks you'll keep that bag for your kites. Eventually a perfect kite bag becomes the next thing on your acquisition list. You'll think about about all the bags you've seen and what features might be most appropriate personally. Do you want a tarp based item that rolls up, or a sling, or a hard-sider, what about a backpack? I use the roll-up bag from Rev, a tarp that's cut down to just fit me and my tail feathers if I choose to sit on the ground. When flying I use on the bags John recommended, you put the kite bag in the fill up the rest of the space with your clothes and crap bulking and padding the kite bag. It's on wheels with stout handles, easy in and out of a rental car or shuttle. The hard-siders are nice because you can insure their contents when traveling, but also they are more awkward. I can't tell you how many times one of us has had to ride with the darn thing across our laps!
  17. Received a new shook/Bazzer pro1.5 replacement full sail yesterday, my usual color scheme and customization features too. I have to do the final assembly though, holes, bungies, installing anti-snag covers, frame and bridle installation
  18. many of us have kites that aren't used, heck they aren't even accounted for in our homes! I try to prevent people for uses their funds too hurriedly. Know what you're after, plan for what location, any specific conditions and wind range(s). I'd rather endure the newbies' abuse on my own stuff, rather see another poor soul buy a bunch of cheap stuff/crap on their way to "the promised land". I apologize for not getting around more of the world to share my passion. To me, there's nothing more rewarding then seeing that newbie smile when you know you have 'em hooked-up so sweet. My most recent example are a couple of folks named Melissa and Fletch, totally engrossed with the addiction, in which I play some minor role. We still state that the "weakest flyer gets their choice" from all the kites flying when we are assembled as a club. I want their confidence up and also I'm looking for them to establish their own personality with a kite. An extension of your arm, ultimately of your brain. A magical experience,.... know what? That doesn't happen for possibly years when going it alone! Go meet up with some other fliers, go introduce yourself, ASK for assistance. I'd be amazed if none of them offered you their handles and lesson, in fact I'd be downright outraged. Almost none of us were hooked HARD flying alone, it's so much easier to "drink the cool-Aid" in an assembly/group fly/or at a competition. I learned alone, flew for a couple of years determined to tame this beast by myself, .... then I met up with some other pilots in club, Heck I bribed one of 'em (Jeff Burka) for a private lesson! I waited 7 years before competing for the first time. Still flying/competing now but without choreography or music selected in advance, despite being in masters for more than a decade (Know why? 'cause it's still fun to just wing it!, no expectations, no disappointment, entertaining for the crowd, judges and my fellow competitors, I don't know what's coming next either <HA>!) Honestly? I'm trying to prevent you from following my bad examples, see I'm like the Charles Barkley of kiting. I'm everything you don't want to be, a negative role model. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Wait until you have had wet dreams about a kite and find out it doesn't cost a tenth of the amount of pleasure it provides back after acquisition. If a $400 kite last for three thousand hours of my hard abuse, put away wet and rolled tight,.... that's 13 cents an hour! Show me another smile-maker that's this cheap. The biggest expense of being a kite flyer is the travel costs. See after you fly with a group just once, you want to do it again and again. Now nobody can do 'em all, so which kite flying activities are getting your funds this year? Was it so good you want to go again next, or do you risk your funds on a new experience? I can't even remember the last time I took a vacation that wasn't kite related and my bride doesn't even like sport kites! If there are a hundred beauty custom SLKs in the air and one of is simply outstanding, follow that line back to the ground and Barbara's over there talking to the flier. At the end of the day we didn't even see the same stuff! So yes there are alternatives to the Rev, but nothing that compares to it's flight dynamics when using four lines. It doesn't take hundreds of hours to hold an inverted hover. It takes the proper wind conditions and a few minutes of private instruction, on a kite tuned perfectly. A carefully choreographed routine will hundreds of hours, many just learning the music. A coach or better yet a group environment can teach you one new thing and you're probably going to want to return for more. If you're a family you should be on the dining room table making kites out of trash bags and wooden dowels TOGETHER. forget all about sport kites or your kids will not be going on to higher education! I'd have a real nice nest-egg for retirement by now, if I was a health-nut instead of quad-head -sir charles
  19. if you lived near me you would fly kites owned by other people until such time as that ownership cost wasn't even a factor of consideration! ("perceived value") I don't want you on any kite you bought yourself, until you know exactly what you prefer. Are you a SLK guy?, a dualie pilot?, big show kites?, fighters?, a quad-head?, do you prefer indoors?, can you afford to travel to kiting events? Please don't buy a cheap kite, or used or even a beginner model,... No wait until you know exactly what you want and until that acquisition price is not even relevant anymore! Buy the best kite money can get, fly OPKs until you know you are hooked deep and gladly would eat ketchup sandwiches all summer saving your lunch funds for the kite of your dreams. I'm in a club, a bunch of us each have a bunch of kites. Explore our bags, we will do the same if you are living near us and stay a member long enough. You help others, just as we were ourselves offered this same opportunity. In my opinion cheap kites are a serious threat, their poor performance and quick destruction in case of minor impact turn new people off. There's always a market for good products, even if that cost of admission limits how many can included. There are lots of kite flying choices, some of 'em are tons of fun and basically disposable. It is not about a kite for competition it is about a kite that is worthy of any activity or skill set. Just because you can't do it yet, doesn't mean it's impossible tomorrow.... it can do anything if you CAN. I don't want you to learn how to drive by using that old school bus in the Walmart parking lot. Take the v12 Ferrari out onto the test track and then scoot thru some winding roads with all traffic blocked off. You make some mistakes and crash, hey we all do that, even years later! You can't get into a high quality piece of flight dynamics with inferior materials. Oh, you could cut down the associated labor costs overseas sure, maybe even craft robotic machinery to replace the humans entirely. You could buy all the right stuff and do it yourself as a one-off, but the significant developmental increases comes from input by your clients over years. So you will be making all the choices to suit yourself in the beginning. You could make it anyway you want, but the first one you should probably start from some known point of reference. What is the gold standard you're trying to perfect or improve even further upon? Should that existing gold standard be the cheapest price or the best product money can buy? If a bus can take you downtown for a few bucks, how can anyone justify buying a mercedes benz? Should MB have been more concerned when the Smart car was introduced? They could have expanded into this new market as the gold standard of luxury. I see no reason why the best should ever be concerned with what everyone else does or how much they charge. Welcome to the gold standard of sport kite performance. It is not about the cost of admission it's about the rewards of Revolution ownership. I have believed in the words "perceived value", at least ten hours a week for the last 21 years!
  20. i have owned or flown all of the quads and built my own kites as well. I'm not a sponsored flier (except by my bride!) and pay full retailPLUS. You can not beat the performance of the Revolution products. Nothing flies better in reverse or does the 3D movements made possible by that rev shape. I've had kites explode and the company has stuck by their product and replaced it. I've had some of their products for 20 years, they still fly fine and bring a smile to me face. At one point I was informed by the factory that we spent in excess of 25K with them directly, so they are perfectly willing to put-up with my outrageously unique expectations. See I only want it to say Revolution, I want the flight dynamics modified extensively so it flies how I prefer it. Can you tell me another company that would deviate from their approved standards for just one client's needs? Well me either! We could get into support for the community too. Do you know how many times a knock-off kite company has sponsored competition trophies?, or bought your breakfast? Or picked you up from the airport and shared their home with you? There's a reason Revolution Products are widely supported around the globe, it's because we are a family! We want this company's kite division to succeed and we will make life complicated for those individuals or firms that interfere with their profitability. Lam's new kite the ABS doesn't fly in reverse HALF as well as the 1.5, even Rev's box-stock EXP model, please try before you buy and don't fall for my impressions, form your own based upon direct comparisons of like models. -paul
  21. windspeed is almost always measured at least 300 feet high, frequently 500. In my town we take the announced speed on the weather station and divide it by three,.... that's what to expect. The "coastal environment" offers wind that can reach all the way down to your ankles, inland that is not always the case. Flying in the upper wind range of a kite is a pilot-interaction timing thing, you might have to suddenly give ground or fly high up and off to the side. Lead-footed can cause breakage! Be afraid when the frame is distorting significantly in the center of the window and the lines are singing loudly all over the place. You could add some windscreens to slow the kite down, (affixed to framing or between the bridle and the lines ~or~ try a heavier thickness of flying lines all together!) If you have to fly that kite TODAY, regardless of the conditions (we have all been there!) use the edge of the window and respect the power of a sudden gust. enjoy
  22. 75 or 80 feet is plenty for the B2, outside of that length and you can't do everything it's capable of,... at least I can't. The 3D stuff is so sweet on that little platform! flick-flaks and stabbing tipstands, Weider's half axel just above the ground to a quick clam-shell (rolled-up into the string & on the ground) I've flown my B2 on 100 feet/50# with super long throw handles too, you can flick it almost all the way over (wrapping itself into the flying lines airborne) with powerful movements, so the "Falling-Leaf trick" is effortless and reliable (it's only 1/2 way around!). In a big wind you feel mighty powerful flying this kite. plm
  23. I've comfortably flown my full sail B2 on Black Race frame in mid-twenties mph breeze, no problem at all, it likes short lines and flailing around too. I don't pull it out until is double digits though, other kites are more fun and easier in low wind, just as Barton stated above. I would probably fly a vented B2 when nobody else would join me, it would have to be howling' to reach for that little speed devil. The thing is, you CAN fly it all slow and graceful as well.
  24. Here's a list of things to consider, all 4 combined together it makes an entirely new kite that just looks like your zen. #1. shorten/tighten up the brake leaders a bit more & go to longer handles (bigger steering wheel) #2. slap some sissy sticks on it #3. Change the frame, try the new Diamond tubes in the leading edge (wink, wink, consider the "travel frame" option too) #4. Try out the French bridle configuration
  25. Thanks all for your input, somebody magnificent stepped-up and we are surely in their debt!
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