Paul LaMasters

thanks for all the photographer work Scott, we really appreciate it

Want to fly w/lights? no changing sails, or frame members not even a change on handle leader's settings, very little impact on flight dynamics, stop traffic attention grabbing, even when stationary, amazing!

Wildwood room-mates of cottage 10 found another useful purpose for the sissy sticks, . . . . they can be used as light poles to affix flashing LEDs when backlighting your kite. Amazingly cool to share with the spectators on the boardwalk.

all the tricks are back there behind a slap of braking action too

all the cool stuff hides behind a big dose of "Brake Action" Quad-comps are judged on your ability to fly in reverse as a particular point of reference,... every kite goes forward!

A thirty dollar solution can prevent this set of circumstances from probably even happening again, .... if you're man enough

you know you could still do the "glide keeping" part and "roll-ups" too, but dump the connection between the two stand-offs, right Scott? Dave Ashworth rigs his kites with a three line system, so each wing is still fully independent. The center of the leading edge is where the 3rd line is affixed, plus the bottom and outer end-caps. He sews a belt-loop into the leading edge for each side, but you could just run a larks-head/pig-tail arrangement thru the bridle hole in the sleeve at the leading edge. Do not affix to the bridle itself though. Since you are enjoying the experiment journey, here's another variable to test. Who knows, maybe you get the best of both worlds (with & without sticks). Those fat tube stand-offs sure bother me on your kite. A point 125 carbon tube comes 48 inches long and the fittings are available too, try Goodwin for parts. If you get it all rigged up correctly (and looking sharp) you could sell it off and recover your investment when the testing is done. We are sure enjoying your efforts buddy! fly safe

you're learning to feel the wind better and maximize the window thru your hands, moving your feet and relaxing the rest of your body. You've acquired some new equipment and used it enough to learn it's capabilities. The flying location is known too and you'll had experience with whichever way the general direction of your home turf wind prefers to blow.

may I recommend ~ "hi-test bridle line\100# strength" as your leader material Dacron is too thick and can catch on the others easily, high test can be tied and untied without complications or excess effort. ~Run two strands by folding in half, larks-head that middle to the handle, only make your adjusting knots in one of those strands. In competition you might want to dump the sleeving entirely or use that same bridle line (with the spectra core removed) as your sleeving material. Setting-up is easier with the flying line ends being affixed to the kite NOT having sleeving at all. Length adjustments are made by shorting the attachment loops, (so make overly large ones compared to sleeved lines) All this stuff is necessary if you want to reliably throw and catch kite, at least in my experience. Snag-less handles, long leaders (the further out your can grab and pull the better,... but not all the way to the raw spectra). The method I first used for snag-less handles was a nail through the hole, cut to length to fit the diameter of the handles. You larks-head knotted-off on the nail and lined the edging of the steel tube with a cut-down moly, single wrap the handle (over that nail) with electrical tape, then slipped the cover back in place. (crediting Jeffery Burka and RECdotKITES)

point 125 carbon TUBE (not the rod, overkill, too heavy, original design called for 157s I believe) Scott, you have a curvature in both down spars too, so those "legs" or truss lines are too tight. Leaving it this way is how many of the europeans run sticks though, it's more floaty on the edge of the wind window, but you are giving up some low end wind range as the compromise, pick you poison!

Longer throw handles will put that snappy response back into Skybond 15" no-snags and skybond = very sweet and commonly used ride on the east coast. a couple of dozen wraps before binding-up, thinner, easily visible too, but not that "wire connection" like is available only from Laserpro Gold. what IS the value of extra-slippery? It's not like the difference in feel is the same as a comparison between 90# and 50# If the bridle is stationary but the lines are "softer",...... is that the same as there's some slop in the bridle but the lines are stiffer? See, life is full of choices, we reach the same objectives occasionally by a uniquely different path. Don't be afraid to try it out! When in groups, the flier with the oldest line is usually the bind-up problem. NEVER admit that (if it's U & you know it!)

Nice job on the sticks Scott, that's a fun kite builder project too,.... only things already in your home can be used for that mission We've done a 30 minute builder competition a couple of times at a local kite-fest. You formed four teams, experienced fliers mixed-in with crowd participants. You could only use the furnished tools and materials that were provided on the table in front of you, you could make any kind of kite, decorated any way. it had to be airborne in 30 minutes though, best designed kite IN FLIGHT wins! DIY is both fun and educational, (not necessarily cheaper though)

I used 6000 feet of berry blue 75# over the course of a few years, but fly on skybond or LPG now

Technique and more practice, it's all there eventually, more slack, more "brake" in the tuning, step into it, spank it harder still! It's not the frame selected, or the use of weights, it's the pilot

you and your son will have a great time learning to fly Revs together, he'll pass you like a bullet in skills too (it will not take long!). Don't know where you guys live but an excellent investment to quicken your skill-set AND save you from wasting money,..... is to meet up with other fliers. Look for an open area without obstructions (trees, buildings, lawn equipment, playgrounds, fences) Ideally with short cut grass too, so the lines don't snag crap on the ground. Insure your lines and handles are properly tuned before attaching the kite. Leaders on the tops, (3 times longer than the bottoms to start), knots every 1/2 inch or so on 'em all. Layout the lines to a well placed stake or a fence-post with a carabiner clip, all lines to a single common point and affixed to your handles. Identify one of the handles (as right for example) with colored vinyl electrical tape. Pull the handles tightly against your stake/post and insure they ALIGN perfectly in your hands! If not, make any adjustments necessary to reach this goal. I compare with the right handle in my left hand, then switch it back when affixing the flying lines, in case one handed dominance comes into judgements. If you slowly release the tension, the longer line will show itself. First compare the tops and then the bottoms. Adjust until they align when pulled tightly against a stationary object. Now affix the kite bridle to the flying lines. The rest of it is just time on the handles. You've found a spot to fly, your equipment is tuned to neutral and with mid-vents to learn on you are probably seeking a steady double digit wind to start. First objective is speed control, you don't want the kite deciding what to do next! Ride those brakes and master your hover. Good practice session is to begin with is the leading edge resting on the ground, slightly press your thumbs towards the kite as you slowly walk backwards, Little-Tiny-handle movements! The kite should back-up inverted. Hold the grips real softly, so delicately that the wind could easily remove them from your grasp. Now try just one thumb instead, from lines tight, neutral in front of you, push one thumb at the kite (sweep it down towards your knee/hip in low wind also) At the halfway point though, as it is rolling over against the leading edge in tip stand,... you will return your hands back to neutral in front of you. (otherwise it will keep on rolling across the wind window on the ground) This is the "Cartwheel", when you know this trick as a pilot you don't need someone downwind to set-up your kite if it lands upside down (inverted) You practice inverted flight because it forces you to keep shorting the brake lines until it will fly backwards. This a good basis skill to quickly grasp. All the cool stuff hides behind controlling a hover, braking actions make the kite dance or do tricks. If you fly with a full dose of Forward then you're missing out on the things this design does best! Lower your arms, your body should be relaxed, arms at a 90 degree angle, just held in your lightest finger-tip grip. A little flick does all the work. SLOW controlled precision, not just the dive-stop move to stevie ray vaughn on the headphones!

180-GOs' latest "NYM team kites" sure look great, though I have a bunch of barry's pros & shook meshs as my preference. I costs too much to start over again!

Don't reach beyond your comfort zone, particularly when chasing spectators!

you guys need to learn the "cartwheel" too. When the kite lands leading edge down, you just roll it over using one thumb (in low wind you may also need to sweep that arm backwards towards your knee). Pick-up each handle one at a time and hold it as high as possible, see which "side" is on top first. The top side is the side to roll towards (unwrap). I don't want to see you side-sliding to launch, rotation only! At the halfway point (kite is now tip-balancing on the leading edge) you must return your handle back to the original neutral position. Otherwise it will just keep on rolling across the ground. This is the first lesson to master, then you don't need a assistant to help you or the walk of shame either.

The "sticks" should install great right out of the package, but let me know if you run into any concerns. The frame should NOT be flexed or distorted when finished. I heard a recent help piece of advice last week to prevent loosing the stand-off tubes when packing up or transporting. When removing the stand-offs, just tuck them under the elastic at the leading edge/down spar junction. (thank you Cath!)

Meet some others pilots, yes. If you have to travel, to get flying correctly ,.... Well it's worth the trouble and expense, a years shorter learning curve and thousands of dollars worth of crap you can avoid wasting money on. In our local club we advise folks to wait a couple of years until you've developed your own niche before buying ANY kites. When you finally know what you want, those numbers on an little piece of paper become irrelevant. You have dreamed about your new objective, maybe eaten ketchup sandwiches for 2 summers to pay for it! You've compared and tested, heard 100s of opinions, struggled over the wind range objectives and desired graphics.

Team kites have sticks now, but Scottie frowns on random insertion of unique abilities to the routine. We did get a group axel which had us giggling together though.

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That set-up of components sure feels tight on the end of the lines, doesn't it SparkieRob? If the stock Revolution bridle holds the kite frame loosely, then the french bridle option is arc-welded and completely rigid without any bridle play whatsoever. My instantly responding rig is someone else's too darn twitchy to fly right,.... It's not better, just different.

let's say your hand (or forearm) muscles tightened-up after a long flying session, you could re-set your leaders for a different grip position. It's not always about conditions, sometimes it's just a comfort thang

Shook Masterpiece revs,.... some love their extreme smoothness in flight, others complain there's "no shoulder to push against". Like anything else, it's another flavor. The big advantage to this design style is the weight of the mesh screening is not included in the sail, so you get a bigger wind window to fly in and a much larger variety of wind conditions where it is still an effective choice. The downside is you've paid for almost two kites, so you'd better get some flight advantages! I am particularly partial to Eliot Shook as he'd do whatever I ask in modifications, even making custom leading edge sleeves for kites made by Bazzer! In Rich's blue & gray fade picture above, I see extra reinforcing patches and a shiny mylar-backed nylon SUL leading edge sleeve, (what?!!?)