SHBKF

Now a new site on my bookmarks bar. Not too many make it there. Way out here in the woods of Virginia we will be enjoying your fine magazine. I'll be visiting regularly. Thank you, SHBKF

Welcome to the forum. I lurked for a bit myself. Don't have any NYM experience but I am really interested in the posts that will follow from those that have the new wings. Join us in chat if you see the "chat badge" lit up. You can get instant answers to many questions there. Glad you're posting now. SHBKF

Always great photography on KiteLife. Love the lens flare from the multiple element lens. Also cool to see all the gear layed out for a good long beach session. Many times I head out so anxious to get in the air that I don't take my camera along. I finally stashed the old five megapixel point & shoot in the trunk so I would have no excuses for no images. Keep em comin Rob. SHBKF

You have inspired, guided, helped & encouraged me many times. Thank you, SHBKF

It’s not really a kite shop but sort of looks like one. I call mine the kite dungeon. There is a troll living under the staircase. In some of my early visits to kite stores, with broken kites in hand, I noticed they had large tables or counters to lay kites out on as they repaired them. Later I saw a video of a famous kite builder framing a kite suspended from the ceiling on a cord with a clip on the end. So I made a four by eight table out of two sheets of plywood screwed together sitting on a couple scrounged bath room vanity cabinets. As I worked on stacks I started putting up clamps on mason’s twine attached to the ceiling joists. I believe I have fourteen on sixteen inch centers in a pretty straight line now. Then I started moving in shelving with boxes for the various parts & nails along the tops of the walls to hang the growing hoard of kites in their sleeves. Once in a while other hobbies invade the space but the kites eventually chase them out. Sometimes I wonder if I have as much fun maintaining the kites as I do flying them. After the recent beach trip I assembled each kite I flew, cleaned it gently & carefully packed it for it’s next adventure. Yesterday I finished increasing the Micron stack to eight & tonight I will complete the new Rev 1.5 three stack. Now that’s a power kite.

Great to see a modification like this. I am anxious to hear further after you use them for a bit. Your great pictures really show how far imagery has come in this day & age. A few decades ago it would have taken a high end SLR with an expensive macro focus lens to get a good close-up. Probably would have needed special lighting & finally good processing of the negatives & print. Then we would have to wait for it to maybe show up in a hobby magazine. Now I can just sit in my den & clearly see what's Rob is doing in his KiteLife. Gotta love it. SHBKF

This is a really good deal for a great kite. This one is a bit different than your 1.5 or Rev 1. It will teach you things that will translate well to other four line kites. Mine makes me tired from smiling too much. Too bad I already have one (or two)..... SHBKF

I have flown many different kites in the past few years. I would like to think that they were all logical choices for my place on the path at the time. Some were chosen with my limited knowledge as the next great thing & others were purchased with raw emotion and/or true randomness. Thanksgiving week I stayed at a beachfront campsite where I could actually step out the door & launch a kite in my front yard. It was less than a hundred steps to cross the dunes & stand on the shore. That is likely to be as good as it’s ever going to get. So first up was the Sky Burner Widow Maker standard. Opened up my little Prism fanny pack & big surprise. Did not bring my go to line sets for a couple of the dualies I planned to fly. But I did have enough variety & came to the realization that I could borrow pairs of lines from the many quad line sets that were in the Rev Roll-up bag. Flew the WM for a bit but the wind was little light for my taste so I switched to the Sky Burner Solus EC ultra-light. That is the only kite I have ever custom ordered. I think it’s a real beauty. It is the same color scheme as the one in the Sky Burner promotional video I first viewed before I ordered it. The big kite has a few Prismatex panels & is gorgeous glowing in the sunlight flashing colors across the sky. Saw a few people stop & stare momentarily. Flew mostly on 90# x 65’ lines as there was limited space to fly kites. Either the tide was up or the beach was busy with tourists like me. Wind came from the North or Northeast so it was blowing down the length of the beach most of the time. At night it usually blew faintly from the South. Other dual line kites flown that week were the Pro Dancer SUL, the Prism 4D, the Sky Sport Design Sea Devil Light & Tekken DOA SUL . Two days were strong winds & the rest were zero to light. On the strong wind days, probably 15 mph +, I flew the Revolution 1.5B full vent & a Shook Mesh 75%. Flew the Rev 1 & the Zen also but on the lighter wind days. I will comment more about actually flying the kites later.

Me too. I have been spending more time reading the forums lately. I continue to learn from the generosity of others devoting their efforts to share our time in the sky. SHBKF

Great idea, something you've already implemented I suppose. I may do that too in addition to the upper leaders. I was thinking more in terms of using smaller steps to equalize the line set left to right on the top lines. My casual style & lesser skill level are pretty insensitive. I would say, after launching, I am able to realize if I have a bridle line positioned incorrectly coming off an end cap. I figure that is a pretty small amount in the bridle so that is where I am coming up with the 3/8" knot spacing thought. I probably can't justify anything finer. But mostly I'm just out here in the sticks flailing away. SHBKF

This is my 500th post, woo hooo! I am just beginning to try a little bit of single hand Rev flying. Equalized line sets will be even more critical. I have thought of making my next set of Rev handle leaders with even finer adjustment knots. Currently I have my knots set at 3/4" spacing. It would be tedious but I might try 3/8" spacing next time. RobB sent a set of Norm's finger straps to me this year. Those straps have short leaders with closely spaced knots for fine tuning your lines out in the field. Thanks again Rob. Those straps are magical. SHBKF

I have run into that issue with lines that have sewn loops. You just have line extensions or extra knots on the bridle leaders or make adjustment knots on your handles. Most power kites I have experienced, & all I currently own, have dedicated handles or bars. The handles & lines stay attached to the kite when stowed. You make adjustments as needed & just leave them that way. But most power kite lines don't seem to get stretched much as they are like heavy cord when compared to slender 90# LPG. You could also tie extra figure eight knots into the longer line to shorten it a tad. SHBKF

sending PM

Would really like to try the unholy hours but I would have to sneak out of the house like when I was a kid.....sure am married.

WOW! gulp, okay....I'll give it a go. I could make some appropriate leaders for my 17's. Yes, that's it.....SHBKF

It's been over three years since: The Prism Flip appeared on the clearance table at LL Bean. Went to the beach & got a SnapShot 1.2 based on the cash in my pocket. Met Reef Runner on the forums, bought a Zero G from him. Flew my first Rev, a gift from my wife. And almost three years since I got everyone to buy kites for me for Christmas. As time rolled on many more kites have followed, along with many great kite friends who are all still my kite heroes. I have been wisely advised by the Masters. It's still almost unbelievable. My original thought about kites still holds true. I just want to fly them all. I now see the goal as a moving target as I make small steps in so many directions. It is adding up slowly. Do I "own my hover" with Revs? Not really but I've made significant down payments. Can I trick a dual line kite? Well, some progress has been made & I have the "right kites". Single line kites? My collection expands but have spent the most time on the gliders. Power kites? I have learned how to not scare myself too much. But know they deserve special cautious effort & study. Should I be at a certain level of skill after a defined amount of time? No, for me it's always going to be about the journey & the individuals who share it along the way. My humble thanks, SHBKF

Nick, The first new kite was a much longed for Prism Tensor 3.1 meter power kite & not appropriate for occupied beach flying. The second one was a new Prism Bora 7. It's a single line foil with a long tail. The wind went light & I did not have enough to launch it except on the morning I left. Ironic wind strikes again. The third kite, another Prism, was one I picked out for my Christmas gift so I was not allowed to fly it. This new forum format kind of stalled me for a bit but now it's on. This notebook will switch to Win 10 but we are keeping our business network on Win 7 until software or support forces us to change.