SHBKF

Hello Cato. Join us in chat if possible. Seems like most active time is from 6:30 PM Pacific & later. Watch for the chat indicator & jump in. Any topic is possible but it's mostly kites. Just out here in the mountains, SHBKF

Have some 17" snagless handles I that I have tried recently. Did some urban street night flying on 30' lines with a 4 wrap full vent 1.5B in fairly light wind with these handles. But it was a kind of a strange combo to say the least. I have only flown 13's previously but did not find anything disagreeable about the longer handles. My Ford F1 has manual steering and manual everything else. It too has a larger steering wheel to give you more leverage for needed inputs. I noticed I was guiding the Zen around with mostly brake inputs which is how you fly a depower foil on a bar. The bar ends control the brake lines but also change the angle of attack as you move the bar up or down which is the way you sheet out the kite. That's a whole different part of my KiteLife. Have successfully made magic sticks for the 1.5 so a set for the Zen should be no issue. But most interesting to me is the French bridle aspect. I have wondered about the wobbly bridle on the smaller Revs. Much room for thought as I continue down the path. SHBKF

If you haven't flown foils recently, or ever, you might want to give one a go. Single line, dual & quad, they can teach you things that might surprise you. And they need a good Whump occasionally especially in light wind. Last several kites I've adopted have been foils.

So it's four in the morning, cold & raining here in the mountains of Virginia. And I am reading KiteLife & thinking about kites. I thought kites might be an interesting thing to get into again a few years ago. Knew they were an old passion but did not think they would dominate me as they have. So now, for what it's worth, I will attempt to have a place to ramble on about my thoughts & efforts along the way. Just got back from an extended beach trip. Even the beach has less than great conditions many days but all the inland flailing I've done payed off & flight was continuously possible out on the sand. Got some new kites but did not fly them. Flew vented kites the first few days & then SUL's as the conditions changed. But that's past & I think I will just talk about the moments of kite flying as they occur. Later....

I will switch to the lighter lines next session. I tend to fly the lines I have deployed at the time & change the kites instead of line sets. Zen hovering efforts will push me further & improve all my Rev flying. The over rotating is similar to the other large sail Revs like the Blast series so it makes sense now that you point it out. Timing is everything in so much of life. Feeling it & waiting for it are within sight now. I will continue to refine my efforts in order to achieve Zen. The path on the Dark Side gets wider as you go along. Thank you guys. You are my KiteLife. SHBKF

I was on the fifth knot of these handles. I had been flying a full vent B in 15 mph winds earlier in the week on that setting & could have probably gone out another knot or two that day. With the Zen I was struggling with having enough drive so I moved to the fourth knot. Spacing is 3/4" so I was only out three inches total. I have 50# quad sets in 50' & 100' but did not use them on this day.

Thanks for the encouragement. Wind was blowing down the beach at a measured 2 mph average using a Kaindl Windtronic 2. I was using Wayne's suggested framing of race leading edge, 2 wrap center & Zen verts. I now get why one hundred foot lines are suggested. The big wing needs a big window to make graceful turns. The kite is flying mostly on apparent wind so you need to keep it moving when not straight downwind. I was on eighties & wishing for a bit more room but the available beach space had me flying over the dunes on one side & the surf on the other. The sail would flutter gently if I tried to hurry things. Slowing down & squaring up the sail billowed it out giving it a solid feel. Hovering was not easily done, well for me anyway, but possible with concentrated effort. Sideways hover straight down wind required the archer's stance similar to flying the Blast kites. There is more I could say but mainly I still have much to learn.

I had dicey conditions today while at the beach. I can deal with high tide. I can deal with no wind. Today I had both for a time & went to my inland mode of flying the 4D on five meter lines during puffs of light air. I did so many landings that I actually learned a little better technique to keep the kite nose from falling toward me. That alone was worth the effort. Later, when the tide went out, I had enough room to practice 360's a bit. Flew one session in decent air with the Sea Devil. My wife said the black kite looked like a bird flapping it's wings during some of the maneuvers. Those may have been half axels viewed from the side. But ahhh, the Zen, what a thrill to finally connect with the big wing. Fly it slow, it almost talks to you. Persistence is it's own reward. Think I'll head back out right now for a night session......SHBKF

test, test I noticed my post count mysteriously increased by more than thirty. Hmmm.... I have been a bit corn-fused with some of the changes but have also had a very poor wifi connection. Most other campers left the campground today so now I have less of an issue on the web. Great day at the beach. Danged if the 4D didn't get a good thrashing again. Flew the Zen in dicey conditions to some success. It showed me it's stuff. But I digress. KiteLife is still the best.

Great picture. You can see how loaded the sail is & it appears that the breeze is pretty stout. It looks like you must be on the handles ready to hot launch straight up into the power zone which will really kick in when you accelerate upward. Speed equals power in these kites & you have the throttle. When I fly mine in higher wind fatigue becomes a factor after awhile. Then I switch to my mid-vent B which I would have parked waiting just as in the picture. Love this stuff!

Even while flying a small two line fixed bridle foil an occasional whumping may be appropriate in light winds. Loved the video, a walk back through many inspirational videos. Saw some things I missed in the past. Thanks! SHBKF

I really enjoy watching kite dreams fulfilled.....

Rev Power Blast 2-4 was my second Rev. Rev 1 Sedgwick cool was my third Rev. 1.5 B mid vent was my fourth Rev. The Sedgwick does not have Mylar panels & is more like a B in it's sail pattern. The Rev 1 would be my second choice of Sportwings if I did it again. But I really just wanted to try them all so the order was not really important. I would say just go with your whim. SHBKF

I bought a Power Blast 2-4 as my second Rev thinking it might be an ideal light wind kite. This was early on after only one flight attempt with my SLE 1.5. It took me three attempts, about three hours, before I could comfortably stay in the air with the SLE. Did not try to fly the big PB 2-4 for several months. When I did it was not the light wind kite I thought it might be. Since I learned more about flying Revs in light wind I can now fly the PB 2-4 in light wind but it is not my first choice in those conditions. I did finally get the PB 4-8 and it is without a doubt a much different beast. Static flying in very light wind is not practical. As the wind picks up, above 4 or 5 mph, it will really starts pulling as you cross the window at speed. If you are in a buggy it is a different matter as apparent wind factors in much more when the buggy is rolling. But I am still learning about all this. SHBKF

I agree, looks like climbing gear. I have enough similar gear to duplicate that setup. The pulley is definitely climbing gear. SHBKF

Keep up the good work. Learning light wind skills will help you with all kites you fly in the future. As I fly in inland mountain valley conditions I am very experienced in changing & dying winds. Light wind techniques were some of the first "tricks" I learned. Sometimes the trick is just being able to fly at all. These days I will be flying kites in light winds that are faint enough that casual spectators will comment, "How's he doing that?" I take special pleasure in being able to fly large foils in wind that is lower than they are rated for typically. It takes big movements but is still basically the same as flying my beloved Prism 4D. SHBKF http://kitelife.com/forum/gallery/image/5835-4d-on-short-lines/ http://kitelife.com/forum/gallery/image/5706-/

Here's a Plasti-Dip nose I did on my HQ Shadow. If you click on the image & look at it closely you will see the coating is mostly on the tip of the nose over the spine. There is only minor coverage on the rest of the leading edge area of the nose. I tried not to add any significant weight to the nose of this light kite. I thinned the solution & painted it on with a small brush. I believe it was several coats, But now I don't fly on asphalt as much as I used to & when I do I don't do ground recovery, just "The Walk". SHBKF

Like this one? I bought mine one evening, took it to a large mall parking lot & flew it on 50' x 50# lines for a short time. Guess I was pretty anxious to get it in some air time. As I was setting up I had the kite leaning against the van & I was kneeling at the handles attaching the lines. It was pretty dark & was taking some time. A local nurse saw me & drove up to see if I was in trouble. I thanked her & told her I was fine. "I'm just a crazy kite nut" I said spontaneously. SHBKF http://kitelife.com/forum/gallery/image/5827-revolution-blast/ RWB Blast, close relative of the Shockwave

Welcome to the forum. It was great chatting with you in the chat room this evening. Best wishes on your new adventures with your Revolution Sportwing. I love mine. SHBKF http://kitelife.com/forum/gallery/image/5611-/

I must say that I acquired a Shockwave out of curiosity after reading numerous comments. The lack of mainstream endorsement gave it a special appeal somehow. I found that when first flying in lighter winds I tended to fly off the edge of the window & not be able to back up fast enough to recover. In higher, more appropriate winds for this kite, IMHO, I did not make the same error. I also agree with Wayne's comments. This is a more specialized kite with a different flavor you might say. All of the Speed & Power series Revolution kites require a bit different flying style compared to the 1 & 1.5 Revs. But my journey continues as time on the lines adds up. SHBKF

I would recommend that you use Dyneema or Spectra lines, both are trade names for Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene line. I have flown small foils on lesser lines & found the softer response of the kite less than ideal. Keep in mind, especially in frameless kites, that you, the lines & the bridle are kind of the frame for the kite sail. Another thing about flying some small foils that I have learned is how to deal with the sail when the end collapses (tip tuck) at the edge of the window. First I would step back & pull both lines to try to inflate the sail. That sort of worked but later I found that if you pop the line opposite to the folding tip the kite reinflates & you can continue flying. In a lull, when the sail stalls & folds in half, you can do the same. As you fly off just try to keep your kite moving. Have not tried that on all my foils as I have just discovered this little trick. I wish someone would have mentioned it to me early on.

It is pretty exciting to wait for a new kite to arrive anticipating flying it that day. Got to do that yesterday with I kite I bought through this forum. I too have an ancient kite that I still fly once in awhile to remind me of those days. I have also been able to acquire kites from days past that were beyond my reach when they were new. They're all good in their own way. Flew an out of production Prism Stylus 2, thanks Reef Runner, on Friday. The little foil had some lessons for me and showed me some breakthrough techniques that will influence my flying of all that come after. Look forward to hearing about your first impressions of your new kite. SHBKF