basicbill

Flew my Rev B-Pro mid-vent today. https://www.flickr.com/gp/basicbill/6536H8 Bill

I agree. And every 5 minutes or so when a thermal gust wafted through it was very easy flying. But otherwise there was virtually no wind.

Yep that's exactly what I was doing. Flip it over and let it glide away. I have great control of it as I follow the kite while gaining ground. It's actually quite fun.

Not much wind today. But it was so pleasant out that I just had to fly. This is my lightest wind Rev. With a set of diamond rods in it. Flew it on 80 foot lines. In the thermal gusts the wind went up to about 8 mph. Otherwise it was light and variable. Good day for that slow backwards walk then floating forward to gain ground.

Some nice weather and participation for a quickly put together meeting in Pontiac, Illinois. More here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1021888567902282/

Just ordered a couple of sets. Although I can't yet replace the leaders that John personally tied for me when he passed through our area in Fall of 2014. During my Rev rookie season. Bill

Steve Anderson, one of my fellow Illinois Kite Enthusiast (IKE) members, posted online that he hoped to get out and fly with a few fellow members over the weekend. Steve is a member of the 180GO! Revolution kite flying team. So when he wants to fly I try to participate. Because I learn a whole bunch from him. As it turned out on this 45 degree day it was only Steve and myself. Steve had recently participated in the local UMake kite building workshop. And had his newly made Swallowtail Delta ready for its maiden flight. I arrived at the flying field early and assembled my mid-vent B Pro Rev. Flew a bit until Steve showed. I was then able to document his new kite's final assembly and first launch. He then assembled his Shook Mesh and we spent about an hour flying. Including what we refer to around here as our leisurely "DuKane" (DuPage and Kane County) style. That is while leaned back in our portable folding chairs. (My wife, Karen showed up to grab these photos.) I'm looking forward to the rest of the 2016 kite flying season. This will be my second full summer flying Revs. Last summer I had two goals. To fly with my arms held lower and to perfect my downward turns while near the ground. Mission accomplished on both. In fact I hardly turn upward at all anymore. This year I hope to get in more team flying. Concentrate on some of my position holding skills in the ball. And speed control while following in line. Also to work on bicycle spins. Plus all the other good stuff. Bill

I use Tapatalk for several forums. So, quite frankly, I would not be interested in a dedicated Kitelife app. The issue here with the no refresh using Tapatalk unless it's accomplished manually is no big thing to me. Bill

I am also. Exact same behavior. Android Tapatalk. Bill

From this year's IKE Retreat. http://www.ikeclub.org/Forums/download/file.php?id=1181 Bill

Sent a PM on a couple of items.

Looks like mid-vent winds to me. Bill A happy standard, mid-vent and full-vent owner.

That's interesting. I find inverted slides to be much easier. I too sometimes pull too much brake when moving backwards. Someone told me recently (JB?) to just think about making the kite move in reverse. That's about the right amount of control input. Bill

How about practicing slides. Both inverted and upright. Moving ever closer to the ground as your skills improve. Eventually traveling from one edge of the wind window to the other and back. Bill

Thanks for that. Bill

Congrats Todd. Todd is one of our local group of fliers so hopefully I'll get to see it. Bill

Here's another view of the same Rev flight. "Unfolded" by a software program to show two simultaneous views. Not as high a resolution quality, however. Bill

I have a couple of reasonably successful YouTube channels so I shoot a lot of video. Not much kite related but I'm doing more of that now. So I may be able to answer some questions. As with many tech things it can depend on what you want to do and how much you wish to spend. You might simply try getting a tripod adapter for your cellphone, mount it on a tripod and shoot a bit of video with it. Cell phones have a very wide field of view. And often capture in 1080 HD video. You could edit it with the editors that are free in Windows or Mac computers. Even YouTube has a basic editor. (GoPros... I have two. I would not recommend them as an entry level video camera.) Bill

A GoPro, tripod and a Rev on short lines is my favorite combo. Otherwise the kite is often lost in the "distance." A few of my most recent: In the snow with my EXP https://youtu.be/8N5GAZR16P4 My mid vent And one with the GoPro attached via a strap to my cap. Experiment with the various fields of view to find what works for you. Bill

I should have. So I've edited the original post and added the "sparkly Steve" photo at the end. Bill

Mike, Rose and Steve, three members of the 180 GO! Revolution kite flying team, perform with their personal kites over and near a 360 degree video camera at Montrose Beach in Chicago, Illinois. We had a small group from the Illinois Kite Enthusiasts http://www.ikeclub.org show up on March 28 at frozen Montrose Beach. I placed my 360 video camera about 8 inches off the sand and asked Mike, Rose and Steve to fly their Revs in the area. The camera perspective and optics makes it appear that they were flying a distance away. For much of the time they had the kites within about 25 feet. The final landing was about 3 feet from the camera. It's great to fly with these folks. They are very helpful to a beginner like myself. Letting me jump into the group and do whatever I feel that I can do. And yet gently nudge me to do better. That's me off to the side with my spiral. Airborne for a few seconds until I decided to just watch the masters. More photos: https://www.facebook.com/events/1595871713961606/ Bill

Congrats, Mark! Since Mark is local to me, I may get to see it too. Bill

Hi Rudy. I'm thinking about attending one of the weekend days. Bill

Great stuff! Bill

Very cool. Nice to see some video from the Chicago area. Who is that flyer in the background with his hands up too high? Nice IKE kite colors though. Bill