ant man,s new build

[wufer]

i thought i had better start a new post as chating on someone elses is not right.

good luck with your new rev build. You didnt say which plan you are using?.

i think my next build will be the rev1(clone of course) on revomania.com.

The only thing ill change it to NOT use the vent just below the l/e.

I built my freedom 2000 without one and im not a good flyer so i cant tell the diference

but it flys ok Also im using a bridle designed for new flyers i got from someone on another forum.

Anyway good luck and build it good .

Derek

[Mike]

Except in very light winds, flying backwards is much harder without the venting. You can also hot cut a series of holes where the screen would go and that will help quite a bit. The kite will be less squirrelly flying forwards and will also fly backwards better. Also try cutting several circles, maybe 2" or 3" across, where the venting on a vented rev normally is, that smooths out the flight too. Makes it much easier for a beginner to fly.

But that being said, in my experience having flown many home made revs, nothing flies as well as real thing.

[John Barresi]

I agree completely Mike.

The venting DOES improve reverse flight and stability... And, true Revs do fly better.

[wufer]

Mike. John. Thank you , i respect your comments.

The reason i didnt use venting was that as this was my first kite build i didnt want to make a mess of it.

The venting i used was a bit thick and i was having difficulty in fitting it and makeing it look good, maybe

on my next build i will try to get some thinner mesh or use your idea on the holes Mike. Anyway, as built, my rev is ok for me for now. Its teaching me the first steps in rev flying and thats what counts. As for your comment John "Revs do fly better"; that is true but half the enjoyment is to see a rev that I built ,fly by my own hands and that really brought a smile to my face. Im sure you know what i mean.

Derek

[johnnmitchell]

Mike. John. Thank you , i respect your comments.

The reason i didnt use venting was that as this was my first kite build i didnt want to make a mess of it.

The venting i used was a bit thick and i was having difficulty in fitting it and makeing it look good, maybe

on my next build i will try to get some thinner mesh or use your idea on the holes Mike. Anyway, as built, my rev is ok for me for now. Its teaching me the first steps in rev flying and thats what counts. As for your comment John "Revs do fly better"; that is true but half the enjoyment is to see a rev that I built ,fly by my own hands and that really brought a smile to my face. Im sure you know what i mean.

Derek

Derek, when you buy mesh, don't buy window screen. It is simply too slippery and will pull out of the sewing. The mesh you are searching for, is usually something like fiber glass that is rubber coated. You can purchase this at some kite shops that also specialize in material for building kites. I know Vlieger op in Holland had it years ago. Luftpirat in Hamburg Germany had it, but I don't think they exist anymore. You can definitely get it from Hang-em-High Fabrics in USA.

I have seen people use holes all the way from big cigarette holes down to carefully placed small punched out holes. Holes will weaken the material in that area, but have the advantage that it make the sail lighter.

[Quad KiT]

I so need to go to Hang em High... And it's in Virginia, imagine that. Do they have a brick and mortar or just mail order? It's about 3 hours away but I have family in Richmond area so I could make it out there.

[Quad KiT]

Oh and funny that you spell out that exact design of using holes in both the sail and the LE. Check out the attachment. The wind this day was 30mph sustained and watching the flyer at this event is basically how I got hooked on REVs, particularly the REV II. I believe this guy went by the name Art. He set it on top of my head. Needless to say I was like a kid in a candy store and hooked ever since.

[johnnmitchell]

Oh and funny that you spell out that exact design of using holes in both the sail and the LE. Check out the attachment. The wind this day was 30mph sustained and watching the flyer at this event is basically how I got hooked on REVs, particularly the REV II. I believe this guy went by the name Art. He set it on top of my head. Needless to say I was like a kid in a candy store and hooked ever since.

Very nicely done!

That is a original REV II from 1997/98 that has been modified. The holes in the sail look like they are all reinforced. It appears that the leading edge screen might have been replaced or covered with black dacron and the the holes placed in it.

[johnnmitchell]

I so need to go to Hang em High... And it's in Virginia, imagine that. Do they have a brick and mortar or just mail order? It's about 3 hours away but I have family in Richmond area so I could make it out there.

The web site is at: http://ecom.citystar.com/hang-em-high/

They mention opening hours and have a telephone listed on their web site, so it looks like you are in luck.

[John Barresi]

I'm guessing that was Art St Pierre, a long time Rev enthusiast from the Northeast.

He's well known for buzzing the boardwalks with his vented Rev II.

[mcruzzer]

I so need to go to Hang em High... And it's in Virginia, imagine that. Do they have a brick and mortar or just mail order? It's about 3 hours away but I have family in Richmond area so I could make it out there.

The web site is at: http://ecom.citystar.com/hang-em-high/

They mention opening hours and have a telephone listed on their web site, so it looks like you are in luck.

Hang-em-high is not a true brick-and-mortar store. Bonnie runs it out of her home in the Richmond area. Primarily, it's pretty much mail order although you can pick up orders there if you arrange to do so in advance. Really pretty hard to go in and look around.

Jim (in Fairfax, VA)

[ant man]

thanks for the help guys i thought of getting my ripstop screen and sleeveing from goodwinds if anyone knows of that being a good site let me know i havent ordered yet but i want to get started soon

[windofchange]

Kathy at Goodwinds is a highly respectable person who has been doing business in the kiting industry for many many years. She has a solid brick & mortar store and also has a huge inventory of just about any kite part you could ever think of. Along with that she brings years of experience in kites and kite parts. If you break it chances are that she will know exactly what you need and has the part in stock.

[John Barresi]

Yeah, http://www.goodwindskites.com/ is top notch... http://kitebuilder.com/ is a reputable source too.

However, I lean towards Goodwinds since she is an avid supporter of Kitelife and KiteBuilders is not.

[mcruzzer]

Hang-em-high has been around for a number of years as well...Bonnie Marvin has been a great supporter of the kite building community for a long time. While she doesn't have a brick-and-mortar shop, she's still very knowledgeable and professional. She also carries some items that Kitebuilder does not (and vice-versa...).

Jim

[Jim Foster]

With regard to leading edge screen. We made or first kite, the flame quad, without leading edge screen. It flew just fine in light wind, as John can tell you. He flew it for half an hour one morning at WSIKF on 35 foot lines in very light wind. Flying in higher wind is a different story. The kite would fly backwards as long as you didn't try to go too fast. Spinning in it's own space (bicycle), the side of the kite flying backwards tended to force the side of the kite flying forwards to fly a little faster. This could be overcome somewhat with control. A while back I added leading edge screen. Problems solved. I think that if the leading edge screen didn't help the performance of a Rev, Revolution would not go to all the trouble to add it. It makes the leading edge very complex if you do it the way they do.

Jim

[wufer]

Jim.

If youve read my other mutterings you will know i had a bit of dificulty in fitting my l/e mesh.

Can you remember where you got yours from please ,and can i order from the same place.

Thank you

Derek

[johnnmitchell]

Jim.

If youve read my other mutterings you will know i had a bit of dificulty in fitting my l/e mesh.

Can you remember where you got yours from please ,and can i order from the same place.

Thank you

Derek

Derek, could you elaborate on your problem fitting mesh?

When I was still making most of my REVs back in the 90s, I sewed the leading edge dacron with vertical strips to the mesh first.

Then I sewed it to the sail. Also you should line the inside of the two vertical where the rods cross with kevlar cloth to keep the rods from rubbing through the dacron and rubbing directly against each other. I have some well grooved rods somewhere from a very early original REV sail that did not have the kevlar. Most REVs since around 1992/93 also have kevlar lining where the rods cross.

John M

[wufer]

John.

Right. The way i did it was this. I put my sail on my work bench with the top edge away from me. Put some double sided tape 1/4" down from the top. Then i placed my mesh top edge onto the tape. Next i put some tape on my mesh top edge; folded the 1.4" sail down over the tape on my mesh. All that went ok. BUT then i had to fold the mesh back up on its self so the sail and the mesh were flat ready to sew. To me, the mesh seemed to be too stiff , so as i folded it up and tryed to stick it , the sail would bend under on its self and i didnt know how to keep the sail flat on the bench while i bent the mesh up so im sorry to say i gave up and ommited the mesh.( must try harder ).

Well i hope you can understand that. It might take a bit of doing.

Now go on ,tell me i did it all wrong !!!!

Derek

[johnnmitchell]

John.

Right. The way i did it was this. I put my sail on my work bench with the top edge away from me. Put some double sided tape 1/4" down from the top. Then i placed my mesh top edge onto the tape. Next i put some tape on my mesh top edge; folded the 1.4" sail down over the tape on my mesh. All that went ok. BUT then i had to fold the mesh back up on its self so the sail and the mesh were flat ready to sew. To me, the mesh seemed to be too stiff , so as i folded it up and tryed to stick it , the sail would bend under on its self and i didnt know how to keep the sail flat on the bench while i bent the mesh up so im sorry to say i gave up and ommited the mesh.( must try harder ).

Well i hope you can understand that. It might take a bit of doing.

Now go on ,tell me i did it all wrong !!!!

Derek

Try this!

Lay the sail face up on your work surface.

Put a 1/4" wide layer of double side adhesive tape (a type that really sticks) along the upper edge of the sail.

Mate the bottom edge of the mess to the sail with the top edge pointed toward the tail of the sail.

Press it hard down to make it stick good.

Do not fold it until after the following step.

Sew the two together at 1/4" from the edge.

Fold the edge up at the place you sewed it with the cut pointed towards the kites tail.

At this time you have to sew the edges together about 3/16' from the first sew.

I hope this make sense without drawing a picture.

John M

[ant man]

well im going to do the measurements off of my 1.5 and go from there and then later on ill try my own setup im also going to do a 7 foot wingspan paitrotic conyane delta i got some rip stop from my shop my buddy there had some extra red white and blue left over ive already started on the triangle box portion and im going to do the wings later this weekend i got the idea from a model i seen at the sjkf festival in central jersey last year im doing the box part in blue and cutting out white stars and putting them on the box part and the wings will be red and white 4 inch strips sewn together the wings will have avia sport 230 rods i have a bunch of them and the box will be a wood dowell setup i got them at home depot it will take me a few days to get it done but i want to do this first to get the hang of this before i get into doing the rev sail all of my stitches are straight for the box and i will use zig zags on the wings to put the strips together i will have pics when im done

[Quad KiT]

Ant, I think that post was the world's longest sentence!!!

Hehe... can't wait to see some pics!

[ant man]

yea quadkit it was i just wanted to tell you guys what else i was doing i was up late last night i have one more wing to do today and then i put the stars on so far so good deltas are eazy to build next comes the rev sail

[ant man]

well its done my delta and it flies great i got it done at 2:35 this afternoon and after a few bridle tunes it flies great here are the pics the kite is a delta conyane with a 7 foot wingspan it took 12 hours between yesterday and today i was up late last night and worked on it all day today

[Quad KiT]

very nice looking work!