REVs with tails

[johnnmitchell]

I found this rather nice picture of a REV I with tails that I built in 1994.

http://home.arcor.de/johnmitchell2/3-Photo...30504-41_wm.JPG

At the time such a design and material was not available from the mfr.

The material is Icarex P31. The tails are 15 meters(50ft) long and are also made by me from Icarex P31.

The tails are cut with a hot razor knife. They are much better then the nylon counter part as the slip very easy amongst each other except when damp.

[johnnmitchell]

I found this rather nice picture of a REV I with tails that I built in 1994.

http://home.arcor.de/johnmitchell2/3-Photo...30504-41_wm.JPG

At the time such a design and material was not available from the mfr.

The material is Icarex P31. The tails are 15 meters(50ft) long and are also made by me from Icarex P31.

The tails are cut with a hot razor knife. They are much better then the nylon counter part as the slip very easy amongst each other except when damp.

Each tail is attached using velcro. The velcro hooks are on the tails.

I wind then all one after the other on a large halo kite reel.

The tail widths are 25mm(1 inch).

[ant man]

sweet design i put tails on a rev too a while back it is fun to fly with tails on a speed series

[Mousie]

OK now that I could get hooked on.... very very nice...

[Penny Lingenfelter]

Very sweet.

Here's a question. What else have you flown off of Rev's?

BB

Penny

[johnnmitchell]

Very sweet.

Here's a question. What else have you flown off of Rev's?

BB

Penny

I have attached a small plastic bucket to the back and filled it with candy and made a candy drop for the kids.

I made a Pink Panther REV that had two arms, two legs, a tail and a movable mouth.

I have put loop hooks on the end caps to pickup objects that I have placed a loop on.

I have attached a digital camera to the middle, too heavy and the RC failed. Flop on only try.

At the moment I can't recall any others.

[johnnmitchell]

OK now that I could get hooked on.... very very nice...

It is a lot of extra work unwinding and winding tails, but it is worth it.

I can imagine one of your ladies with tails in the colors of the REV. Must look really nice.

[johnnmitchell]

Very sweet.

Here's a question. What else have you flown off of Rev's?

BB

Penny

I have attached a small plastic bucket to the back and filled it with candy and made a candy drop for the kids.

I made a Pink Panther REV that had two arms, two legs, a tail and a movable mouth.

I have put loop hooks on the end caps to pickup objects that I have placed a loop on.

I have attached a digital camera to the middle, too heavy and the RC failed. Flop on only try.

At the moment I can't recall any others.

At Castiglione de Lago in Italy, I saw David Brittain put a loop on the tip and dip it in bubble water for blowing bubbles.

[Jim Foster]

Sometimes I play with 40' Trilby tails.

Jim

[johnnmitchell]

Sometimes I play with 40' Trilby tails.

Jim

Jim,

Try multiple tape type tails. They really look nice and have only negligible drag.

Stay away from plastic tape. They are too heavy and fall apart quickly.

[ant man]

how would they work in light winds??

[johnnmitchell]

how would they work in light winds??

With the kite you saw a picture of, at a competition, I flew in zero wind on hundred foot lines. I did 360s and the whole lot with tails. I took my first, first place with a Quad line. (1994 Swiss Nationals at St. Gallen)

I have heard people theorize on these type of tails that it actually aids the lift of the REV more then it hinders the lift. I am not an aerodynamic engineer, so you could not prove it by me.

[Penny Lingenfelter]

How kewl. I'd love to see a pic of the pink panther. I've seen David Brittain perform his Olympic demo with the Rev. Picking items up, making baskets, bubbles.. seems like there was some unicycle w/kite and juggling in there somewhere too.

How come you never get down here John? I've still not had the pleasure of meeting you.

As fanatical as I am about a Rev.. I think you have to have me beat with all you've done. I've flown various tails, but nothing as elaborate. One girl friend beaded me tails once, lol but the line wasn't strong enough to hang in there. I flew the cloud kids from Kathy Goodwinds that some friends had made for our wedding. They were fun. A man in a tux and top hat and a girl in the white gown and veil. With our pink/purlple and teal weading colors on her garter and his accessories.

They would dance from the corners of the Rev. and their feet would go round and round. It was cute.

Share some more pics please. BB Penny

Very sweet.

Here's a question. What else have you flown off of Rev's?

BB

Penny

I have attached a small plastic bucket to the back and filled it with candy and made a candy drop for the kids.

I made a Pink Panther REV that had two arms, two legs, a tail and a movable mouth.

I have put loop hooks on the end caps to pickup objects that I have placed a loop on.

I have attached a digital camera to the middle, too heavy and the RC failed. Flop on only try.

At the moment I can't recall any others.

[Penny Lingenfelter]

how would they work in light winds??

With the kite you saw a picture of, at a competition, I flew in zero wind on hundred foot lines. I did 360s and the whole lot with tails. I took my first, first place with a Quad line. (1994 Swiss Nationals at St. Gallen)

I have heard people theorize on these type of tails that it actually aids the lift of the REV more then it hinders the lift. I am not an aerodynamic engineer, so you could not prove it by me.

What type of material were the tails?

BB Penny

[johnnmitchell]

how would they work in light winds??

With the kite you saw a picture of, at a competition, I flew in zero wind on hundred foot lines. I did 360s and the whole lot with tails. I took my first, first place with a Quad line. (1994 Swiss Nationals at St. Gallen)

I have heard people theorize on these type of tails that it actually aids the lift of the REV more then it hinders the lift. I am not an aerodynamic engineer, so you could not prove it by me.

What type of material were the tails?

BB Penny

The tails are made from Icarex P31 polyester. You will have to make them yourself as Icarex is not available in narrow strips, only in 40" or 54" wide rolls.

For each tail you will need 1 yard(almost 1mtr) of material. If you are using 40" wide, hope that the edge does not look too bad or just shorten the tails by that much.

Hot cut with a sharp razor type knife into two 20" wide pieces. Sew the two pieces together at the 20" edge.

Hot cut the 20" piece down the middle to create two 10" pieces. Sew the two 10" pieces together at the 10" edge.

Hot cut the 10" piece down the middle to create two 10" pieces. Sew the two 5" pieces together at the 5" edge.

Hot cut the 5" piece down the middle to create two 2.5" pieces. Sew the two 2.5" pieces together at the 2.5" edge.

The last step is the hardest as there is not much material under your ruler to hold the material.

You will find cutting works best on a glass table top. I used a tempered glass table top that I bought for the purpose at IKEA. If you lightly moisten the glass surface, the Icarex will almost glue to it. So keep a damp cloth handy.

It sounds like a lot of work, but really isn't.

Next you will need a large halo ring to wind them up. I have tried various methods, but this seems to work best. It is compact and the tails look good when you put them on the kite.

Now you need to a way to attach them to you REV. I found that velcro works quite well. 1 sq inch for each tail is not too much nor too little.

I attach mine to the trailing edge of the REV. So, you will need to sew pieces with the velcro soft pad to the points you want the tails to attached. On one end of each tail, sew on the velcro hook pad. I sew the soft pad to the kite as the hooks can catch a flying line when you don't use tails.

[johnnmitchell]

How kewl. I'd love to see a pic of the pink panther. I've seen David Brittain perform his Olympic demo with the Rev. Picking items up, making baskets, bubbles.. seems like there was some unicycle w/kite and juggling in there somewhere too.

How come you never get down here John? I've still not had the pleasure of meeting you.

As fanatical as I am about a Rev.. I think you have to have me beat with all you've done. I've flown various tails, but nothing as elaborate. One girl friend beaded me tails once, lol but the line wasn't strong enough to hang in there. I flew the cloud kids from Kathy Goodwinds that some friends had made for our wedding. They were fun. A man in a tux and top hat and a girl in the white gown and veil. With our pink/purlple and teal weading colors on her garter and his accessories.

They would dance from the corners of the Rev. and their feet would go round and round. It was cute.

Share some more pics please. BB Penny

In June 2005, I was judging for 4 days at the WSKC in Lincoln City. If I recall right, you had planned to be there. Did you ever make it? Sometimes, but rarely I do make it to Vancover, WA to visit my older sister.

You have really come up with some nice ideas of items to attach to your REVs. I like.

The Pink Panther has not flown for years. I lost all the attachments somewhere, no idea where. I do recall seeing the sail about a year ago.

Picture, I shall look for some with it flying. There is a picture of it landed at: http://home.arcor.de/johnnmitchell/1-Compe...6-19930701b.jpg

The arms have hands. The legs have feet. The mouth folds back for reverse flight. The tail has a white tip. I have heard some people calling it a mouse.

[Jim Foster]

We took these photos last August on the beach just north of Seaside, OR We met up with Bob Serack and he broke out his six stack (part of a 24 stack) he made of mini-revs, with tails. We flew the stack on 130 foot lines.

Great fun.

Jim

[johnnmitchell]

We took these photos last August on the beach just north of Seaside, OR We met up with Bob Serack and he broke out his six stack (part of a 24 stack) he made of mini-revs, with tails. We flew the stack on 130 foot lines.

Great fun.

Jim

The advantage of the tube type tail is that it holds a very nice circle. However it does create a bit of drag as can be seen on the last REV. They are really nice with a good wind.

[ant man]

as always jim you find the fliers that have the nicest kites that stack is great i gotta get my stuff together and get cracking if im ever going to have some legacy to my name

[Penny Lingenfelter]

I made it to Lincoln City for the outdoor Festival. World Cup? It was over before I got there.

Some of them came down to the beach.

Cute Cute! The Rev in Pink. I'm not a kite maker, nor an artist. My loss.

I drive an 18 yr. old van (I can't believe it's that old) that the grandkids and I painted two tone blue. We put stars on it, because my daughter said it didn't look like me -my husband said-She's not done yet... and what was I to do? lol I love it.. It's the perfect beach vehicle. Even the hub caps are painted green/blue.

Everytime Steve tells me to get a new car, I think... ok.. but then I think I'd have to get rid of my van... I can't do that! yet. Wow, you were that close and I didn't get to meet you. I met a team from Columbia, and a few indivduals. I'm sure I would have remembered if you came down to the beach.

We'll have to plan a visit to your sisters ahead so you can come out and play at a festival. .. where we can utilize your talents too.

BB

Penny

In June 2005, I was judging for 4 days at the WSKC in Lincoln City. If I recall right, you had planned to be there. Did you ever make it? Sometimes, but rarely I do make it to Vancover, WA to visit my older sister.

You have really come up with some nice ideas of items to attach to your REVs. I like.

The Pink Panther has not flown for years. I lost all the attachments somewhere, no idea where. I do recall seeing the sail about a year ago.

Picture, I shall look for some with it flying. There is a picture of it landed at: http://home.arcor.de/johnnmitchell/1-Compe...6-19930701b.jpg

The arms have hands. The legs have feet. The mouth folds back for reverse flight. The tail has a white tip. I have heard some people calling it a mouse.

[Penny Lingenfelter]

Tks. TGreat info John, I hope some of the flyers in this area take advantage of it. It would be great to see some tails like those on the Rev.. hint hint, Jim, Amy, ... you know who you are.

BB Penny

[johnnmitchell]

Tks. TGreat info John, I hope some of the flyers in this area take advantage of it. It would be great to see some tails like those on the Rev.. hint hint, Jim, Amy, ... you know who you are.

BB Penny

I made two sets of Red, White and Blue tails which are essentially junk. I made two mistake making them.

1. I COLD CUT them with a razor(scalpel). They fray and stick and hang on each other. Really terrible. ALWAYS HOT CUT!!!

2. I made them too narrow about 1.8cm(.71"). You need at least 2.5cm(1") width. A width of 3cm(1.2") might be quite nice.

I also made 4 sets of Rainbow tails. They were all HOT CUT.

The first set was nylon. They were heavy and caught on each other.

The other three sets were made all at the same time from polyester(Icarex). Ten years later they were still quite usable.

The reason for three sets is that I had made a progressive Rainbow train. I put a set on each kite. It was really beautiful with 18 tails, but an absolute disaster when you stopped, flew backward or made a too tight of a turn. The first two sets of tails tangled in the train lines. I flew it one time like that and never again.

Lesson learned: Tails on trains should ONLY be on the last kite in the train.

[mdilucca]

Tks. TGreat info John, I hope some of the flyers in this area take advantage of it. It would be great to see some tails like those on the Rev.. hint hint, Jim, Amy, ... you know who you are.

BB Penny

Hey Penny, I already used mine at the Portland event (OOU) the other day and they're awesome!!!

Cheers

Mario

[The Kite Shoppe]

Tks. TGreat info John, I hope some of the flyers in this area take advantage of it. It would be great to see some tails like those on the Rev.. hint hint, Jim, Amy, ... you know who you are.

BB Penny

Hey Penny, I already used mine at the Portland event (OOU) the other day and they're awesome!!!

Cheers

Mario

Mario...Hi!

I don't believe the Mylar tails that Scotty Weider uses are available any more. I think he said the material is no longer made. I'm answering you here, because maybe Penny and/or someone else may know?

T

[Mousie]

hugs..

Scotty told me that the mylar he uses is actually used.. or was used by electical engineers.... while it may not be available in that sweet light wieght, it may be available at a party store .. though not the exact same thing.... he gave me a smaller piece of it two years ago.. and I still have it.. it is fun to put on the indoor dual too...

hugs from grand haven.. well I was there today, now in Indiana...

mousie