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New Member and Kite owner.


Captainbob
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Fantastic........time on the lines :clap;, invaluable. Sounds like you are doing everything, pretty much right. Glad the lines worked out.

Next time you take one of those inverted dives, simple apply a lot of brake, just "before" the crash. That's one of the neat things about a Rev, you can come from full speed, at the top of the wind window, directly towards the ground, and with a quick application of brake, the kite will stop for you, in just inches. It's really neat to do this, and stop about 2" to 3" from the ground, back up a couple of feet, then flip back to nose up, and go straight back to the top. Kind of amazing, the first time you do it...........

Keep up the good work, and I agree, when the wind just won't cooperate, take a brake, especially while you are learning. Nothing more discouraging than having to constantly fight the kite, just to keep it in the air.

Carry on Sir.......sounds like you are on your way!! :balloon:

Well I had a chance to apply full brake today, when it was diving towards the ground at a good clip , and it quickly stopped about 2 feet before hitting the ground. Very cool !!!!

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Always keep the leading edge down! I know this, and yesterday I made that mistake and my kite took off into the Gulf. Long story short, I had to swim about 50yds in freezing cold water to retrieve my vented pro with 120' lines and Snagless

All the advice here seems to be to stake the handles at the top line. The flexfoil handles actually have a stake loop built into the handle at the bottom! and they explain that you want to stake the kite with the brake lines full on to prevent premature take offs.

Is this a style thing or why the difference?

As you can see, the handles really dictate hand position- you virtually HAVE to fly with your finger over the top line and thumb on the top of the handle. Maybe a good way to teach beginners good habits?

Kelly

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Don't forget, in all these discussions, the Rev is assumed to be on the ground, in the inverted position (top down), therefore, staking to the upper lines (drive), forces the kite to try to fly into the ground, as wind blows against the sail............keeping it securely planted, and IN place......... :ani_victory:(not swimming, as happened to RC)

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A foil is different. Staking a foil full brake by the staking loop will not result in an unintended launch. revs that are staked leading edge up can launch with a wind gust. Leading edge down with full forward driving it into the ground will not result in a rev launching.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Don't get discouraged by the inland winds, Bob. Use them as a tool to make yourself better. Fine tune the hairs on the back of your neck to feel for gusts and shifts so that you know where to put your kite to keep it in the air (whether you need to keep it centered in a shifting window to get maximum lift or you need to get it to the edge of the window before a gust overpowers it). Learn to be deft and not over controlling in the light stuff. Be prepared to walk a bit, back to supplement when the wind dies and forwards to recover your field. Read through in the forums about recovering your field. REVFlyer has some good technical descriptions of how it's done either here or the rev forum. Embrace the frustrations (and you will have frustrations) that come with loving what we do and the fact that we have to do it in far from ideal conditions. Because, I can promise you this: if you get decent flying around Atlanta, you will look like a pro when you get to a beach and clean winds.

Yes, in just a short time yesterday, I was already discovering some of the things that you mentioned. Moving forward, when the wind was stronger, backing up in the lulls, heading for the edge of the wind window in very strong gusts, running back when the sail starts to fold up and collapse.. It definetly isn't boring.... ;)

One of the best tips I can offer for light and variable wind... Cycle your energy.

Rotate your time between "on" (exertion, backing up, etc) and "off" (glide, gain ground, relax).

This helps with both the physical and psychological aspects of challenging wind. :)

And occasionally, when you feel the tension building up, just land, take a deep breath and let go, as if you just arrived and are ready for your first launch of the day.

I often refer to this during lessons as a "reset" or "cleaning the table".

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