Stacks

[mystainedskin]

Who has run what?

I have run a B and Exp, Rev 2 and Exp as 2 stack setups. Currently working on putting something together with kites that don't get flown too much. What that equates to is a 5 stack of... 2 rev2s, 3 Exp....and maybe a B for a nice even 6.

Making stack lines tonite and tomorrow..so comments will break the monotonous chore of knotting.

Has anyone run odd numbers of different sizes before? I don't see it being and issue at all.

[bbailey49]

I run a mismatched progressive stack; a red, white, and blue RevII, a purple and black SLE, and a blue, Mylar, and lime RevI. Curious how your 6'er works out.

[elmo264]

I use a factory matched set progressive stack. rev ll, rev 1.5, rev l green and white in color .

[mystainedskin]

First version....

[John Barresi]

Been posted elsewhere, but as long as we're talking stacks... Me and Watty playing around.

[bbailey49]

Love that axle!

[SHBKF]

For times when a Power Blast 2-4 isn't enough & a Power Blast 4-8 is too much, pondering stacking a Blast in front of a Power Blast 2-4. Anybody have comments or experience? Probably won't try two PB 4-8's, but could do Blast, PB 2-4 & PB 4-8, maybe once anyway.

[SparkieRob]

I've seen the "Shockwave plus Blast plus Blast 2-4" stack in pictures. Looks terribly like too much fun!!

There is also a YouTube clip of a crazy bloke with a twin stack of 4-8s!

[RevRookie]

I just got 2 more (used) Revs - a I and a II, along with my original 1.5. I'd love to get them all working together, but have no ideas on where to connect or how far apart to connect. I've got bridle line & was going to connect all the spar ends together with about 1m of line between.

Any experience to share?

[Reved]

http://www.revkites.com/forum/topic/104-seeking-advice-on-how-to-stack-revs/

There's more in the thread.

Good questions, I have been flying a couple stacked revs for a while now and will try to answer. If anyone else has any information (even if it is contradicting) please join in!

Most Rev's can be stacked on 4.5' or 5.5' foot lines. I have found that the larger rev's work a bit better on the longer stack lines and the smaller rev's work on 4.5' lines. Shorter than 4.5' seem to cause turbulence between the kites and I dont recommend it. My 8 stack of 1.5 SLE's are all 4.5' and it works great.

Pretty much all rev's can be stacked although I have never stacked the Power Blast 2-4's or the 4-8's, or the indoor. For the Rev 1, EXP, and 1.5's, 7 stack lines are used. One on each leading edge wing tip (2) one on each leading edge spar (2) one on the leading edge center (1) one on each lower wing tip (2). All stack lines are exactly the same length. Our shop does carry pre-made Revolution stacking kits but if you are ok with making your own lines then it is not hard to do.

To make your own stack lines just make a loop on each end of the line so the overall length is 4.5' (or whatever length you decide to use) and that they are all equal. Larks head each loop onto the end cap of each attachment point just like the bridle is attached (wing tip to wing tip, leading edge to leading edge, etc...)

Normally you can stack 2-3 rev's together without any additional components. If you decide to stack more than 3 then you may want to consider upgrading the frame(s) on the front kite to make sure it can withstand the additional stress placed on it from the stacked kites. All kites hang off of the front kite(s). In my 8 stack, the first 4 kites have custom heavy frames (8 wrap). During flight when the winds are up you can still see the first kite bow a bit when it is under tension even with the heavy frame in it. Again, if you are only stacking up to 2-3 additional revs the standard frame will probably be just fine.

Additional "tweaking" on the stack lines may be necessary once you get the stack into the air. I have found that shortening the bottom lines on the last kite by 1/4" helps keep the stack in line better and reduces the "chasing" effect the last kite has on the rest of the stack. For easy testing just larks head some small dowel's into the line and fly to see if it is better or worse. The other "tweaking" can be done once the kites are all setup and staked to the ground. Stand all the kites up and put minimal tension ln the rear kite at each stack line connection - make sure the entire stack in perfectly straight and in line with your handles. With minimal tension at each point you should be able to see if any of your stack lines need to be adjusted. The leading edge tips are hardest to do because of their ability to flex but all the other lines should pull equally tight as you tension them. If any are loose or droop more than the others, adjust them as needed. It is best to have someone else watch the stack as you fly - specifically watching each kite and noting if there are any unusual flight patterns with each kite as they fly across the window. Someone with a good eye should be able to spot any stack lines that are out of adjustment because that kite will not be perfectly in line with the rest of the stack.

With most of the stacks I have set up for others I have had to adjust the brake lines on my handles. Under normal settings the brakes are way to tight with the stack. I am not really sure why this is but you may need to add an additional 2" onto the rear lines. You may not realise this at first but if your stack has an incredible amount of power and spins are hard to correct then your brake lines are too tight. Play with this adjustment until you find a setting that works good for you.

If you plan on stacking a mix of different rev's then you may also need to adjust each stack line set differently for each rev. Custom attachment points may also need to be developed if the revs dont quite match up with each other.

I have also found it best to completely remove each bridle on the stacked rev - this helps keep line tangles to a minimum. The stack lines can get a bit confusing when you have a bunch of revs stacked together - the bridles make it even moreso. Your flying line may also need to be upgraded depending on the type of rev's you are stacking and how many. If you are only stacking 1 or 2 kites then your original line "may" be ok. I would recommend upgrading to at least 150# to be safe. If more rev's are to be stacked then 200# or 300# may be necessary. My 8 stack has 300# X 4 line and has been fine.

Flyign the stack -
This is the most amazing thing, the stack will fly almost exactly like one kite, it will just feel ultra heavy depending on the amount of kites stacked. If the stack is not tuned properly then you may end up with a lot of "chasing" in the stack so dive stops & reverse hovers will be very difficult to do. Turning will also require some man-handling to get the stack to whip around but you should get the feel of it in 5 or so minutes of flying. Reverse launching a larger stack can be difficult and some serious reverse on the handles with added backwards steps will be necessary to get the stack to lift off of the ground. Once it does then flip it over quickly and the stack should "snap" into shape and feel solid again. Another pilot in our group who is very experienced in flying stacks told me to "fly the back kite, not the front one" and it took me a while to figure out what he was talking about. He was exactly right and if you teach yourself to watch the rear kite and fly that one as if it was hooked directly to your handles then the timing on your flying will be spot on and easier to do. The rear kite for some reason turns first and the stack follows...strange but pretty neat once you figure it out.

Last hint - keep your leading edge bungee's tighter on the stack than normal flying. For some reason the leading edge end caps seem to pop off a lot easier when stacked - tighter bungee's will help reduce this.

Sorry for the long post - hope it helps.

[RevRookie]

That link has more than I can possibly wish to know about stacking. I'll make the lines tomorrow ( using pig tails that I will leave in place) and see if I can get it to fly.

Awesome help! Thanks yet again Ed!

Kelly

PS you need to work on the avatar. Use a picture of your home sewn kites.

[SparkieRob]

The pigtails come off if you are prone to water flying... Easy to take off for that.

[SparkieRob]

With a 2-1.5-1 progressive, the inner train links will need to be shorter than the outers as it's not a linear expansion. When I trained my B2 to my 1.5 I used the 4.5 links. I made the outer LE points as reference and shortened the rest up from there. The 4 the go from vert to vert will have differences top to bottom.

The idea is to have all kites parallel and the link lines straight before any load is applied. A Progressive Stack doesn't need the rear kite "braked" any where near the amount of a stack of the same sized kites.

[Tmadz]

For times when a Power Blast 2-4 isn't enough & a Power Blast 4-8 is too much, pondering stacking a Blast in front of a Power Blast 2-4. Anybody have comments or experience? Probably won't try two PB 4-8's, but could do Blast, PB 2-4 & PB 4-8, maybe once anyway.

I think the operative word in this sentence is ONCE.

[makatakam]

For times when a Power Blast 2-4 isn't enough & a Power Blast 4-8 is too much, pondering stacking a Blast in front of a Power Blast 2-4. Anybody have comments or experience? Probably won't try two PB 4-8's, but could do Blast, PB 2-4 & PB 4-8, maybe once anyway.

I think the operative word in this sentence is ONCE.

I have a 2-4 coming around Tuesday, so I got the middle covered for you, if you want to try.

[SHBKF]

Well now I am humbled by reality and a 19 mph wind blowing all evening. I am sitting here at the beach with all four of them dang blast kites in the basement of the RV & the wind is honkin. If the wind doesn't let up a bit I won't have the nerve to fly anything but the 1.5B mid vent. Flew the five stack of Microns in 12 mph last night & the people all loved em, But a stack of blasts or even a PB 2-4 is not looking too likely right now.

Edit: Second day of high wind here in Surfside Beach, South Carolina. Glad I had the the classic Prism Alien to fly. Even the vented dualies were pulling too hard today. The Alien seems to need lots of wind to fly at all. A good reason to have some alternative kites even if you don't get to fly them too often they can save the day when you finally get to the beach. Big storm rolled through late this afternoon. Sent the lawn chair tumbling but the foam noodles stayed bungeed to the chair so it didn't leave the campsite.

[Tmadz]

You could fly it, but make sure your health insurance is paid up.

[W.frew]

Cool stacking videos

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