A Revolutionary Morning

[Skyclad01]

I had a nice 5 hour flight with my Rev on Saturday. Nothing much to report this time though. It was a very good flight, but another very warm day. With my Sports bottle 3/4 filled with water (and in the freezer over night) then fill to the top with more water just before heading to the field certainly did help with the heat (as did a good layer of SPF 30). Unfortunately at the moment, im kinda feeling like I hit a low plateau. I know it takes a lot of practice and patience with the Rev. All im doing, and am able to do when I fly is fly up, down, left, right, dive stop and spins. And although I am having fun flying with it, its feeling a bit routine and repetitive.

Now I know this is to be expected a bit as I have stated just a minute ago that it will take practice and patience. But all that can kinda be put to the test a little bit when everything you're doing is being done solo. Don't get me wrong, I have had some great help from this forum and my friends in it's chat room. It's just a little tough at time's when you are flying solo practicing your routine and new moves. Every time I try to work on specific moves such as keeping my spins level or trying to hold an inverted hover for more than 10 seconds, I always have to constantly experiment and guess what I am doing with my hands and inputs to figure out what I am or am not doing correctly, and what I should and shouldn't be doing.

Research online is all done by myself, which is not an issue. And learning and asking questions with my friends in chat is very, very insightful and helpful. But when it comes to actually flying out there at the park by yourself, all the time, every time. It can be a little daunting after a while. In no way do I plan on being put off because of this. But since I considering this my sort of quasi-journal, and people want to hear my rambles, then they also get to hear me vent my frustrations as well.

I guess what I need to do, is pick one specific thing to work on each time I fly. For example, it is almost 2pm here and is 100 degrees out (but its a dry heat). I may (try to) spend 2hrs at the park with my rev and frozen sport bottle. And when I do, I will try to spend most of that time working on my inverted hovers. Which I have read (and been told) that the best way to practice this, is to start with the Rev leading edge down and slowly launch from its inverted position and hold the kite a few feet off the ground as best as I can. And if the kite starts to wobble, bring it back down onto the ground and start over.

Boring and frustrating, most definitely. But I know this discipline is very much needed. It's just most frustrating when I have to practice this and experiment with my hand position and inputs all alone. Hopefully one day, I will find another kite flier (Rev flier hopefully) that I can fly with and will be there to watch what I am doing from time to time and tell me exactly what I am doing and what I SHOULD be doing, right there, on the spot, as I am doing it.

Anyways, now that I have vented (sorry for all that), and its 2pm, I think I will head out to the park now and try to spend 2 hours with the Rev out there spending most of my time trying to get the hang of doing inverted hovers properly.

[RobB]

I totally agree ! When I get bored, I just fly something else. Bored, frustrated, whatever. I notice that the good fliers seem to fly with some idea what they're going to do next. Getting that flow seems to be the key to entertaining solitary flying. I'm still trying to find that flow... I can say that I've practiced holding hovers for 10 minutes or more, though. I think it helps to tune those muscles you would never use normally !

[Skyclad01]

After being able to vent my frustrations in my previous post before flying, I was able to fly my 2 hours with a clear head and a calm mind, which as you know is key for concentration. With the voice of Professor Snape in my head repeating "Discipline your mind!" (thats what happens when you watch the Harry Potter weekends on Disney), I focused solely on my inverted hovers. Now Its hard to say if I made any progress because the winds were so inconsistent. Either changing directions every 15 minutes or a nice breeze, but not enough wind pressure to hold the kite in the air... Winds too strong, winds too soft, and cross-breezes made holding any type of hover (for the less than mildly experienced) a little bit of a challenge. Plus the 100 degree temperature didn't help either. Thankfully, the sun was mostly on my back and I had cold water with me.

My idea was even though the winds were inconsistent when I arrived at the park, it would help me to adapt to different wind conditions at a moments notice. I have read in other posts that some people have had better luck practicing their inverted hovers by having a few winds in the lines. And I can see where this would hold true as it would seem to help stabilize the kite. Personally, I chose not to do this. I wanted to learn every minute and subtle movements for holding the kite evenly when inverted. It was definitely a challenge.

There was one thing I did learn today which was a big help that I found in a post on the Rev forum, and it took me a little time to learn this because up till getting the Rev, ive only been flying dualies. With flying dualies, left it left, right is right as far as controls go. So I always associate the left wing with the left hand to turn left, and vice versa. But since the Rev can fly in any direction, that can get confusing. Especially when flying inverted. What I learned from that post, which is what this person also learned, is instead of looking at the controls and the turning as left and right, is to look at it as clockwise and counter clockwise. Because no matter what state (position) the kite is in, clockwise IS clockwise, counter clockwise IS counter clockwise.

Actually, it wasn't too difficult to associate my controls in that way. No matter was position the kite was in, I just imagined a clock (of course). So if I wanted the kite to rotate to the left (counter clockwise), I just had to imagine the hands of a clock moving backwards - which is to the left, so I would use the left brake to rotate the kite in said direction. Made things a lot easier. With the winds being so uncooperative, it's really difficult to say if I made any progress with my inverted hovers. But I think I did a little bit since any time spent flying the kite equals progress in some way, shape, or form if you know it or not.

[makatakam]

To easily get your inverted hover rock-stable, do this:

Fly to the top of the window. Turn towards the ground. Alternate turning left and right each time. Fly towards the ground. Fly towards the ground slower each time. Go as slow as possible without wobbling the kite.

I guarantee if you do this 100 times, you'll be able to fly to 10 feet above the ground and just sit there. Stable as a rock! I've been flying quads for near 7 years now, and each time I fly I try to do at least 10 repetitions, just to keep the muscle memory updated.

[John Barresi]

The key for me to avoid boredom generally comes down to what I call "running track", basically running through a guantlet of maneuvers end to end, and developing enough of them that I can throw down some real extended dance moves with awesome tunes in my ears - a snowboarder doesn't sit in one spot and practice turning forever, eventually the end up going down courses - same deal here, I need those "challenge courses".

Old doc - kitelife.com/kl-archive/when-it-becomes-routine/

Competition is only one context for a routine or "deck of cards" (see article), it can also apply to recreational flying.

The idea of building something that challenges several of your skills consecutively, gradually speeding up the sequence, adding difficulty, matching a beat or tempo, cleaning up the details along the way, all good for the soul.

[Skyclad01]

To easily get your inverted hover rock-stable, do this:

Fly to the top of the window. Turn towards the ground. Alternate turning left and right each time. Fly towards the ground. Fly towards the ground slower each time. Go as slow as possible without wobbling the kite.

I guarantee if you do this 100 times, you'll be able to fly to 10 feet above the ground and just sit there. Stable as a rock! I've been flying quads for near 7 years now, and each time I fly I try to do at least 10 repetitions, just to keep the muscle memory updated.

I've kinda been doing that a little. What I have mostly read for starting off with inverted flying is to start with an inverted launch and slowly keep the kite going up inverted. And if it starts to wobble, bring it back down and start over again. I completely avoided doing that because that would bring about some angry frustration real quick with all those repeats one after another. So what I did was I would just get the kite about 3/4 of the way up then hold the kite there for a moment and do a slow rotation till the kite is inverted trying to keep the kite as stable as possible. If it wobbled a bit, that would be ok because I would try to control the wobble so my hands would learn the tiny nuances and inputs needed to keep the kite stable. The trick is not to panic when the kite wobbles and don't over steer when trying to stabilize the wobble. And if I could keep a steady invert, I would try to bring the kite lower very slowly. If it would happen to rotate out from being inverted, id do a quick little flight and maybe some spins for fun, then fly back up and try that inverted hover again.

[povlhp]

Personally, I fly something, practice it a bit. If I keep feeling like no success, I start flying something else. There is more than one thing you can practice, and if things goes wrong, pick something you master to feel in control again.

One thing I like to practice is flying a box. LE front. Right, stop, turn, down, stop, turn, .....

Or do it the other way around. It has more variation in it, and you can hover shorter or longer. And you will hover in the 4 major directions. And if I feel like it, I will sideslide one of the sides of the box.

My box is far from perfect, and often I crash when doing the lower leg. Trying to make it low and slow. Of course I could fly it higher, but it should not be too easy. To me this is a good excercise to return to, after some more specific practice. Is not so boring. And reversing the direction still requires additional effort.

[Skyclad01]

The key for me to avoid boredom generally comes down to what I call "running track", basically running through a guantlet of maneuvers end to end, and developing enough of them that I can throw down some real extended dance moves with awesome tunes in my ears - a snowboarder doesn't sit in one spot and practice turning forever, eventually the end up going down courses - same deal here, I need those "challenge courses".

Old doc - kitelife.com/kl-archive/when-it-becomes-routine/

Competition is only one context for a routine or "deck of cards" (see article), it can also apply to recreational flying.

The idea of building something that challenges several of your skills consecutively, gradually speeding up the sequence, adding difficulty, matching a beat or tempo, cleaning up the details along the way, all good for the soul.

I definitely do try to challenge myself even if im doing some routine flight pattern. Usually I will try to keep my movements quick and snappy and my turns/rotations sharp and balanced. It may not sound like much for an experienced flier, but for me (who is still learning) it does put to test my precision skills.

My current goal is to achieve flying skills along the lines of these likes:

That article is a good one, and I do try to keep all that in mind when im flying. I have been using a specific play list of songs for when I fly my Rev (which I need to expand some more). A couple of them are slightly longer than what competition would allow, but thats ok because I am a long, long, long ways from doing any of that (but its fun to pretend anyways). I know I can listen to whatever I like when I fly, but I try to stay in that frame of mind when I fly my Rev.

[Skyclad01]

A question that is sometimes asked on the forum is "What do you listen to when you fly" / "Whats on your play list?" So here is mine. (complete with youtube links )

AC/DC - Can`t Stand Still

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xajftk_ac-dc-can-t-stand-still_music

Aiboforcen - Alice (Sisters Of Mercy Cover)

Apotheosis - O Fortuna Excalibur Remix

Blue Man Group w/ Venus Hum: I Feel Love

The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Jump Jive An' Wail

Cradle Of Filth - Stay

Dead Sara - Weatherman

Deep Purple - Space Truckin'

Die Warzau featuring Emilie Autumn - Dry

Family Force 5 - Zombie

Kai Altair - Shine

KT Tunstall - Black Horse And The Cherry Tree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQmDUEv939A

[Skyclad01]

(contd)

Lindsey Buckingham - Holiday Road

Mind.In.A.Box - Change

Snow White's Poison Bite - The End Of Prom Night

Steel Dragon - We All Die Young

Vernian Process - Something Wicked (That Way Went)

Voltaire - Goodnight demon slayer

Voltaire - When You're Evil

[Skyclad01]

Personally, I fly something, practice it a bit. If I keep feeling like no success, I start flying something else. There is more than one thing you can practice, and if things goes wrong, pick something you master to feel in control again.

One thing I like to practice is flying a box. LE front. Right, stop, turn, down, stop, turn, .....

Or do it the other way around. It has more variation in it, and you can hover shorter or longer. And you will hover in the 4 major directions. And if I feel like it, I will sideslide one of the sides of the box.

My box is far from perfect, and often I crash when doing the lower leg. Trying to make it low and slow. Of course I could fly it higher, but it should not be too easy. To me this is a good excercise to return to, after some more specific practice. Is not so boring. And reversing the direction still requires additional effort.

Yes, I do have my own version of flying a box. But with 30 hours now on the Rev, that box flight is feeling a bit repetitive - even though I know its good practice.

[basicbill]

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

[Skyclad01]

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

I actually do horizontal and vertical slides at an given random times when I fly. Vertical ones can be tricky for me to do because I need to work on not letting my hands rotate just enough that it goes into forward drive. Sill I enjoy trying to do them and getting the kite to land in a tip stand position. As far as horizontal slides go, I only do those with the kite upright. Doing them inverted could be hazardous for the kite at the moment as my inverts tend to wobble a bit too much still for that.

I also try to practice reverse flight, both left to right and right to left. Which I can get the kite to go from one side to the center of the wind window. But I sometimes tend to pull on the brakes a bit too much that it will cause a wing to flip. I know i'll get it eventually though.

[basicbill]

I actually do horizontal and vertical slides at an given random times when I fly. Vertical ones can be tricky for me to do because I need to work on not letting my hands rotate just enough that it goes into forward drive. Sill I enjoy trying to do them and getting the kite to land in a tip stand position. As far as horizontal slides go, I only do those with the kite upright. Doing them inverted could be hazardous for the kite at the moment as my inverts tend to wobble a bit too much still for that.

I also try to practice reverse flight, both left to right and right to left. Which I can get the kite to go from one side to the center of the wind window. But I sometimes tend to pull on the brakes a bit too much that it will cause a wing to flip. I know i'll get it eventually though.

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

[makatakam]

Check this out, just for fun.

[Skyclad01]

That was very cool.

[Skyclad01]

I must include this link here in this quasi-journal of mine for posterity, ease of access and helpfulness.

Working on inverted hover, a possible simple solution

http://kitelife.com/forum/topic/5896-working-on-inverted-hover-a-possible-simple-solution/

[hyzakite]

One thing I'm not seeing mentioned with the hovers is forward hovers=arms up and inverted hovers=arms down by your side. But that's an automatic thing for most. There isn't much mention of hand position compared to the body, only a lot of hand position on the handle itself. Hand position compared to the body changes much more often than on the move your hand up and down along the curve of the handle.

[Paul LaMasters]

my buddy Dave Ashworth and I worked on the 3 required Precision figures for a couple of hours in no-wind at Dory Park (outside of Richmond VA) Friday morning. When we competed against each other Saturday our score were two points difference. in brutal conditions! You walked backwards fast just to hold a hover. That practice paid off though, just focus on one thing and envision your own success before accomplishing it.

[makatakam]

One thing I'm not seeing mentioned with the hovers is forward hovers=arms up and inverted hovers=arms down by your side. But that's an automatic thing for most. There isn't much mention of hand position compared to the body, only a lot of hand position on the handle itself. Hand position compared to the body changes much more often than on the move your hand up and down along the curve of the handle.

Watch the "Body Posture and Grip" tutorial by JB. Good info there. Not a fun video because of lack of flying, but it will give you a good idea where your hands should be in relation to your body as well as the handles.

[Skyclad01]

I had a nice 3 (small) paragraph entry to update my ongoings with the Rev, went to another tab to get a link for here, came back to this one and accidentally hit the backspace key (keyboard shortcut for page back) and lost everything that I had typed out. I know that there are auto saves when you type replies, but I couldn't find anything to get it back. Even pressing the forward button to get back here and my reply box was still wiped clean. So now im a little pissed about all that because it was a well written and descriptive entry (at least I believe so anyways).

[Wayne Dowler]

Spit happens!!! Take a deep breath and relax, then tell us more about your adventures. Love good stories!

[oapbillf]

I had a nice 3 (small) paragraph entry to update my ongoings with the Rev, went to another tab to get a link for here, came back to this one and accidentally hit the backspace key (keyboard shortcut for page back) and lost everything that I had typed out. I know that there are auto saves when you type replies, but I couldn't find anything to get it back. Even pressing the forward button to get back here and my reply box was still wiped clean. So now im a little pissed about all that because it was a well written and descriptive entry (at least I believe so anyways).

Been there, done that, several times !

Bill

[Skyclad01]

With just over a month of owning my Rev and with approximately 40hrs flying time, I think I have made pretty good progress so far with having only myself for a flying partner, good chat room friends for advice and help, and the internet for my education. I honestly feared that as mainly a dual line flier, that I would get bored with the Rev after a while considering that a dual line stunt kite would be the gymnast of the kite world, and the Revs/quads would be the ballet dancers. But surprisingly, the Rev has completely held my attention all this time and my dual lines have taken a back seat. Though, my previous flying day I did take one of my duals out for a flight instead of the Rev, and I had a good time with it. It only took that one day to suffice my missing tricking with my dual line.

Theres something about having total control and the precision needed for flying a Rev that really holds my attention. With all the progress ive made in this short time, I know I still need at least 10 times that till I actually become half way good. But thats not a bad thing at all as I have been enjoying the journey thus far and really enjoy being able to notice my own skills improving as I go along. Even when things like reverse flight tend to frustrate me a little. I still don't let that bug me, because when it starts to, I just move on to doing something else that I know is challenging and not as frustrating.

So far, my frustrations of fun have been and will be trying to do clockwork turns, proper inverted slides as well as trying to keep the pivot points correct and in a straight line when trying to do a vertical ladder. My vertical slides aren't too bad, but could be better. It would be nice if there was something that I can interact the kite with at the field I fly it. But its probably better that there isn't. I would most likely end up somehow ruining the kite in some way if there were, lol. My biggest surprises of myself is how much easier it has become to hold an inverted hover. Don't get me wrong, its far from perfect and still wobbles a little often times. But it has gotten to the point to where I can feel where the hold point is when I rotate the kite into an invert. Now its just a matter of dialing it in to keep it perfectly still and level.

All in all, I have been enjoying every minute of flying those 40 hours with the Rev, and I always look forward to flying it some more. So much so that I check the wind forecasts daily and make every effort to fly when the winds are good. Hopefully, in time, I will be able to save up enough money to get a nice looking Rev B to go along side my EXP. The darkside isn't so dark after all.

[oapbillf]

I put this on the Rev forum earlier but it might apply to you as well !

To get more out of your practice put up your largest SLK on a similar line length to what you are using

for your Rev, then try for-mating on it from the top, bottom and sides both leading edge first and

trailing edge first.

If you fly your Rev in front of your SLK you can take the wind out of its sail making it collapse,

move your Rev away and it should recover.

If nothing else it gives you something different to try.

Bill