hyzakite Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 On 7/4/2016 at 1:33 PM, Ritlee said: Got a hold of, I'm assuming, Mike at Big Mike's, and the kite is on the way... I still liked the red patterned old version over the lime new one so got it. I'm sure it will be good enough for me Should see the kite in about a week I hope the in about a week is a short one, possibly Saturday? Christmas in July? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritlee Posted July 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 1 hour ago, hyzakite said: I hope the in about a week is a short one, possibly Saturday? Christmas in July? Well my Birthday is Monday, as long as there aren't any delays I'm expecting it Monday or Tuesday But yes, I am chomping at the bit for it to arrive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyzakite Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 Well, I hope you get it on Monday then! If you have a tracking number, Don't follow it, it takes away from the joy of the kite arriving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exult Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 1 hour ago, hyzakite said: If you have a tracking number, Don't follow it, it takes away from the joy of the kite arriving. My opinion is slightly different. First of all it takes super powers in self control not follow the package. Second it is the joy of seeing how the kite approaches its new home (or the agony when the courier company returns the kite to some package centre over the weekend after a claimed delivery attempt). Also if you are aware on how the shipment was performed, you can at least ask your kite dealer for another arrangement if you wouldn't be happy with the current one. I did this once and the kite shop representative appeared just to be happy for the feed back and not annoyed for the extra work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritlee Posted July 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 LOL, well there is tracking... and I check it ever so often... problem is, the kite is going APO, it is handed over to the military in 1 of several hubs, to actually make it out to me... so this package has been in Chicago IL for the past couple of days... But yeah I track everything that has a tracking number... even if it's a $5 item... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritlee Posted July 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 The kite came in today... thought about taking a half day off from work... but the winds were gusting up to about 30 knots... so I decided not to take off of work early, because I would want to fly even more.... Waited until about an hour before sunset, winds dropped down to 10mph gusting to 15, a little high to start learning maybe, but I kept the kite out of the power window... thank god for that . Never had to use my kite killers but damn did I get drug every where... Definitely a learning curve on just getting it set up, you can watch all the you tube videos in the world but they always seem to go way to smooth with just trying to set the kite up. The biggest problem I had, was once the handles were laid out and the brakes set on a "stake" the kite would actually get wind under the whole thing and jump up flip around and become a mess. I ended up alleviating that problem by using a weighted bag to hold the center of the trailing edge down. I'm thinking maybe too much brake being set? Another thing never mentioned, that I kind of figured but didn't realize to the extent. These things are a huge work out, I was only able to last with 3 flights of about 15 minutes a piece. might go back out in a little bit now that the wind has had a chance to die down to less than 10 mph gusts. I'm definitely hooked 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyzakite Posted July 12, 2016 Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 Least you didn't get drug around for the first time at 30 knots! That's a good thing! Just make sure you eat your Wheaties before flying, not after! I never flew one but there must be good tricks on setting them up ready to fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritlee Posted July 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 OK went out a second time, this time it was just enough wind to keep it up with a little work... Interesting how even in the power window if it doesn't have any forward speed it will steal out, but even with I'm assuming 5 to 8 mph winds this thing still tried to drag me when I worked the power window. I think I see a mountain board in 3 or so months and a buggy when I get home. Sent from my Nexus 5X using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritlee Posted July 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 1 hour ago, hyzakite said: Least you didn't get drug around for the first time at 30 knots! That's a good thing! Just make sure you eat your Wheaties before flying, not after! I never flew one but there must be good tricks on setting them up ready to fly. yeah I think I'll wait for the 30 knots when I have something to ride And maybe a cheap, small flexi foil from Amazon. I see in other forums people seem to love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyzakite Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 I'm happy for you for getting into kite flying while deployed, I just can't believe you're buddies can't see the same thing, unless they are looking down at their smart phones looking for direction! Geez, at 30 knots you could have drag races if others can appreciate what you're doing there as a pass time, "THE LONE WOLF" Where are you located other than the middle east? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritlee Posted July 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 1 hour ago, hyzakite said: I'm happy for you for getting into kite flying while deployed, I just can't believe you're buddies can't see the same thing, unless they are looking down at their smart phones looking for direction! Geez, at 30 knots you could have drag races if others can appreciate what you're doing there as a pass time, "THE LONE WOLF" Where are you located other than the middle east? Definitely trying to get people interested, usually have a crowd when I do fly. No one was willing to try to fly the PL kite last night, going to have to bring out my stunt kite as well. They may get even more interested once I have a board and moving around . As far as where I am, I can just say that I'm located in an area that there is relatively safe. We can even go in to the city and be tourists, and go shopping. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevmort Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 I'm glad you didn't get dragged about on your first outing !! Remember if you've not been told given the right conditions etc it's possible to go 3 times the wind speed so at 30 knots your could be facing up to 90 knots Speed just to put into prospective the pull you could face , as for setting up ready to fly a lot of people wind the lines round the handles and when you reach the sale place the handles in the Centerish of the kite and pack away as normal but make shore the kite has a weight on it and rap the lines with the brakes full on , as long as you unrap the lines the same way you rapped them you should be tangle free , I do this every time with my 5 meter Beamer [emoji4] Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyzakite Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 You know, You know, besides that, you know! You're having a blast, they're not! You can not not spread the fun! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyzakite Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 I really don't want any likes or dislikes from any one, to me it's like a scoring system, I appreciate your thought, but I more so appreciate you being away from home for me. Thank You! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevmort Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 Oh one other thing@Ritlee you may wont to consider insurance, mine costs me £36 a year and gives me £10,000 personal injury and up to £5 million public liability [emoji4] Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelp3586 Posted July 19, 2016 Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 Enjoy man it's all a learning process! You'll suck at first then it becomes addicting to where all you'll think about is bigger kites all day! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeafThunder Posted July 20, 2016 Report Share Posted July 20, 2016 13 hours ago, Mikelp3586 said: Enjoy man it's all a learning process! You'll suck at first then it becomes addicting to where all you'll think about is bigger kites all day! that is true ... I couldn't fly my first revolution kite until 3rd day (approximate 15 hours battle) ... once I got it flying and stay in the air ... WHOOOOOOT HOOOOOOT !!!! few days later and able to do this ... (laughing) then someone told me that vertical rods suppose to be on the back side of the kite ... I switched it ... ahhh ... much better ... (laughing) ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fliefish Posted September 15, 2016 Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 that is true ... I couldn't fly my first revolution kite until 3rd day (approximate 15 hours battle) ... once I got it flying and stay in the air ... WHOOOOOOT HOOOOOOT !!!! few days later and able to do this ... (laughing) then someone told me that vertical rods suppose to be on the back side of the kite ... I switched it ... ahhh ... much better ... (laughing) ... I made the same mistake with the vertical rods because I was too excited to fly the kite before watching the instructional video. I couldn't fly the thing worth a damn (low wind too). Then I saw the assembly instructions on the video and had a duh moment. Much better now. And once I had about 10 mph winds I was able to fly the Rev. The higher winds made a huge difference in learning the behavior of the kite. Now I can fly in lower winds without issue. Love the Rev! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using KiteLife mobile app 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritlee Posted September 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 OK so had about a month and a half "break" flying my kite, the 110+ degree days I could handle, but when the 70-90% humidity hit, I barely went outside. The temps have dropped off, and some days so does the humidity. Can you imagine thinking it's kind of chilly when it's 90 out? I'm loving my 2015 model PL 4M Kite. Dunno what I'm missing between it and the 2016 model, not really worried about it though . Have yet to fly it in wind gusts higher than probably 15mph, I doubt I will, at least until I get wheels under me. With my current situation, flying is interesting. Since I'm stuck on a Base in the Middle East, I don't have much to choose from for flying locations. The ground is gravel, but only an inch or so deep, below that is sandstone or something else hard packed. Because of this rock solid ground, I have yet to use the stake that came with my kite, instead I have found a couple places where (dead) power cables poke out of the ground and work surprisingly well to anchor my handles. The gravel makes getting drug around tricky, some times it feels perfect, other times I have more traction that I would care to, and other times not enough. Thank fully I have been able to keep everything within my comfort level, and my butt (or face) hasn't met the ground. For setup I've taken up the leave everything attached, it's faster to set up, and I'm usually flying around sunset, and well after sunset, so there isn't a lot of light to see what I'm doing on the cords. Thankfully plenty of light to actually see the kite in flight. There is one problem I've noticed with leaving the lines attached, when winding I get twists in the line. When completely unwound the lines don't show any signs of twisting in them. I figure this is normal and due to wrapping the line around the handles. Is it normal, or normal for low wind speeds, to have to turn the kite immediately after launching to ensure it gets forward momentum to stay in the air? rarely do I have the kite pop up and just straight for zenith, normally I have to get it off the ground a little higher than needed to turn left or right, get a little speed then I have no problem keeping the kite up. I usually launch about 45 deg off from down wind as I don't want surprises, though if the winds are light enough, ie lower than the kite is rated for, I'll do straight down wind launches, but they almost always require effort to get actual forward speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted September 16, 2016 Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 Is the kite turning itself or are you turning it? If it is turning by itself - check your line lengths for equal. Uneven lines would be like sticking a 13" tire on a car meant to have 15"s. You would always be compensating for it. Not a flier of these, so couldn't tell you if this is a usual characteristic if lines are even - sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritlee Posted September 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 I turn it... Otherwise it goes up maybe 10-15 feet and then goes right back down Sent from my Nexus 5X using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelp3586 Posted September 16, 2016 Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 Yes in low wind it can be a little work to get her up, that's normal and a good practice for when it's super windy you don't want to take it straight up! You'll want to take it up at an angle towards the edge of the window. Wait till you fly it on a beach at about 25 then it's fun lol enjoy! Sounds like your getting used to it Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted September 16, 2016 Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 At worst, post a short YouTube video and folks here can diagnose based on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelp3586 Posted September 16, 2016 Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 What knot are you break lines on? Should be the farthest out on handle. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritlee Posted September 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2016 they're on the furthest knot out, no issues on the breaks, lol it doesn't like to fly with the brakes set even a little... just gotta pump 'em to use. I got videos it was dry enough out that I got out before it got too dark to take videos First one is just of the launch, first launch is without trying to turn it, second one is me deliberately turning it. Winds were about 8mph at the time Next video is just a little bit of fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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