Just flew my first Rev.

[SoggyWombat]

Just got home after meeting@SparkieRob and flying my first Rev.

A few thoughts going through my head ATM;

1. Completely hooked already.

2. Learning curve meet Everest, Everest, learning curve (Best of mates for the moment)

3.@SparkieRob - Top bloke and cheers for letting me smash your kite all around the foreshore.

4. Can't wait to get the Standard B Series and the full-vent B series I have just ordered.

Yup, had a blast.

Soggy.

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[SparkieRob]

You did much better than you give yourself credit for.

Relaunching the kite.
Crash minimising.
Solid control. A few wobbles but it's your first flight. On 30 foot lines in very variable conditions.

See, the crashes aren't nearly as bad as they seem.


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[ACrop]

Ooooo, 30s are hard. Go for 80s or 120s if you can. With 120s you just feel like the kite responds in real time but there is a bit more time and space to figure it all out before you smack the ground. And with more line you might hit smoother air up there. Welcome to the learning curve....it is steep but fun fun fun. Best part is that it is not a normal bell curve, it is more like a drive over the mountains...up and down up and down with lots of changes in grade. But if you have the patience to work in low gear the coasting is nice. The moments of good flying (just moments still) are as close to being a Jedi that I have ever experienced.

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[Edmond Dragut]

agree with ACrop . 120 or at least 80 are the best for beginners (like us). walk of shame is longer but the chances to keep the kite on the sky are also higher. use for learning the best lines you may find, that will give you the exact response of the kite to your inputs letting you to understand where are the mistakes and have the chance to correct them before to crash. 

a friend of mine told me two important things in learning curve

1- do not think how long you fly !!! let the hands to do the job mechanically. in this way you will create reflexes and muscle memory of movements. if you record the fly session start to think what must to be improved or change in your living room reviewing the fly 

2 - do not fight with the wind !!! most of the time before to create the muscle memory you will make mistakes putting the kite on to a different position then you want, take that position and continue from there. that will make the fly to be like what you want to do give to wieners (if they are) sensation of a good exercised routine and to you the chance to have a new starting point for a different move or to restart without to have frustrations of mistake.  

[ACrop]

I find that to keep learning I have a o pick a skill to focus on each time out. I try to do that skill repeatedly until I get a bit tired then I play and mix in relations within the play. I also find that listening to music helps. Music inspires repeated sequences. Getting the kite to do the same thing repeatedly, rhythmically, and symmetrically is the real goal. What ever you do with your kite at the first chorus of a song remember it and try to repeat it for every chorus. Play in between on the verses. Music also seems to allow my instinct brain take control from my over thinking brain...

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[Edmond Dragut]

you are right, keep the brain busy listening music and transform everything in muscle mechanics. i am sure that fatigue ( on mi case) is just because you work the muscle not because you think the movements. repetition is the mother of every new skill and the way to maintained.  

[Smooth winds]

Thank you ACrop for you words of wisdom, I am going to put together a playlist for flying. At first I'll pick songs with a lot of repetition and some day I might be able to fly with masters of progression like Led Zeppelin LOL


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[ACrop]

I have found that I like flying to stuff I don't otherwise want to listen to....it is much easier to imagine and plan what is next for a song you know well...and thus set myself up for frustration when I don't do what I imagined for a favorite song. So for now I stick mostly to songs that I don't have emotional attachment to. I have been just starting an "unplugged instruments" station to stream and letting it go where it goes.

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[makatakam]

@SoggyWombat

Fly to music or not -- repetition, which can quickly become boring, is what builds muscle memory. Practice, in anything you attempt, is what makes you improve. Repeat everything you have learned, every time you fly, especially the very basic moves. The simple stuff, like taking off slowly, hovering, flying straight and slow, landing exactly where you want on both tips at the same time, etcetera, are the underlying foundation for all other moves. Without a solid foundation the rest will not stand. When the repetition gets boring, break it up by doing something just goofing around. Flying as slowly as possible will improve muscle memory faster, but is definitely not as much fun as zipping around. Find a balance between the two that you can live with, but don't ignore either one. You will need both in your skill set to pull off advanced moves.

Flying to random music is known as "soul flying" and becomes an expression of your individual style when you can ignore all the other stuff happening around you and feel the music. Put your stops and goes on the beat, your turns, lines and curves with the bass, your direction, altitude and attitude with the melody, and you'll be able to improvise to any tune.

[SoggyWombat]

I can completely see the appeal of 30 foot lines and at the same time also understand how longer would be more forgiving. It is very much a case of creating subconscious muscle memories, and the few times I did well I was almost just 'doing' rather than having to think and then act.

I found that in the middle of the window I could complete very simple movements with success, but that to recover it from a dive on the edge required more than just a repeat of what worked high and in the middle - apologies as I am probably not using correct terminology. Learning will very much be a case of repeating movements over and over and creating new neural pathways for success. A challenge but one I also found much easier with the support and encouragement of an experienced flyer being there with me.

As a motorbike rider who has done some track work previously, I also know that soft hands are what I need to work on. A death grip completely masks any feel that you have and the kite almost reflected the tension I had in my hands and body today.

I guess what today also allowed was an absolute respect for those of you who are able to make the kite do exactly what you want. We used to often talk about our abilities being less than those of our motorbikes as a way of explaining how much room for improvement there was with the bike we had. With Rev kites I sincerely question whether anyone has reached a point where they are outflying the kite and needing more from them.

Let the fun and learning begin. After all, if it isn't continually fun then you won't improve much at all.

Soggy.


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[makatakam]

What you said -- analogies included -- is dead on. 

Shorter lines will make it a bit more difficult to learn because everything happens faster. The difference between motocross and riding a Harley on the interstate. But if you learn to do it very well on short lines, doing it on longer lines will be super easy. Short lines are a great way of ironing out moves that you want looking better and more precise. Soft hands are a plus; it can be flown with fingertip control, unless the wind is rippin'.

Outflying the gear will probably happen eventually, but even after almost 30 years of Revs' existence people are still finding new things it can do every year. Not all folks want to do crazy tricks, some just enjoy being able to move the kite around the sky with a bit of control. Others yank and spank and make it do everything. Most are somewhere in between.

[John Barresi]

I still learn real, new, tangible stuff almost every time I fly, even after 26 years.