jmaldo100 Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Hello everyone I just received my new kite rev B series. Any suggestions on where to set the handles on the knots starting off. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Hi, jmaldo100, and welcome to the forum. It would be good if you would post a photo of the handles that came with it. For the first flight, and this is a very general rule of thumb, set the bottom lines on the knot furthest away from the handles, and the top ones about the middle knot. Once you've had it airborne and can control where it's going, (this make take a couple of hours, a couple of days, or a couple of weeks depending on how easily it comes to you), you can put the top lines on the knot furthest out and try to launch. If you can't get off the ground, move the lines in toward the handles one knot and try again. Repeat until you can launch. As you gain experience you will be able to use those knots where you initially couldn't launch. Bringing the bottom lines in towards the handles has the same effect as letting the top ones out, (adds braking effect) and can be accomplished by moving one or the other, or both for maximum effect. Watch the beginner tutorials before you fly and you will have a much easier time of it. Watch them several times, especially setup and breakdown, line management, and tuning adjustment. Treat what JB says as Gospel. It will serve you well. You will have plenty of time to develop your own style once you master the basics. Also remember that all those twists that APPEAR to be in the lines when you lay them out are not really there and 99.9% of them will disappear when the lines are tensioned. Do not try to untangle/untwist until you have tension in the line, and keep them under tension as you remove the one or two that may be present. Watch that video and then watch it again, and again, and . . . . . Have an experienced flyer help you the first few times out if possible. It will save you a lot of grief. Click the map tab above to see who may be nearest you and send a PM. Kite people are a friendly bunch and always willing to help someone starting out, so let us know where you are and we can recommend someone to contact, and post a photo of the handles and the kite, too, if you wish. Lastly, browse the beginner section of this forum for plenty of additional info, and keep an eye on this topic you started, as others will surely chime in with additional advice. Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Above ^^^^^! Just was going to ask your skill level - beginner, some experience, veteran? Flown dual lines before? All info helps us know how best to help you!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 6 minutes ago, Wayne Dowler said: Above ^^^^^! Just was going to ask your skill level - beginner, some experience, veteran? Flown dual lines before? All info helps us know how best to help you!! We should send a copy of the basic info on getting airborne for the first time to Revolution Kites and tell them to put a copy in the sleeve with EVERY kite they make and sell. Geez, one would think they could have figured this out by themselves by now. Do they actually put ANYTHING in there to guide a beginner? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Not sure. I know they are pushing the Club 38 thing pretty hard again. How much info for beginners?? NO CLUE! I'm pretty sure there must be some info to help climb the levels in the program. but how much is sent with the kite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaldo100 Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 I appreciate all the information. I did go through the video and watched everything John had to say it was very informative. I've been flying for about a year on two line kite. I own a total of eight kites which three of them are from Revolution. I have a 25-year-old rev 2 kite that Dave from revolution taught me how to fly it and I bought the new reflex and now the B2 Series. I will be going to the Treasure Island FL. event this weekend on Saturday, time to have some fun and fly the new kite.Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Try going out as far as you can on the leaders. Try launching, if too hard or no go, move in a knot. Keep this up til you can launch. You may need to add a step back into your launch routine to make it work. Leaving the lines out towards the ends will increase your control, especially if the wind gusts. You take control, not let the kite do as it wants! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaldo100 Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Hi, jmaldo100, and welcome to the forum. It would be good if you would post a photo of the handles that came with it. For the first flight, and this is a very general rule of thumb, set the bottom lines on the knot furthest away from the handles, and the top ones about the middle knot. Once you've had it airborne and can control where it's going, (this make take a couple of hours, a couple of days, or a couple of weeks depending on how easily it comes to you), you can put the top lines on the knot furthest out and try to launch. If you can't get off the ground, move the lines in toward the handles one knot and try again. Repeat until you can launch. As you gain experience you will be able to use those knots where you initially couldn't launch. Bringing the bottom lines in towards the handles has the same effect as letting the top ones out, (adds braking effect) and can be accomplished by moving one or the other, or both for maximum effect. Watch the beginner tutorials before you fly and you will have a much easier time of it. Watch them several times, especially setup and breakdown, line management, and tuning adjustment. Treat what JB says as Gospel. It will serve you well. You will have plenty of time to develop your own style once you master the basics. Also remember that all those twists that APPEAR to be in the lines when you lay them out are not really there and 99.9% of them will disappear when the lines are tensioned. Do not try to untangle/untwist until you have tension in the line, and keep them under tension as you remove the one or two that may be present. Watch that video and then watch it again, and again, and . . . . . Have an experienced flyer help you the first few times out if possible. It will save you a lot of grief. Click the map tab above to see who may be nearest you and send a PM. Kite people are a friendly bunch and always willing to help someone starting out, so let us know where you are and we can recommend someone to contact, and post a photo of the handles and the kite, too, if you wish. Lastly, browse the beginner section of this forum for plenty of additional info, and keep an eye on this topic you started, as others will surely chime in with additional advice. Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe. I will follow up with the handle photos but they're the standard handles that came with the B series kite.Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 PS: John sells replacement leaders here on the site - they are even longer than the stock ones!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaldo100 Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 My Reflex Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Is that your kite? Not a "B" series at all, but a Reflex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaldo100 Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 On February 2, 2017 at 2:51 PM, Wayne Dowler said: Is that your kite? Not a "B" series at all, but a Reflex. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Now that is a "B" standard!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaldo100 Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Try going out as far as you can on the leaders. Try launching, if too hard or no go, move in a knot. Keep this up til you can launch. You may need to add a step back into your launch routine to make it work. Leaving the lines out towards the ends will increase your control, especially if the wind gusts. You take control, not let the kite do as it wants! I live in Orlando Florida and the winds here I'm not as strong I noticed with the reflex I had to move the knots closer in on the top to get it to launch. I joined club 38 I'm working on my third pin.Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Try adding that step back! Tighten the lines and step back as you move the thumbs to launch position. The purpose of the longer top leaders is to give you back some of the control you lose by going too "in". Launching is just the start - why base all your setup around only one facet of flying?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaldo100 Posted February 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 Try adding that step back! Tighten the lines and step back as you move the thumbs to launch position. The purpose of the longer top leaders is to give you back some of the control you lose by going too "in". Launching is just the start - why base all your setup around only one facet of flying?? Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrZettl Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 10 hours ago, makatakam said: We should send a copy of the basic info on getting airborne for the first time to Revolution Kites and tell them to put a copy in the sleeve with EVERY kite they make and sell. My B series standard came with an instruction sheet, and a "how to fly DVD" featuring JB. The sound and video quality were quite poor, but you got the general idea of how to get it going. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 50 minutes ago, DrZettl said: My B series standard came with an instruction sheet, and a "how to fly DVD" featuring JB. The sound and video quality were quite poor, but you got the general idea of how to get it going. That's good to hear, that they include something to get people started. I haven't bought anything but B-Pros and Masterpiece Revs for a few years, and those come with nothing but the sleeve. I don't think I got any DVDs, just some printed material on how to get started with any of the new Revs I bought. Oh, well, too late to worry about it now. I'm glad to hear that you have some experience with quad-line kites. You will get a lot of advice here from many of the forum members, and some of it will sound illogical to you at first until you try it for yourself, and as you gain more experience will have many of those "aha, I get it" moments. One of these illogical things you will hear many times over is that you should move the top lines out towards the end of the leaders in very light wind, say less than 2mph. Logically one would think that you should angle the top of the kite toward yourself to give it more lift, but the exact opposite is the truth. When you square up the sail by moving the top of the kite away from you, it increases the amount of wind pressure against the sail, and the pressure is what creates lift. Keeping pressure in the sail is key to low-wind flying. Without pressure in the sail it just slides down out of the sky. Living in Orlando puts you within 30 minutes of nice coastal winds. Most flyers envy you, especially us guys in the Midwest, where the wind is really "lumpy", and that's putting it mildly. Having dual-line experience is good, and some of it applies to quads as well. You have an understanding of the wind window and how the basic moves look. The Revs, as you have probably noticed, don't require as much input or body movement, and even in medium-heavy winds can be flown with small inputs. The Reflex should fly in lighter wind than the B-Series and is the better choice for wind less than 4mph. It sounds like you have everything pretty much sorted out and are beyond the launch and crash stage. You will eventually notice how going further out on the top lines gives you more control in very strong wind, and also more lift in very light wind. The in-between winds are where you will do most of the adjustments to find that "sweet spot" for any particular situation, or for speed control when flying with a group. The top leaders should be long enough to give you the ability to use as much as 8 inches of differential between the tops and the bottoms. I use 7 or 7.5 inches most of the time, and even more on some non-Rev and home-made quads. However, in the long run, whatever floats your boat is what is best for you. It depends mostly of what you want from flying a kite, so have fun, smile, and don't forget to breathe. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaldo100 Posted February 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 On February 2, 2017 at 10:19 AM, makatakam said: Hi, jmaldo100, and welcome to the forum. It would be good if you would post a photo of the handles that came with it. For the first flight, and this is a very general rule of thumb, set the bottom lines on the knot furthest away from the handles, and the top ones about the middle knot. Once you've had it airborne and can control where it's going, (this make take a couple of hours, a couple of days, or a couple of weeks depending on how easily it comes to you), you can put the top lines on the knot furthest out and try to launch. If you can't get off the ground, move the lines in toward the handles one knot and try again. Repeat until you can launch. As you gain experience you will be able to use those knots where you initially couldn't launch. Bringing the bottom lines in towards the handles has the same effect as letting the top ones out, (adds braking effect) and can be accomplished by moving one or the other, or both for maximum effect. Watch the beginner tutorials before you fly and you will have a much easier time of it. Watch them several times, especially setup and breakdown, line management, and tuning adjustment. Treat what JB says as Gospel. It will serve you well. You will have plenty of time to develop your own style once you master the basics. Also remember that all those twists that APPEAR to be in the lines when you lay them out are not really there and 99.9% of them will disappear when the lines are tensioned. Do not try to untangle/untwist until you have tension in the line, and keep them under tension as you remove the one or two that may be present. Watch that video and then watch it again, and again, and . . . . . Have an experienced flyer help you the first few times out if possible. It will save you a lot of grief. Click the map tab above to see who may be nearest you and send a PM. Kite people are a friendly bunch and always willing to help someone starting out, so let us know where you are and we can recommend someone to contact, and post a photo of the handles and the kite, too, if you wish. Lastly, browse the beginner section of this forum for plenty of additional info, and keep an eye on this topic you started, as others will surely chime in with additional advice. Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 On February 2, 2017 at 2:56 PM, Wayne Dowler said: Now that is a "B" standard!! It's actually getting harder to tell if you look at Revolution's website.. They are calling it the Reflex 1.5 Classic now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 Saw that in pix from the kite trade show. Looks like a direct use of JB's panel layout, just another name. But it does come with the Reflex tech - yippee. (sarcasm) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 I looked at the photo you posted of your handles. They appear to be the stock 13-inch Rev setup. The top leaders can be about twice the length that they are now, about 8 inches longer than the bottom ones. The easiest way to make this adjustment is take them off of the hog ring on the handle, add a 4-inch(?) extension to the hog ring on the handle with the knot of the extension at the hog ring, and the original leaders looped to the distal end of the extension. You will see many of the possibilities at TI on Saturday, and some snagless handles as well. Take a good look at the way others have set up their rigs and ask to try any that strike your fancy. "Jynx" will be there, so ask around and find her, and tell her Mark from IKE said she should look over your setup and make recommendations. If you don't see her, anyone else can help. There will be lots of Rev flyers there. Ask -- they don't bite. And do have fun. That's why you're going, right? P.S. -- Jynx will probably be flying green Bazzer Eyes or a Grey Polo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 There is a old video floating around, made by Watty, on how to convert stock handles into "no-snags" using wall board anchors and screws. Gets rid of the ring, just another moving part IMO. Snagless gives you a more direct feel of the lines! Found the video - http://www.revkites.com/forum/topic/4939-rev-pro-no-snag-handles/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaldo100 Posted February 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 I have the handle that came with the reflex carbon fiber ones that are snag less they seem to be the same size but the leaders have different knots settings.Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 On the Reflex handles - try going out as far on top from the handle tip as you can and work back towards it as you find your "sweet spot". Then as you get used to that, try letting them out a knot - unless you start all the way out! - and each time see how it works. You should find yourself pretty much out on them!! Haven't seen the latest version of the Reflex handles, so not too sure on the adjustments to those, I use snagless myself. Your other handles are easily converted to no-snag, takes less than an hour to do a pair. With practice I take less than a half hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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