Matt G Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 So I have had my Rev Reflex RX for 3 days and the wind has been ok to fly every day, I'm down in Plymouth in the UK and we never struggle for a sea breeze and living 500m from a huge set of public football pitches on top of a hill it is one of the best flying sites for miles. The first day the wind was a little light and variable with a 30 deg shift in direction which made my first experience of flying a quad a "challenge" to say the least only ever flying dual line stunt kites before it was mentally very challenging to get the inputs of the quad correct and when things happened quickly my instincts as a duel liner took over often ending on me "landing" unexpectedly, but as the evening wore on I started to get used to the feel of the extra bottom lines and could fly a box and figure 8 to some fashion. The second evening the wind was a little stronger and from a steady direction and I could really get the kite moving concentrating firstly on the box shapes then figure 8's the controls started to feel normal but not instinctive and I have to analyze what I did and how it affected the movement of the kite. Next was the hover which is much much harder than all the YouTube videos make it look! I had little success with it I feel that I must be over controlling the kite as it wants to race forwards but I can back it down very slowly but can't find the "bite" when it stops and wants to hover yet. Day 3 and after an hour of single line flying with my son the wind felt good and steady so I set up the Rev again and really had a great time oh god this is fun to fly really felt comfortable in flying it around hovers did start to come together, I found them much easier at the top and bottom of the wind window, on the edges it veered off sliding and in the centre it was like a caged animal trying to race upwards! I felt comfatable enough to try an inverted stop and managed it a few times nicely but I lost my nerve and was pulling up high and about 2m above the ground, it did stop wonderfully but again my brain started to hurt working out inputs of the kite flying backward and upsidedown! but fun none the less. Sorry to of gone on but I'm still buzzing from flying and had to tell someone... well anyone...you lot.... Matt 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffclown Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 Welcome to the addiction.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWharton Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 Hi Matt G, glad your loving it[emoji4] your not a million miles from me, I think there's still a place on the UK quad clinic at the end of August[emoji41] Maybe one day we'll bump into each other..Sent from my SM-G903F using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt G Posted July 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2017 Just seen the quad clinic! Looks like I've missed out the booking page shows sold out and it's a fair drive from the West Country!! Just for the kite show Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt G Posted July 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2017 Managed another day out with the Rev today, at the beach close by with the family, Initially, I wasn't sure that there was enough wind but I flew a SLK with my son which flew great and was very stable. So i got the Rev out and the found a big empty part of the beach and it flew great I always thought that my local flying site which is several football pitches was a good but the Rev felt so much better on the beach very predictable and consistent which must be from the unobstructed onshore winds? with the consistency of the wind, I really spent some time concentrating on the hover which did come a little easier and I found that I could hold the kite steady all over the wind window. Once I was happy with the hover I spent time sliding the kite whilst trying to maintain a hover and in both vertical and horizontal planes which I found tricky as countering the pull of the handle trying to rotate the kite but gained a little success. the thing that seems to really elude me it the ability to rotate the kite and then hover but after 4 days I feel that it's something that will come with time. I have now subscribed to gain the extra videos and will study and make notes for my next outing. Does anyone have any patterns or drills they always go back to as a warm up or to get a feel for the wind and setup? Should I maybe change my leaders for longer and more option leaders like advertised in the kitelife shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted July 9, 2017 Report Share Posted July 9, 2017 17 hours ago, Matt G said: Just seen the quad clinic! Looks like I've missed out the booking page shows sold out and it's a fair drive from the West Country!! Just for the kite show Where there's a will, there's a way. PM John and let him know if you are interested. He can probably squeeze in one extra..... As far as your new addiction is concerned all I can say is: boom, boom, boom, and another one bites the dust... Welcome to one of the sweetest slices of heaven on earth. Next time you fly don't overthink what is happening. Try instead to feel what the kite wants to do by where it's pulling on the handles. If it's what you want just let it happen. If not, rotate the corresponding handle opposite to the pull you feel. When you start overthinking what to do, stop and take a 10-minute break and think about fishing or whatever. Forget about kites. Then fly again and don't think, just feel. Consistent wind is a big plus in the learning process. Choose your breeze. Make it work for you not against you. Unruly wind will only teach you things that you will need to unlearn later. To add some turbo to your learning, join an experienced flyer on the field. Drive a couple of hours if that's what it takes. You won't regret it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul LaMasters Posted July 10, 2017 Report Share Posted July 10, 2017 That surge in power during transitions between forward & reverse is directly related to tuning. Add more "down" and tame that wild beast! make it so the kite will JUST BARELY take off in forward flight. You have to physically make it move, like driving with both feet on the brake pedal looking over the hood for the cliff-face's edge beyond the guard rail. practice inverted flight (close to the ground) and gain confidence with your tuning too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt G Posted July 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2017 2 hours ago, Paul LaMasters said: That surge in power during transitions between forward & reverse is directly related to tuning. Add more "down" and tame that wild beast! Thats great I had wondered about all that! I will make some longer pigtails with more knots to fine tune and will give it another go! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted July 10, 2017 Report Share Posted July 10, 2017 Longer pigtails really help keep things controllable. Put as much "brake" in as you can stand., One test is the "take off" rule. Move your lines on the top leader, out as far as you can - try launching. Keep moving them in til you can just get things airborne, should put you pretty close. You may find you will need to incorporate a step back into your launch sequence. Tames the kite's desire to surge off in gusts. One way to learn inverted - start with the kite upside down on the deck, with your hands in neutral. Slowly point your thumbs at the kite and watch it rise (you may need to step back depending on wind). Now find a neutral position again and hold that for as long as you can. Things start breaking down, step forward to land and gather yourself. You are only trying for a few feet off the ground to do this, that way settling it back down has no severe impact. Gradually add height as you feel comfortable. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted July 10, 2017 Report Share Posted July 10, 2017 35 minutes ago, Wayne Dowler said: One test is the "take off" rule. Move your lines on the top leader, out as far as you can - try launching. Keep moving them in til you can just get things airborne, should put you pretty close. You may find you will need to incorporate a step back into your launch sequence. Tames the kite's desire to surge off in gusts. The best essential tuning method for the uninitiated, in my opinion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Sievers Posted July 11, 2017 Report Share Posted July 11, 2017 Longer pigtails really help keep things controllable. Put as much "brake" in as you can stand., One test is the "take off" rule. Move your lines on the top leader, out as far as you can - try launching. Keep moving them in til you can just get things airborne, should put you pretty close. You may find you will need to incorporate a step back into your launch sequence. Tames the kite's desire to surge off in gusts. One way to learn inverted - start with the kite upside down on the deck, with your hands in neutral. Slowly point your thumbs at the kite and watch it rise (you may need to step back depending on wind). Now find a neutral position again and hold that for as long as you can. Things start breaking down, step forward to land and gather yourself. You are only trying for a few feet off the ground to do this, that way settling it back down has no severe impact. Gradually add height as you feel comfortable. Wayne, Where would you recommend setting your lines on the bottom leader for this procedure?Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Dowler Posted July 11, 2017 Report Share Posted July 11, 2017 Start out on the ends also. Most bottom leaders have knots to make field adjustments to uneven lines. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted July 11, 2017 Report Share Posted July 11, 2017 Moving the top lines in has the same effect as letting the bottoms out, and vice versa. All this does is tip the top of the kite toward or away from you. It changes the angle of attack. Tipping it toward you lets more wind "slide" off of the sail. Tipping it away makes the sail more perpendicular to the wind, increasing pressure and lift. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted July 13, 2017 Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 Tops are *always* longer on any Rev, so adjusting the bottom is nearly moot except for R/L equalization. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACrop Posted July 28, 2017 Report Share Posted July 28, 2017 I second the recommendation to do your learning in as much good wind with other flyers as often as possible. If you have a beach use it to get through initial learning and it can cut your learning time by a big %. Not that the swirly choppy wind challenges are not good teachers, but that is a different set of challenges more easily mastered after you get the past the first learning curve. I found JBs videos on hand placement (how a properly placed hand = leading edge drive when balenced on the pointer, hover when fulcrum is shifted to middle finger, and movement in the direction of the trailing edge tips when your balance the handles on your ring finger) to be very helpful. Also, rather than thinking of turning the kite left and right, I find it much clearer to think clockwise and counter clockwise. Lastly, team flying rocks...and knowing what the team flying basic standards are can guide your practice a bit too....I had never noticed in all the videos and watching groups that the team follow me 8 was a down-turning 8. Wasn't until the first time that I stepped into line that I realized that all the 8s I had done were upwards turning (flying upwards at the outside of the loops). Basically practice everything both directions. Cheers and welcome to the flock.Sent from my Nexus 5X using KiteLife mobile app 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happysuperbutton Posted September 15, 2017 Report Share Posted September 15, 2017 Yeyyy welcome! On 7/8/2017 at 1:36 PM, Matt G said: can't find the "bite" when it stops and wants to hover yet. Turn your handles even more, to get your bottom lines (brakes)like to tension even more, allow your kite to flip and flop and bowtie, then just walk to right it all back up again if you must. When the kite flips 'darkside' or bowties, it usually just floats to the ground and won't hurt at all so no worries (opposed to hard crashes due to error at high speed that hurt the kite) That's my moment that clicked for me. I struggled with figuring out that invert hover "bite" pressure too because I was afraid to "overdo" it (turning my handles too much) and flip the kite or crash it. That worry held everything back. Just let go, go for it, bowtie if you must it will accelerate your learning way ahead. Just my recent experience learning too! Quote Sorry to of gone on but I'm still buzzing from flying and had to tell someone... well anyone...you lot.... Matt Keep sharing. Don't fizzle out, we'll all be here with you if you are. This is what forums are made for...well, typically forums are invented for complains, it's even better for any forum community when we share positive feedback and stories. Fly more 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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