I got humiliated by the Rev this afternoon and need help BAD! The other night I watched a bunch of tutorial videos from kitelife and got the urge to give the Rev a go so I took it out to play today for the second time since I got it.

Humbled.

That kitelife dude was making MAGIC happen with his. I was doing stuff that shot it so chaotically even I ducked once or twice

Where oh where do I begin trying to learn how to fly this thing? Anyone know of any "How To..." sites? RevPaul - I think I need your help here.......about the only thing I took from today is that you need tension on all four lines at all times but the thing is so FAST it's killer hard to react quick enough and before you know it it's flipped itself backwards, then up like an axe coming to chop you in half and then it's gliding itself right at your head and all you can think is "RUNNNNN!!!!!"

Mass respect to that dude at NABX on the Out n Back with his Rev.




......help?:puzzled:

Imagine your hands are in cuffs - don't move your wrists.
Turn the kite by rotating your wrists, like a lazy fisherman.

... then go from there

I only see the Shockwave in your sig - that's supposed to be an experienced persons kite

The rev is a touchy kite. Very suddle moves in the begining. Figure out up and down then side to side. After that turning is when you break the leading edge spar. But it is all fun. Don't get frustrated thats what it wants. Treat it like the bully at school and take charge, but never trust it!!
Things will come together soon enough.

I've got 3 Revs I fly from time to time. Every time I fly them right after flying a Power Kite, I look like a Clown trying to put a fire out with a bucket of confetti.

But it doesn't take long to get it down. Like said before me, it is fine wrist movements, not broad arm movements.

I fly the Revs to relax. The Power Kites are like a rock concert, the Revs are like a ballet.

Man I want a REV

hahaha, by the way the guy that does kitelife is John Barresi, quite possibly one of the best rev fliers in the world and the captain of team iQuad. I was lucky enough to have him teach me how to fly, my learning curve went a lot steeper after that.

Some things I took away, yes you do want to keep tension on all 4 lines as much as possible. think of 'braking' as 'backing' down the window and that might help you fly.

Also, and I can't emphasize this enough it took me some time to learn, if things start to go all sorts of funky and the kite is flipping and twisting and out of control, don't apply full brake, put your hands back to 'neutral' and the kite will right itself.

A lot of this you will start to get by feel, (oh and what kind of rev are you flying?)

I would definitely say that it is more like a ballet, like Aukulakat said, if anything this could to super elevate your handled power kite flying. For giggles after flying my B-series 1.5 mid-vent rev at NABX during some slow time, I pulled out a HQ Beamer and started tricking it. Never thought I would be able to 'tricS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K- a power foil.

have fun and welcome to the darkside!!

BTW www.gwtwforum.com and www.revkites.com/forum are two of the best sources for rev flying. Have fun! And keep watching John's stuff, you will feel so humbled but he is really good at telling you in easily understood ways how to fly.

You can always spot a Rev flier when they pick up a traction foil- their arms never move and they feel compelled to spin the kite immediately on launch - even if it's 8 meter.

I don't fly mine much either. But when I do it is a pleasure when I don't look like an ass. It just takes a lot of patiants and it comes back quick.

acampbell - hahahahaha yeah... that is def the truth. Everytime I have put a powerfoil in a rev fliers hands I have to say 'loosen up and just chill cause you are going to need to move those arms!'

Then again everytime I put a rev in a powerkiters hands, i have to yell "ELBOWS AT YOUR SIDES!"

I learned to fly a Rev with the Supersonic - slightly smalller version of the Shockwave. First two times out, nothing but crashes, but luckily no broken spars. Third time it just clicked. Definitely about keeping arms down and elbows, foucsed on wrist motions.

Tutorials here:

http://www.revkites.com/main/Techniques

A turn can be executed with a flick of the wrist, or opposing flicks if you want an even quicker turn. Remember once you return the wrist to the neutral position the kite will keep going in the direction it left off at - you need to flick it back the opposite way to steer back on the old track.

Subtly moving one arm (elbow) relative to the other is used to side-slide the kite, or to tweak it for level flight when sweeping the window.

krumly

Hey Flash I have to ask. Where can I get Sandy a bikini top like yours. I think she would look good in it!
Sorry I have wanted to ask this since I saw your pic all that time ago!

I was just at Ocean City and finally acquired a thin, light, 3 wrap Leading Edge for my REV 1.5. The thick, heavier, "Super Leading Edge" it came with sorta made it move like a truck in anything but heavy winds (and you DON'T want to start out in heavier winds!)

So, mine finally moves and flexes in lighter winds easier. But, I'm still waiting for some of that REV "magic" to happen to me. I have way more fun with my single-line fighters, especially my new Jeff Howard Flick.

The answer to how you fly a rev is "with style"
getting to that point will be rewarding. What I love most about my revs is that they are never boring. You can always improve and be smoother.
When learning I think the advice to keep your elbows next to your body is good as you get better you will need to move your arms for float turns and the like. IMHO flying a rev is more muscle memory than thought. Ask a good rev flyer "how did you do that" and it is hard to get answer other than you feel it and do it. That is why when you first pick up a rev after a power kite people are a little clumsy till the "feel" comes back
I would advise to use only a small part of the wind window to start and as boring as it might seem do a lot of repetitive motion like take off fly up then fly straight down and land and repeat maybe 20 or 30 times each time getting smoother. The movements of you wrist will be very subtle but you will get the "feel". Then fly up turn the kite and a fly short distance and turn back. Again for many times. Then add backward fight side sliping etc. BTW learning how to turn and fly backwards will be easier because all of those up and downs were really flying backwards to get down and the turns were just trying to steady he kite . It will just build from there.
Remember the old Karate Kid movie "wax on wax off"

rocfighter - haha I would post the whole series I did for some promo work, but they are nsfw. It's what I do to pay for my kiting addiction.

One thing I forgot to add, you def want different rod wraps, (earlier mentioned getting a 3 wrap) you want 2's, 3's and 4's. Don't worry about race rods right now. One of the beauties of a rev is you can fly with so many different sorts of combination's! Fly with 3's in your leading edge and 2's on your spreaders, or 3's and 2's both in your leading edge and 4's in your spreaders. etc.... etc... the possibilities are endless. The key is all of these versions are used for different winds and different conditions.

oh... and your rev is nearly indestructible, don't feel bad when that thing slams into the ground under full power. It is built for it. Takes some getting used to

I was just out flying my Rev yesterday....what a gentle change from all the power kiting I've been doing.

Rev flying is definitely about finesse and subtle moves. Takes time to switch over but such a pleasant skill set to add to one's flying techniques. Flying Rev's is a great way to 'take a breaS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K- from traction kites if your mind and/or body needs it, if you know what I mean.;-)

awe man!!!
i decided for a light kite day yesterday afternoon too (at park with wife and son).
set up J Baresi Rev (light duty)and a dual line stunter. I though about calling you but decided not to pester as it was on a whim so i had no notice to give.
next time we get together bring your Rev and we'll go at it. Or just keep at it and it'll come to you. I just about threw out the tangled mess my first RevII turned into after about 1/2 hour from first attempted launch.
In any case I have a big (slow) Rev (one) that will probably be easier to start out on.
BTW After hearing about guys buggying with Revs I did buggy with my Shockwave :singing:t
Anyways for a light kite session at the park I'm good to go anytime.
oh, and check your line lengths especially if you bought kite/lines used. things can get a bit tricky when they are out of whack. they are easy to adjust/equalize. best to just untie sleeving knot and slide the line through to your new marks. or quick and easy, if you have leader lines on handles, is to make/use knots on leaders to adjust for different line lengths.

Paul

Quote:

Originally posted by flash I pulled out a HQ Beamer and started tricking it. Never thought I would be able to 'tricS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K- a power foil.

I want a rev.

Wow! I knew they were tricky - I just don't want to destroy the thing. I'll get it somehow surely.....just hope it survives the learning curve : )

RevPaul - I had a bit of a thought on the way home from the rugby field Friday and that was that if I tried to fly nearly every day, some form of kite, static or otherwise, my skills would follow suit and I'd be a more rounded kiter. That's why I grabbed the kites and hit the field - totally random too. Crap winds, new kites, dog walkers......none of it mattered - I was there with the kite(s) and THAT'S what was the important bit. I need to put some time at the end of some kite lines behind everything in the quiver otherwise it just sits and I wonder how long before I liquidate the dusty stuff.

yep.
i look at flying Revs and Stunters as a tune-up for the ol' reflexes. If you really are in sadistic need of a tune up Derek and I both have a Prism Micron (the original Micron). Don't even blink when that little buzzer in in flight. The 0.7m and 1.4m Busters are pretty darn quick too but the Micron is faster. You control it using just your fingers.
-check your U2U- GEEK FEST is gonna kick a$$ this year.
Paul

Yeah I got sick of waiting for the park warden to leave so I could landboard and started stunting my Cult ... does side slides quite well and even goes backwards a little. You can get propeller spins out of it but they're a bit messy.
... can't wait till my Shockwave gets here :singing:

Very nice Willard. I assume from the red hair that was you!! Who was the guy in the distance? He seemed as impressed as I was!

Thank you.

Guy in the distance?... I thought I was alone. Red hair?... I have always considered myself a sandy blond.:dunno:
That white pickup on the jetty is mine.

It must have been the lighting that made it look red! I thought I saw a stalker up near the truck.