The basics of flying

This page suggests an order for setting up, launching and beginning to control a quad-line kite. It brings together resources from several authors: it is a QuadKites.org selection, not a single official method.

Videos are in English or French. You can activate subtitles in the YouTube player if you need to: how to activate subtitles.

Thanks to all the video authors for sharing their tutorials.

1. Prepare your equipment before going to the field.
2. Choose suitable wind and a safe flying field.
3. Launch, turn, stop and land.
4. Practise reverse flight and relaunches.

Move at your own pace and compare several videos when one explanation does not work for you. In the field, always favour safety and control over height or speed.

Goal: recognize the main parts of the kite, set it up, lay out the four lines and pack everything without tangles.

Try this: rehearse the complete setup and packing process in a sufficiently large wind-free space before your first trip to the field.

Continue when: you can orient the leading edge, position the vertical rods and correctly connect all four lines to the kite and handles.

Five videos on this page come from the Now’Air team, a Paris-region team that flies precision ballets: read more about the team and see its ballets.

1. 

   Introducing the Revolution and its lines

   Now’Air

   An introduction to the Revolution 1.5 and its lines, opening the Now'Air team's series. You see what line length to choose as a beginner and how to store them.

1. 

   Setting up your Revolution

   Now’Air

   Taking the Revolution out of its bag and assembling it: leading edge, vertical rods, then a check of the bridle.

2. 

   Assembly and disassembly

   KiteForge

   How to put a quad together and take it apart smoothly, with small habits that save time, protect your frame, and keep lines tidy — ideal when you’re new or packing up on sand or wet grass.

3. 

   Assembling a quad kite

   Aerialis Kites

   Identify the parts and assemble the frame correctly before the first flight.

4. 

   Setting up your Revolution kite

   Lyze Kiel

   Lyze lists useful gear (up to 0:30). He then shows the carbon rods and how to fit them together and set the leading edge (up to 1:50). Then he installs the connectors on the leading edge (to 3:40). Lyze makes the classic mistake of trying to fit the leading edge before checking the condition of the sail and bridles. We recommend unfolding the sail and checking that the bridle is free before fitting the leading edge endcaps. Lyze then mounts the vertical rods. Finally, he checks that the bridle is free.

Polo Kites shows which way to put the connectors for the vertical rods: Facebook post.

1. 

   Packing your Revolution

   Now’Air

   Taking a Revolution apart and rolling its sail into its bag without damaging it. You see the order of the rods and where to put the bridles.

2. 

   Packing up your Revolution kite

   Lyze Kiel

   Packing up a Revolution: separating the pairs of lines, winding them in a figure eight, then taking the kite apart facing the wind and rolling the sail without creases.

1. 

   Setting up your Revolution's lines

   Now’Air

   Attaching the lines to the kite, unrolling them and holding the kite on the ground before take-off. The video stresses the checks at each step.

2. 

   Unwinding a line set

   Prism Kites

3. 

   Unfolding the lines and preparing to fly

   Lyze Kiel

   Unrolling the two pairs of lines, telling them apart and attaching them to the handles and then the kite. You see how to keep the same logic on each side so that no line crosses another.

4. 

   Sorting out the lines before flight

   Aerialis Kites

   Prepare all four lines without creating unnecessary twists or knots.

1. 

   Line management

   KiteLife

   Winding and unwinding your lines without twists, from pinning the kite to the ground to setting up again. You see why most twists disappear once the lines are tensioned.

2. 

   Revolution Line Management for Your Rev Kite

   Revolution Kites

   Line management, from the factory line set to winding in a figure eight, with a method for untangling before attaching the kite and for undoing a bad tangle.

This video from Sportkite.org shows Spencer Watson winding and unwinding quad-line lines quickly and cleanly. Practise it at home as much as on the field: tidy lines avoid tangles and keep the flying field clear for others.

1. 

   Fast wind and unwind of sport kite lines

   Sport Kite

   This video from Sportkite.org shows Spencer Watson winding and unwinding quad-line lines quickly and cleanly. Practise it at home as much as on the field: tidy lines avoid tangles and keep the flying field clear for others.

2. 

   Packing the Revolution's lines

   Now’Air

   Winding your lines on the winder in a figure eight, then securing them so they come out without twists.

3. 

   Winding a line set

   Prism Kites

1. 

   Larks head knot

   KiteLife

   The larks head knot, which attaches the lines to the handles and the kite. You see how to tighten it so it does not let go in flight, and the pull-tab trick for undoing it with gloves.

2. 

   The larks head knot

   Aerialis Kites

   Learn the knot used to connect flying lines to the bridle and handles.

These two videos can wait until after your first sessions. They cover more advanced setup and replacing the leading-edge rods.

1. 

   Assembly and disassembly

   KiteLife

   Assembling, taking apart and rolling up a Revolution without damaging the sail or the bridle. You see where to stand relative to the wind and how to check each end cap.

2. 

   Changing frames

   KiteLife

   Changing a Revolution's frame without detaching it from its lines, by pushing or by bending the rod. You see how to keep the new rod from jamming next to the old one.

Goal: choose a clear space, check local rules and fly in wind that suits your equipment and experience.

Try this: before leaving, check the wind direction, average speed and gusts, then identify the obstacles around the field.

Continue when: you can identify the flying area and keep people, roads, trees and power lines at a safe distance.

Safety is essential for you and for everyone around the flying field.

Here are some basic rules to check regularly during your flying sessions: Safety rules.

1. 

   Safety

   Fly 4 Fun

   Safety rules before flying: space in front of you, spectators behind, animals, and the places and conditions where you should never fly.

Before going to the field, use tools such as Google Maps to inspect the location and check the weather forecast. Flying objects may be restricted in some places. Where flying is allowed, some fields will suit the wind direction better than others.

You can find tips on :

• Choosing your flying spot - WindR
• Finding a place to fly - Prism kite technology

1. 

   3 Tips for Flying Your Rev in Small Spaces and Challenging Locations

   Revolution Kites

   Flying the Rev in a small park surrounded by trees, where neither a single-line nor a dual-line kite would fit. Three tips for spending more time in the air than resetting the kite, then a progression from beginner to advanced.

Check the weather before heading to the field. Wind forecasting websites and apps can provide both the average wind speed and the expected gusts.

Here are the weather forecasting applications:

• WindFinder - Website - Google Play - App Store
• Windy Website - Google Play - App Store

Tips are available for guessing wind strength from the field:

• Wind strength - WindR
• Wind speed - Prism kite technology
• Beaufort scales - Kite service

1. 

   What Is the Wind Range of My Revolution? Tips and Tricks to Increase Your Wind Range

   Revolution Kites

   A Revolution's wind range has two sides, the model's and the pilot's: what really limits it, how to widen it, and which model to choose for your wind.

2. 

   Revolution Flying Strategy: Different Wind Conditions

   Revolution Kites

   Building a flying strategy for the wind: choosing tricks suited to the conditions and to your level, practising carefully in high wind, and choosing the right Rev.

Goal: understand the handle inputs, launch, change direction, stop the kite and return it to the ground cleanly.

Try this: repeat small launches, a stable stop and a controlled landing without trying to fly high.

Continue when: you can repeat a launch and landing while keeping the kite within the area you chose.

1. 

   Using the handles

   Thierry Bressure

   Thierry presents the main handle inputs and their effect on each half of the sail.

2. 

   Grab the handles, move your body

   Aerialis Kites

   Hold the handles lightly and use body movement to preserve line tension.

3. 

   The perfect quad-line lesson for two-line pilots

   Revolution Kites

   The lesson for pilots coming from two-line kites: on a Rev, pulling a handle does not turn, it slides; the turn comes from rotating the handle.

4. 

   When to pull your Rev: it's not what you think

   Revolution Kites

   On a Rev, pulling is not for turning: the two real reasons to pull, sliding and speeding up, with a slide exercise towards the center of the window.

Thierry explains more about hand movement according to the desired movement on his blog KiteJust4Fun.

1. 

   Launch position

   Thierry Bressure

   Getting the kite ready to take off: safety position, handles on the stake, then turning one half-wing over without twisting the lines.

Tutorial 1

1. 

   Getting started and first launch

   Thierry Bressure

   Thierry is blunt about it: launching with the sail loaded is “the most important lesson”. He skipped this step himself, because of his indoor gliding Rev practice and a first quad-line flown with a slack sail, and says it cost him two years before he understood that loading the sail is essential to flying a Rev.

2. 

   Launch and control

   KiteLife

   Taking off, balancing the kite and landing it, then flying from one point of the window to another. You see the very light pressure on the handles that is enough to control it.

3. 

   The Revolution launch: 6 key techniques

   Revolution Kites

   Six ways to launch a Rev, from the standard launch to the dead launch, with the common mistakes of each and what the Reflex changes when the wing is face down.

4. 

   Guarantee success on your first Revolution launch

   Revolution Kites

   The simplest way to succeed in your first session with a new Rev: straighten the lines if they are twisted, and stick to Club 38 level-one skills.

Tutorial 2

1. 

   Wind window

   KiteLife

   The shape of the wind window and its power zones, from the centre to the edges. You see how to fly in orbit around the centre and divide the window into a grid to know where you are going.

2. 

   The wind window

   Kitesurf College

   The wind window explained for kitesurfing: a half dome downwind, described with the hours of a clock. Useful for quad-line flying to understand where power peaks and how the wind shifts it.

3. 

   Wind window

   KiteForge

   See where the kite can and should fly. Think of the sky as a grid so you can place the kite with confidence, feel the power zones, and keep lines and stops clean.

4. 

   Wind window

   Fly 4 Fun

   Once you've mastered the elevator, start exploring the wind window: try flying across the whole window, from the center to the outer edges.

1. 

   Turns and horizontal flight

   Thierry Bressure

   The first controls: the emergency stop, the turn and the compensation that keeps the kite from falling. You finish with straight lines, each ending in a clean rotation.

2. 

   Turning

   Aerialis Kites

   Understand and repeat a first basic turn while keeping the trajectory under control.

1. 

   Figure 8

   KiteLife

   The figure 8, a holding pattern for team and solo flying, high and then low. You see how to keep momentum in the turns and fill the window with four fixed points.

2. 

   Figure 8 and 180s

   KiteForge

   The figure 8 and 180s, high and low, with the image of a rectangle to structure the path. You see the low 180 used in team flying and how to practise it at three altitudes.

1. 

   Stop position

   Thierry Bressure

   Building a clean stop, leading edge up, in level flight, then leading edge down, up to the dive stop. You see how to hold a stop for a minute without effort and keep your hands in front of you for team flying.

2. 

   The one skill every Rev pilot must know: stopping your Rev (Club 38 skill #5)

   Revolution Kites

   The stop, Club 38 skill no. 5: replacing the urge to pull with a forward push of both thumbs, practised on the simulator.

John Barresi’s tutorial puts the basic inputs together in one flight: launching with a double tap, walking the kite down, open turns, spins, dive stops, short-range jabs and a first flight vocabulary around the wind window.

1. 

   Flight and control

   KiteForge

   First steps that matter: launch, steer, keep tension, “throttle” the sail, and stop on command — learn how simple hand moves translate into what the kite does.

2. 

   The basics of flying

   Lyze Kiel

   The first flight in light wind: checking the lines, lifting the kite, finding the stable position, then upside down and sideways. You see how to step forward or back to keep your place.

3. 

   Get Your Rev in the Air: The Basics

   Revolution Kites

   The basics for getting a Rev in the air: setting up the lines, checking before launching, then launching, stopping and backing down, up to turns and side hovers.

Goal: extend your control near the ground and recover after an imperfect landing.

Try this: practise a short reverse movement near the ground, followed by a deliberate landing and a calm relaunch.

Continue when: you can slow down, land the kite and start again without rushing your inputs.

1. 

   Reverse flight

   Thierry Bressure

   Backward flight, from backing down to flying level in reverse, then reverse take-offs and turns. You see why you pull the brakes just enough, neither too much nor unevenly.

2. 

   Reverse flight

   KiteForge

   Flying backward by starting gently, then building pressure on the edge of the hand. The video shows a square flown in reverse and how curves come by themselves.

Tutorial 1

1. 

   Launch and landing

   Thierry Bressure

   Taking off and landing as a team: the classic take-off to start a follow-the-leader, then more elegant variations with a loop. The on-screen text describes each move.

2. 

   Rollover landing

   KiteLife

   The rollover landing: flying over kites already landed, turning and landing next to them in line. You see the altitude to hold and the rotation, the same input as a 180.

3. 

   Launch and land

   Aerialis Kites

   The first inputs needed to put the kite in the air and bring it down under control.

Tutorial 2

1. 

   Flat relaunch

   KiteLife

   Relaunching a kite lying flat, on its belly or face down. You see why a slight movement beats a shake, and on which ground each method works.

2. 

   Flat relaunches

   KiteForge

   Relaunching a kite that has fallen flat: on its back, on its face, or inverted and lying backwards. You also see how much the result depends on the ground, sand, grass or hard surface.

3. 

   How to dead launch your quad kite

   Aerialis Kites

   Recover a kite lying flat with its leading edge pointing downwind.

4. 

   Basic reverse launch

   Fly 4 Fun

   From the inverted position, move one handle thumb forward, and the kite rolls over, leading edge up, ready to take off. In light wind, step back slightly.

1. 

   Rev Basics: Set-Up, Basic Flying and Pack-Up

   Revolution Kites

   The whole cycle of a Rev session, step by step: unrolling the lines, assembling the kite, the first launch and first controls, then packing everything away without tangles.

2. 

   First Rev Lesson: Level 1 in 20 Minutes

   Revolution Kites

   A first-time pilot tries to pass Club 38 level 1 in twenty minutes, then tries a Condor.

3. 

   Common Rev Problems for Beginners, with Solutions

   Revolution Kites

   The most frequent beginner problems with the Rev, seen over thirty years of lessons, and their fix: lopsided launch, a Rev that will not climb, a constant turn, needless backing up and dual-line reflexes.

4. 

   Djuice quick start

   KiteForge

   KiteForge's video “manual” for a first quad-line kite, in more than 25 chaptered minutes: assembly, lines, connecting, first flights, leader tuning, wind window and packing up. In English, on the KiteForge website.

If these basics are already comfortable, continue with:

• Precision flying
• Tricks & freestyle
• Learn team flying

You can also choose a learning method to follow one author’s progression or simply find a useful exercise.

Joe Hadzicki’s Revolution Kites videos cover these basics too: first flights, launching and wind and places to fly.

These external resources offer more exercises and points of view:

• Kite Service tutorials:
  • First setup and exercises
  • How to fly your quad-line kite
  • The wind window
  • Line sets
• Competing - KiteJust4Fun blog
• Four ways to progress - SportKite.org
• American podcasts - SportKite.org
• Kite anatomy - WindR
• Two-line progression course - WindR
• Quick guide and kite notions - AKA
• Kite basics - AKA
• How to fly a kite - AKA
• Kite flying on the road - lenkdrachen-24.de

• Discover the different types of flying (long lines, short lines, …)
• Indoor flying