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Turn: changing direction with the Revolution Indoor

This lesson is part of the Cramayailes indoor 4-line school, restored by QuadKites.org. The text is Thierry Bressure’s, in the first person, translated from French. The video commentary is in French.

Prerequisite: 360.

The figure

Section titled "The figure"

This figure, also called a change of direction, lets you turn the other way.

The point turn: the revo turns around the tip of the inside wing.

The centered turn: the revo makes a half turn around its center (the Revolution logo). Harder than the point turn.

Watch the figure: point turn Watch the figure: centered turn

The lesson

Section titled "The lesson"

The previous lesson must be well absorbed, because we are adding a difficulty. The turn lets you change direction.

Turn lesson by Cramayailes

Key takeaways from this video — Turn lesson

  • During the change of direction, the pilot moves straight back, then sets off backward in the opposite direction.
  • The point turn gains one revo height: you end up at level 2, which is less favorable for starting a new figure.
  • The centered turn keeps altitude. Its rotation is sharper: you need to brake the upper wing to control it, which makes it more technical.

Transcript — Turn lesson

  1. The point turn

    0:00

    The point turn consists of making the Revolution turn around the tip of the inside wing.

    Here we are going to turn to the right: the upper wing is therefore the inside wing. The Revolution turns around the tip of the upper wing.

  2. Moving straight back during the turn

    0:40

    Watch the pilot’s movement. At the precise moment of the turn, they move straight back.

    Once again, watch the pilot’s movement carefully: at the moment of the turn, they stop circling and move straight back. After the turn, they start moving back in the opposite direction.

  3. The drawback: you gain a revo height

    1:11

    The drawback of this type of turn, although attractive, is that you gain a revo height: you end up at level 2, which is less favorable for starting a new figure.

  4. Dosing the brake of the inside wing

    1:23

    Control consists of braking the inside wing of the turn. It is a matter of dosage here: brake just as much as needed, not too much and enough, so that the center of the turn is exactly the wingtip.

    Coming out of the turn, you can also brake the outside wing a little.

  5. The centered turn, which keeps altitude

    1:52

    If you want to avoid gaining a revo height, you can make a centered turn around the Revolution logo. There, we set off in the other direction, staying at the same altitude.

    The movement technique is the same as for the point turn: the pilot moves straight back at the moment of the change of direction.

  6. Braking the rotation of the upper wing

    2:30

    You will also notice that the turn is faster: the rotation is sharper. You therefore have to brake the rotation of the upper wing so that the Revolution does not fly off slanted.

    That is why I consider this turn harder, more technical, than the point turn.

Video page: transcript, series and other uses

Movement

Section titled "Movement"

During the turn, the kite goes, for example, from flying to the left to flying to the right. The pilot therefore goes from moving backward to the right to moving backward to the left.

At the moment the kite changes direction, it stays on the same meridian. Relative wind must always be supplied to keep pressure, so the pilot moves straight back. Once the kite is flying the other way, to the right, the pilot moves backward to the left.

Synchronizing the backward move to the right and then in the opposite direction is the key to a successful turn.

Control

Section titled "Control"

As outdoors, the turn is made by braking the wing on the inside of the turn.

The first type of turn is the point turn: a half turn centered on the tip of the inside wing. Looks are what matters most here.

Dose the brake just enough that the wingtip stops moving. Too little brake and the turn is too wide, and we do not have a huge window in height, only 3 flight levels. Too much brake and the turn is too short, so less attractive.

The idea is to start at level 1 and rise one revo height to fly at level 2.

The drawback of the point turn is that you move up to the 2nd flight level, which is a little less comfortable for starting figures. You can use the skill acquired in the 360 lesson to get back to level 1, which is the pilot’s eye height and the one the judges want to see (remember that judges sit on a chair, so lower than the pilot…).

A second, harder type of turn keeps you at the same level: the centered turn.

This turn looks like a 180 outdoors. The difficulty is having to work both half-wings. The upper wing must move back, and the lower wing (accelerating slightly) passes over and must be braked to keep the LE vertical, nice and upright. Synchronizing and dosing the brakes of the two handles makes this turn harder.

A bad habit is to turn by throwing the outer wing without using the brakes of the inner wing. It is an unattractive turn, because it accelerates, and an uncontrolled one, because it has no pressure. Do not make a turn thrown by the outer wing.

What comes next

Section titled "What comes next"

The next step: the loop.

Last updated: — restored Thierry Bressure's turn lesson, with the figure reference