Reverse flight by Thierry Bressure

Transcript

1. ›

   Introduction

   0:02

   In this lesson, I present a few exercises to practice reverse flight on a Rev. The wind is fairly strong today, 15 to 20 km/h on average with gusts to 30–35: not ideal, but we'll try anyway. I've brought a vented Rev B-Series and 68 kg lines, because last week, in similar wind, the 40 kg lines started to sing. On the program: reverse flight going down, helped by gravity, then horizontal reverse flight, and a reverse ladder exercise.

2. ›

   Reversing down

   1:20

   As you know by now, a Rev has brake lines, the bottom lines, which change the angle of both wings independently. If you pull the left and right brakes at the same time, the sail goes to a negative angle, which makes it go backward. First exercise: from a stop leading edge up, in the center of the window, pull both brakes at the same time; the Rev comes down. This lets you find the amount that's needed and enough: enough for it to reverse, not too much or it stalls. It also teaches you to balance left and right evenly: pull too much on the right and it turns left, and vice versa, which is normal in reverse.

3. ›

   Horizontal reverse

   3:46

   For horizontal reverse flight, start from a stop with the leading edge sideways, all lines under tension. Then add a little brake so the kite goes backward, controlling the compensation, the offset of your arms, so it keeps the same altitude. Compensation controls altitude; attitude, being perfectly vertical, is corrected with the brakes, a bit more on top or bottom. A common mistake is wanting to go fast by pulling hard on the brakes. Revs are made to fly forward; in reverse, the sail tends to fold if you pull too much. Settle for a lower speed than forward flight. Do the exercise in both directions: at the start, the kite isn't settled yet, but a moment later, pulling a little more, it settles and reverses almost straight, without correction.

4. ›

   Recap

   9:15

   To sum up the basic exercises: in the middle of the window, bring the kite down in reverse, helped by gravity, keeping it as straight as possible; then reverse flight with the leading edge sideways, in both directions, controlling the compensation.

5. ›

   Reverse launch

   10:44

   A fourth exercise, which some recommend doing first, seems harder to me: launching the kite in reverse, leading edge down. From the parked position, gradually pull the brakes to change the angle and launch it in reverse, correcting so it climbs vertical and straight. If you master this, you're really solid in reverse and in the stop leading edge down. The handles can be at 45°, or even horizontal for more sensitivity; if it pulls too hard on your wrists in gusty wind, add brake on the knot ladder, and the kite climbs almost by itself.

6. ›

   Turns in reverse

   15:28

   To finish, an exercise to control turns in reverse. You know the long left-to-right passes we all fly when starting out; to make them prettier, you learn to turn on the wingtip at the end of each line, which only costs one Rev height per turn, very useful in megateam flying. In reverse, you need to be able to do the same. As in forward flight, I recommend the ladder: set the Rev with its leading edge sideways in the middle of the window, and practice sending it backward on the wingtip, then stopping in a vertical position, first going down, which is easier, then going up. I've never seen a reverse wingtip turn in a megateam, but it's possible in some variations of the ball. These exercises are worth repeating until you master reverse flight, a key feature of flying a Rev: once you can do it, you won't be able to do without it.

7. ›

   On the diagonal

   21:16

   As an option, to go further: reverse flight on a diagonal. It doesn't change much: first put the kite in a diagonal stop, then add just enough brake to make it reverse while keeping that angle.