Get Your Rev in the Air: The Basics by Revolution Kites

Transcript

1. ›

   Setting up the lines

   0:00

   Hi, I'm Joe Hadzicki at Revolution Kites, and let's talk about the basics. Get yourself a Rev and let's just get up there and get it flying. There are only a few things that you really have to pay attention to. Number one, setting up your lines: stake them in the ground and keep them tight as you unwind them. The rule is: keep your lines stretched and tight, and I mean super tight. Don't have them just lying loosely on the ground when you're taking them in or putting them out, because those lines tend to tangle. That's number one.

2. ›

   Pre-launch checklist

   0:31

   Number two, once you're set up, there are only a couple of things you need to do for the launch. Number one, make sure your lines are tight and even. Number two, make sure your handles are even; you don't want to start with your handles twisted in different directions. Number three, make sure you're downwind. And number four, pull your thumbs back over your shoulders to get a strong launch. Don't get a weak launch, because you'll go off the ground a couple of feet, your Rev will start to wander around, and then you'll crash, and you'll spend the next 20 minutes just crashing and crashing. You want to get up in the air and try to get thirty seconds of just airtime.

3. ›

   Launch, stop and back down

   1:14

   Here we go. All four lines are tight, handles are even, thumbs back. Launch. Try to hold it steady. Stop it, back it down. Launch, stop, back down. At first, just launch a few feet: launch, stop, back down. Don't launch and fly all the way overhead and lose control, because that's where you end up crashing. Tight lines, thumbs back, launch sharply, get it up into the air where you have some clean air, stop it, back it down, keep it under control for that reverse landing. Launch, stop, reverse, land.

4. ›

   Turns and control

   2:04

   Next, launch, turn to the left, turn to the right, square it back up and bring it back down again. Strong launch, lines are tight, handles are even, thumbs back. Sharp turn left, turn right, square it up. Bank into a turn left and fly a little to the left, turn right and fly a little to the right, stop it, back it down. The key is to keep it under control. Keep your movements nice and small and under control.

5. ›

   Recovering from nose down

   2:40

   If you end up nose down, what do you do? In the nose-down position, you can push both thumbs forward and your Rev will reverse up in the air, but the problem is that now you're upside down. You're much better off, with your lines tight, pushing one thumb forward: the wind will hit the wing, causing it to roll over, and now you're back at your launch point. Another trick: if you have a twist and you're not done spinning, you can actually put your handles together like this and untwist it until the lines are clear, then take the handles back apart and you're ready to launch.

6. ›

   Side hovers

   3:21

   After you've got your basic launch, left turn, right turn and square-up, try to do a left and a right hover. Here we go. Lines tight, thumbs back, strong launch. Turn to the right and try to hold that hover to the right. If you get in trouble, square it back up and get it back under control. Turn to the right, hold the hover around the right. You can even try a little reverse with both thumbs to get it to back up. Keep it under control. Fly it forward; I keep a little bit of pressure on, and I keep it under control, depending on your wind conditions. Back again. That's how you get started with your Rev. All right, let's go have some fun.