The Revolution launch: 6 key techniques by Revolution Kites

Transcript

1. ›

   Why launch positions matter

   0:00

   Hi, I'm Joe Hadzicki, inventor of the Revolution. People often ask me whether it is possible to launch from this position or from that other position. The Revolution is easy to launch from the standard upright position, but the amazing thing about it is that after a crash it is very easy to simply reverse launch your Revolution. It is also possible to launch a Revolution from several other positions, and I'm going to show you some techniques in this video.

2. ›

   Launch 1: standard launch

   0:25

   Launch number one: leading edge up, or standard launch. This is the best launch position for new Rev pilots. Make sure all four of your lines are tight and your handles are even. For example, this bottom line here is now loose, so step back, dragging your kite, until all four lines are tight. Thumbs on top, pull, and rotate your thumbs back over your shoulders as you step back to launch, just like this.

3. ›

   Common standard launch mistakes

   0:58

   A common mistake is to try to launch your Rev while leaning back too far. What happens during the pull is that your Rev just tilts up and doesn't actually launch, so the key is to tilt your Rev up straight first and then launch. Another problem is to pull without rotating your handles. This can cause your Rev to fly in a hover or even in a reverse position, so you don't actually fly up. You need to rotate those handles back. This is what a poor launch looks like. Another common mistake is to pull too hard on your launch. It won't necessarily stop your Rev from flying or launching, but since the Rev is based on precision control, that over-control is really unnecessary. This is too hard a launch; it hardly takes anything to launch a Rev.

4. ›

   Launch 2: the inverted launch

   2:17

   Launch number two: the inverted launch. Start with the leading edge down, with your Rev inverted on the ground and all four lines tight. Work out which lines are on top; here it happens to be these lines. Push that thumb forward, and that will cause your Rev to roll over. If there isn't enough wind, push your thumb forward and pull it slowly, softly and smoothly past your hip. Come forward, smooth. An advanced version of the inverted launch is to reverse both handles at the same time and reverse your Rev straight up, thumbs forward. This launch can be challenging for new Rev pilots because you end up in an inverted hover.

5. ›

   Inverted launch problems

   3:10

   There are some problems with the inverted launch. Number one, inconsistent handle rotation. Set that handle rotation and then launch smoothly; don't keep making adjustments while you launch. Number two, soft or light lines, or inconsistent line tension. Just like before, if you have inconsistent line tension, you'll get an uneven launch. Number three, over-control. Just like before, this launch is very delicate, so set that angle, pull softly and make very few adjustments until you get a feel for the inverted hover launch.

6. ›

   Launch 3: face down, tips toward you

   3:53

   Launch number three: face down, tips toward the pilot. The goal here is to get wind underneath the wing to lift it up into an inverted position, so you're ready to launch from there. This is much easier to do with the Reflex, because the Reflex actually holds the wing up. Without the Reflex, your wing is lying flat. Let's go for a launch without the Reflex first. Remember, our goal is to get air under that wing, so we're going to shimmy it along. We could try a quick pop, we could try a smooth pop, whatever it takes to get the wing off the ground. Remember, we don't have any Reflex in this situation. Let's see what happens. There we go, we're in an inverted position and ready for an inverted launch. Now with the Reflex. This time you don't even have to do anything but pop it up. The wind right now is zero; it's ranging from about zero to three miles an hour. So let's give it a little pop. Okay, we're in our inverted position and ready for a reverse launch.

7. ›

   Considerations for this launch

   5:05

   A few considerations to keep in mind. First, if you have sand on your wing, this launch will be more difficult. Second, with the non-Reflex version, if you pull it across the ground, the line can get wrapped over the wing, and then you won't be able to launch. Third, if you're doing the non-Reflex version and you don't pop it up in the first couple of tries, consider the wear and tear on your wing, especially if you're on sand. You might not want to try it more than that; just set it up and fly. With the Reflex, you can hardly keep the wing on the ground.

8. ›

   Launch 4: the dead launch

   5:39

   Launch number four: the dead launch. This is your Rev face down on the ground, leading edge toward the pilot. Without the Reflex this is almost an impossible launch, and that's why it's called the dead launch. With the Reflex you have a curvature in the sail, and once again, remember we're trying to get wind underneath the wing to lift it up. There are really three subtle variations on this launch. The first is to pull the top lines. This tends to accelerate your Rev forward, get some wind underneath it and make it glide up into a launch.

9. ›

   Dead launch pull options

   6:15

   Option number two is to pull the back lines. The idea is to pull the bottom of the wing toward you, forcing the top of the wing up into a launch. Option number three, which is the one I like to use, is to pull the front and then the back, and so simulate the way the wing actually climbs. I want to pull the front to get it to glide, and then pull the back to bring it in underneath. Okay, let's take a look. All right, here we go: a sharp pull, and then reverse those handles.

10. ›

    Launching parallel to the wind

    6:54

    Sometimes you might find yourself in a situation where your Rev is parallel to the wind direction. Here are your lines; they're underneath your Rev, your Rev is face down and the wind is blowing this way. It might be possible to launch from this position by getting the back wing to rotate around and into the wind, and then popping it up into an inverted launch. So let's gently pop those lines around and see if we can get it to launch. This is a pretty advanced launch because there are a lot of little things going on with the motion. A couple of concerns. Number one, you have to rotate that wing back around into the wind, so you're moving it over the surface quite a bit; if you're on sand, of course, you have the wear and tear to consider. Number two, that wing is moving around quite a bit with all those lines, so there is a good chance of wrapping the wing. It's a very interesting and very cool launch if you can pull it off, and I've used it more than once. The Rev is amazing because it can be relaunched from many different positions, but the best thing to do is avoid those difficult conditions by staying in control of your Rev.

11. ›

    Avoiding and recovering difficult positions

    8:18

    For example, if you land nose down or crash into the ground, don't walk toward your Rev, because it will lay your Rev down backwards. Normally, if your Rev is face down you can generate a launch, but if it's lying on its back it's very difficult. It looks like this. Don't step forward for this launch. What we're going to try to do is take those back tips and tilt them back up to where they were before we step forward. So the bottom handles are holding the back lines; hold those up as high as you can and then step back, hopefully tilting your wing up. This is much easier to do on short lines; on longer lines it's going to be more of a challenge. But now we're in a standard inverted launch. Use these launch techniques to take your Rev flying to a new level.