Revolution Reverse Flying: Tips from the Inventor by Revolution Kites

Transcript

1. ›

   Stable reverse overhead

   0:00

   Hi, it's Joe, and this is the Club 38 Friday video. Let's talk about reverse flying. There are a lot of different aspects to reverse flying, and you've probably already done the basic one, which is just flying up and reversing back down to a landing. We're going to talk about that, we're going to talk about sideways flying, and we're going to talk about inverted reversing. For reverse flying, take it up straight overhead, stop it, and just back it down. The main thing is to focus on how stable you can reverse, not how fast you can reverse. Try to keep it stable. If you see a lot of teetering going on, that means you're over-reversing. That's a clue for you to be a little more subtle with your touch.

2. ›

   Reversing from the side

   0:53

   To reverse from the side, you can start from that overhead position and back down, then gradually take it at a slight angle and keep increasing that angle: straight up, back it down; straight up, a little turn, back it out; a little diagonal, a little more diagonal, and a little more diagonal. Another method is to fly it out to the edge of the window and then bring it in. When you're at the edge, the natural tendency is to fall back into the center, so that will help you. The other thing you can do while you're falling back is lead with the top wing: tilt that wing back and let that one see the wind a little bit, and keep the other wing even or under it. The bottom wing tends to scoop under. It looks like this: out to the edge first, then back, with the top wing leading a little bit.

3. ›

   Reversing upward

   1:57

   Reversing upward is a very difficult move, mainly because the reverse control is so sensitive. Doing it off the ground is one more difficult place to do it, because the conditions near the ground are usually more turbulent. Another thing to do is to take it up overhead, dive, and stop it in that inverted hover, and then try to reverse it up a little bit. What makes the reversing tricky is if it stops; once you get it moving, try to keep it going. Some people try this trick: you can shake the handles a little bit, vibrate the handles. That tends to disrupt the airflow and makes it difficult for the Rev to choose the direction to go, so it just stays where it is and kind of goes up. It's like this.

4. ›

   Just fly backwards

   3:10

   The best method I've ever seen is to just fly backwards. Spend a few minutes doing it and you tend to get a feel for it. That's really what it is about: training your mind to sense what's going on. First to the side, first around, first back. Just play with reversing, a little bit at a diagonal, and sideways, then turn around. Just do this a few times and give it a try. Anytime your mind is trying to figure out the puzzle, you're learning more. Try it from a lot of different angles. That's the best advice for reverse flight.