Date: Thu, 29 Sep 1994 07:47:17 -1000 From: jburka@Glue.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) Message-Id: <36euj5$b41@geog40.umd.edu> Organization: Project Glue, University of Maryland, College Park Subject: Assymetrical Quad at SunFest '94 I got to fly an absolutely fascinating quadlined kite at SunFest '94. Apparently it's about to be an import from Italy, brought in by What's Up. The similarity to the Rev is unmistakeable, and I gather that this has been licensed by the Hadzikis (two of whom were at SunFest and *had* to be aware of the kite...).* This quad, however, is not exactly competition for the Rev; it's purely a novelty kite. And one that ties rather neatly into a recent thread, being assymetrical along both its horizontal and vertical axes! The kite is shaped as an elaborately sewn scimitar, fashioned of Carrington on wrapped graphite. The leading edge, most of which forms the blade of the knife, is significantly more curved than that of a Rev; this curve is not symmetrical, but is more pronounced on the left half of the kite. The handle of the knife sticks way out to the right -- there is no real bottom right tip of the kite! It looks ridiculously ungainly and it's hard to imagine it could stop or back up, given the lack of sail on the bottom right of the kite. Miraculously, the kite does fly, and fly well! It's a lot faster than one would expect. It will fly backward and do slides to either side. It will spin like a Rev, but it takes a *lot* of pressure on the bottom right lineto stop a propeller spin to the left. What makes this kite so fun is that you *want* to fly it around like a giant knife; the form of the kite to a large extent dictates the flying style. One friend of mine commented that it would be great to have a mirror-image kite, enabling a pair to simulate a sword fight! I've no idea when What's Up will start selling these kites, nor how much they're likely to cost. I do know that you'll smile when you see one in the air--and smile twice as wide if you're the one flying it. *Incidentally, on the subject of licensing from Revolution, a friend of mine has started making some beautiful wooden Rev handles. Mike talked to one of the Hadzickis at SunFest, and assured him that he was not planning any sort of production run, but maybe a total of 50 or 60 sets of handles. The anonymous Hadzicki said that they had a waiver form they could give him, giving him permission to make the handles. Revolution's big concern is with folks doing illegal production runs. As Marty says, just ask for permission! Jeff -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | Pithy, insightful quote to be inserted | | | when one occurs to me. *If* one occurs | |jeffy@eng.umd.edu | to me. | = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Fri, 30 Sep 1994 14:51:46 -1000 From: dickbell@netcom.com (Dick Bell) Message-Id: Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Subject: Re: Assymetrical Quad at SunFest '94 Jeffrey C. Burka (jburka@Glue.umd.edu) wrote: (Some very good info deleted) : *Incidentally, on the subject of licensing from Revolution, a friend of : mine has started making some beautiful wooden Rev handles. Mike talked to : one of the Hadzickis at SunFest, and assured him that he was not planning : any sort of production run, but maybe a total of 50 or 60 sets of handles. : The anonymous Hadzicki said that they had a waiver form they could give : him, giving him permission to make the handles. Revolution's big concern is : with folks doing illegal production runs. As Marty says, just ask for : permission! Jeff, On the subject of Rev handles. Some of the finest *custom* handles that I have ever seen are from the Kite Studio. Even the Hadzickis have a set of Red/white/blue from Steve. The handles are not made of wood but of a hard foam. They custom order any color that you can come up with. Later -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dick Bell dickbell@netcom.com Dallas, Texas = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =