It is absolutely your decision to buy a 5.5m kite and it is your money. Unfortunately for you, it is their decision that they do not think it would
be responsible for them to sell you 5.5m kite and it is their kite.
My suggestion is you look for an inexpensive used three meter kite. Learn to fly on it and then sell it. You should be able to get back almost what
you paid for it. It will not depreciate that much over a couple of months.
I am an experienced and reasonably skilled pilot and a four meter kite has tossed me like a rag doll when hit by an unexpected gust. Start with a
small kite in low winds. Work your way up slowly. Remember a three meter kite can delivery about 4 bhp in the right (wrong) conditions quite
suddenly.
Good luck with choosing your first kite. Have fun, do not set yourself up to get hurt.
Scudleymacboy - 9-11-2009 at 11:17 PM
ALERT!!! ALERT!!!!! RANT COMING!!!!!
.......................................you know what? I see both sides of this here and feel like we've just turned someone off the sport or worse yet
- turned them away from a forum where questions can be answered and support, advice and camaraderie can be gained (even if at first it looks like the
feedback isn't going to be heeded). NPW was freaking crazy but all he ever got was a bunch of 'be carefuls' which still resulted in a concussion that
laid him out for six months. Lucky for us we all got to watch him (with our hands covering our eyes) and see him do some crazy stuff but more
importantly catch his infectious enthusiasm for ALL things ripstop related. I'll never forget the picture of him sitting INSIDE the zip on his Bomba
Yes it's good that we're making it clear that we care about the sport and those that participate. And yes it's possible that this chap was missing the
point from time to time. Yes it's possible that he'd be OK. Yes it's possible that he'd have an incident. Yes it's possible that said incident might
be bad for the kite community. Yes it's also true that he may never come back here, have said incident anyway, make a strike against power kiters like
our Fort Lauderdale lofters but then says "I figured I had to figure it out on my own since all the forums either ignored me or gave me a hard
time.....they were right I should listened."
I remember plain as day the day I started this journey. The local forum and kite crew seemed to have a heavy brand based bias and if you weren't
flying those colors they seemed to not have the time of day for you. I know MUCH differently now...all I had to do was reach out and ask. xsv did and
we what.....we strung him out and hung him out? I hope I didn't play a role in that. If I hadn't found PKF I'd still be flying my Rage but doubt I'd
have advanced my skills as much as I have in the short time I've been here because you guys were the only ones who'd listen and teach me (massive
props to Bladerunner, Eli and Pablo).
The saddest part is the thought that we might have pushed this guy away from the ONLY place IMO that's worth being a member of. Believe me I've looked
as I bounced from classified to classified - my old hobby of this hobby. There is no place like the PKF, no members like the PKF members. We could
have said everything we said above (this applies to xsv as well) in a much more respectful, positive, constructive light and maybe, just maybe seen
the reckless abandon in our new friend take over and give birth to a new kiter who turns out to one day be an inspiration to others. I bet Hadlow was
a pest to the forum world when he first started kiting......
Dammit. I'm stayin out of it from this point forward. I hope you stay safe xsv, and please don't give up on the good that comes from a place like
this. I love all of these kiters and respect every word they take the time to share. I can't say I've listened to them all the time but I never blamed
them for my own progress either. In fact I blame them FOR my progress. I'd have been all on my own with this if not for PKF.
Peace love and all that stuff.:bigok: U2U me if you think I'm an idiot, I won't check back here but I WILL thank you or your thoughts.Kamikuza - 10-11-2009 at 12:25 AM
I've seen a crappy old 2m throw little Indonesian guys around the beach big
kite, small kite - you go out in the wrong weather and you'll pay the price.
You can learn on a 5m but the margin of error is very low - like Scudley said about getting tossed in a gust by a 3m ... I
learned on a nice beach with consistent wind and soft sand to land face down in.
If you make the right decisions about what weather to go out in and your location, you'll be ok. Problem is, experience to make good decisions like
that comes from experience with a 3m kite, you'll have a better chance to get
that experience without being scared, broken and put off the sport.BeamerBob - 10-11-2009 at 04:52 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by xsv21
Ok and I'm Probably not going to get into it if I can't find a deal on a bigger kite like the helium, that was a perfect deal that I had set up, I
even made sure there were kitekillers and he's not talking to me, someone plz talk to him to reconsider, ik what I'm doing
It was the perfect deal except that it was almost double too big for what you should be looking for and its the wrong type kite for you to have an
enjoyable regular learning curve and have fun with. On the other hand, it IS your money. You should be able to spend it on whatever you want. I was
just as impulsive when I was 16 (and 26) but maybe I learned from those mistakes. You should be given the opportunity to fail too based on your own
informed decision.
xsv21 did you look at the forum thread link I posted above?xsv21 - 10-11-2009 at 06:00 AM
I did and it really doesn't bug me, plz talk to jokiter about letting me buy it, I'll say it again, I went through all this ik what I'm doingjokiter - 10-11-2009 at 01:14 PM
Wow - that went a bit out of controll!
So I called xsv21 and he is very different from the impression some people might have of him and his posts, including me before I actually talked to
him.
To cut a long story and a 45 min call short - he is really looking into kiting and is interested in my Helium 5.5, but we both agree that a similar
kite between 3 and 4 meter would fit better here.
Please let him know if you have such a kite for a good price.
Thanks all.DAKITEZ - 10-11-2009 at 01:25 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by jokiter
Wow - that went a bit out of controll!
So I called xsv21 and he is very different from the impression some people might have of him and his posts, including me before I actually talked to
him.
To cut a long story and a 45 min call short - he is really looking into kiting and is interested in my Helium 5.5, but we both agree that a similar
kite between 3 and 4 meter would fit better here.
Please let him know if you have such a kite for a good price.
Thanks all.
+1 good kiter and karma points for you. Keeping someone safe instead of just making a sale furbowski - 13-11-2009 at 11:24 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by WELDNGOD
Yeah, and I love to fly all of them. I will buy more too, and sell none. when they won't fly anymore ,they will be stapled to the garage wall or
hung from ceiling of Fab shop.
my sentiments exactly.
:wee:Scudley - 13-11-2009 at 04:52 PM
If you have kite skills, have someone take a video of you flying a 3m kite in reasonable wind. That will give people some idea of your ability to
handle a five meter. There is no reason why someone can not learn to fly on 5m or larger if they do it in low enough wind. You would need to work
your way up slowly. I would want to be confident the person would have the judgement of their abilities and the wind to make good decisions. You say
you have talked to other kiters in your area. If any are known on here, maybe they could give you a reference.
In the right conditions I have let beginners fly my ten meter fb, right Tonka?, but I am the one judging the conditions. I know how much my kite is
pulling before I hand it over. I have to admit that I would be loathe to sell a 5m to an absolute beginner of whom I knew absolutely nothing about
their judgement.
S
