Power Kite Forum

Back to Kiting after a long break

danccooke - 11-4-2011 at 05:44 PM

Many years ago I bought a second hand Rhombus Firebee 3.0 I flew it a few times but one day in a blustery day it caught me off gaurd and quite frankly i found out adrenalin can be brown. I didn't have a kite killer and was reluctant to let go (baring in mind i am a tighthead prop and weigh 21st) i got to a certain height and heading towards houses i decided the drop was better.

So four years on I now have a kite killer and i know this isn't the biggest or most powerful kite in the world but damn did we have some fun at the beach the other day in low winds.
A Whole load of us had been sentanced to an afternoon on the beach with the women folk and kids ( i don' have kids)

i took the kite with me, and three of us lads had a whale of a time. The Kite killer giving me the confidence to have a laugh and at worst let go without losing my kite. It wasn't very windy at all. but what a laugh. Now the other two want a kite :)




We had a good laugh but the water was sodding cold

danccooke - 11-4-2011 at 07:24 PM

It really has got me wanting to be back out with the kite again more often, roll on another day with better wind.

erratic winds - 11-4-2011 at 08:01 PM

Glad to have you back flying! Looked like great fun!

Welcome!

Kamikuza - 11-4-2011 at 10:19 PM

Nice :lol: welcome back!

rocfighter - 12-4-2011 at 04:16 AM

Welcome back to the addiction. We have a Firebee 2.1 and The Kidd did a real nice face scud and several foot scuds last year with it. They do pull hard for a little kite.

danccooke - 12-4-2011 at 06:06 PM

Would i benefit from adding power rings to this kite? Will this make it more controllable or just more power?
I have searched Firebee and frankly don't read many good things about them. But if i am using it as a learner kite and manage to not break anything then maybe i'll be set up with a reasonable skill set for a better kite in the future?

rocfighter - 12-4-2011 at 06:11 PM

Firebees are a bit touchy and squirrly. A better brand will be an improvement. But that can wait if your having fun with this one. Search around on this forum and you'll find some cool stuff.

Seanny - 12-4-2011 at 06:14 PM

Sorry, but what's a power ring? Do they go on the bridle or something?

danccooke - 12-4-2011 at 06:23 PM

From what i can glean from the forum so far, It's a bit of a Heath Robinson DIY, adding a short length of chord from the main line (just by the bridle) to a "ring" which the brake lines pass through. This holds the brake lines in closer the main lines causeing less drag and also hold the shape of the foil better so the power is better delivered and makes turning faster. I'll let you know for real what it does.
I'm a heavy bloke so it will need to be a particularly gusty day for it to drag me unawares. So far if i've ever left the floor it was my own choice and not entirely sucessful (see vid clip, i'm the fat f***)

Kamikuza - 12-4-2011 at 11:43 PM

Power-rings may help a little but it's a small kite, innit? Fly the heck out of it then get something bigger.

If you want to jump, seriously think about getting a big foil - much safer. And if you're out on the water, it doesn't hurt much at all :D

danccooke - 13-4-2011 at 04:39 PM

To be honest I enjoy skudding along, I have so many outdoor pursuits I can't warrant getting a bigger foil at the moment. Just getting a little more power and stability out of it would be nice. either way i love messing about with it. I dont want something that is gonna make me mess myself, I have rugby for that kinda pain adrenalin