yup, I'm new, although I'm older (44)... as a kid, I used to fly bat kites endlessly... now I have a 4 year old and thought I'd find something better
to to outside than just stand around so I got us a few kites to play with...
Needless to say, I was shocked at the variety available and ended up getting myself a dual line stunt kite by accident... good lord, I was hooked as
soon as it went up in the air...
Needless to say, I have since bought a few other kites... I now have a Beatle 2100, an Acrobatx, a Rev SLE 1.5 and I just got an Ozone LD Stunt..
Also, of course, as soon as I got them, the winds here went to crap...
So anyway, my question is....
Wind speed... is there a chart or can anyone offer advice for what type of kite to be flying in what type of winds?
Looks like the typical winds here in the Chicago area are going to be in the 5mph range for a while which seems like flying is going to be quite a bit
of work as well as a good amount of work in finding a field that gives me enough room to manuver..
Any advice on kite types and sizes for various wind conditions and maybe some advice on how to make low wind flying more fun would be greatly
appreciated!
ThanksPablo - 7-5-2006 at 10:59 PM
Unfortunately, the only real solution to low wind is large fixed bridal kites.
While you can find kites that will fly in 5-10mph, anything big enough to give you any real power may be too much of a jump up from what you currently
have.
Are you just looking to fly static, or one day get into buggy, atb, surf? How much do you weigh, and how good are you at controlling your current
kites. I see a rev in the list, so you should probably be fairly capable at flying foils.cbabbman - 8-5-2006 at 05:29 AM
Quote:
While you can find kites that will fly in 5-10mph, anything big enough to give you any real power may be too much of a jump up from what you currently
have.
I'd love the power but for now, I just want to fly. Since I've gotten my kites, the wind turned to crap and most of the time it is just puffing at up
to 10mph...
So I guess what I am asking for as part of this question is some information on speed characteristics on things like the Ozone LD and similar kites. I
notice that most framed kites have their wind speeds listed with the kites on the store sites... but for some reason, I don't see the same when it
comes to the power kites...
One thing I want to do is have enough of a collection of kites that I can fly in al types of winds... While I like dual lines, I'd prefer quads. I
don't mind a little work to keep them up but I'd like something that can help keep itself up.
I suppose that I have it in my head that the bigger the kite, the more power but after pouring through the forums, I'm more confused than ever...
Maybe the real question I should have asked is what does everyone have in their collection to fly in the differing wind speeds... 0-5, 5-10, puffy
conditions (0-10), etc...
I'm in the Chicago suburbs (Aurora) if that helps anyone understand my wind conditions.
Quote:
Are you just looking to fly static, or one day get into buggy, atb, surf? How much do you weigh, and how good are you at controlling your current
kites. I see a rev in the list, so you should probably be fairly capable at flying foils.
Completely static. I have no desire right now to buggy or board as I don't have any facilities that would allow for it. I also have no desire to be
dragged and only want to go as far as leaning back against the pull. My best place for flying is a ginormous soccor/baseball facility about 5 mins
away but there on the weekends, I have to fight for space as all the fields are being used... other than that, I have a few small fields I can use
depending on the direction of the wind.
When it comes down to it, I am looking for being able to control rather than being controlled. It was the control aspect that drew me into the sport..
As for other information, I'm 5'9", 200lbs. I'm as good as can be expected for being self taught. I'm using the Rev to learn my control and have no
problem launching, landing, reverse launching and spinning... then again, because of the crappy wind conditions, I haven't been out nearly as much as
I want to be which happens to be every waking moment I can spare...
Am I supposed to obsess over this sport? lol...coreykite - 8-5-2006 at 01:12 PM
Wind Bretheren,
You have touched upon the very heart of the matter.
While I like to buggy, and do every chance I have, in practice we don't much in winds under 10 mph.
But I still fly.
In the park on Friday nights, John Chilese has a bag of very nice kites he likes to share. 3 or 4 for winds under 3mph (including my favorite-Benson's
Innerspace), a couple designed for winds 3-8mph, and another 2-3 for the "honkin" 6-10 mph range.
While the kites might be flown in a wider variety of wind speeds, John doesn't.
We do often change line lengths for different response.
"Power" kites often don't have listed wind speed like the delta sport kites because of the much wider applications they can be adapted to.
For instance, my 4.0 Viper is a superb engine on the playa between 8-18 mph winds yet I can fly it in the park down to 3 mph.
It isn't capable of fullfilling the "traction" function is all.
So how would one rate the wind range?
(Ignoring completely the effect of flyer skills on the performance of any kite.)
In the light winds I fly light wind kites like fighters and find my connection.
When the winds pick up, I pick up my foils and GO BUGGY!
Now, instead of lip-service to "kite skills", try this:
I call it "Kite Chi"
As your kite does a loop in the sky, raise your arms over your head and spin around, untwisting your lines as the kite twists them.
It's not about our lines.
It's about our eyes.
We are such visual creatures.
It is a visually-dominated culture.
We learned to fly with our eyes on the kite.
Our eyes have gotten so loud, our brains sometimes forgets we have other senses.
Turning your back to the kite, for just a moment, distracts your brain and allows your fingers a chance to listen to the kite.
Through the lines, the kite tells you "Where It Is" and "Where It Is Going".
The most critical information, and available to us non-visually.
By practicing this discipline, one quickly develops an increased tactile awareness of the kite. Allowing our eyes to see more.
Seeing all the sky and the ground, not just seeing the kite.
As kiters, we become more alert of our surroundings and therefore safer.
In traction kiting, it must be obvious one needs to be looking ahead.
Looking at the kite is looking at where you were, when you need to look where you're going.
Now that you've refound modern kiting, look for the details.
The more it makes sense, the finer details you'll notice.
The relationship is with the wind.
The kites are the path.
But only one of many paths up the mountain.
We don't learn this by magic.
We learn it by practice.
Safen Up! Buggy On!
"Often wrong... Never in doubt"
the coreylamacbabbman - 8-5-2006 at 02:05 PM
just a slight update..
I finally got the chance to fly my Ozone LD Stunt...
what a blast... 12-15mph winds... Kite was extermely easy for me to control and I could make it do pretty much anything I wanted, within reason...
Great feel, a slight bit of pull and obviously, not enough time to fly...
Any hints on what I could expect if I jumped up to 3m?Pablo - 8-5-2006 at 05:16 PM
3m should be fine, especially in sub 10mph winds, with your weight and exp you should be able to hold on to it without too much trouble in anything
sub 15 for learning. Sounds like you have pretty good kite control and common sense, I'd be getting an entry level 3m and starting in say 6-10mph
winds, You'll be able to fly it in possibly less, but that's about the best range to learn in. Any less and your fighting to keep the kite in the sky,
any more and you could be going for a ride if you make a big enough mistake.
As for not posting the wind ranges, There's so many variables, Myself I feel at home holding onto a 6.5m Century or my 13m Venom in 25mph winds, no
problems, I also weigh 240lbs and have been flying and buggying for years. I've gotten to the point where I feel safer being overpowered in the buggy
than I do flying static. The wife's been flying for a year now and has trouble some days with a 2m in anything near 20mph, and she only flies static.
She also weighs considerably less than me.
As far as kite styles go, long thin kites usually tend to make lots of power, be finicky to fly and have good performance if you can keep them in the
air, short fat kites with a thick foil tend to be really freindly but a little less power, long with a slightly thicker foil seems to be great for
lift.
Best bet for now would be a 3m buster or beamer, I believe the beamers are something like a 3.8m. Not sure what they're smaller size is.cbabbman - 9-5-2006 at 05:41 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Pablo
3m should be fine, especially in sub 10mph winds
ok, then let me ask this question...
let's say the winds are sub 10 mph....
a 3m would be fine as you suggest.... what should I expect in the way of pull and control vs something like a 5m?
I suppose the more I fly, the more I will understand what I am looking for in a kite but for now, what I enjoy the most is smooth control with a solid
feel of the kite pulling against me.
Will the 3 provide this or would I experience better control in the light winds with the pull I am looking for in a 5?
It's difficult to ask the right questions sometimes and obviously, everyone is looking for something a little different..
Quote:
with your weight and exp you should be able to hold on to it without too much trouble in anything sub 15 for learning. Sounds like you have pretty
good kite control and common sense
lol... he said common sense...lol... my experience is rather lacking but without blowing my own horn, I feel like a quad under a steady pull that I
have to lean a bit (only a bit) against feels completely natural to me and I don't seem to have any problem keeping the kite up and under control...
Of course, I, like anyone else who seems to be involved in this sport, likes to push it a bit so I want to be sure that while I am pushing it, that I
don't end up pushing up daisys...lol
Quote:
You'll be able to fly it in possibly less, but that's about the best range to learn in. Any less and your fighting to keep the kite in the sky, any
more and you could be going for a ride if you make a big enough mistake.
what is the correlation of sail size to controllability? I suppose that through some common sense, the bigger the sail, the more power, and the bigger
the sail, the slower the kite...but I guess I am looking for a better understanding of how the sail size in let's say the 5-10mph range compares among
the 1.5 - 5m range, if it's even possible to compare...
Quote:
Best bet for now would be a 3m buster or beamer, I believe the beamers are something like a 3.8m. Not sure what they're smaller size is.
how about the Buster II? Something I should possibly wait for?Pablo - 9-5-2006 at 05:50 PM
Buster II would be a great option, still waiting for them to come out over here though.
You'll find that a 3m will turn nicely, keep powered up pretty good and be able to fly it around the window in lower winds no problem, you'll get a
decent feel for the wind window with a traction kite as well. If you keep it moving you'd be suprised how little wind it takes to keep the kite in the
sky. If you go up to a 5m, you'll find that the kite takes longer to turn, when it luffs and stalls, it can drop into the window and power up on you,
when it's powered up it'll be hard to learn the wind window on, Now if you take the same 5m kite in more wind, say 10-15mph, it'll turn faster, fly
nicer, but you'll have more power on your hands than I recommend for anyone's first traction kite.
Basically, they'll probably both have the same bottom end for wind range, but you'll have more control and better flights with the 3m, and more power,
but more headache out of a 5m. Normally you're wanting huge kites in low wind for traction purposes, but since your interested more in flying and
control, I'd go 3m. Possibly a 4 if you want to split the difference.cbabbman - 9-5-2006 at 06:40 PM
Quote:
You'll find that a 3m will turn nicely, keep powered up pretty good and be able to fly it around the window in lower winds no problem, you'll get a
decent feel for the wind window with a traction kite as well.
I got a great feel for the window today. I had 15mph steady winds with a few pufs up to 18 or so... it's amazing the power that generates with the
1.5... I ended up wth a few people watching and chuckling at how that damn little kite was yanking me around the field...lol... felt absolutely great
and I got an excellent feel for what the 1.5 will do both in and out of the window.
I have to say that I absolutely LOVE tha way the 1.5 hits the edge of the window and then just sits there, waiting for me to do something, without
folding up... I also love the way it recovers when I do fold it up.... I never once had to walk to the kite today... makes for great fun...
Quote:
If you go up to a 5m
poopooed that idea today... I really don't want any more power than I had, just the ability to generate it in lower winds... the thought of anything
more scares the sh*t out of me right now... and I have to be presentable when I go back to work after my lunchtime workout..lol... too much goose poop
to get dragged through...
Quote:
since your interested more in flying and control, I'd go 3m.
Thanks for the confirmation... I talked to my new best buddy, Kent, at A Wind Of Change Kites today about some of this...... he's been extremely nice
and informative and I really appreciate his enthusiasim and knowledge and his taking the time to help educate me...
Kent recommended the Ozone LD Stunt last week and after today, I had to call and tell him that he helped me pick a really awesome kite... well worth
the cost and completely suited to what I really was looking for...
Kent recommended the Ozone Fury or Riot as well as encouraging me to stick with a 3m... After reading a whole lot of comments and reviews, as well as
my limited experience with the LD Stunt, I am definately going to go with one of them...
now, I have to figure out if the Riot is worth the extra $130 over the the Fury....
