Power Kite Forum

First flight!

IFlyKites - 24-8-2014 at 05:58 PM

Hello folks! Bought a Twister II 5.6m and took it out to fly today. Let me first start off by saying, WOW! An amazing kite, handles very well. This is my first ever time flying a power kite. Nice fellow power kiter helped me out when I got to the park, always nice to see others being so welcoming to the sport! Got it into the air, and you probably could already guess; headed straight into the ground. The pull, oh boy.. I got dragged a good 8m each time it flew across the window. Got a few jumps in their as well! To anyone wanting a first time power kite, go with Peter Lynn! I don't suggest the Twister 5.6m due to the pull, maybe lean towards the 4.1m. I do think I made a mistake of purchasing such a large first kite, but hey that's how we learn! Now I do have a few questions if you guys don't mind answering. When flying, the kite would start twisting in the air, I noticed it happening to others as well, is there a way to prevent this? Or is this mostly due to wind direction changes? Also, sometimes when I landed, the kite would flip over, I tried pulling it into the correct direction but that didn't work. Do I have to put my handles down every time and go to the kite to untangle it?

Cheers, Ari

ssayre - 24-8-2014 at 08:14 PM

By twisting do you mean looping I an uncontrolled way or do you mean the kite twists and bow ties. It's petty hard to recover from a bow tie.

Bladerunner - 24-8-2014 at 08:48 PM

Are you clear on the wind window and how it effects the kite power? Major power down wind and low. Less power at the edges of the window. That include the sides .

It sounds to me like you are not giving proper brake input.
When flying adding brake to one side ( you are probably doing it by accident ) will cause the kite to turn.
When backing the kite down you need to apply even brake to both sides to avoid the flip. Hold the handles with the fly line between your pointer and middle finger.

Do us all a favour and tell beginners who come on here that getting too big a kite to start was a mistake. It is probably the most common issue.

Try and spend more time flying the kite at the edges of the window and learn to CONTROL it rather than fly it all over. That is what experienced pilots do. Play with the brakes with the kite at the edge to get a feel for how they effect the kite.

YES, shifty / janky winds will also effect the kite. Be careful. That kite will hurt you in strong winds. Stick to 10mph or less for now. If your wind is typically stronger, get a smaller kite.

Wear a helmet!

IFlyKites - 24-8-2014 at 09:00 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre  
By twisting do you mean looping I an uncontrolled way or do you mean the kite twists and bow ties. It's petty hard to recover from a bow tie.


It bow ties mostly with some twisting. It crubles into a ball and twists.

IFlyKites - 24-8-2014 at 09:22 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Bladerunner  
Are you clear on the wind window and how it effects the kite power? Major power down wind and low. Less power at the edges of the window. That include the sides .

It sounds to me like you are not giving proper brake input.
When flying adding brake to one side ( you are probably doing it by accident ) will cause the kite to turn.
When backing the kite down you need to apply even brake to both sides to avoid the flip. Hold the handles with the fly line between your pointer and middle finger.

Do us all a favour and tell beginners who come on here that getting too big a kite to start was a mistake. It is probably the most common issue.

Try and spend more time flying the kite at the edges of the window and learn to CONTROL it rather than fly it all over. That is what experienced pilots do. Play with the brakes with the kite at the edge to get a feel for how they effect the kite.

YES, shifty / janky winds will also effect the kite. Be careful. That kite will hurt you in strong winds. Stick to 10mph or less for now. If your wind is typically stronger, get a smaller kite.

Wear a helmet!


Thanks for the informative reply! I was trying to fly it at the edges of the window more than flying it all over but that's where it started twisting. I guess because I didn't notice myself pulling on the break lines. Also, just to be sure. Is it true that if I crash the kite with the leading edge into the ground, the cells could burst due to the pressure? I heard this somewhere and now I try to avoid crashing with the leading edge.

Cheers, Ari

Bladerunner - 25-8-2014 at 06:23 AM

The balling up sounds more like bad wind than brake input.

Yes you can blow cells with a nose down crash but it takes a lot to do so. Try to avoid crashing the kite period.

3shot - 25-8-2014 at 06:50 AM

Why Does My Twister Twist?



IFlyKites - 25-8-2014 at 11:49 AM

Thanks for the help! One last question, should the break lines be somewhat loose when in the air? I noticed when I was flying that the power lines are stretched (under tension) which is obviously normal, break lines were somewhat hanging near the top. Should they be under tension as well? Thinking I might have to readjust the knot for the break lines, not too sure though. Any ideas?

Cheers, Ari

abkayak - 25-8-2014 at 12:25 PM

slack in the brake lines w/ the bottom of the handles pointed forwards towards the kite is good..than you pull in a little on your bottoms for brake response

pongnut - 25-8-2014 at 12:58 PM

Yeah, brake line "slackness" is something you will have to tweak to your personal preference, by adjusting the distance of the brake leader knot from the handle. Too much slack in the brake lines and you wont be able to deploy the brakes at all. Not enough slack in the brake lines will make it difficult to get the kite to the edge of the wind window. Take some time on a day when you have some smooth wind, around 8 to 12 mph and spend some time launching the kite, trying the brakes, landing and adjusting the brake leader knots. The brake lines are at a good adjustment when you can fly the kite without any influence from the brakes, but can use the brakes to back the kite down to the ground. They are in good adjustment when you can reverse-launch the kite.

Again - DON'T do this exercise in higher winds.

Welcome to the addiction and play it safe! :thumbup: