Hi there, im from Australia and recently i went to stradbroke island and took my small stunt kite and had a ball, i dawned on me when flying it that if i had a kite big enough it maybe could pull me up into the air so when we got home i researched the subject and found this page im looking at kites now and researching what to buy and how to do it.im around 186 cm high and about 85kg.i have never kite jumped but am keen as to learn.can any experienced kiter jumper give me some advice on what size kite i should buy..i read something about a parafoil or something which was expensive, then i seen one for less then $100 that says it will allow me to jump.please any advice is appreciated.

Regards,
twistedmr.

kitejumping is dangerous--i should know--ive jumped thousands of times......if you still want to jump start with around 5 meters and try to find someone with xperience to teach you--or watch youtube vids on kite jumping--and kite jumping accidents--my #1 rule for jumping--learn how to redirect the kite--yes,its that important--understanding your limits and the power of the winds and your kite is of ultimate importance--some other people will show up to give you some specifics about kite brands , other tips etc.--good luck and dont get hurt

thanks, yes im sure it is dangerous and ive watched heaps of the vids on youtube now. i ride bikes and thats fairly dangerous but it took me years to get good at that and have had a few accidents, nothing bone breaking thank god.hopefully i can learn the art of kite jumping and minimise the danger factor..and lets face it, the fear factor or the danger&adrenaline is why pple do sport and certain activities..i hope someone can fill me in on the pro's& cons of my purchase which may be in a few weeks if i can find out what to buy.

cheers.

sounds like you are going to do your research... Try all the "newbie -- what kite?" threads on here for starters.

what are your winds?

if you're out to discover this fine sport for yourself, really the best way to start is with a 3m foil, because you need a full set of static (not moving on any kind of board) skills before you get into jumping.

it's the second kite you buy, in the 5m range, which allows you to begin jumping with a reasonable degree of safety. Please don't try to buy a jumper for your first real ram-air foil.

jumping gets sweet (at least for me) in the 6-8m range.

others have different preferences.

it's a skill, and skill is the only thing that keeps you safe, and you need to build those skills up safely.

welcome to the passion, btw...

:Ange09:



:wee:

i usually jump with flexifoil blades, but they arent for beginners--maybe you can try a pl twister--ive flown them and they're good stable kite that will lift you easily.......

lots of "extreme kite" *cough* junkies in oz... do a bit more googling, rules prevent me from posting direct links.

get together with them, we're a pretty friendly crowd worldwide. Also the best thing you can do re: safety.

How much experience do you have flying stunt kites? Were they 2 line or 4 line? A 5m fixed bridle kite, especially a lifty one, will bite you bad if you don't know what you're doing with it. That being said, my first powerkite was a 4.1m twister II, only one meter smaller and I weigh 130lbs. When you learn how to jump, practice in light winds and learn how to pendulum jump, that is the safest way to go about jumping with a kite. There's plenty of videos on youtube showing how to do that. I love my twister, but its a bit difficult to use in really poor wind conditions. If you're flying at the beach its a totally different kite.

i want to go to fraser Island on the east coast of mid north Australia, some dude selling kites said its top fun to fly on a smallish 3-4 meter kite around the sand dunes..which at fraser are very very soft and dry..they are a nightmare for a 4wd!. anyhow the winds are fairly consistent apparently, i think i will mostly fly at the beach as we live close to most of the major beaches here, we got bribie island, rainbow beach,byron bay,fraser island, peel island, and a heap of big open beach areas at the gold coast.i live smack bang in the middle of them all.now what you guys call "scudding" is this whereby you get dragged along like skidding? i think all i want to achieve for now is to buy a kite that can pull me along the beach but also i want to be able to control it so i can learn how it behaves etc etc..maybe this kite could have enough power to pull me up just a little when i make it do so..i dont want to be pulled up out of my control..faaark that lolz. i like the idea of just getting off the ground here and there and getting skidded along the beach, and to answer the previous question, the only kite i have flown is a very very small stunt kite..i think it has taught me a little bit about the wind dynamics as i understand when you guys talk of the window..took me ages with my small stunt kite to manage and utilise the different spots, i also on the weekend learnt to land my kite on the side i was practicing landing it to the left then to the right and using the wind to make it hover about 5ft off the ground so the missus coud grab it when i wanted to pack it up.but as i say..this is a very small like50 cm long kite for flying..it has 2 controls..i get no practical experience..just learnt a few wind physics lessons.

You get what you pay for with kites. The cheap ones have problems of different sorts.

Something under 5m is best for learning . Something 5m and bigger is best for jumping.

Putting in the time on a 3m is time well spent. Your kite skills will increas much faster when you are the Master of the kite. Larger kites control You and slow the learning curve + add to the danger.

This is a great international forum. One I like in Australia is Sea we can't mention it breeze Dot com

Have Fun !