I've never flown anything bigger than a £20 stunt kite and the prospect of having a huge 4 meter beast to play with is winging its way in the post to me.

So that I don't fall flat on my face, either metaphorically or literally, or have my arms pulled out of their sockets I would appreciate any tips, help or advice on how to play safely and get the most out of my new pastime?

I would also welcome recommendations for DVD's or even youtubes on how to grasp the basics of flying.

Cheers

for our first time out with kite pick day with wind no more than 15mph so you get learn how it flys. just google how to fly a power kite mate. make sure you have kite killers on and us then . have fun!:singing:

see if this helps....
http://www.coastalwindsports.com/101FirstFlight4LineHandles....

Since it is your first time I would definitely suggest making sure that the wind is very low. Make sure that there is just enough wind for you to get used to how to fly a power kite. You will undoubtedly be cautioned multiple times, but kiting truly can be dangerous. I suggest going out with some friends in lower winds so that you can learn how to fly together and help each other out.

The videos that this guy puts up seem to be pretty helpful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw7PF4F-jqc

Be safe and don't push yourself beyond your limits. I would suggest looking at some of the videos below if you feel like you might be too gutsy without knowing some of the possibilities.

Kiting can be tons of fun, but take it slowly!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3_TDZUO2QA
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=a4L28uXOv7M&feature=rela...
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=FlwH8NldMw8&feature=rela...
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=semzVdaACTU&feature=rela...

Start SLOW. Don't make large or jerky motions.

Just get the kite above your head and then try and keep it there + in control for the 1st few minutes. Pay attention to your brake lines and try to keep them loose.

Once you feel in complete control with it sitting above you start making SMALL passes from about 1 - 11 on the clock. Feel how the kite sits at the edge with little power produced. See how that windows " edge " goes down both sides. When you get in trouble take it to the edge and settle it down .

Move on to flying SMALL figure 8's. Only when you feel in control of the kite to you want to start making bigger swoops testing out the power zone. Stay OUT of the power zone and in control of the kite for as long as it takes to set the memory reflexes.
Beginers often try to fly the kite all over before they are in control of it. This will just slow your progress and potentially hurt you.

Have FUN !!!!!

When in doubt - sit down. Get your weight low and you'll slide rather than get yanked into the air ... as much

and hopefully no one has done any planting of rebar for the Spring season..... OUCH. :o

Seriously, it doesn't take long, but doing at least a cursory walk of the field doesn't hurt. Looking for thinks like gopher holes, broken bottles, plastic, etcs.

Maybe you have pristine fields... the local youths don't always make that a safe assumption around here (goshkins.... I feel really old now).

There are just some things you don't want to find while flying your kite.

Generally try to do a field walk at the end too, have stopped myself from orphaning a lot of stuff that way.

Can not iterate how much embarrassment will be saved by initially side launching (launching with the kite 45 degrees to one side or the other of you rather than directly down wind of you). This will automatically put you outside of the power zone, and you can choose when you are comfortable enough with the kite to dip into it progressively and on your own terms.

ATB,
Sam

Quote:

Originally posted by teelzy Since it is your first time I would definitely suggest making sure that the wind is very low. feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=semzVdaACTU&feature=rela...

Ouch

A fw of those looked like they really hurt.

Just so I don't scare myself silly, if I get into trouble all I have to do is completely let go of the handles and the kite harmlessly hits the deck and not drag me around like a rag doll?

Quite liked the Brighton Beach vid, but what idiots would play on a pebble beach like that?
I've only been to Brighton once as a kid and walking barefoot on the beach was a painful experience.

But as it is I only live one mile from the prom at Blackpool so I've got plenty of scope for soft sand to spit out of my mouth if I hit the deck unceremoniously.

:wee:

Any tips on how to get the kite off the ground in the first instance?
Is there a specific/safe way to launch?
I'm mostly be on my own or with my dog as the other half will be out at work.

Cheers

hi lemming do you see anyone fly there kite's on blackpool beach? most kiters very willing to help so tell them your just starting out to learn to fly and hopefully they will give you good advices! :bouncy:

Quote:

Any tips on how to get the kite off the ground in the first instance? Is there a specific/safe way to launch? I'm mostly be on my own or with my dog as the other half will be out at work. Cheers

here you go.... this will be long

First off : Are you planning on flying a bar or handles?
Although 'somewhat' the same when it comes to flying there are differences in the way you turn and the way you launch. Do you know which kite you are going to be flying first? I definitely suggest something like a 3 or 4m Beamer (handles) or a 'trainer' kite (usually on a bar).

Handles:
First set up your kite downwind of you but not directly. Think that if you are standing in a given point and your back is perpendicular to the general direction of the wind, you want your kite to be sitting a few degrees off to your right or your left. When you get more experience you will feel more comfortable launching in a straight downwind, but the beauty is you don't have to. You want the open part of the cells facing upwards and the kite laid out. Walk your lines and check for snags and twists. Some twists can be worked out in the air, but when you are learning to fly you don't want to be dealing with this issue. Better to go up clean. Also while walking your lines/kite make sure that your knots (almost always a larkshead) are secure where the flying lines attach to the kite's bridle. Get in the habit of also inspecting your kite and the bridle for any signs of wear. Before lifting the handles to fly, also make sure that your knots (larkshead again) are secure and that you have kite killers attached in the appropriate position. I have moved beyond the need for KS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s, but I still use them a lot here in colorado when dealing with gusty winds that have ripped my non-depowers out of my hands.

When I am launching handles I have my hands in front of me about waist level, fore finger and thumbs above the top lines. Sometimes I even fly with my thumbs on top of the handle, kinda like a playstation controller. My other fingers gripping the handle just below that comfortably. This allows for 'driving from the top' like I do with my quad line stunt, and gives me more control over micro brake adjustments. keep your hands even, the natural cant of the handles allows for the brake lines to be a little looser when your top lines are taught. Remember that when both hands are even, this will be the case. Also remember always to stay loose, if you bunch up and always try and pull your elbows into your chest you will tire out easier and have less control.

From here take a small step back, enough to see the leading edge of the kite pull, but not lift, upward and visually check your whole set up. Not only your kite and lines but your surroundings. Step back to nuetral, hands still around waist level and elbows by your sides with the tops pushed forward slightly. This is where the personalized part comes in. I think someone else said it before, and I whole-heartedly agree, try and launch at a 45 degree angle, not straight to above your head. You are less likely to get yanked off your feet and it automatically puts the kite into a safe zone. (familiarize yourself with the windwindow and its terms) To do this, say ... going to the left, I will push forward slightly on the left handle (maybe half an inch). In effect what I am doing is shortening the brake line (bottom line) on the left handle and lengthening the drive line (top line) at the same time I pull back slightly on the right handle (shortening the drive line and lengthening the brake line) until the right corner of the kite is slightly up. Then, the fun part, step back and pull back on the top of both handles to launch. (think of shortening those top lines and lengthening the brake lines). For me I bring my hands to my chest/chin area in a kind of 'giddy-up' motion. think 'riding a horse'. As soon as the kite is airborne my hands go back down to a comfortable position in front of me with my arms 'loose'. Not flexed but not all the way out there. In general until you start working towards jumping try and always keep in this neutral position. It allows you to respond to both gusts loading the kite and also gives you the relaxed feel in your arms to start turning. This means you don't want to bring your hands above your head and fly, and generally not below your waist. Also try to keep your elbows in front of you. Again you will learn exceptions to all of this, but this helps you form a good solid base to fly from. I know I am watching someone who never cared to learn when I see them flying all stretched out with their hands above their heads in moderate to light conditions.

ahhhhh Turning. So there are two different types of turns. One maintains
the power through the turn but requires more input, whereas the other dumps some of the power but requires a lot less input. The first one is going to be the one that you most likely do first on accident. Pulling one handle more then the other. Sometimes even pushing the other handle away from you. By this I mean pulling the whole handle and not making a change in the length of the brake line. This type of turn usually has more power to it when the kite is aloft, it also makes for wider somewhat slower turns. The other type of turn is a 'brake side turn' (or at least that's what I call it). This is where you have both hands relatively even and you simply shorten the brake line on only one side of the kite. This in effect makes the kite spin around a very small axis in the wind window. All it really takes is flexing your hand a little and tilting your wrist. Some power is shed while doing this, but it can be used as a safer turn, this is also key in learning when you need to make micro adjustments during flight.

As said earlier practice your figure 8's. I can't encourage that enough, it teaches you a lot about parts of the wind window. Also as someone else said, try to put your kite in a certain part of the sky and keep it there. Trial and error and you will eventually figure out what works and what doesn't, where your safe zones are, where the power zone is, etc...

This might seem like it takes forever! Especially in my wording of it, truth is the first few times it might, but by the time you get the routine down it takes a few seconds and you are off.

I hope that helped. If you are flying a bar it's a lot easier. Simply step back to launch, (might have to do a little giddy-up) and drive it like a bike. Most trainer bar kites have no real brake line to speak of so all you have to worry about is how to drive the kite.

The whole issue on what to get first is like learning to drive a car... should you go ahead and learn how to drive a stick (handles) even if you are sure you will have an automatic (bar) on the off chance that at some time you might need to drive a stick? That and flying handles teaches you a lot about the wind and the windwindow that is lost in some bar systems. Ask any de-powerable person about bar pressure. :wee:

alright.... uhm.... I am winded now.

Let us know how it goes!

Nic

ps. Might want to be on your own at first (sans dog I mean and possibly with another human.) I love my pup, but she has had a lot of time around kites. Most dogs get nervous or pee on kites.

pss. and you have come to the right place, everyone here is super friendly and good about giving sound advice. Truth of the matter is, you wont know till you get out there and fly! Be mindful of when you are flying of what works and what doesn't. Then come back here and tell us what isn't working and I am sure everyone will give you a hand!

there are some good training exercises here

http://www.aksonline.com.au/index.php/kite-reviews/trainer-k...

I hope that the videos didn't worry you too much, just giving you an idea of what could happen if you try to just jump straight in. And yes, letting go should bring the kite down to the ground without you getting dragged all over. As you may have noticed, everyone says the same thing, START SLOW, and move on as you feel more comfortable. Tell us how it goes!

Well, I had my first solo flight of my new kite, well any kite really in the last 10 years, and bugger me, its scarily exciting.

I took my new toy out to play in a whopping 7mph wind and I was sliding all over the place. Thankfully I had a play in such low winds because I was most definitely not prepared for how much power this new beast could pull with such a tiny breeze.

I just stuck to the simple stuff of landing, taking off, loop the loops, figure eights and that kind of thing and had a whale of a couple of hours flight time. And the best part of it all is that kiting will help improve my climbing because it uses the antagonistic muscles that rarely get used when on the rock.

So all in all, I get a good work-out with a monster 4 meter kite, whats 100mm among friends, and I get to do a bit of arm exercise at the same time.

Don't think I will take this baby out in anything stronger than a 10mph for a very long time to come, in fact I think I'll buy a £20 cheapie and break myself in a bit more gently.

Once agai, thank you everybody for getting this furry little rodent into a new pastime.

Its just like falling off a cliff really.

:singing:

Glad to hear you had a grat time!!!

Since (it sounds like) you're inthe UK, if you want to get a _much_ lower power kite to go with your 4m, I'd suggest a flexifoil sting. (did this surprise anyone?) I have this vision that in the UK used flexifoils rain down from the sky like chocolate It'll let you practice flying w/o riping your arms off and as your progress will be a good high wind kite or a kite that you'll let other people who haven't flown before use too.

Also remember that flying static (standing/sitting) you can't take a ton of kite force, as you now know, without being pulled along. the force sare transitioned from the kite thru your body to you feet which skid, hopefully. If ever decide to hop in a buggy you generally need less power to get you moving since you've got mechanical assist from the bearings... for some reason they seem to roll better than shoes. So the 4m will certianly get you moving in 10-15.

One fun pattern to learn early also, if it's not too windy is to do your figure 8's "backwards". Rather than flying the kite across/down the middle of the window and up the edge of the window, fly it down the edge of the window and up the middle of the window. This is a good skill to pickup as it'll help you keep your kite in the air in light winds. When the wind is light you'll be using the strongest part of the window to climb your kite and the weakest part to let the kite fall and pickup speed. It'll also get you used to flying with your lines twisted and if you hop in a buggy or board you'll be that much closer to down looping.

Also I highly reccomend checking out Corey's Kite-Chi: http://www.windpowersports.com/guides/kite-chi.html

Whow there horsey, my pockets arn't that big and I've just spent a fortune investing in some lines, sticks and stuff just to get this drunken ebay impulse up in the air. If I went and bought another kite then I'd wake up to find that I'd transformed from a small furry rodent to a fully paid up member of the eunuch family.

This has turned out to be one expensive hobby for me and I think I'll jump in the deep end and see if I can play with the big boys.

I learnt my lesson when I was ordered not to buy any more tents. Some women just think that seven tents are six too many.

On the bright side, I quite like being dragged around the beach.