Hi there!

Just registered. Bought myself an Ozone Flow 3m, and taken it out a few times. Great fun, but winds have been quite low. I found the kite very easy to control, having done a few over 500 skydives I was familiar with controlling ram air canopies, and found it easy to get the kite to do what I wanted using the different control methods, and was used to how it would react to input on the brakes/power lines. All good... or so I thought!

Took it out today in windier conditions (maybe 30mph!) and was instantly in big trouble. It was flying OK, I was staying on my feet, and in control for the most part, but I couldn't get the bloody thing down again! It would stall and sit on the floor, but only for a second or two - even on kite killers it was bouncing around and started spinning, then pulling me around... I had to get someone to kneel on it to keep it still long enough to wind the lines in.

I have bought a stake and a spare set of lines now.

Lesson one:

NEVER going out in winds that are too strong again!

Any advice on these two points:

1 - How should I retrieve the kite when it won't stay still? Stake the kite killers in and walk up to the kite?

2 - What is the disadvantage of stronger lines? In skydiving, the stronger lines produce more drag. I wouldn't think that matters here? Why not just buy strong lines and save money in the long run?

Thank you for humouring my new kid questions - I promise you all I will not go out in silly winds and embarrass us all again. I have a line burn to remind me.

Tommo

When the wind picked up, you need to have more brake input. On windier days, I adjust the brakes and then I always do a check when I fly. I take it up about 6 feet, then brake it down. If I have trouble then, I get it down and move the brake lines towards the kite or up the handle (effectively making the brake lines shorter)

You want plenty of brakes in those conditions as power won't be a problem as you found out.

Once you have an out of control kite, fly to the edge of the window and you can hopefully land it. If it won't behave with both handles on your stake at that point, you can completey dop one line (even the kite killer) if it isn't already wrapped up ... then the kite will flag out. Make sure nobody is around to catch the loose line on themselves.

The other is the 'pounce' method which is effective...if not fun.
Nothing like asking the poor bystander who has been watching you get beat up for 10 minutes 'Hey....Go lay on that kite'. There are numerous different looks/comments that happen at that point that don't seem funny then, but create a moment of great laughter afterwards.

OH YEAH...... WELCOME:singing:

Welcome
Yeah 30 mph is a bit much. I'll use my Rage 3.5 as my high winds kit and will take it in to the low 20's mph- after that it just is not much fun. By then the sands on the beach are smoking and the stuff is getting into everything. And it's hard to move the kite around much from the zenith and keep control. And I'd only do this in smooth predictable winds like we usually have on the beach. But if winds like that are frontal driven then all bets are off.

Mike makes a good point about the brake tension - the higher the winds, the tighter the brakes. You know you have too much when the kite chokes and the bottom skin is puckering at the bridle attachments. To land in these winds, move your hands down the handles so you have more leverage, then yeah, stake it but not by the Kite killers, rather by the brake loops at the bottoms of the handles. Stake it well with the stake leaning back toward you and driven in well. Then get to the kite quickly. Helps to wear gloves if you have to grab a line in these conditions should things go south. I use sailing gloves with open fingers

Not sure how the question of line strength came up. Did you break your line set? Heavier lines will give you more wear in extreme conditions, but the added weight might hurt your light air performance, depending how heavy you go. Typical 4-line set for fixed bridle is 200 kg/ 100 kg (480 lb/ 220 lb), but Flexifoil offers an "Extreme" set at 250 kg/ 200 kg. Kind of a lot to drag around if you don't need it.

Thanks guys! No, I didn't break any lines (I don't think I damaged anything... though I am yet to inspect the kite. It had a LOT of folding itself through lines...), but I thought I'd buy a spare set of lines just in case I snapped any at any point. I've bought 180/110kg lines, but was considering getting the 300/200kg just so they had that extra bit of resilience! By the sounds of it that is not at all necessary. I also got an HQ Spiral Ground Stake.

Thanks for the advice. Brake settings are not something that I'm used to - I will try different brake settings in light winds and experiment with the effects. I'll also put some gloves in my kit bag!

Thanks for not jumping on me for going out in 30mph winds on one of my first outings! I've learnt to respect what the kite can do a bit more now...

Tommo

Yep the little ones are deceptively powerful ... still you learned that lesson and now have experience +1

... and of course - welcome!