I've got a 4.5m bullet, I know its a traction but i use it mainly for jumping.
I usually get my feet bout 8ft for a long floaty jump which is fine - a good buzz
The other day tho i caught a bad gust and was topping 18ft, very quickly and was thrown down a lot harder.
No permenant damage but was a bit dazed
Just wonederd what do other people do to keep them selves from being thrown too high?
i thought a ground peg and elastic cable or something
let me know

i think you are talking about tethered flying, if so its really not a good idea and you can seiously injure yourself. never fly tethered

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Just wonederd what do other people do to keep them selves from being thrown too high?

A smaller kite on windy/gusty days is more than just a good idea; it is a safety issue.

Suppose you have 15 - 20 feet of bungee cord lying out and you manage to avoid getting tangled in it as you fly your kite. Then this gust of wind grabs you, stretches the cord a couple of feet, your first reaction will be; weeeeeee. Then comes the reality of what happens when the gust stops pulling you against the holding power of the bungee. You will sling shot back to the ground as fast as the gust of wind pulled you up. Bungee cord was invented to keep one from hitting the ground not the other way around.

I agree with them. Here is something else... your using a kite designed to pull something very fast instead of a kite designed to pull up. You will get some rather hard landings with this kite. If you have lifting kite, maybe a larger one in smaller winds, they will not be as gusty. With this kite and the winds you have to fly in to get what you want, you are looking at a very dangerous combination. Wisen up, get a larger lifty kite, (eg-blade,riot,crossfire,bego) and stay in the calmer lower winds. This will solver your problem better than attaching yourself to the ground. You can be catapulted into the ground at a much higher rate than just falling.

Scoop

18ft of air with a 4.5meter Bullet doubtful very very doughtful.

And if it is true then you really have to sign up for the Darwin awards.

Tethered flying with foils is a no no!!!!!!!!!!

Tethered flying with a proper lifting kite(s) can be safe with a good ground crew and a multiline setup.

More people have been hurt, broken to bits and killed tethered flying than any other kiting activity. A single line thether is death or severe pain.

Most folks that want to tether are new to the sport and think this is a good idea to regulate and maintain airtime......NOT! There are stories of crushed rib cages from the harnesses, violent slam downs. There was a man killed last year in England flying tethered to a single line.

Tetherd flying is centuries old but the best known thethered flyer would be old Sam Cody who lifted men off the decks of battleships to a height as much as 2500ft.

There was a chinese ruler in the 13th century that lashed convicts to kites and sent the kites high in the air and cut the flight line.

Tethered flying can almost be reasonably safe but it is truly an activity for kiting experts.


///safety in numbers\\\

Not having tried it, I still say I agree with the above. The way it was explained to me is: The lines are only rated at a few hundred pounds. This is usually OK because we only provide the weight of our body mass + any acceleration as weight on the lines. Also, when overpowered, we begin sliding downwind thus limiting how powered up the kite gets. But if you anchor yourself to something, you dont have the automatic power limiting of sliding downwind. So what happens is the kite continues to power up and quickly goes beyond the breaking strain of the main lines. If you are in the air when this happens, you will immediately lose ALL lift and drop to earth. If this is 5 feet, you will probably be ok, but if it is 20 feet....

I must admit, when I first started flying, it sounded like fun, but the more I thought about it the worse the idea seemed.

Sean

Sean, not only do you have the risk of being dropped, you can actually be pulled into the ground by the kite at a much higher rate of speed than just falling. Ill see if I can round up a video of a guy getting slammed.


Scoop

Here ya go.

http://www.break.com/articles/kitetakeoff.html

This is why tethered flying should not be done.

Scoop

WOW! I knew it was bad, but...

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Originally posted by Scoopy Here ya go. http://www.break.com/articles/kitetakeoff.html This is why tethered flying should not be done. Scoop

Maybe something is wrong with my conection, I can't get the movie to work. Is there another format I could use to view it?

Man...that was a hard hit!! Too funny...

Tigger, you may check around their site for more info on it. I just click and watch.

Scoop

OUCH!!!!!!

i thought that kiting was meant to be fun!!!???!?!?

looks like i'll have to get fully clued up before taking off