I have been jonesing to get a kite in the air since last time i flew was early august- so with a favorable forecast (weatherman was more optomistic than reality) i headed north about an hr from my house to try a soccer field i had heard about- did not work so went on the hunt and found a little field with only minor rotor and shift- i was hard up to fly. Wind was 5-12 gusting to 25s was able to complete a couple of tacks and a few jumps maybe 4-5 ft but fun none the less. THEN it happened i had just changed direction and wind had lulled so the kite (13m venom) opened up and fell back in the window a bit; as i reached up to grap the center lines a gust from hell came through and lifted me 12-15 ft enough to scare the poo poo out of me landed hard but no injuries so popped the safety and headed home.
Not the best conditions to fly in but it was really nice to get a session in- next up Wildwood.
Scott

I can relate... I've just recently figured out how to jump (on purpose) ... I think I've read the maneuver is called a "pit jump" where you hot launch the kite and jump when it hits around 60 degrees overhead,... And boy howdy do I feel the occasional need for an extra pair of pants when I jump when the gusts hit...

I'm sure most of you would call them small jumps, but when I'm 4 or 5 ft up, my brain is going oooooooooh cr@p!! Things might get messy,... But hey, no injuries yet, & some good experience to boot.

Glad you got a good sesh in Scott.

soliver- BE Careful- hot launch jumps are the easiest way to get hurt, really want to do a pendulum jump when trying to static jump. look up a video by fixmykite on how to jump on youtube- he uses a little green hulk to demonstrate and it is one of the best i have seen.

Oh,... Thanks... I've seen it done so many times and didn't realize it was that dangerous

When I see hot jumps I automatically think it is a newer or self taught pilot.

It is not exactly the right way to go about it. Usually ending with the pilot or kite in a ball since you either overfly or lose tension on the lines. Not a skill you really take forward into riding.

Learn to pendulam jump. It will result in better landings + set you up to go about jumping in motion better.

Just curious,... what makes it dangerous?

I have felt pretty well in control when I do it, and like I said before, I have heard it referred to as a "pit jump" due to the fact that it is usually done from a pit dug in the sand on the beach,... done by not allowing the energy produced by the kite to be released with a scud, but allowing it to become lift around 60 deg. in the window. The instruction I read said it could be done by pulling the kite across the window then directly up to zenith to produce the lift, or strait from launch,... I've just found doing it from a hot launch works best for me, and I have not yet had the kite collapse on me doing it,... also I don't do it in wind much over 10mph, and haven't gotten crazy high with it...

This link doesn't call it a "pit jump" but I have seen it called this before, the kind of jump I've been doing is described here as the "sweep jump" and again at the bottom of the page referring to the use of a pit (it also describes a pendulum jump calling it a "swing jump):
http://www.benjamin-toni.com/divers/kite/kite_jump.html
tell me, is this BAD information

also, I've seen it done in an HQ demo YouTube vid for the RushPro 350:





big jump at about 1:49

this is basically what I've been doing,... is this a bad idea?

Soliver- checked out your website link and thought it interesting that the first note was take someone with you that can drive or at least call the ambulance for you- this below the "pit Jump" The reason i think it is dangerous and try to avoid doing it (basicly my loft that started this coment was from the same effects as a pit jump) is that all of your momentum is going forward usually a lot faster than you can run so welcome to face meets ground or as ken stated- you fly past the kite meaning the kite is not helping you soften the landing. both of those are not what i would consider safe jumps- i dont like to get hurt:D and if you have seen any of my infamous falls/fails you will see that i have intimate knowledge of the earth, but usually with the kite above me so that the energy is transferred in to sliding vs falling.:wee::wee:
Whereas with a pendulum jump you are actually practicing the basic technique of a jump done under movement by doing it this way you always(well almost) have the kite loaded which means the risk of overflight or excessive forward momentum is reduced making it a much safer (as far as jumping goes) and also more comfortable on the joints. the other thing i would say is i do not jump with fixed bridles or anything under 13m i want some type of assistance and i also want a relatively slow kite so that i have time to think about it. bigger = slower and more fabric to hold me up.
last bit on the ramble or food for thought- pit style jump caused a torn acl for me and i only went maybe 1-2 feet in the air. My preference is really only jumping under motion now and i think the highest i have ever been is maybe 18-20ft (you just came from jekyll- i have been as high as the middle of the green sign warning high tide at kite beach.
Scott

Here is a little flying from jibe 2012 as well as some technique teaching with my son

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wH5_PRcvs4&list=PLlxcSGY...

I used to do "Pit Jumps", but only at the beach, where the landing is a little more forgiving. I would hang the kite low on the edge of the window, turn to bring it back in low in front of me then send it straigt up. This would give me great acceleration going forward and not a lot of height, maybe 3 feet. On the beach it wasn't so bad, but I could imagine it being a bear on grass fields! I rarely jump static anymore, if I do, it is still usually on the beach and usually either with my arc's or doing a pendulum jump with a FB kite.

I do tend to hot launch some of my FB kites, just for scudding purposes and ocassionally in the buggy, and when the wind is not gusty and unpredictable. I have learned to be more cautious in my static kite flying, still giving it hell, but only when I'm in the buggy!

Quote:

Originally posted by flyguy0101 soliver- BE Careful- hot launch jumps are the easiest way to get hurt, really want to do a pendulum jump when trying to static jump. look up a video by fixmykite on how to jump on youtube- he uses a little green hulk to demonstrate and it is one of the best i have seen.

Thanks for all the recommendations and videos guys,... I'll be more careful then and try to figure out the pendulum jump. I've been at this kiting business long enough now to have some pretty good control of the kite, so it's time to put it to some good lofty (haha) use. thanks again.

Much appreciated!

Spencer