Power Kite Forum - Hey there from sunny South Africa

Hey all,

Just want to introduce myself and say thanks for all the excellent information on this site.

I have been flying kites, dual and single line since I was a little kid. A couple of years ago whilst on vacation at the coast, I bought my first foil. A dual line 1,8m2 beast. It had some pull, but I wanted more. In my wisdom, the next day I went back and bought a radsail quad line 2,5m2. It was an utter dog to fly. I just could not make it work. My brother in law and myself were utterly buggered after that session. Nevertheless, I came home from that vacation, packed the quad away and have not bothered with it.

My wife and I were lucky enough to spend our Christmas vacation this year in Zanzibar. We went there on our honeymoon on a previous occasion. Water sports are huge there, well the wind powered kind. Our resort had kitesurfing etc. Everyday I watched the instructor from the resort teaching people to try and fly these kites. I noticed that the setup was different though as he had a bar. Anyway, after much deliberation and quite a few cold ones, I built up enough courage to approach the instructor. I told him of my woes with the quad as I could not understand why I can not fly it. He then gave me a go on one of those huge kites with the bar and explained how he had strung it with the brakes and power. It was so easy to fly.

Anyway, with this bar idea in mind I set out to get one when I returned from vacation. Fortunately I managed to bruise some ribs in a catamaran accident while on holiday, so was bed ridden. Don't argue with the wife. So having nothing to do except lie on my back, drink whiskey and surf the net, I got to thinking about my quad. It was then that the light dawned as I stumbled across this site.

I have read through every tips and tricks, jumping etc. thanks so much for the insightful knowledge. I did not have to post at all. All the answers were there. I got the quad out and sure enough, my bridle lines were tangled. The knots on my brake lines were not even. The knots on the power lines were not even. Do I need to go on?

Anyway, while the wife's back was turned, I proceeded to sort this tangled mess out. Luckily for me the wife popped out to visit here sister, so with bruised ribs and all, I took this dog out to see if any of this jumbo jumbo would fix it. Unbelievable is all I can say. The flying tips from you guys worked like a charm. She really flew like a princess and no strain on my ribs at all. I am so glad that I kept at the handles. It really helps with understanding the window. Easy enough to bring it into the power, and easy enough to take it to the edge to take the strain off.

A few hours later, and many maneuvers I packed her away without tangling the whole bloody think up and I walked away from that field with a huge grin on my face. When the wife got home later the grin was still there. Of course she was curious, so I showed here a couple of you tube clips of the various traction sports you can do with this thing. She is so interested now, that she wants to know which of my kites would suit here (I have a quiver full of deltas, box kites dual line foils etc) I broke the news gently that she would have to start with my 2,5m2 radsail quad. She can't wait. I have also explained that I need another kite, so after I finish this post, I am off to get myself a radsail pro 5m2 quad. Unfortunately we don't have the selection here in SA that you guys have overseas. And I am impatient. So I will get the 5m2 radsail, read some more and mail order some of your fantastic range.

A long post, but I just wanted to say thanks guys. There are too many names to mention, but you were all helpful. Thanks for restoring my faith in this sport and thanks for your insightful comments helping others - they sure sorted all my problems out.

Cheers,

Craig