Hi guys,
relatively new to the forum. I am in Australia.
We have a lot of rugby fields here as oppossed to soccer fields, and most of them have high poles and towers.
I want to landboard on one particular field that is relatively free of trees and so I would expect better and consistant wind.
however, the place has poles and lights all over the place.
obviously I don't want to kite too close to them.
how are you finding your local spots and what to look out for?
i was thinking maybe shorter lines to reduce the risk of clipping a light pole.
cheers

Shorter lines will lessen your power stroke but will help you avoid the poles. I can't help you on how to find fields in Australia but I can tell you I flew inland at soccer and baseball fields for years before I started driving to the beach for clean, constant wind. 1 session at the beach advanced me beyond the 3 years of inland flying on small fields with structures to avoid. Is doable if its all you'v got but keep looking for more and more fields and locations so you have multiple spots suitable for all wind conditions and directions.

isnt this when the bedsheet guys start chiming in?

I have had success looking for sports fields using Google Earth. It has a measurement feature (Ruler) so you can get an idea how large the fields are and Street View lets you take a look around. Light towers and rugby goal posts are more kite friendly than soccer goals posts (they have hooks to attach nets), fences, and trees.

I usually snag obstacles when the kite is powered up low in the wind window and a gust drags me too close to a tree or goal post. Much better recovery if your kite & bridle ends up downwind of the obstacle and only your flying lines get snagged.

IMO you need to select line length to get a good ride, not to avoid obstacles. When I put on 30m lines for a light wind session avoiding obstacles just makes the ride more challenging If your wind is constant direction, try to set up so that you start your line of travel as far upwind of poles as possible. You will end up going downwind and will occasionally have to walk back upwind to reset your path (at least I do)

Quote: Originally posted by NorthernKitesAustralia

Hi guys, relatively new to the forum. I am in Australia. We have a lot of rugby fields here as oppossed to soccer fields, and most of them have high poles and towers. I want to landboard on one particular field that is relatively free of trees and so I would expect better and consistant wind. however, the place has poles and lights all over the place. obviously I don't want to kite too close to them. how are you finding your local spots and what to look out for? i was thinking maybe shorter lines to reduce the risk of clipping a light pole. cheers

Not trying to chase you away in the least, but are you aware of XK?

http://www.extremekites.com.au/

This is a great kite site akin to PKF but in AUSTRALIA. A fair number of us are on both forums, including your's truly. Good luck!

Quote:

isnt this when the bedsheet guys start chiming in?

Gimmie some (single) skin, brother!.... wait for it.....

I hear a chime in the distant...

Quote: Originally posted by abkayak

isnt this when the bedsheet guys start chiming in?

You will get no such comments from me. I'm in full fledged fixed bridle mode at the moment.

"It's a Peak thing". If you don't get that reference then you aren't a true single skin disciple. :D

The lights / goal post delema lives on eternally. Shorten the lines and you lengthen the playing field but pay a certain price in kite performance as previously noted with power stroke comment. Lengthen the lines and you shorten your field, plain and simple. Somewhere in there lies the ideal compromise for any given field matched to your temperament / mood as a pilot.

Good luck getting your stoke on in less-than-ideal conditions. Welcome to many of our worlds.

Thanks WS? Yeah I am in ExtremeKites as well. I could have asked those old codgers :P in there, but I thought as a topic starter and being relatively new to PKF, it would be better to say hi here too at the same time. Thanks to all the others for advice.
Fortunately I live near an open set of cricket fields that are pretty much free of trees except for one line of them down the middle, but they are small and sparse. Great for jumping over! :o Sometimes though I need to get my kite fix after work and the closest football oval has poles, fences and trees! hehe... but It's manageable. I just keep the kite at zenith most of the time, do push off jumping to get some air. cheers from Australia.