you should be able to get a blade on the flexi forums--they are always selling them over there.....and prob under 200 quid--and flexiblade is correct--small kites in high winds--very dangerous cause they are so fast when its windy and theres little to no float w them as well........had the beamer 3m out in about 25-30 bout 6 months ago--fun scudding,but man, i had to be REALLY careful.......

Sh*it man i dunno, now ive seen a Quark on Flexi website that raised my eyebrows, cant even find a blade on there anymore.

My guess why not too many people are chiming in on this is because what you want is dangerous. Jumping on smaller kites (under 5m) is not too safe. They do not have the float to put you down nicely. They tend to lift you and then drop you just as fast. Now you are saying you want to jump with a 3-4m kite in high winds and you want to get the cheapest kite you can to do it with. All I can say is make sure you leave enough room in your budget for a good helmet, because you are going to need it.

Please don't take this the wrong way. i just wanted to point out what you are wanting to do is not what most of us would recommend, so I think people are doing what they were told to do as kids .... if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all.

I would recommend save your money and get into some good kites and the right kites for your conditions. Remember safety first. Fly smart and live to kite another day

Another thing is I don't have experience flying the kites you own, so can't compare kites I'm familiar with to your kites. Ditto everything Dakitez said on jumping in high winds and small kites.

Quote:

Originally posted by DAKITEZ My guess why not too many people are chiming in on this is because what you want is dangerous. Jumping on smaller kites (under 5m) is not too safe. They do not have the float to put you down nicely. They tend to lift you and then drop you just as fast. Now you are saying you want to jump with a 3-4m kite in high winds and you want to get the cheapest kite you can to do it with. All I can say is make sure you leave enough room in your budget for a good helmet, because you are going to need it.

I'd support that 100%... The higher the winds and the smaller the kites, the more dangerous it gets.

I sometimes forget to say that.... sorry.

keep your safety (and your brother) in mind while you make these decisions...

So i should get something that will be slower in the air? but the big kites are a pain to launch and land in strong winds,but then i assume that smaller kites are the same maybe? when i take the 6 up in strong winds its brutal! drags me half way across the field in 2 seconds but its stable in the air, just a bit hard on the arms but it a bi*tch to land. I just want something that wont be as brutal going up and coming down but with around the same lift/traction or whatever you want to call it. :dunno: Maybe a 5 pansh? Man im so confused about this lol.

yes, the smaller you go with jumping the slower and more stable you want your kite to be.

smaller kites yank hard on a powered-up hot launch, harder and quicker than bigger kites will at the same power.

you should learn to launch to the side of the window. set the kite up closer to the edge than to the power, but not right at the edge of the wind where you plan to take off. the stronger the wind, the closer to the edge you can go. set it up so the leading edge is away from you, the trailing edge is towards you, the sand is on the upwind tip of the kite (if you fold over a foot or so of the tip and put sand on that, it works better) then launch by first lifting up the downwind tip by tensioning the power line to that side, while making sure to keep the upwind tip brakes on.

also, you don't need to do a full-on hot launch. turn your kite towards the edge of the window as soon as it begins to leave the ground, and use the brakes to keep it from fully inflating as long as possible. this reduces my take-off scud from 50-70 feet directly downwind to a 10-15 scud towards the edge of the window.

doesn't work on every kite, tho, and it works best on big kites in lesser winds.

and ultimately you may not be able to fly any kite safely.

there is a solution for your problem -- a peter lynn arc in the smaller sizes -- but they are out of your price range for the moment.

and even those won't fly safely when the wind is too much.

it's not the force that makes it dangerous, that can be managed. but the smaller the kite and the bigger the winds, the faster the kite moves. sooner or later it will move faster than the pilot's skills and reflexes can possibly keep up with, and that's when the accidents happen.

bottom line: if you feel like you can't launch safely, don't fly.

flying at my limits is great, but it's also playing russian roulette with the wind. gusts are the problem. strong winter winds tend to be gustier than the lesser summer winds, and it's the gusts that can catch out of my limits, not the normal wind i am flying most of time I am out for a session.

Also realize that you reach a point where you can have too much wind to be jumping with fixed bridled kites. As Clint Eastwood once said: "A man's got to know his limitations". Knowing can keep you from getting hurt or worse.

I would stay away from the 5m ace in those winds! There is a video floating around of a guy that went about 30 ft up with a 5m ace, and got seriously wrecked!

Right winds, right kite...& safety gear... No matter the make!

Yeah ive seen that pansh ace vid, just the name of that kite srikes awe into me.

Maybe i could just learn to be patient and not fly the big kite in high winds, the radsails 3m is crazy fun in nuking winds as it drags you along the floor instead of upwards, maybe i should just fly that more in the winter and get a sledge or something, i dunno., nuking winds i am learning are not safe on any kite to jump in thanks to all your advice and input. One of the other reasons i was looking to get another kite anyway for jumping is so that we can fly 2 kites at a time to learn on and chop and change, in low and moderate winds.

I have learnt quite alot since ive been here and am happy to learn more and more.

You probably get this alot but my ultimate goal is to kite surf but i must get a board first and that really scares me because i know how dangerous and hard skateboarding is, with a kite strapped to me and a board being pulled by the wind is daunting.

So i wont make any rash decisions on buying a kite or even jumping in a high wind now ive spoken to you guys more.

Im still thinking of the pansh 4 or a 4.5, i have the money to buy one whenever, as long as its a good kite for bouncing around in a safe wind then i will be happy. im sure that when the winter does finally come i might be ready to stick a dry suit on! :o

So just a final question, 4m and 4.5 meter ace, what would be better for bouncing around in a nice wind, maybe a bit more stronger than it is in the vids of me on the sand banks where i was powering up for the first time. I just want to be safe but have some fun ya know.

I will definitly try learning the take it up in diffent positions of the window etc.

Im hear to learn!

awesome relaunch on the 5m Ace off of your car or van...................................:duh::duh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uih4YaxvgyU&feature=relat...

5m ace is ridiculous in winds over 15-18 mph. I weigh 220 lbs and learned real quick to put it away in those kind of winds!

tri that was a funny video clip. I have started watching that clip a thousand times and never made it to where he launches off the van!

Quote:

Originally posted by shehatesmyhobbies 5m ace is ridiculous in winds over 15-18 mph. I weigh 220 lbs and learned real quick to put it away in those kind of winds!

Thats that kite out of the question then.

I am not sure of the lift on the 6m cirrus kite you have, but I saw your video. Not trying to shoot you down, the ace is just plain and simple a very lifty kite.

which video? The latest thread i made about the cirrus was the biggest jumps ive had yet and that was in really light constant winds. In the winter it gets nasty here, today it was gusting to gail force so i didnt go out.

The video you posted on kite jumping. Smart move staying away from the big winds.

Yeah i suppose i should just get a pansh 4 or 4.5, screw the high winds, i will have to learn to be patient. I just need to get another kite to learn on apart from the cirrus 6.

So 4 or 4.5??

dont think it matters a whole lot as you will be flying in lower winds

True, well i will let ye know what i get in due course.

Wouldn't a small depower kite be best for winds like that to try to get manageable jumps?

I know price is a factor, but I would recon you could get a used smaller Montana for a good price . . . .

i dont even understand Depower yet tbh.:embarrased:

When I didn't understand, tridude explained it with the example of holding your hand out the car window. Bar out is like your hand is parallel with the ground slipping through the air not putting much pressure on your hand. Bar pulled in tilts the kite so it catches more wind and thus provides more power. There is alot more going on than that, but that's enough to see how they are different than flying on handles. You get the added bonus of being able to fly longer since the power mostly goes through your harness instead of your hands/arms/shoulders.

Maybe this would be the kite for you ?? . . . . .

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=10691

lol, thats way too big for me, im not ready for a bar and harness yet tbh, i feel safer with ff kks and ff handles. ive been on a bar before and it was ok but i didnt feel comfortable.

Eventually it will be a must but thats a while off.

I am going to try and grab a 2 for 1 off of pansh i think.

which 2 for 1?

From what I understand on depower sizes are different than on fixed bridle kites. 9M would be HUGE in the winds you are talking on a fixed bridle, but on a depower unless you have crazy winds 9M is pretty small really. Plus from what I gather it will be more stable(easier to fly) than a small fixed bridle (especially pansh), and you will have the all the safety systems that come with deopwer including the ability to depower the kite in a gust.

Like me for instance. I have a Pansh Ace 5M. I don't take it out in days when wind is in the high teens (mph)- it is too much for me. But I am shopping for my first depower. I am looking at a 15M PL Synergy. And from what I hear it won't be much fun till the wind gets into the high teens or twenty's ( I am talking mph). See the diffference?

I just don't want you to get something and regret it. That sucks. My second kite was the Ace and I can't complain cause I got it for like $90, but I wish now I had just saved up and put that towards a depower.

From what I understand a bar and harness aren't that hard to figure out.

Quote:

Originally posted by furbowski which 2 for 1?

Hmm there was a few deals but i went with the Ace 4.5 in the end, 112 GBP which is nice.

I just want to start at the bottom and work my way up, with the pansh and cirrus, i shouldnt have to look at buying another kite for a while, especially with the Exit in the menders.

Im will have to have a think about what im looking for next tbh, but i wont think about that for now.

Thanks for all the input guys, keep teaching me