Quote:

Originally posted by macboy We just need to go fly kites.

best way to learn, imho... There's no substitute for hours spent at the end of tight flying lines! lessons and the like will help you get more out of your hours flying.

the only way to improve on that is fly with folks who can help you out here and there.

kiteplay of whatever sort is very individual! Army is about the opposite in many ways.... I've taught a couple dozen people now how to get going on 4 ines and handles (all I know...) and I continue to be amazed at how much people vary in their journeys up the learning curve. Also by what people take away from a lesson vs. what I thought I had conveyed / taught.... Also the quality of the wind on the day makes a huge difference.

And yes I lost at least one friendship because I had to shut a couple folks down due to unsafe flying threatening bystanders. But at the end of the day the responsibility was mine and now I'm more likely to cancel the lesson or take the time to move to a different beach if winds allow.

At the end of the day it's the pilot, his / her skills, and the wind, nothing else!

Where is a good place to get a lesson around Edmonton

(780-973-3340)

U2U us local guys and we'll go play. Cooking Lake on any given weekend is a good place to hang out and say "hi" to some of us locals. Don't be shy and you'll get what you need. Just ask Bribe - He was treated to some "schooling ala kite" yesterday ; )

Quote:

Originally posted by macboy U2U us local guys and we'll go play. Cooking Lake on any given weekend is a good place to hang out and say "hi" to some of us locals. Don't be shy and you'll get what you need. Just ask Bribe - He was treated to some "schooling ala kite" yesterday ; )

Hey that's the second time he got schooled:shocked2: > I read the letter from Vince H to bribe36. Thats' schooling "old school". What happened this time?

I was out for the first time with snowon the ground and a strong wind, man I got tossed around like a rag doll. It was fun though, I'm pretty surprized how easily I (at 220lbs) could be lifted and dragged around so easily.

hehehehe I wish I coulda been there to see the ear to ear grins ; )

You must have been using too big of a kite,IMO. What size was it?

Mother Nature is a wicked old #@%$#! - don't mess with her or she #@%$#! you up

He was in good hands flying the Rage 4.7....probably just flying at a gusty spot. We were out the same day at a cleaner spot. It was a perfect day all around and a great kickoff to our snowkite season. And lucky too - we're stuck in a deep freeze now for a good week. -30 to -40 with the wind chills. (-22 to -40F)

I sitting here sweating in the sunshine but too lazy to take my sweater off ...!

It was the right size kite for the wind but I was in a bad location, moving between the top of a hill and the valley. That has been my "go to" kiting location because it's a huge open area on public land and only 15 minutes from my door. If it weren't for the snow everthing would have been ok. Now that the local lake is frozen that's where I'll be going now.

Hey bribe what lake to go to and are you going to take another lesson?

So far I have only gone to Big Lake, located in St Albert. It's only 15 minutes from my place. I wasn't there, but I heard last Saturday there were 5 or 6 guys there, lots of beginners I'm told. Eventually I'd like to try Cooking Lake but I'll need to improve my skills before I make my debut, tough crew there I hear.

Lessons, hmmmmm....... let me think about that. My last experience didn't go as planned so maybe I'll go it on my own for a while. I have met a couple of helpfull guys who have given up there time and equipment.

Hollycow, if you're in St Albert on a windy dayand want to meet up drop me a U2U message.

Tough crew. hehehehe

Cooking is as friendly a place as any you'll find. Actually you'll find the same crew at either really thought I've never been to Big Lake. I bet it'd take me about 40-45 minutes to get to Big Lake, takes me 21 minutes from my front door to the Cooking Lake Sailing Club - I'm therefore a little biased

A week and a half left of work then a couple weeks off to take advantage of all the wind I can. Hope the new bar for the SA gets here soon. I can't wait to fly that beauty! What's your holiday time like? Gonna put the hammers down Bribe?

OPEN LETTER TO ***** ****** (BRIBE36) FROM VINCE H

I thought I’d share some developments in the OPEN LETTER from VINCE H:

1) The original letter by Vince H has been amended. It was reviewed by the site administrator and it was determined that it violated the rules of this forum.

2) Vince H made an offer in his open letter to refund the fee I paid for the lesson if ” you can honestly read through the above recounting of our recent exchanges and still claim that we didn't discuss, the wind window, kite tuning or any safety measures”. Hmmm… does discuss mean teach? I did not pay to discuss I paid to be taught. In my opinion the items he has listed were not taught. Furthermore the description of the lesson as it appears on his web page states:

“Master the basics of this fast growing sport in time for the upcoming ski season. Learn about the various types of traction kites, kite set-up and packing, the wind window, solo launching and landing, safety equipment and rider protection, etc., etc”

3) Vince H made a promise to apply $50.00 of the lesson fee toward the purchase of a kite. He now refuses to accept my kite order and has directed me to take my business elsewhere.

Vince H did not provide the instruction that was advertised on his web page nor did he honour his promise to credit $50.00 toward the purchase of a kite. I sent Vince H an email over a week ago accepting his offer for a refund and have not yet received a reply.

Any thoughts on this?

I'm inclined to agree ... especially after the 'letter' eh :o

My thoughts are this guy knows nothing about customer service. Who rags on a customer like that? Wow instead of trying to sort things out he comes off as a jerk. And so much for putting you money when your mouth is, make a public promise and then backing out, NICE!!!. Good thing there are plenty of other shops around that know how to treat a customer.