+1 for helmet and other protection. I am also in total agreement with BR about skate sole shoes. That is the only thing I wear now when I buggy, or flying static, unless of course I am in the snow. Makes a big difference. Also allows for some great scudding opportunities! Actually it's the only thing I wear now even when not in the buggy!

Awesome, guys. Thank you. Guys, looking ahead beyond the 3.3 Soulfly, what would be next? I am thinking with enough practice, I should be able to upgrade to a more powerful kite by the summer? What to get next?

See what we mean about the addiction ???? You started this thread looking for a beginner power kite and now on page two you are taking about a second kite already ....BAAAHHHHAAAAAA:wee: .........

i disagree with the harness thing. start flying then once you have the controls figured out then get a harness about 1 month if flying every weekend should be good enough. and wow second kite already. umm flows are good for intermediat methods also. im sure others will help you in your quest to become a kiter. have fun with the legal high that we get.

and he has not flown the buster yet :-p buahahahaaaaaaaa

I recall looking for my second kite... Had flown the 3.3 and wanted a light wind kite to fly static.. Then got thinking be nice to have a smaller kite for kids. 1hr later stareing at a 8m pepper2, 2m buster3, and 2m combat I left with the buster AND pepper..:Ange09:

Masc - what are the prevailing winds like where you are? Avg wind speed should play a big part in your next choice. You can fly that 3.3 in as low as 5mph if you work it. But it will not power you into motion till much higher.. Do you plan to buggy, atb, blade? All these things will factor greatly in your next choice..

Guys, I live a few steps away from the ocean and it is windy 95% of the time. Average winds are in the 8 mph range, I would say. Most afternoons, it picks up to 12 or 15. After I get the hang of it in the future, I plan to use atb or buggy. I am also interested in learning how to jump safely.

Thank you.

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I plan to use atb or buggy.

At the beach, I'm really enjoying the Ozone Methods in the buggy. Good upwind, fast (not as fast as vapors & yaks) and very friendly and forgiving. They do need a few more knots of wind to perform at their best when compared with similar size kites but a lovely kite nonetheless. Video here:

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I am also interested in learning how to jump safely.

Good luck with that! I don't think there are many people who jump regularly that have not been injured at some stage - a quick search of kiting injuries here will tell the story.....

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Originally posted by pyro22487 i disagree with the harness thing. start flying then once you have the controls figured out then get a harness about 1 month if flying every weekend should be good enough. and wow second kite already. umm flows are good for intermediat methods also. im sure others will help you in your quest to become a kiter. have fun with the legal high that we get.

I said " At some point you will want to buy a harness " and you disagree ? Then turn around and say a harness in good at " 1 month of weekends " in ?

In my experience people all learn at a different rate. I Have seen kids go from zero to kitesufing upwind and jumping in a month of weekends ! If I am teaching somebody that has natural abilaty I will often introduce them to hooking in on the 1st day. Most IKO and PASA instructors do as well. Learning when to hook in and not will extend your fly time and you will progress that much faster in the same month of weekends.

Avoiding hooking in makes it this big hurdle down the road. The longer you wait , the bigger the imaginary beast !

As far as your next kite goes. It will soon be time to decide if you want to fly depower kites or fixed bridle. Getting the 3.3 and flying it will help you in deciding what you want to move up to. I would suggest depower but it is very much a personal choice.

PS , while I have injured myself a couple of times kiting I have never done more than ( BIG ) bruises jumping. It is possible to learn to jump safely. It just takes patients and the right gear.

Looks like you've got yourself a good choice for a first kite. The mentions above about shoes are great. I had two pairs of skate shoes that I kited with the past two years. This summer I invested in a new pair of cross trainers, that had a good grip to them. Use to the lesser traction of the skate shoes I sent my kite for a good scud. The extra grip on the shoes caused me to superman forward instead of sliding like I should have. Its nice to have a good footing, but also nice to be able to break away from the hold of the kite so that your ankles and knees aren't being to abused.....or in my case my face.

I will add that I ordered a 6m ozone access as a first kite. While waiting for it to arrive, I picked up a 3.5 imp 3-line trainer. I got in about 15-20 hours of flight with that before my access arrived. When the access got here I was all set to go no problem. I think with your past experience and knowledge of the conditions, and wind window; you'll be ready for your next kite long before you know it. If riding the boards, you might find the depowers more confident boosting, but like Bladerunner mentioned, it all comes down to preference, as many use Fixed Bridles for all aspects of the sport. Welcome to the addiciton.

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PS , while I have injured myself a couple of times kiting I have never done more than ( BIG ) bruises jumping. It is possible to learn to jump safely. It just takes patients and the right gear.

Nice to hear I guess we hear more about 'when it goes wrong' than 'when it all goes to plan'!!

Anyone of us who have had experience in flying, particularly non-powered craft, such as hang gliders and paragliderrs, knows that the most dangerous part of the flight is close to the ground. When you're in the air, there is no plan B when hit by a downdraft, updraft, dust devil or other turbulence - none visible or, for the most part, predictable. 1 % rule applies, i.e. 99 % there is no problem. Therefore jumping over hard surface will remain a relatively high risk activity with significant objective danger unrelated to patience or the right gear - as many a broken bone or worse can testify. As in climbing, the danger is in doing it for a long time...

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Originally posted by Bladerunner Quote: Originally posted by pyro22487 i disagree with the harness thing. start flying then once you have the controls figured out then get a harness about 1 month if flying every weekend should be good enough. and wow second kite already. umm flows are good for intermediat methods also. im sure others will help you in your quest to become a kiter. have fun with the legal high that we get. I said " At some point you will want to buy a harness " and you disagree ? Then turn around and say a harness in good at " 1 month of weekends " in ? In my experience people all learn at a different rate. I Have seen kids go from zero to kitesufing upwind and jumping in a month of weekends ! If I am teaching somebody that has natural abilaty I will often introduce them to hooking in on the 1st day. Most IKO and PASA instructors do as well. Learning when to hook in and not will extend your fly time and you will progress that much faster in the same month of weekends. Avoiding hooking in makes it this big hurdle down the road. The longer you wait , the bigger the imaginary beast ! As far as your next kite goes. It will soon be time to decide if you want to fly depower kites or fixed bridle. Getting the 3.3 and flying it will help you in deciding what you want to move up to. I would suggest depower but it is very much a personal choice. PS , while I have injured myself a couple of times kiting I have never done more than ( BIG ) bruises jumping. It is possible to learn to jump safely. It just takes patients and the right gear.

My bad all I read was harness I was scanning and just read harness on a post. When I was learning I talked about getting a harness and the guy teaching me told me not to for at least a few months. I thought you were talking about getting the harness with the kite . I went back and read the post I'm sorry blade my bad for not reading the post fully.

I guess thats what I get for posting at work.....

Thank you, guys, great suggestions. I can already tell I am going to learn a lot by participating in this forum.

Doing very small jumps with the Buster Soulfly 3.3m... Is that possible?

It is possible to jump with just about any kite, however what happens on the way down greatly depends on your flying skills, and the kite you are dangling underneath...

Generally, most recommendations are to not jump with anything less than 5m of fabric over your head. Landings tend to get harder the smaller the kite...

Thanks. I would just like to test the waters by doing very small jumps when I get the Soulfly 3.3. I also plan to get a buggy later when I become more experienced.

Like all of us I went through the motions and try to jump with my 3m trainer.

It wasn't until I found the perfect match ( for me ) that I found the perfect combination of Lift, turning speed and float that I started pulling off proper , safe jumps.

You can jump with almost any kite. To do it safe you are better off finding the right kite and conditions. Even now it is the rare day conditions come together for a great jumping day ! If not, I pass.

Any time you have a kite up and it's windy you have potential for injury.

I have been lofted a couple of times that would probably have turned out worse if I hadn't become comfortable in the air 1st !

Most small kite jumping tends to be some variation of supermaning, more forward than up. The wind required to lift you will also move you forward at the speed of the wind 15-20+ mph. You need to be prepared to hit the ground running, scudding or tumbling. Not to paint a bleak picture but it can get ugly before it gets pretty. I recorded a top speed of 20 mph (+or- .055) on my butt due to high wind/small kite/ twisted lines.

Guys, I would like to announce that I have purchased the kite (SoulFly 3.3m as suggested by some of you). I can't wait until I receive it. In addition to the helmet, do I need some sort of special suit to prevent bruises, etc? I guess I am trying to determine ahead of time what kind of force/pull I should expect from this kite? Also, any recommended buggies for this kite?

Take it out in only 5-10mph winds your 1st few outings. You will quickly get an idea of the power and then can start venturing out in higher winds. just avoid gusty winds if posible starting out. Since you got a soufly you have dual kit killers. Get used to just letting go of the handles and letting the kite killers bring the kite down.

Welcome to the PKD family. Trust me on this,jumping is WAY overated! Once you get to buggying and boarding or biking. Even static flyin won't do. That's what you do on the way to the buggy, if you don't "hot launch". That 3.3 Soulfly is gonna get more use than you know.(high wind engine)

WG

A helmet is something i try to wear every single time I have a kite up. I nearly always use gloves but would not give up a session if I didn't have them. I add knee and elbow pads when in motion and a$$ pads when I am jumping. Spine and rib protection should be considered .

You don't match the buggy so much to the kite as to the terrain you will ride.

Look to Peter Lynn and Flexfoil for lighter easy to break down buggies. Apexx , Libre , MG cruiser, Ivanpah for heavier race buggies.

Tires are an option. Standard " barrow " for hard pack . Big foot and BF light for softer / rougher stuff and thin race tires.

Guys, Happy Holidays to everyone. I got my PKD a few days back. Have not had a chance to use it yet because I have been busy with work. Are there any videos or tutorials I can look at to get started? I am not sure how to set it up.

Thanks.

look in the landkite manual pg. 7. You did get amanual didn't you? here is a link http://www.pkd-kites.de/index.php?page=Download If you need any further assistance,we are here.:saint:

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Originally posted by mascientist Guys, Happy Holidays to everyone. I got my PKD a few days back. Have not had a chance to use it yet because I have been busy with work. Are there any videos or tutorials I can look at to get started? I am not sure how to set it up. Thanks.

I would be happy to send you a manual if you didn't get one.

Thank you. I don't see a manual in the package. Everything came in great condition but no manual that I could find. I would appreciate if you could send me one. Do you need my email address?

I have nothing but respect for the advice given so far (and I appreciate all the help I've received from this board) but I have to wonder...
Why has nobody suggested that mascientist meet up with someone that has demo kites?
I had the good fortune to spend a couple of hours with a dealer (AWOC Kent ) and I learned more that evening of flying than I could have in a manual. Nothing beats hands-on comparisons.
Just my $0.02.