Recently, my friend told me about power kiting. It sounded really cool, but when i saw videos on youtube, i realized that I really only wanted to use the kite for kite jumping. I have never had any experience whatsoever with power kiting or kite jumping, but I would like to purchase a kite that could get me into the air and get me kite jumping in moderate to low wind speeds for under 250$. Where should I start?

Well I'm not the expert here but when those do reply they will tell you to get a smaller kite that is not used for jumping but rather learning to fly.

Most adults start out with something around 3 meters in size, 4 line. Learning to fly is the first step to jumping or anything else.

I've been flying two years or so and would love to get some big air but most days I don't jump at all. If conditions are right, I will try a few. Timing, redirecting, wind conditions and other things play a big part in jumping so don't be in a hurry.

Get yourself a nice kite and learn to have fun. It does take time but its all great time when you take the correct steps.

You came to the right place, welcome to the forum. Theres plenty of great reading already here for you.

Perfectly said hardrock. Power, you will be much happier if you take a less direct path to kite jumping. Learn from someone who didn't listen to me when they bought a kite from me. They oversold their experience and abilities, and then when they flew the kite that same day of purchase, compound fractured both bones in his shin. He did about 3 of the things that day that I told him not to do for months and did so without the safety equipment I recommended he have before doing so. He posted his xrays here on the forum. Like hardrock said, get yourself a 3m or so beginner kite that will be quite a blast. HQ Beamers are frequently recommended as well as Peter Lynn Hornets among others. Shortcuts could injure you, kill you, or make you give up this great sport because it is scary and you aren't having fun with your 6m jumping kite.

Acampbell said it once. "Lifty kites are bad for learning and kites that are good for learning aren't good for jumping."

nobody ever starts out jumping-you have to crawl before you can walk......all the experts began that way and you should too........:wee:

Thanks for the advice guys. So if you had to suggest some specific models of kites for me, preferably 3-4 meters in length, what would they be?

Quote:

Originally posted by BeamerBob Like hardrock said, get yourself a 3m or so beginner kite that will be quite a blast. HQ Beamers are frequently recommended as well as Peter Lynn Hornets among others.

I love my Peter Lynn Twister, but the Hornet and Beamer are awsome for starting out.

Good 3m kites are hard to find used. This makes selling one pretty easy.

Buy a good quality 3m. Chances are you will keep it and use it as your high wind kite later.

HQ, Peter Lynn, Ozone and Pkd are good choices of companies to look at. All will re-sell easy.

Would a dual line parafoil be the best choice to start?

Have you looked into and read about the recommended Peter Lynn Hornet or HQ Beamer IV? We love giving advice here, but we also like follow up questions to indicate you are at least reading the responses.

Sorry about that BeamerBob. I have been reading all of the posts its just that I have been getting mixed messages from other people not on this site about what kite would be best for me to start out with. One of my friends who is into power kiting told me that quads generate more lift than dual line parafoils but that quads are much harder to control and would be difficult to start out with. Is this actually true?

NO!
That is not very true at all. Quads do have a couple more pieces than dual line parafoils but are hardly more difficult to learn on. In fact, a quad line foil will fly almost exactly like a dual line foil but now you have brakes.

The extra set of lines give you a ton more control over the kite and also give you the ability to launch and land the kite solo. I have taught people who have never flown a kite before to fly both dual line and quad line foils and haven't really noticed any more difficulty teaching quad over dual and in most cases, the quad line kites were easier for the pilots to learn on because they could slow the kite down or if they happened to crash, were able to reverse launch the kite back in the air.

Quad line kites (generally) have much more power per size than dual line kites. I repeat 'Generally" because it all comes down to kite design. There are some quad line kites that just don't fly very well because they are poorly designed - but - if you stick with a known brand then your quad line kite will normally have more power per size than a dual plus have tons more control.

I have always had better control with a Quad over any dual.

Hope that helps.

All my fixed bridle kites are designed with low lift. Lift comes from the kites design, not how many lines you control it with. My fixed bridle kites CAN lift if I fly them beyond a sensible wind range but I'll just get another kite out instead of pushing the kite beyond the limits. The recommendations you've gotten here have taken lift into consideration. We wouldn't send you off into the wild blue yonder on your first kite. That is what your third or fourth kite is for.

I was in the exact same position that you are in a year ago. I had no experience but wanted to break into this awesome sport. At first I was frustrated because I couldn't be jumping like the youtube videos, but I can't play the guitar like Eddy Van Halen does either. It takes practice.

The first kite I got is my Pansh Blaze 3M. It is not hailed as a high quality kite, but I have loved it for the small budget I have. It is a 4 line kite on handles. I can fly it in everything from 8-25 mph wind. It is fun and easy in the lesser wind and scary and and pulls me all over the field in the higher winds. In my opinion it doesn't have any lift, but it has been a great kite to learn how to fly on. I now can almost fly it without even looking. It is fun in higher winds to sit on ground and scud (drag) all over the place.

I recently just got a Pansh Ace 5M. I was excited to start jumping till I did. I am kinda scared of it. I still need to learn how to fly it as well. But practice makes perfect!!!

Thats good to know about the quads, becasue now that opens up a whole new window of kites I might consider purchasing. I read many reviews about the HQ Beamer 4 and the Peter Lynn Hornet, and it seems that the hornet is a better kite. Do either of those kites have any lift though?

All kites have lift if you fly them in enough (too much) wind. My original Beamer III 3m lofted me off the ground repeatedly in 25-30 mph winds when just hovering overhead. You wouldn't be disappointed with either the hornet or the Beamer. Both are great kites from reputable companies.

i think u better concentrate on a pl or a beamer and forget about jumping for now.....otherwise your time in the sport will be short and full of injuries.....dont take my word for it--go look at utube--plenty of vids of noobs trying to jump and breaking themselves up--u can learn the right way or the fast way-your choice-for your sake,i hope its the right way

Kite jumping link

This is what happens if you get a kite that is lifty before you are ready to be lifted.

Story behind the pictures

Ok, [hi-jack alert {but at leat it's on topic}] when doing a pendulum jump. When do you start to redirect the kite? I can do the first part of a pendulum jump great. But I need to work on redirecting and landing softly.

One more question. What are the advantages and disadvantages of quad handles versus just a bar?

Quote:

Originally posted by soccerflyer Ok, [hi-jack alert {but at leat it's on topic}] when doing a pendulum jump. When do you start to redirect the kite? I can do the first part of a pendulum jump great. But I need to work on redirecting and landing softly.

The pendulum consists of at least 2 turns of the kite. The first one is down at about 2:00 at the edge of the window. The second is after you jumped and the kite came back to zenith, then you turn to keep the kite from heading over to 10:00 and dragging you somewhere. That turn and hover at zenith floats you back down with little to no ground speed. On big jumps you might need to do a second redirect if you haven't come down and the kite is heading away from zenith.

First things first, learn to fly a kite obviously. To start off i used a radsail 3.2 and it was perfect for me learning, in a reasonably high wind it will generate enough power to drag you along on your face and its quite cheap.

The great thing i found with the 3.2 radsail is that you really have to fly it instead of it flying you. It turns quick and i can imagine that you will be twisting the lines up every two seconds so you can learn to kite loop to recover from twists etc.

You should defo find a good friend and go out with him as you wont be able to set up on your own and powerkites are exausting, believe it or not, i find smaller kites require more skill to fly and you can jump with them.

After youve mastered the 3.2 radsail or whatever you buy then you can think about stepping up and you will enjoy the bigger kite more but only after youve mastered a smaller kite.

When i started all i wanted to do was jump but you discover that there is much more, ie buggying surfing etc.

This goes to everyone out there who is a newbie reading this post and wondering what to do. For your information, I ended up getting a Peter Lynn Twister II 4.1m. Although this contradicts what many experienced fliers have said to get for a first kite (smaller kite, less lifty), this kite has worked out just great for me. I have never had any scary circumstances with this kite where I felt like I had lost control. I have also managed to get some good safe jumps in only about 8-10mph of wind. This kite is extremely powerful especially in higher winds but it is not out of control. My advise for a newbie- for the first few sessions, fly the kite in 6-10mph of wind. Once you get a good feeling for the kite's power, progressively take it out in higher winds. If you are a newbie and want to jump, this is a perfect kite.

dude... really? please dont give out advice that this is the perfect kite to jump with

you are new, and i wonder how many kites you have flown?

while i do see that you warn people to not take it out in high winds, i also think it inappropriate for anybody with 2 months experience flying one kite to start giving advice about anything being a "perfect kite".... especially to jump with (i only draw the 2 month conclusion based on your register date)

i think it would be irresponsible not to say something here... kite jumping can be very dangerous... the peter lynn twister II may very well be a great kite, but i wouldnt say that
it is the perfect kite to jump with, especially when addressing someone new to the sport.

sounds like you got lucky and didnt hurt yourself, which is good... but please, get some experience flying other kites, and dont assume that everyone else is going to pick this up as quickly (and safely) as you have... i would hate to see someone get hurt if they followed some ill-given advice

You are right dylan. I just thought I'd put a word out there for everyone who was in the same situation I was about two months ago and let them know that they don't necessarily have to buy a 3m beginner kite, there are more options. I wasn't trying to make an understatement of how powerful these kites can be or anything else to that sort.

i did the same thing when i was a kite newbie... bought an advanced kite.... got lucky, no serious injuries... but every time i read about people getting hurt going too fast or jumping, or whatever, i remember that it was just luck that kept me uninjured...

just be safe and be responsible and we will all be able to kite for a long time to come

it was fun, and i pushed the limits, sounds like you did too... im glad we are so far unharmed

hope to meet you someday

I remember how my Beamer III 3m spanked me my second time out. I remember how overwhelmed I was the first time I flew my new to me Crossfire 5m. I am glad I took the recommended path and think it helped me advance more quickly than one would expect. My Beamer spanking could've hurt or killed me had I been flying the Crossfire with so little experience that day.

I recommended a twister 4.1 once to a gentleman from north texas, about xmas time last year. I neglected to ask what his winds were, I just took into account his weight and figured he could hold it down just fine.

Turns out his winter winds were gusty inland wiggly monsters often peaking out at 20 mph, I'm glad he survived long enough to sell the beast on and go to I believe a 3m beamer iv. I believe he plans to try another twister or two out this winter...

The winds are important... We all get different stuff to deal with and need to get a kite that best fits our skills and winds. Trouble is good wind sense usually kicks in after flying kites, not before. So sometimes folks are not ready for what has worked out well for someone in another location.

Sounds like you figured a few things out and got a good kite for you and your conditions. Good job. Dylan helped you out as well, excellent.

It's essential to do two things before recommending a kite to wannabee jumpers.

the first is to deliver the disclaimer / warning: kite jumping is a dangerous sport that is impossible to practice safely. However, by building one's skills carefully and pushing one's limits only a little at a time, it is possible to greatly reduce the risks, while at the same remembering that when the flying gets good the risk levels can get high.

the second is to gather information: age, weight, general physical ability, prior experience, local winds and spots, budget, and degree of local support.

Then you're ready to have a good hard think and then humbly suggest a kite....:evil:

just my 0.02, but flawed kite recommendations can put people at severe risk, as BB reminds us above.

@SF: i learned to scud and jump on my ace 5, it's good to hear that you're thinking of redirects! the aces all have good lift but they have a tendency to overfly and collapse, esp. when jumping.

When jumping, the shape of the wind window changes, often drastically. Once you are off the ground, you are not loading the lines because you are standing on the ground and allowing the wind to blow past you, but instead the load you put on the lines comes from your weight and momentum. But the wind window gets a bit, sometimes a lot, larger when you get off the ground because of the even steady and strong pull your weight puts on the lines.

Once you touch down, however, the load you put on the lines goes instantly back to whatever it would be in a static flying situation. But up til then the steady pull of one's weight allows one to fly the kite with power out to the edge of the window and beyond. If the kite is still out at the edge or slightly beyond, then it will lose power or even collapse when one touches down. In addition it is possible to fly the kite right out the wind window until the wind hits the back side of the kite, then it instantly collapses and one drops like a rock.

If this is hard to visualize, think of flying your kite in very low winds, say 2-3 mph, low enough to attempt a kite 360 at ground level. The ace 5 is good at these.

If I run back and across the wind as I pull the across the edge of the wind window, and then continue running backwards against the pull of the lines until I bring the kite right right around through dead up wind and back to down wind, I can fly it in a complete circle around me just off the ground. At one point I'll be running downwind faster than the wind speed, this is how I bring the kite through dead upwind.

Most powerkite folks have tried this out at some point, it's an old trick, but perhaps here it helps visualize how one's weight can fly the kite out of the window while jumping.

(It's a pain to launch in those winds, I have to pump my five up off the ground a couple of times before it inflates enough for me to turn it on launch and head it dead level to ground in order to get the speed I need for full inflation, after that it flies fine, albeit with a greatly reduced wind window.)

So for me one way I visualize redirects is in terms of keeping the kite in the actual static wind window while jumping, so I don't collapse the kite on touchdown.

And i think of redirects on the ace 5 as being essential for safety, it's fast and small enough to fly out of the window enough during a jump to do the full collapse and rock drop thing.

In the long run the bigger the kite the more controllable and safe the jump. (Assuming of course the kite is being flown in winds appropriate to the skills of its pilot) The limit to size is turning speed, when the kite can't turn fast enough to redirect effectively (and also set up and shape the jump well) then jumping isn't good. But you need to be powered up enough to turn effectively, this makes the jumping sweet spots (in terms of windspeed range) in general smaller and smaller on bigger kites.

Hope the jump talk helps you figure things out a bit, good luck and do try to fly a little safe, eh? :frog:

It is always about good sense.
A 4.1 isn't too big a kite for learning to fly as long as you start out in appropriately low wind. It won't serve as your high wind kite once you progress and will be harder to re-sell than a 3ish kite.
A 4.1 IS too small a kite to call a perfect jumping kite. I am WAY more afraid of jumping with a little kite like that than a larger one.
Be careful jumping with that kite. It will lift you but you must fly it proper or it won't produce any float so you will drop like a rock. Or worse slam yourself.

This is the internet so don't believe everything you read is fact. Advice like yours can be outright dangerous though!
The best kite I have had the pleasure of flying for jumping is the 15m Synergy but that is for ME. I'm not saying it is the best period.

Thanks for the input guys. I have to agree now that I shouldn't be suggesting things to anyone especially new fliers after only having a powerkite for about a month. About the "perfect kite for jumping" thing- what I really meant was that this kite can serve as a beginner kite but also work for some jumping. And for Dylan, I would enjoy meeting you as well as many other people on this forum. Great advice guys keep it up.