Trying to get set up right, I had the big beast on the ground tying more knots.

I hear a woman yelling, continually, and a young boy walks up, maybe 5yrs old with in about five feet of the kite. I said hello but then thought, make friends and he's jumping on this big pillow. LOL

So just let him be and maybe he will listen to his mom. Well he didn't, so she came too and they set up for the single liner with in 5 feet of the big pillow.

Now what to do, ask for some room? maybe not, that might send them down wind. So I motioned for honey to come over and we lugged the kite 100' down wind and set up again.

Finally got to fly and I look up, there's that little delta right above me. Oh crap, better move again, so I did.

I guess on another day I would have took the time to explain the danger but trying to catch the last breeze of the day, I didn't.

What do you do?

What you did and cut them some slack

IMO use the park etc with good manners but ... first come, first served. I'd tell her to give me a bit of space - especially if there's TONS of room for them to use

I'm sure I've told the story of the baseball playing family who come and set up camp RIGHT ON TOP OF ME even though we are the only 2 groups in the whole damn place

Be polite, but be honest. Tell them with encouragement that they are more than welcome to watch, but from a safe distance. When people ask to watch I always have them stand behind me. Most likely in the event that something goes wrong you are going to be pulled forward and then the watchers will be out of harms way. Last weekend I had a similar scenario happen with me. I was flying at a public park with my 11 year old step brother and we were the only ones there for about an hour and then it seemed like everyone showed up to fly kites, all single line of course. I was in the process of giving my little brother pointers on flying his first stunt kite. He has been flying for a few months now so he usually can get going without any help. However this day I had just finished helping him get his kite ready to launch and walked away to go back to flying mine and I hear an older lady yelling at a 3-4 year old boy and I look and he is running straight in the path of my little bros kite as he is making a fast pass just above the ground. I take off running to intercept the little kid and just get there in time before he is in the path of the stunt kite. I told him to stop because he could get hurt and explained to his grandmother that these kites fly very fast and can hurt someone seriously if it were to hit them. So I offered to show him an even bigger kite by having him walk with his grandma over to where I had my 5m Flow set up and of course that was a big mistake, as soon as we got closer he made a bline for the kite and proceeded to start stepping on the lines and almost tripped on them. So I had to explain once again that they could watch, but from 15 to 20 feet behind me so that they would be safe. Well I was just about to launch and I look down to check one last time and there he is again right next to me asking and begging to fly my big kite. I told him very nicely that it is too big for him too fly and he kept saying he was big enough, so many times that the grandma asked if he could just fly for a few minutes. I just laughed and told the grandmother politely that I would not allow it since my 5m is strong enough to pick me off the ground and I weigh 280 lbs. She finally got the message and left with him to stand back and watch. He stood there maybe 10 minutes and then he got bored and took off running to another part of the park. Thank God, finally I can fly in peace. Not exactly, I go to help my little bro relaunch and then by that time another 10-15 people all with single liners surround the area were I was flying so I just go pack up my stuff and go fly the stunt kite with my brother.

its all about the first few words out of your mouth. Set the seriousness of your tone and most humans get the picture quickly.

better to come off a little rude then have someone get scalped by a line.

if you really care about your reputation then, life sucks as a kiter.

its a totally different story of some one wants information to get into kiting, i always stop and help people who are interested in getting started.

But if your just trying to "kill some time" talking to the guy flying the cool kite,
unless your 5'6, long blond hair, blue eyes, long tan legs

LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!!!!!!!

What you did was very polite and kind. But I would have taken a few minutes and explained the danger involved in being near any power or stunt kite. And that they need to keep a sfe distance.
Hopefully they will listen.

So far I feel rather lucky that I've only had to deal with five or six people physically approach me. My worst experience was a man throwing a ball for his dog while I was in the middle of setup. Of course he threw the ball towards my kite and if I wasn't able to launch the kite fast getting it off the ground it would have been in run right over. Scared the dog to run the other way and the man shook his head and left so I was at peace again.

I think in the future I'll be the one to move again for the little ones anyway.

The little ones could care less about the dangers and if they are there to play, then they are running wild. Like powerkiter had to deal with.
I'm sure the mom would understand, but the the kids whole purpose is to run around.

Explaining a dangerous hobby in a public place might bring unwanted attention.

Older teens and up, Kami's Rule.

I was 10 and my neighbor friend was around 6. I was shooting an arrow straight up watching it almost disappear then come down and stick in the ground (by myself.) Well here she comes running from out of nowhere saying I got it, I got it.

The arrow takes out hair from the top of her head as she is looking straight up trying to catch it and sticks in the ground at her heels. I was yelling and jumping up and down but staying clear also. Lucky kids we were!! Never shot another arrow up again, ever.

But just to say, kids don't know or wont listen while running and playing.

Would you let your kids run around playing tag in a carpark? No.
Would you walk in front of someone who is on a swing? No.
Would you walk through the middle of a game of tennis? No.
Kites are USUALLY no more of a danger than a lot of other activities we engage in every day.

Perhaps you could have told her why you were moving, in a nice polite and instructive manner, and then moved. Give them the benefit of the doubt ... you'll probably just get an earful for trying to tell her what to do though.

The field I usually fly in is a public place, however other local kiters have been able to get the city to more or less name it a kiting park rather than turn it into a parking lot. I guess there are just a lot of people that don't know that about the field.

I hear ya there I was all set up turn to put on my harness and helmet, look up and see this.

I did the same as you Hardrock, I just didn't feel like explaining it all to people who just simply will not believe you that a kite can and will pick you up.

On a side note you should have seen the sand castle I got to run over after they left an hour later.:evil:

It becomes more and more apparent that the human race continues due to sheer numbers, rather than any innate survival skills/instincts. Those sadly seem to be in a great state of disrepair and atrophy.



"ADELAIDE, Australia -- Officials in South Australia say the are considering new legislation after tourists were seen petting great white sharks in the midst of a feeding frenzy.

Video footage released earlier this week showed a group of sightseers -- one of them apparently carrying a child -- clambering onto the floating body of a whale and patting the backs and snouts of sharks as they tore off chunks of flesh from the carcass. "


ATB,
Sam

Even if the child doesn't care about the safety, I still tell the parent. And if they don't care about it then that child is lost.
Eliminate safety stickers, and promote natural selection.

The arrow story is kinda scary there hardrock:shocked2:.
I guess one of the benefits of flying fixed bridle is that you can lay down the kite, unwind line off handles, launch, get in buggy and go,,,,,,,,,,all in 60 seconds. Not enough time for others to come and bother you .

Similar incident, Hardrock, but we were old enough to know better(13ish). A friend and I each had a longbow, but only 1 arrow between us.(cedar with field-point) We found that if we lay on our back, propping the bow with our feet, and pulled the arrow all the way back we could get 150-200yard shots across a big field. He took one such shot, but angled it a little too low,and the arrow came down in the middle of the street, right on the roof of a big buick. It didn't puncture, but did leave a big dent, scared h3!! out of the driver, and cost my friends parents homeowners insurance to pay for repairs. I might add that neither of us could sit down for about a week, but that was back when it was sometimes necessary(and even accepted publicly) to use force to nip behavior.problems in the bud. :tumble:

edit:btw, I meant to add that I think you have been doing the right thing, maybe the only thing you can do these days, all along.

Last summer at Newport Kite fest I was set up in the area with about 12 other kiters and flying several large 200+ sqft flowforms and lifters. I had them staked in several places with markers and all. One was tied to a fireplace within 5ft of my car and trailer and a family came over moved a load of my gear and started a fire in the pit my kite was tied to.
( I was at the restroom when this happened) when I got back my friends said they tried to explain that I was there first but they didn't care. So I moved my ancor line and relaunched the kite. But they were very obnoctus people and left a huge mess behind and said they were sure I wouldn't mind cleaning it up.
I reported them to the park officials earlier but nothing was done and as a good group we all cleaned up there mess.
Some people just have no respect and you can't explain anything to them.

People are stupid and don't understand that under tension your lines could potentially decapitate them. So kindly (and politely) SCREAM (they of course won't hear you the first time) at them to watch out.

"But if your just trying to "kill some time" talking to the guy flying the cool kite,
unless your 5'6, long blond hair, blue eyes, long tan legs"---Houston Airhead

MMMM....Yes always makes us a little more willing to explain. Here honey let me help you....hold it like this...

Ahhhh yes. I should really fly at the beach more.

Whoops...ok on subject...Hardrock I think you did well although I do agree it is ok to be honest and accretive about the facts and safety issues. It is always good to send someone away smarter about the subject than they started.

In the end I'm pretty fortunate to be able to use this field. I do wish more power kites would show up but all I ever see is a few kids with parents and single liners. Most always we have it to ourselves.

But here lately, lots of people stop on the side of the road below us and watch from a distance and people out on the highway toot their horn a good bit.

So just maybe, if we are nice to people who do come around, we might get some interested in power kites. Maybe some locals will stop in and ask about the kites, buy one and turn us on to a better field.

I've enjoyed reading this, you guys have some great replys.

ha... oh sweet fortune. I just read this thread before going out to my local field... and guess what.

Here is the scene, 10 soccer fields, it's a monday, no soccer kids, nobody at the park when I arrive around 5:30pm. Wind is about 10 mph steady. I set up my kites in one soccer field, exited by the fact that I will be able to use all 10 without interference. Now... I almost never do this, but I had three kites laid out and staked. Two crossfires and a Neo II. I did this because I had forgot I had pulled the lines off and I wanted to reattach all of them before packing them back up. (one crossfire used as model blah blah blah) Now I am the only car in the parking lot... until I start packing up one of the kites. A big ole suv pulls up and they sit there in the car. I assumed, that like every other single time, that they were there to watch me fly. Nope. As soon as I knelt down to put the Neo in the bag, 6 people file out of the SUV and bring 4 soccer balls out onto the field. First thought is that it's okay we have 10 full fields here so there will be enough space for all of us to play. nope. You guessed it, they started playing right in the field that I had laid my kites across the middle of. One of the really little kids (4 years old?) run right on over to the bright red of one of the crossfires. Thankfully there wasn't enough wind for anything to really happen but I dropped everything, waved my arms and shouted "be careful". Kid didn't get it, instead he went right over and started playing with it by the time I had jogged up to it. Of course the helicopter mom was right there when I was trying to pull the kid away and she just glared at me. I said something like "sorry, this is just not a safe place for him to be" and she gave me that look that I know all to well after 8 years as a translator, she had no idea what I was saying. Now.... I know very little spanish. I can order a beer and ask where the bathroom is and that's about it, but I was able to eek out "cuidado, muy peligroso". I am not sure if that is correct, but I think she understood and took her son and walked away. I grabbed the kite and walked it further down the field to a safer spot.

The session didn't end there tho... lol.. this adds on to the thread I guess. So after being slightly frustrated with the wind (it dropped to 5 mph) I was only able to do a downwind run on my board, edging upwind killed all of my speed in the long grass. I figured it was a good time to pack up. The kites went away and I looked over at the little hill that drops into the field....oooooh I am going to go ride and at least get something. Bam, butt-over-tea-kettle and I somehow came out of it nearly back on top of the board. So there is near accident 2.

Walking back to the car with all my gear I am thinking "well today wasn't bad, it wasn't great but eh.... not bad" and BAM I fall of the curb into the parking lot and twist my ankle.

Dear Karma.... why are you mad at me?! was my spanish that bad!?!?!?

Was landboarding on the beach and doing some runs accross the beach with the flow, fairly powered up so was being very careful to see where I was going. Saw I was going to cross the path of a man and his baby who he was carrying over his shoulders so I stopped and put the flow at zenith. He then decided to change his direction (on a massive open beach) and walk directly under my lines, so close I could probably have reached out and tapped him on the head with one of my handles. I was shocked... his baby can't have been more than a year old. absolutely insane! :dunno:

Schooling behavior - like shoals of small fish, people are afraid to be in an open space by themselves in case a predator materializes and eats them.

Was flying the Ace in low wind at the kiteboarding beach when to my great surprise, a KITESURFER walk right into my lines no excuse dude, you know what a kite is and how it works, you know I'm flying a kite - why ...?!

'Cause situational awareness is in short supply and the different flavors of stupidity are like grains of sand on the beach?

ATB,
Sam

Very Zen - I think you're right

Hey Kami I can see your aura

I think this situation calls for the "Kind and polite SCREAM" that they will not hear.