Does anyone else get this?

The only place i can fly my kite is a sports field which is part of A HUGE park, lakes, lovely flower beds, ice creams, boating, all that business. There are two sports fields, one for football/Rugby and one for cricket and having a kick around. At the top of that field you can fly your kite without park officials getting upset. Its a recreational field basically. So out of the million acres the people with dead pan faces and miserable dogs think its a great idea to set the dog loose on the only bit of field i can go. They'll walk under your lines, come to the front of you (let their dog pee on your bag) and even tell you off and say you shouldn't be there..

Anyway, long story slightly shorter, today i'd just set up, a few final line checks at the kite and i hear "lets walk on his lines". Sure enough some teens (damn it, i just realised i got old!) walk across the lines. Fair enough, teens are teens. They then sit next to them, in the middle. sigh.
Just finished work, couldn't wait for a session!
I sat and had a smoke and talked to my girlfriend and they wouldn't move so i packed my kite up. I can't launch it, i'm a beginner and i knew i was going to get pulled straight into them and maybe hurt them.

Obviously they were doing it on purpose to annoy me.

Anyway, my lines just about wound in and one of them purposefully runs into my girlfriend. My girlfriend, bless her, not quite understanding the phrase "scally" said something to them and an argument ensues.
I've got £1000s worth of camera on my back, i'm a photographer so its basically my child, lol. Two kites slightly unpacked, keys on the floor, phones, wallets etc. So we can't run. sigh. The situation ended with me having to put my foot down, two of the girls wanted a fight with my girlfriend and the lad, perhaps not quite familiar with perspective whilst i was down by the kite hadn't realised i was three times his size and starting to get a bit angry. He pansied out big time but the girls just went for it.

So, the situation ends when the kid shouts "who do you think you are, its not YOU'RE field. we've a right to be here, don't swear at me!" Forgetting the fact that there is about 10 acres of land to go and walk and play in but only this small field to fly and that he swore at me many times first I left the field.

Anyone had situations like this? i.e someone invades your only designated space and makes out you're the one in the wrong even though they can walk their miserable little dog anywhere in the country?

All the time. Entitlement runs rampant. I often fly where I am kicked off of two soccer fields that are open on all sides, for some reason these teams can't use the FOUR soccer fields surrounded by trees approximately 300 yards away in the SAME park.

"who do you think you are, its not YOU'RE field. we've a right to be here, don't swear at me!"

have had this exact conversation. my reply was along the lines of "I was here first, I am using this field, there is plenty of park for you that I am not using. You are choosing to place yourself in a dangerous situation by staying in this exact location. This field is in use, please remove yourself from it. If you wish to watch, you are welcome to, but do so from the sidelines."

Asshats and dogs are drawn to kites like moths to a flame..... It's a given!

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Originally posted by WELDNGOD Asshats and dogs are drawn to kites like moths to a flame..... It's a given!

I've been working on a handle release/kite killer punch... just need to master packing lines, kite and cameras in 1.2 seconds now. ;-)

I've come across the same thing, but my approach is more of .... would you like to check this out? It surprising how many are curious enough and will watch you for awhile. About half have a go at it. But then there are still the type like those you mention. Only age will cure them.

sometimes it's hard being a kiter... When you get the police called ,let me know . Then you will be a fellow "outlaw kiter". I had an altercation w/ some woman who tried to unstake a kite that was parked. After we had an"encounter" let's say. What she failed to notice,was my wife sitting up by the dunes.... All I heard was my wife hollar "HEY B!%$@# YOU WANT ME TO KICK YOUR A$$ !!!!... And then it was on... By the time I got packed up and out of there,we saw police coming down the trail.... We just kept walking and said "afternoon officer" as we passed em... about 500 yds further down the trail came the "other party",trying to catch up to the cops. We just hauld butt and tossed the kitebag and buggy in the truck and ROLLED!


Now I'm the "outlaw kiter" well that and I have also been banned from a primo spot for killin beetles.... yup, beetles,little crawly bugs. http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=5472
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=16323

Quote:

Originally posted by WELDNGOD Now I'm the "outlaw kiter" well that and I have also been banned from a primo spot for killin beetles.... yup, beetles,little crawly bugs. http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=5472 http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=16323

Chuckle. You've killed beetles with a kite? That's some accurate flying techniques
I skate inline a bit and i'm used to hassle. Infact, being a "beardy twat" as i was called the other night by a random stranger i generally tend to be a magnet for trouble anyway.

I would have dearly loved to put my handles in that little scrouts hands today. I'm sure the kite and lines weighed more than he did. I'd lose my kite though!

I guess if you do anything slightly out of the norm some people will have a problem with it.....

I try hard to promote kiting in a safe /sane manner and use good judgement around people. But some just can't help themselves:flaming:
You are just static flying, right?
Wait until you get a buggy or ATB. Asshats X 100 But be nice ! It is us that will lose out,in any legal problem. You can bet money on that!

Judging from the rugby and cricket fields, you must be in the UK. Where do you fly? From the sounds of it, it's a bit rough!

I've been flying in various parks here in the UK and have had a few altercations, but nothing as crazy as that. Seems to me that kiting had nothing to do with it and this fight would have started no matter what.

After lots of trouble with people (mostly dog walkers) , I've given up trying to win any arguments with them. You are never going to win, and the dog walkers will be in the parks long after every other activity is banned. I just keep to myself and mostly ignore their dogs unless they are actually lifting a leg over my stuff, then I shout "NO". Surprisingly, the amount of hassle I get has dropped to nothing. If they don't get a reaction from me, most dogs and owners eventually go away.

One small victory, the other day on the beach a yappy dog started chasing me in my buggy, and I led it on a 3/4 mile run away from it's owner. I hope it took that idiot 3 hours to find his dog again!

Yeah that sounds familiar ... the ONLY beach in a 100km radius you can kite on and yep, they gotta come RIGHT HERE and use the private parking too.

way to show up ...just keep going and as much as possible. they want conflict don't give it to them. they are lost, YOU are focused . people with purpose frighten the insecure.

stand around too much, people will walk up and chat, chat, chat. .. esp. insecure wankers who feel threatened merely by your presence and behave like 3 yr. old ...mine mine mine.

aggression is taught , so just tell go home and let their mums boyfriend beat them some more.

gear like cameras should be secured in the open public spots , the weak will snatch it as soon as the opportunity arrives.

everyone stay calm, a teenager is like a match, a small amount heat and fades to nothing in seconds. YOU GOTTA LET THEM KNOW YOU'RE COMING BACK , simply by showing up.

my "anti-kite" group are the AYSO soccer coaches.... they have a storage spot for some goals a quarter mile away, so that means the PUBLIC PARK (that i pay for with my taxes, and is maintained by the city in which i live) is automatically a private soccer complex.... and the very idea of someone doing some other activity than soccer induces insta-rage in all coaches..... I think they be mad, simply because when i launch a kite, every kid stops playing soccer and watches me fly :D

god forbid im more interesting than soccer

(sorry soccer fans.... its not the sport... its a few d-bags here in Nebraska that get lumped in with the whole thing)





i feel your pain brother

No, it's the sport - soccer is almost as boring as cricket or baseball. Almost ...

drew you should demand storage too! i would. you have the same opportunity to amp kiting in public JUST as they are for soccer.

show up, blow up and see if they can stay focused!

Reminds me of a funny story. Don't stop me if you've heard this before.

A few years back I was on Jekyll Island beach with my friend Chris from here in Georgia. I had only been down here a couple of years in the southern US, having moved from New York. We were flying kites, running buggies and such.

A bunch of young teen guys were roaming the beach and started trash talking us and the kites, no doubt showing off to the girlfriends with them. I wasn't really bothered by it but it seemed to bother Chris.

Along comes the Georgia State Patrol (state police) in their 4x4 truck and dang, if Chris didn't flag them down. He started talking to the officers and pointing to the kids. I was surprised because even with all my prior volunteer work in New York with local police, it would not be common to flag down the cops and interrupt a possible doughnut break unless a major crime was being committed.

Well, the officers got out of their truck and went over to the kids and started to deliver what i could tell from a distance was a stern lecture. The kids were standing bolt upright at attention and had "Yessir!" written all over their faces.

The officers then came over to us and told us that they had had a talk with the kids about being polite to strangers, respecting their elders and so forth. Then they told us in so many words that they informed the kids how lucky they were because we were so nice and, had that not been the case, that they could have gotten hurt.

Basically the officers were implying that we could have beaten the crap out of the kids and they would have had it coming!

Yes the South is different and I love it.

Don't think I have a long enough fuse to defuse a situation like yours, it sounds like you kept it together. I haven't been accosted by any dorks while kiting yet but that may be because of the “friendly” midwest demeanor of most folks here and the fact that I’ve only been kiting less than a year.
I have been approached by the cops twice now though – once in a city park because I was flying in it after close (he was friendly and we parted on good terms) and once at a football field near our airport (this was a casual encounter also – he was just checking out a report of someone flying a kite right next to the runway!).
Your handling of the situation, and those examples of the other members of this forum, are a valuable resource to me, and will be my behavioral guide when the inevitable dork encounter does occur.

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Originally posted by jimbocz Judging from the rugby and cricket fields, you must be in the UK. Where do you fly? From the sounds of it, it's a bit rough! I've been flying in various parks here in the UK and have had a few altercations, but nothing as crazy as that. Seems to me that kiting had nothing to do with it and this fight would have started no matter what.

Thanks for all the replies.

I fly in Leeds, Roundhay. Roundhay is well posh but its got people from all around coming.

What gets me is no one in their right mind sits on a cricket pitch in front of the batsman do they? They know that's wrong (maybe not scallies, dog walkers though) because they understand cricket is a sport, or football etc an they 'allow' it to take place. Fly a kite and you're Dog Walker's Enemy No.1! I'm changing tactics next time. No response at all until physically threatened.

I really would like to work on my handle release kite-killer punch though!

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Originally posted by pongnut Your handling of the situation, and those examples of the other members of this forum, are a valuable resource to me, and will be my behavioral guide when the inevitable dork encounter does occur.

Hopefully you'll never have to meet a Scally from Leeds! They just want to cause trouble, and me being a long haired, bearded, skinny jean wearing pretty boy (lol - my girlfriend's words) i seem to attract it on a monthly basis!
Ah well......Screw them eh, i'll be flying my kite.

Like pongnut, I have a long fuse, but, when it goes WATCH OUT. I'm surprised, I call the area where we live the place where the enema tube would go and all the people here are the hole. I haven't had any trouble locally yet, and I say yet cause I'm sure it will happen.
Luckily El Mirage is 2 hours away and Ivanpah another 1 1/2 hours, we plan a day of it or a weekend and take the wind toys.
Best of luck and good handling of the situation.

@mastertoot, don't forget that everybody (in the UK at least) does indeed know where to stand when a cricket match is going on. When it comes to kites, the general public has no idea where they should stand. They don't have a clue how kites work, which way the wind is blowing or even that the kite is connected by lines. You can't get mad at them for not knowing this stuff, no matter how obvious it might seem to us.

One pattern that I frequently see is that people want to stop and watch, so they stop walking and stand there. Usually right in my way. Since they are in my way and I want to be polite, I stop flying and wait for them to go away before I launch. They stand there waiting for me to do something entertaining, while I sit there waiting for them to get out of my way! To break the impasse, I tell them that it would be much better if they stood over there instead, then they get angry because "it's a public park and they can stand wherever they want, who am I to tell them what they can do..." I still need to find an answer for that one.

tell them about line burn and being cut by lines and show them a scar. that works for me

If they look interested in watching, but clueless :puzzled: you could say "I really don't want to put you in danger by launching with you standing there. If you would like to come stand by my side, I can explain things to you, and I might even let you give it a try, if you want." (If you reckon it's safe for them, conditions wise) Some folks, though, nothing will work. They just hate seeing anyone have fun!

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Originally posted by jimbocz @mastertoot, don't forget that everybody (in the UK at least) does indeed know where to stand when a cricket match is going on. When it comes to kites, the general public has no idea where they should stand. They don't have a clue how kites work, which way the wind is blowing or even that the kite is connected by lines. You can't get mad at them for not knowing this stuff, no matter how obvious it might seem to us. One pattern that I frequently see is that people want to stop and watch, so they stop walking and stand there. Usually right in my way. Since they are in my way and I want to be polite, I stop flying and wait for them to go away before I launch. They stand there waiting for me to do something entertaining, while I sit there waiting for them to get out of my way! To break the impasse, I tell them that it would be much better if they stood over there instead, then they get angry because "it's a public park and they can stand wherever they want, who am I to tell them what they can do..." I still need to find an answer for that one.

With respect i've got a very long fuse. Dog walkers and picnicers/children - kite down, polite explanation if required or i'll happily leave before an argument starts. Trouble causers wanting a fight - if they want to hurt me i'm not going to worry about hurting them. I've been stabbed twice, mugged three times and been involved in many fights all because someone doesn't like what i'm doing or the way i look. I care not for these people or their safety, I'll avoid trouble for so long until its coming my way.

I don't really like loutish football fans who shout abuse at me and other people, but i don't go up to them and get my dog to pee on their bag :singing: