About a year ago I bought a para-wing of sorts with a view to taking up kite jumping as a Sunday pastime...In the meantime I've become a DAD.

So mother has said That I can't go running to her when I break my leg (s, arms and neck) after taking 40ft leaps down the beach..

But I figure with a good strong stake, a 3m. teather and some niffy wrist work I could hang out over the beach no problem....

You may think I'm mad ..but your ideas and suggestions will help...

hang out over the beach? teather? Do you mean tie your kite to a big stake and fly, rope stopping you from flying off? From what i've been told 3metres aren't good for lift (or landing) and i don't think you'd get long periods of air time anyway.

I think he meant a big stake, like 3m. I had a similar idea. Was thinking about hanging off a bridge, and being able to fly the like through a full hemisphere. I don't know how safe it would be, but I'd be sure to make an anchor you could trust your life to. Like multiple stakes equalized, and capped, like the plastic safety caps on rebar.

Like the end of this movie. Sorry to spam, can't be bothered to find it on youtube. someone jumps off a pier at the end. Dono what you mean by flying through a hemisphere ó.0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=semzVdaACTU&eurl=

I meant that the wind window would be half a sphere, instead of a quarter. the kite could fly under you.

Teathered flying is bad, some guys do it safely and succesfully, but it's not for the average joe and for sure best avoided by someone new to the sport.

The guys that fly teathered don't ever use a fixed object to anchor to either, Usually multiple ground points with a team of guys on each one holding them in place.

Teather isn't in any dictionary, do you mean tether? Or maybe slang

teth·er (tthr) Pronunciation Key

noun.

1. A rope, chain, or similar restraint for holding an animal in place, allowing a short radius in which it can move about.

2. A similar ropelike restraint used as a safety measure, especially for young children and astronauts.

Looks like Tigger is pulling ahead on the spelling bee this year along with use of grammar too!

I think I'd have to second Pablo...unless you have other people there to move around with the anchor points, and are in a controlled atmosphere along with people that have safely done it before I can't see it being really safe to try.

A 3m Blade or Crossfire may be able to pull it off in the right conditions since both of those kites are made for lift. I can't say I'd try anything else but those two in that size. Even then, conditions have to be perfect.

You have to realize that just because a kite lifts you doesn't mean it'll set you down nicely. Kites like the beamers, bullets, etc. may lift you up in the right winds relatively quickly and drop you just as fast or faster. So choosing the right kite and the combination of what I stated above about doing it with people that have done it safely before, would be the only way I'd consider trying IMO.

Basically, don't try it unless you're with some guys that are already doing it successfully.

And no, I don't really care how bad my speeling is guys, you got the point no problem.

dont do it me an my mate did that was wearin a harness and tied myself to a tree in massive winds the kite went up and it pulled me and my mate off the ground and hanging between the tree and kite and we both weigh 12stone it pulled like a #@%$#!

You got it pea. but the wing I'n thinking of using is an old skydiving main chute with about a 5m span and 10 cells. It's very stable and understanding and good for 160-180kg when it comes to lifting. Rigged to a kite-surfing harness and 4-line bar. Not sure about the length of line from me to wing/chute maybe about 15-30m fixed. Then a TETHER of about 3m from my harness to a secure stay on the ground. In theory this should give about 30-35m of line from ground to wing, with me about 3m up the line.

Of course I can understand the dangers. I've been flying big kites for years and was kite-jumping off the sand dunes at Maspalomas with a 3m delta way back in 1994.

'Cause I'm a dad I know what sort of wind will break me and so won't be flying stupid. I've lost enough grey matter to know I should use a helmet etc.

But I do have a wicked beach SKEGNESS LINCOLNSHIRE UK and can read the wind like I can read a wave (did I mention I've been surfing for 20years)

One thing though Pablo why would you use multiple anchor points?

-----Trailblazer or Tailender-----
if u don't ask u don't get

Oh yeh...if I'm a Tandem Passenger can I hold on to your waist?

Some of the problems come in when the strap off the back of the harness gets pulled, the front gets pulled and you get pinched in between, then there's the stability factor, on a single line if you start to swing at all you lose it. Why? because the second you start to swing the first thing you'll do is clutch the bar/handles, then the kite swings over faster, you overcompensate and get snapped back the other way, over react again and the amount you end up swaying increases, this will go on until you get smashed full power into the ground, That's what one of the vids posted was of.

The group of guys holding onto the strap on the ground instead of tying it off help eliminate the chance of getting pinched, you should be able to drag 2 guys along before getting pinched hard enough to get hurt. Multiple ground points is another huge factor. you don't want a single anchor point straight upwind of you, but at least 2 points, one on a 45deg angle upwind from you in either direction, so when your facing the kite one will be behind you to your left, the other behind to the right. This will help to stop the swinging side to side. Those are 2 of the bigger points, but there's so many that at some time you have to ask yourself, is this really worth the risks, just to hang 2-3m in the air for a bit?


Why not go for a tandem skydive instead, cheaper than the possible hospital bills.

i've been thinking about this....there are factors that are appearing to me I just thought of. If you have a rope streached between two points in a straight line, a load applied in-between them will put in excess of 2x the load on EACH anchor. in this case that would be the line attaching to the ground to harness, and the kite to human. So if the lines between the ground to person to kite we're straight a person would put loads 2-3 times their body weight on the anchor and the ground. If you want to get off the ground I'd make a bombproof anchor, and teather yourself in long. the smaller angle between teatherline and kiteline will provide less of a load on the kite and anchor.

Pablo, Skymeat...thanks for the input. It has raised 2 or 3 points that I have put alittle thought to..
As pablo points out a single anchor will result in lots of slaps in the face from Mother Earth..
I was thinking 3 or better 5 anchor points upwind arranged in an arc behind the flyer. This would give the more time to compensate as the lateral speed is slowed by the arc.
The greater the number of anchors the less the load on them individually.
As for pinch and force on line/pilot/harness...
If the tether is as far as the pilot/harness, then the pinch is at the bar, this is your get out clause drop the bar de-power and fall to earth. If the tether is only 3m it's not that far to go...
The importance of a stable wing and the ability to de-power are also going to play a big part in the control of the flight.
If I try this then it's not going to be in a big wind, I just wanna hang out for abit.

Why do it?...well kiting to me is like surfing it's about feeling that element. Hearing it, reading it..riding it
Stand on a longboard on a 2m wave and that's kinda what I wanna feel.

I know it's going to be abit cheeky to control but I'm not a novice kiter...
and I know not to take the piss out of the elements. I've got enough scars to prove that...I'm just reckon that with abit of thought it can be done kinda safely...After all we are talking kiting..which isn't tiddly-winks...is it?

Personally I'd go with what you know for kites, preferrably something lifty, Somehow Blades and Arcs come to mind. Why, they'll lift you in less wind than a nice freindly stable foil generating less sideloading in the process.

i cant understand why you thing thethered flying would be a safer option than normal kite jumping, its much much more dangerous. and if i was gonna do it i would use something built for the job, not a parachute or whatever it is your using. when the pros do man lifting (thethered flying) they use loads of kites stacked together, so that if once breaks they dont go slamming to the floor, they also use much stronger lines, harness, etc. if you wanna get into the air get a blade and jus go kite jumping, learn to jump properly and you will come down softly most of the time

Jim, if you read the original post, I'm not sure what proper kite gear this fellow has or if he even has any real flying experience with properly powered up kites. I don't think he realizes the forces at work here. After re reading things myself I'm a little apprehensive to offer any more advice other than to buy a good 3m beginner foil.

Tether
I tried this one time when I was new to flying.
I used 12 ft. rope tether to 4 ft. concrete pole.
So up I go 6 ft. off ground when the wind stopped it started just as fast.
My body started to fall but got ripped up as I fell on the lines.
That day I learned what a 360+ was real fast right before impact.
And who needs a helmet who wants to look like a dork after all folks are watching.
Ha Ha. But that day I had some {one} else watching other then those laughing on the ground. As I did not fall on the 4 ft. pole. Learn from those that went to the school of hard knocks. So do this if you must an make sure that some {one}
is watching

Man lifting can be done safely. BUT NOT WITH A COMMON FOIL like we use for buggying, boarding etc. The forces on the kite/bridle/flying lines are WAY beyond what they are engineered to take.

Using people for anchor points gives you an intelligent and adaptive system to help absorb the gusts and follow you around. Not many cement poles will think "he is going up too high, lets walk downwind a bit to lower him"

Not to encourage experimenting unsafely, but the retired parachute idea actually sounds intriguing. After all, parachutes engineered to take the forces of deployment at 120 to 180 mph, which would rip any foil kite to shreds. Add to that adaptive anchor points, proper harness (which, btw, not a kite seat harness) a steady breeze and an experienced pilot and you will most likely walk away. But even with all those caveats addressed, is the rush really that much better than skimming along in a buggy at 45mph? Maybe for some…. Alas, it is not for me to decide what is an acceptable risk for others.

Be safe and take your time to think through what you are trying to do.

Seany

All points taken..I think the tether idea is going on the backburner for a while, although the idea of people as anchor points is a good 'un, thanks for that Seany....
I still think that this old chute could be of use though...
Maybe if I can rig it to a 4line bar or maybe fly it of 2 handles, it could be good for scudding or abit of jumping

Any ideas out there....cheers

why not just sell it and get something that is actually made for what you want to do? would seem the sensible thing to do

Alright, ive heard some stories about a couple seconds of not looking at the kite and the kite was already heading towards the ground. to answer someone else's earlier question, a half window of wind (flying the kite downward) would shove you into the ground. in this instance, the kite headed towards the ground giving him more speed moving towards the ground than freefalling and he ended up in a full body cast for a YEAR. I just thought about this though. if you did it above water, it wouldnt hurt as much if you happened to slip up.

I think that comment about the kite flying below you was reffering to if you could tether yourself to a bridge or something, more of a theoretical question.

I think it is more than hypothetical. I heard a story of someone who suspended himself off a bridge and flew a power kite while hanging. It sounds a little crazy, but fun. I have often wanted to fly a stunter or small foil while standing on a bridge so I could use 1/2 sphere instead of 1/4 sphere.

Seany

It takes everyone nearly nine months or longer to rid themselves of their first tethering, what is the fixation of reliving it?

Last weekend a couple of paragliders were out practicing canopy control. The one fellow was hooked to a single line downwind and was riding the updraft at about 25ft. I couldn't see the end of the line but expect a person or 2 were holding on and he could release at will ?
It looked somewhat safe :puzzled: but this was a paraglider not a kite !

the whole standing on a bridge thing had never occured to me
thinking about it though it sounds pretty cool
id love to give it a go to see how it turns out haha

The paraglider pilot more than likely had a release mechanism at his end. We tow hang gliders behing ultralights with a release at each end for redundancy. Both hang gliders and paragliders do static tows, basically a giant fishing reel that has a tensioning brake and can be let out in gusts. I'm pretty sure paragliders have tried aero- towing as well, but haven't really kept up with their current progress. The difference, of course, is that you're facing the opposite direction. Any time you add another bit to the mix, you up the chance of getting seriously hurt. Many pilots have died trying to tow, often while trying to reinvent the wheel. If someone else has already tried something and failed drastically, listen to them. They may be able to tell you how to do it safer. Chances are, they've put a lot of thought into their accident, laying there in the ICU. I'm all for having fun and trying new things, really. I've just lost enough friends to temper my boundless enthusiasm a bit.