Hello, I am giving a speech on kites and would like to reference kiteboarding and surfing.

Can anyone give me a loose average on how high and how far across kiteboarders are going?

Also.. perhaps a size range on the power kites now a days.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Buggy on !:karate:

BB
Penny

There is few good movies that You should see.That should help.

Quote:

Can anyone give me a loose average on how high and how far across kiteboarders are going? Also.. perhaps a size range on the power kites now a days. Any assistance would be appreciated. Buggy on !:karate: BB Penny

Seems a simple questions but I think it may be hard to answer.
From my observations airtime differs depending on the discipline. On water about 7 seconds will still be considered HUGE. On snow, in the mountians 1 full minute is not unheard of. With a buggy 3 seconds is big so it differs a lot. Hights are equally as wide in range. Buggy maybe 5 ft. Water maybe 40ft. Snow 140ft :-) HIGH !!!

Same with kite. Kites are changing rapidly at the moment.

Originally there was mostly foil kites. They have developed and now you can get 2, 3, and 4 line. Depowerable foils are also now available in traditional bridle models and twin skin arcs.
Lei ( leading edge inflated ) kites are also changing. Originally they came in a 2 line C shape. 4 line added depower and control. Next came a 5th line for safety and relaunch. In the last few years C kites and bridled foils have started to morph. Now you can buy Bow style , Sle ( supported leading edge ) and Hybred variations of Lie. These morphs offer geater depower ( good for gusty winds ) . The hope being that with a wider wind range per kite a person can reduce the number of kites in his quiver ( bag ) .

I think the changes in kite design have improved safety and range more than they have hang time.

Thanks for the info you guys. It's nice to know they have worked on improving safety and range.

I've a 10 min. speech that is about 12 min. now and I've got to shorten it. Obviously I'll have to give a speech on just power kites one day in order to do it justice.

Avg. height and length across is shorter then I would have thought.

I'll see if I can see the videos. I'm still on dial up and to cheap to change at this time. Got to save my money for kite adventures. :karate:
BB Penny

What's the speech for? It's good to hear of people educating others about kiting.