Kind of quiet around here lately

have you seen this one yet?

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ca5_1420137864

I'd hate to pop a line....

....or get a puncture. :Ange09:

That looks like a scary moment at the beginning of the video where he's about to launch himself off the mountain and the lines go slack.

Have you seen this one. The guy is just static flying but look where he is. Then at 4:20 he hands the kite over to someone who has probably never flown. Yikes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpfSjIrKPMg

Love living vicariously thru others on stuff like this but when I read that the crazy stuntman is a parent, I think they might wanna lay off some of the shennanigans

RS... Couldn't see anything in the description but that looked like Stone Mountain here just outside Atlanta... He sounds like a GA boy too.

Looked like a REALLY bad idea

Looks just like a parachute jump to me, once the chute is open.

:o:o:oABSOLUTELY MORONIC. Dumbest thing ever done with a kite. It's right above "tethering". People PLEASE quit showing this tripe. We are trying to be the voice of reason and responsibility here. And showing the world stupidity of that level WILL undermine us,it's just a matter of time.

And it's nowhere near a parachute jump. First you would have to have a PARACHUTE ! That kite is NOT built anywhere close to the strength of a chute made to carry a man. 1 broken brake line ,bridle line etc. and it's bye- bye dumba$$

If you want a PARAGLIDER or PARACHUTE, you will need more than 1 or 2 thousand dollars I'm sure. For good reason....

Well, that is true a reg. kite is not a parachute. The reg. reserve chute in the old days is 28 foot in Dia. It had 28 lines on it at 550 pounds each. But if I was going to do that I would make a kite that was build just for Kite gliding. The NPW I make could easy be come a parachute or glider, as far as that goes you could put an engine on it and you are a plane, powered craft , It is not MORONIC If you know what you are doing and are able to do it the right way.
But if you don't know or can't build what is safe, and you still do it , it is MORONIC.
I made My first jump in1959, I have over 5000 jumps and 15000+ hours flying. I do know and so far none of my NPW kite have came apart yet. I would not jump of a cliff with them. You are 50% right.

What he means as moronic is to jump off a cliff with equipment that will cause a fatal accident if only one line breaks. It could easily happen and there would be no recovery unless he had a reserve chute AND time to deploy it. He had some sort of backpack on so we can hope.

Quote: Originally posted by WELDNGOD

:o:o:oABSOLUTELY MORONIC. Dumbest thing ever done with a kite. 1 broken brake line ,bridle line etc. and it's bye- bye dumba$$

Don't you think you're being a little tough on the guy. Did you read the credits? The kiter has "huge experience", he's done "similar jumps on a snowkite" and practices "proper nutrition" and "punk style meditation". It don't get any more professional or safer than that:duh:

None of us know what he may have done to the so call kite. He could have done all kinds thing to it. He is living so did do something right.

Quote: Originally posted by sadsack

None of us know what he may have done to the so call kite. He could have done all kinds thing to it. He is living so did do something right.

Just because you survived something once doesn't ever mean it's a good idea, or that it was safe enough to repeat.

Even with a double lineset, a line attachment could break, centerline, bar, you name all the single parts that would spell failure. Stuff like this requires the attention to detail that is given a paraglider.

I think the concesus from most experienced (even minimally experienced) kiters would be that in general this is a bad idea on a multitude of levels... Is it really worth all the discussion?

Surf kites are for kite surfing or other traction kite sports, not for paragliding or sky diving. I think we've already discussed the major differences therein.

Again, is it worth the discussion?

I don't have a problem with it. I view it as a calculated risk. He knew the dangers and had most likely practiced smaller glides. They didn't try to ban dirt bikes when evil k started using them to jump school buses. He did say not try this several times.

Keeping the pot stirred. :evil:

Quote":

view it as a calculated risk. He knew the dangers and had most likely practiced smaller glides. They didn't try to ban dirt bikes when evil k started using them to jump school buses. He did say not try this several times.


Keeping the pot stirred. "





I like cave scuba diving,

am I going to most certainly die in a Walmart parking lot accident with Large Marj, most likely.

Quote: Originally posted by RedSky

....or get a puncture. :Ange09: That looks like a scary moment at the beginning of the video where he's about to launch himself off the mountain and the lines go slack. Have you seen this one. The guy is just static flying but look where he is. Then at 4:20 he hands the kite over to someone who has probably never flown. Yikes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpfSjIrKPMg

I grew up not too far from Stone Mountain. It is the largest single piece of granite rock in the world. I would NEVER NEVER NEVER fly any kite but the smallest of single lines or stunt deltas up there. The wind is completely unpredictable up there. It is either 10mph or nuking, and nothing in between. It changes frequently at the top and there is no way to tell what it will do next.

Quote:

I grew up not too far from Stone Mountain. It is the largest single piece of granite rock in the world. I would NEVER NEVER NEVER fly any kite but the smallest of single lines or stunt deltas up there. The wind is completely unpredictable up there. It is either 10mph or nuking, and nothing in between. It changes frequently at the top and there is no way to tell what it will do next.

Now flying your kite next to cliff like that is MORONIC.

Errol, I was only guessing it was Stone Mountain... You think that's it?

I'm not an ATL native and have only been there a couple times, but it sure looks like it!... Does look UBER stupid.

On the subject of risky activities or flying locations, I think it all boils down to whether it helps or hurts our sport..
Does the benefit or attention outweigh the risks and does the risk taker consider the impact on others in the sport?


If the individual in the original video had crashed, what impact would it have had to other kiters/kiteboarders in that area?

The bravery of one individual can inspire others but, the stupidity of one individual can also prevent inspiration from even being a possibility for those who follow. IMO, there are already enough places we can't fly..

Keep in mind
Ben Franklin learned a lot about electricity by flying a kite in weather we shouldn't even consider..

I seriously doubt there'd be any impact on the sport if he had died. None whatsoever i'm sure.
It's very sad but people die kitesurfing, three more died in the past two weeks in France. I believe one of them was a highly experienced instructor. There's usually one or two every few months unfortunately but bans never follow and well, death by misadventure is not a crime.

MY BIGGEST WORRY - The risk taker involves an innocent member of the public. This is what scares me the most and bans have followed such incidents. Thankfully they are very rare but this is why we must continue to educate newcomers to that specific risk. Public safety comes first.

Quote: Originally posted by soliver

Errol, I was only guessing it was Stone Mountain... You think that's it? I'm not an ATL native and have only been there a couple times, but it sure looks like it!... Does look UBER stupid.

That's not Stone Mountain, GA. The water and town are all wrong. He is not speaking English and the signs near the top are not English. Also, it is mentioned several times that it is an ocean below the mountain, where he lands.

Quote: Originally posted by sand flea

Kind of quiet around here lately have you seen this one yet? http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ca5_1420137864 I'd hate to pop a line....

That was just frigging NUTS ! ! ! ! I so wanna do it.

Quote: Originally posted by BeamerBob

Quote: Originally posted by soliver   Errol, I was only guessing it was Stone Mountain... You think that's it? I'm not an ATL native and have only been there a couple times, but it sure looks like it!... Does look UBER stupid. That's not Stone Mountain, GA. The water and town are all wrong. He is not speaking English and the signs near the top are not English. Also, it is mentioned several times that it is an ocean below the mountain, where he lands.

I was talking about the vid the RedSky posted... THAT looks like Stone Mtn

I know the initial vid wasn't.

This vid BB:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpfSjIrKPMg

I am not judging anybody. I was a bit younger when I 1st saw Alex do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzOCEDm73tM and thought he was He has the background both with kites and paragliding so I saw it as a calculated risk. Now I see it like others and think a back up plan would have been required. At least the guy who jumped 900ft was counting on Ozone quality gear ( a paragliding company 1st ) . Alex was using Best gear. :duh:

To me, Alex showed a whole lot more skill. Landing back on his truck and all. + I love the tunes.

The guy who was flying his trainer on the edge and passing it to a newbie on granite. No skill required. Just a lack of judgement. Did you hear how hard he was puffing from flying that little thing? To me, he is the true idiot!

Thanks Bladerunner, I enjoy that alot. It nice to see people that know what they are doing.
This guy Alex know how to fly a kite. I am just learning 4 lines kite. All I have ever flown are my NPW, but for a few min. on a foil. Alex know what he is doing.

Speaking of Alex Peterson, this has always been one of my favorite kite skiing videos and it was made way back in 2006. Super powered 100% throttle. Whatever happened to him?




As I rewatch this video for the first time in a few years, I conclude that I prefer the genre of Alex and Chasta and others of that time period to the videos of today. These guys were really pushing it back in the day and the way the videos are edited and spliced convey that feeling (to me at least).

These folks seem to be in complete control.

(Alex has no helmet, BTW in 'Kite soaring' video on cliff...)

I think about the infamous 'Top hat video' a little. I don't know if what happened in that is so rare that it fits into calculation of risk.

The cliff 'Kite soaring' by Alex is impressive control by complete understanding of operation, and perhaps the limits. A very close hand filming and view of Alex, quite effecting- gives you an emotional feel for what he's doing....even if you can't quite relax like Alex is- and are clenching your butt cheeks while watching!

what could possibly go wrong during a paraglider rope swing?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bNlXLn0iwc

Yes, Spence, that is Stone Mountain. Hiked up it several times and every time I hiked it I thought how awesomely windy it was. It is a giant thermal skillet. The only thing I would fly on that summit is a dollar store single line I didn't care if I ever saw again.