I'm a newbie water rider (flown on ice, snow and sand for 1 yr)

I just received a free Slingshot One Sixty Wondering if anyone knows about this kite-definitely old, might be the the parent of the Fuel?? The kite is a little dirty but otherwise shows no signs of ever having been used.

Would a water relaunch of this 16m C kite even be possible by a new rider?? 30' wide, about 8' tall at the center strut-I could see/C how this kite might have a mind of its own...

I'm 6'-5", 215 lbs, will be riding a big (165ish) light wind board. What do you think the wind range would be for me?

Any tips/words of caution/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I'm unqualified to help but just out of interest, do you have any pictures of it? The One Sixty is a very rare kite. I missed out on buying one from eBay last year.

I like the early kitesurfing kites. I bought instead a 2004 Wipika WIP 14m BRAND NEW!! It has the highest aspect ratio of any LEI ever, before or since.

A 5th line might help you to improve the wind range and relaunch capabilities of your new kite and from owning lots of fuels myself, I'd say that a wind range of 15-23mph might be about right for a 16m (depending on skill). Of course I could be taking complete BS.

Are there any safeties? Is there somewhere to leash to? Oh-#@%$#!e ? I've read that you should connect your leash to the front of your harness. Connecting to the back is a good way to drown.

If it were me, I'd wear a buoyancy aid, have a safety knife to hand and let someone know where you'll be and what time you expect to return home.

i would not bother with the kite, the wind you need will be intense and way more than a newbie would be able to manage to make it fly decently. relaunch would be possible with these elements , u MUST be excellent swimmer and in shape for olympic level effort and know EXACTLY what your doing.

the chances of it ending up in the water is very high, i would say100% <30sec. the chance of you relaunching it 0%. chances of it injuring you or drowning you 100%. ...but its ok doubtful it would hold air long enough for any of that to happen. holding air on the ground is not the same as holding air with load in the air. old junk is fragile even if it looks fresh.

might want to reassess the relationship with the person that you got it from

Agreed with Phree. There are plenty of good deals on kites that are a few years old that are far safer and easier on the learning curve. There is no way to relaunch that kite once it hits the water. I had one. It is a 2002 model and equivalent of a 16-17 meter C-kite. If it came with the original bar, it has no safety at all. They used to mod them with a 5th line to use to relaunch. The one I had was black and white. Cool looking kite but dated.....