Does a big kite have more to do with your weight or your wind conditions? are they really luffty or pretty stable. (Bullets). like the 5.5 & 7.0. Thanks.

I'm just a noob BUT...

From what I have found there are two reasons..which involve your health

1) Getting up in the air is not really the problem, how fast you come down is. A large kite gives more of a parachute effect and you get a softer landing vs. a small kite. Others may put it " with a small kite you fall like a stone" ouch!

2) The Second is wind speed and the results of it...A large kite needs a lower wind speed to get you up. Thus you are operating your kite in less severe conditions. Allowing you much more time to correct your mistakes. The soft wind takes you up gently, while the at the wind speeds needed for a small kite to get you off the ground things happen quickly indeed.

Good answers:

Also, wind stability is a key factor, low wind, involving large kites is usually pretty smooth and stable, you may get 10mph gusting to 12 or so. Nuking high winds you'll get something like 25mph gusting to 35 or 40mph. Way more severe difference.

And yeah, it's a lot safer to get floated down from 20ft with a large kite than to be dropped 10 ft by a small kite.

I'll try and avoid flying lifty kites in anything under a 5m size.

One thing to remember is that large kites produce tremendous amounts of power. If your only concern is to get air and you buy a kite in the 8 to 10+ meter size....and your winds are averaging over 20 mph every day you will not be able to fly the kite without a chance of severe injury or death. You can't just buy a 10+ meter kite and expect to get tons of air and be safe doing it. It does come down to the winds you are planning on using the kite in and your ability to fly the kite. Larger kites can be quite dangerous if used in the wrong conditions.

Fly safe.

When i was 12 i had a super 10 and i used to do some few feet high jumps. I just bend my knees when I land, also I practice jumping of my first story roof I probably shouldn't do it but I havent broke anything yet and now have a bigger kite.

The kite type and design has a huge amount to do with it, I've been trying to get airbourn for quite some time now, So after getting a new ATB/surf kite(16m Scorpion), I find myself not only having no problem getting rolling, I'm accidentally pulling off 2-3m airs on my transistions and doing it with a huge feeling of safety. I'll never give up on my race kites though for all out buggy speed.

Wish I had a Flexi Super 10 when I was 12!

The Super 10 was my first power kite - loved that thing Then I got a Blade and I was hooked...

Me too!

Biggest Kite I had as a kid was 4' tall Big Green/Black Dragon , Plastic Diamond kite,(Dad got it for me, it probably cost 2.00$) but with a proper 5-6' tail on it, I once flew about 2500' of line on that sucker one saturday afternoon, took me like 45min of winding to bring it back down, with my mom yelling in the distance that dinner was ready... Didnt even HAVE power kites around when I was a kid... not till I was in my 30's or so before they came out... if you count back 20 yrs...

Very nice Looking ProFoil 4.5m², Belegnole, sweet looking kite...

There's lots of talk about kite size and not so much about the kite its self.

Now I have a Beamer 3.6 and as far as I'm aware its a puller (and man does it PULL).

The only kite I've found reference to being good for jumping is the (Widow Maker) Blade 4.9.

If I'm fairly new to the sport 6ft and weighing in at around 200lbs would it be a good choice or would something else be more suited?

(Sorry to hijack the thread!)

if you're 200 pounds and have a 3.6 beamer you should be fine with the 4.9 blade. Some people, like myself, started kiting with it (I'd only ever flown a tiny trainer before it), but few people would recommend this. Give it respect, start in low winds, and expect it to pull and lift alot more than your beamer. Oh, and there are lots of kites good for jumping, crossfire, ozone riot, ozone haka, mac bego, just to name a few. Only speaking from what I've heard here, though, only flown the blade. Most people don't jump with anything smaller than 5ish meters, not enough float.

good topic especially for a beginner looking at the forum trying to get info. When I started I didn't understand why you would need more than 1 kite. Now i realize you need ATLEAST 3 minimum. Realistically more like 6 or 7 for the different wind conditions. I'm currently just a static flyer so from what I see you need like a 3m , 5m, 8m roughly pulling power kite to do some scudding and like 5m, 7m, 9m roughly lifty kites if want to try some jumping. Everyone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. If I'm correct someone please explain this to my WIFE !!

LOL!! yeah i have a 3 5.5 and an 8 which suits me fine for our local wind conditions. Usually low to medium and rarely super crazy but i needed a trainer so i went with a 3 meter. Also the nice thing about a large kite is hill jumping. I took out my 8 meter ace in 0 wind yesterday and ran a backwards and got a nice glide.
!!!yAY!!!!

For buggying or pretty much anything you need a fixed amount of power to get you going. windy days, lots of power so you can get away with a smaller sail, on a calm day you need a monster sail to generate the same amount of power. Nuff said. A smaller kite will always go faster than a monster kite because it'll generate less drag, but you need enough power to get you going at speed, so you end up pulling whatever kite out of the bag you figure will get you going good without being way too big.

Is there some "magic number" or tech spec or a given kite that would indicate if it's going to be a lifty kite or a tractor puller?

Many! Sorry dont have time to answer in full just be patient or read up.

No worries. I found this on the racekite forum and wow.....did it ever answer my questions!

http://www.racekites.com/reviews/getReview.asp?reviewID=2104

Quote:

Originally posted by dlish89 good topic especially for a beginner looking at the forum trying to get info. When I started I didn't understand why you would need more than 1 kite. Now i realize you need ATLEAST 3 minimum. Realistically more like 6 or 7 for the different wind conditions. I'm currently just a static flyer so from what I see you need like a 3m , 5m, 8m roughly pulling power kite to do some scudding and like 5m, 7m, 9m roughly lifty kites if want to try some jumping. Everyone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. If I'm correct someone please explain this to my WIFE !!

So if I was looking at a 5m Riot this should do the job?

Hey, Your wife dosen't understand your kiting yet? You better give her one. Or a least make her go with you a couple times. It took my woman awhile to get involved with my kiting now she loves going.

Mine likes going but only to take pictures for scrapbooking. I can't get her to hold a handle or strap for anything. She never gets irritated when I load up the kites because the wind is blowing though.

my wife wants nothing to do with flying. she will go as long as its not cold, but then after awhile she is all wind blown and sits in the truck. I can't wait till next weekend we will be camping on the beach so she can sit in the trailer and I can fly till me arms fall off !!:singing::singing: hopefully with my new kites.

Wow! Did Pansh have a one of everything sale? Your sig looks like it did! Think my wife would believe that?

I ordered 20 kites to get their wholesale prices. So, yes one of everything was on sale

* an awe of silence *


(and envy ; )

Quote:

Originally posted by macboy * an awe of silence * (and envy ; )

Very well put. Some guys on here have 20 or more kites but I bet none of them bought them all in one order! I have WallStreet buzzing to try to corner some extra cash to relieve him of one of his new Panshs.

So anyway !!!

I've just aquired a 5m Riot.

Good to start jumping with?

Sorry for being part of the hijack. The Riot is good when the wind gets above 22 knots and all the way to 40. This will be your high wind go to kite for sure.

My old lady is the same way, She wont fly but she takes pics so she can laugh later. And when she gets cold or wind blown she also goes to the car. But she is very supportive and almost always goes with me so I love her for that. I guess it kinda evens out though I hate going shopping and I refuse to sit in the car and wait And I do more dam shopping than I go kiting lately so hey! Whats up with that!