the other day i tried to do a jump on my board but i fell flat on my face. I am new to boarding but have been recreationally jumping for years. How do i jump on a board?
dan

what kite(s) are you using?

i am using a flexifoil rage 3.5

What's the wind speed and your weight?

the wind speed was about 20 mph and i weigh 11 stone

I'm guessing that the face plant was on the landing? If so, you've got to land with the board pointing somewhat down wind, probably close to 30deg. Your direction will change when airborne, you'll start to drift down wind, If you land with the board pointing straight cross wind you'll get pulled straight out the front door.

The Rage isn't really the liftiest kite on the market either. While they will lift in the right conditions they won't make life easy on you. Just a thought, If you're going for freestyle on a board, it may be time to track down a 4.9m Blade, there's some used BII's and BIII's going for a reasonable price.

ok thnx

A 3.5 is too small a kite to get real float out of. It will toss you well enough but then there isn't enough canopy to really let you glide. You will get a better jump with a bigger kite. 5m or bigger.
As mentioned the rage is a better pulling kite than jumper even in the larger sizes.

just a quick question, are blades actually any good for jumping on a board, they just seem to drop you down, they dont seem to produce much float, can anyone verify this?

Any kite smaller than 5m or so will dump you. the Blade 4.9m is about as small as you want, but way more float with the 6.5m and the 8.5m. Nothing will out lift a Blade, they've got good float in the larger sizes as well.

What size blade do you have?

well im using a 4.9 and 6.6, but i was just curious cos im using a sabre 7 aswell, and it seems to give a hell of alot more float, but less lift,

what do u think?

Well, the Blade 6.6 is probably one of the best kites out there for lift, in 20mph winds it should be more than powered as well. There is a trick to jumping with a fixed bridal kite, just need to figure it out, Someone who's done lots of it should be able to give some better pointers here. With depowerable kites like the sabre, you often go out with more available power, simply let off the power, send the kite high and load up, power up and launch. Much easier to learn and pull off, but I'm pretty sure the 6.6m will easily outlift the 7m Sabre in the same winds once you get it figured out.

yeah i know what you mean, i have heard about this little trick about putting the brakes on a tiny bit, but the sabre defonatly gives more float,

what do you think would be a happy medium for the sabre? good jumps but not too big

3 suggestions:

- Get a larger kite with a liftier shape. I highly recommend Ozone Frenzys. Larger depowerable foils are actually safer than smaller fixed bridle kites

- Get a depowerable kite = allows you to handle increased power very comfortably. This will allow you to generate sufficient lift without having to put the kite fully in the power zone (downwind). In turn, your jumps will be more vertical, less horizontal.

- Redirect the kite in the direction you are jumping from (once airborne). It will help lift you and set you down gently. If you jump in the same direction as the kite is going - ie without redirecting - you'll hit the ground going in that direction, fast.
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/images/smilies/singing.gif

3 suggestions:

- Get a larger kite with a liftier shape. I highly recommend Ozone Frenzys. Larger depowerable foils are actually safer than smaller fixed bridle kites

- Get a depowerable kite = allows you to handle increased power very comfortably. This will allow you to generate sufficient lift without having to put the kite fully in the power zone (downwind). In turn, your jumps will be more vertical, less horizontal.

- Redirect the kite in the direction you are jumping from (once airborne). It will help lift you and set you down gently. If you jump in the same direction as the kite is going - ie without redirecting - you'll hit the ground going in that direction, fast.

Ok .
The trick is to find how far to send kite back and than really fast redirect it.For a long time I was jumping on blade 6.5 and then one day I found that 4.9 is even better . Smaller size =faster turn=more pop.With Your weight I would recommend You to start with 6.5 in 12-15 mph and than move to 18,Later switch to 4.9 in 18-22 and here is a guy flying all over the sky.Learn first to jump with kites by running and than sending kite behind You and redirect.Timing is very important.To make Your jump more floaty ether You have to pick up more speed or start jump by having kite lover in the window (45 deg) before sending it back.It will take some time and few wipe outs before You get that, but it's worth it.once You learn how to jump You will experiment with where to put kite to make Your landings very soft.Your Sabre have more float as is larger in size,less pop as is slower on turn.Try to jump with it in 20+ and it is whole different kite.Stay away from anything smaller than 5m to jump with it as You will need face surgery .
Cloudy I agree with You that it is safer to learn with depower but here is good proof that with fixed You can do as good as with depower http://www.flexifoil.com/company/newsitem.php?article_id=102... .And BTW I don't know if Your frenzy can beat my blade in lift .I was ripping all over the sky today on OB.I guess You couldn't make it huh?
Hope that will help.
Cheers mate.

Quote:

Originally posted by zloty Cloudy I agree with You that it is safer to learn with depower but here is good proof that with fixed You can do as good as with depower http://www.flexifoil.com/company/newsitem.php?article_id=102... .And BTW I don't know if Your frenzy can beat my blade in lift .I was ripping all over the sky today on OB.I guess You couldn't make it huh? Hope that will help. Cheers mate.

Hey Slawek -


I don't disagree with you. In the end, fixed bridle kites are more efficient wings than depowerable foils. I would characterize depowerable foils like Frenzys as fundamentally safer and more user-friendly than fixed bridles like Blades. They allow you to have huge power on tap, without having to always have it 'ON'. On the other hand, if you really want to push the limits of performance, fixed bridles kites simply fly more cleanly, move faster and generate way more pop - especially for their size. They are basically more high performance than depowerable foils. And Blades are particularly sweet kites.

The issue for the beginner is that you'll need a 3 or 4M fixed bridle kite to really get going and in order to power it up sufficiently, you'll need to push it REALLY low in the wind window - which can lead to some scary situations (overpowering). The power is pretty much all or nothing in this situation. That same beginner would be much better off - in my mind - with a depowerable foil even three times the size, because they can instantly depower it; and because the larger foil can be flown closer to the edge of the window (ie underpowered), while still generating sufficient power to get moving. The 'sweet spot' of these kites in terms of power and wind conditions is simply amazing. This of course assumes that the same beginner has thoroughly learnt to fly the kite statically before getting on a landboard. That's the rub. You really don't want to jump on landboard with a 12M Frenzy if you can't fly it very comfortably because it will hand your ass to you.

Just my 2 cents, and I started on fixed bridles. After getting yanked off my landboard horizontally by the wind a few too many times, I got me a Frenzy. And that was all it took. And yes, someday when I become truly expert, I'll probably go back to Blades...

Catch you at Ocean Beach soon. 5 hours today, it was luuuuvly!