So I just ordered my first kites (legend 3 & Ace 5) and was wondering if I need some accessories. Is there anything you'll never ever go flying without or something you used to help you become a better Kiter? Also any tips would be welcomed because I can't seem to find anyone in Western New York with a power kite:sniff: So I'll be learning basically by trial and error on the legend while the ace waits for the day that I can safely to ride it. :tumble:

Ya get a helmet and some pads. I broke 3 bones and sprained both ankles in 3 months of owning my first power kites. Crossfire 2.4 and 4.0

Pads FOR SURE !

Then a harness ! It will allow you to fly WAY more without having to pack it in 'cause your arms areworn out.

Quote:

Originally posted by dgkid78 Ya get a helmet and some pads. I broke 3 bones and sprained both ankles in 3 months of owning my first power kites. Crossfire 2.4 and 4.0

medical insurance and a new credit card!

Hiya -- a different perspective -- if you fly on soft sand the helmet and pads are not so necessary. If you fly on hard ground and wet grass, or even gravel / concrete (just plain dangerous when starting out!) you will need them. I've been dumped from 10 feet while jumping in shifty and gusty winds I probably shouldn't have been flying with, and walked away feeling ridiculously lucky! that was on soft sand and I was able to do a parachute landing fall.

Kite killers are very good to have! you can make your own, but getting a pair online is good, flexi are the ones I use. Those are not really for your own safety, but for the safety of bystanders and can also save your kite from getting into trees or other obstacles down wind. You won't always need them, depends on the winds you fly.

Enjoy! they are both good kites to get going with!

Do let us all know how you get on!

Thanks for the tips the kites come Wednesday and don't want to go out unprepared. I'll be wearing pads but how would I go about making kite Killers? Also I heard that Pansh has a bad habit of selling kites with the control lines wrong. Is this still true, and if so whats the easiest why to adjust them?

Pin your lines down with a nail or tent peg. Walk them out and make sure they are all the same length. You can get away with the brake lines ( thin, to bottom of handles ) being a bit longer than the fly lines ( thick, top of handles ) but both thick ones and both thin should match.

When the lines are the right length you will have some slack on the back ( brake lines as the kite flies. Not too much or you won't be able to back the kite down. Too little and the kite won't fly up to zenith ( over your head ).

Kite killers are a line that goes from the bottom of each handle and wraps around your wrist. Some bungy cord and a bit of DIY and you can make a set to get you going. ( I often don't use them if I have lots of room)


I got in the habit of putting on my helmet EVERY time my kite hits the sky. A bit of overkill sometimes but it has become a good habit ! I feel odd without one on now.

hiya...

wish I knew how much you know about 4-line kites... But I don't. You should be able to find a good guide online, try scoop's guide on this forum. I'll just put the pansh-specific information here...

You've just saved a lot of money by buying pansh. Setting them up is payback for the money you have just saved. I wish you luck.

You'll get the kite, handles, and lines on a winder.

The first task is to get the lines off the winder and untangled. Could take a while, could be easy. Be patient if it takes a while, and don't start pulling hard on the tangle, you'll make it way worse.

The next task is make sure all the lines are the same length. Anchor one end of the lines to something (A strong stake is good, also work well with parapacking, if you will be flying on grass (-y fields I mean...) you'll need one, on sand you don't, search the forum there are a couple good threads on parapacking, also some good how-to guides on racekites.com) and pull them all tight with most of your body weight (at the same time) to see if the lengths are within a half-inch of each other. if they aren't, adjust the lengths.

The next task is to hook the lines up to the powers and brakes on the bridles and handles. The brakes are attached only to the trailing edge of the kite (TE - the one without the vents in it to let air in). The powers are attached to to three rows spaced along the canopy, the first along the leading edge (LE - the one with big holes / vents) the other two parallel and set back from the LE. They may be tangled, they may also be twisted. You can fly with the twists, but not the tangles. The thicker lines are the powers, the thinner lines are the brakes.

The brakes need to be loose on both kites, but still tight enough to back the kite down to the ground. The biggest noob mistake when flying 4 lines for the first time is unintended / unknowing use of the brakes, this is bigger problem with the pansh than with many other kites, the legend is sensitive on the brakes, the Ace very sensitive.

For your flrst flight you need nice smooth wind and a big area for making mistakes. soft sand is safer, grass is riskier, concrete or gravel just plain dangerous. The wind should be enough to push your hair around a bit and make grass and leaves move around a lot and make it easy to see all of a flag waving, but not so much to make most of a tree's branches move or so you can hear the flag whipping about in the wind. If you have lots of room and nobody down wind (like several hundred yards / meters) you don't really need the kite killers, but if you let go of the kite because the wind is too strong get ready for a long walk and a tangled kite.

The kite should stand up nicely on the ground when you pull a little on the powers, with the brake ends of the handles pointing at the kite. If you then rotate the handles so the brake ends are pointing at you, the kite should sit back down and lie flatter on the ground. If this is happening, you're probably safe to launch. If not, think about it a bit, maybe have a printout of the better 4-line beginner guides on the web with you for the questions you might have.

I'm not about to write a novel here, but that should get you started.

If you have trouble and come back to the forum for more information, be as specific as you can about the wind, the ground, your actions, and what you've observed. That will help you out loads with the quality of the advice you receive.

About the kite killers, well, do some research on the forums I mention above. I flew for a few weeks with bandannas wrapped around my wrists a couple times and tied off with a tight reef knot and 4mm climbing accessory cord tied to them and to the brake lines, you'll need to do research if you don't know what i mean, and they were a mighty sketchy way to go.

Finally, be aware that many kiters suffer from the new kite curse: as soon as you get a new kite, the winds become totally unsuitable for at least two weeks....:flaming:

Start with the legend! Leave the Ace until you've had a few flights with the legend.

do let us all know how you get on...

edit: good simple short version from bladerunner, and if you want pictures and more detail, try the "instructions" page at www.dakitez.com, very nicely presented...

furbs

Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to tell everyone how it goes Wednesday. The forecast says it'll have 10 mph winds and I have a nice open field that's usually clear of people.

you're set!

have fun!

Just to add a point Peter Lynn makes nice killers and at least here the set I picked up were about 20$ it is hardly worth the time. I also ALWAYS were a helmet! Soft sand when you hit it isn't to bad the the rocks and broken bottles :flaming: are a different story! Soft sand can hide all manor of things... I found I had to check the lines every few times as the change often. I would also build / buy new handles. Good luck! Watch the Ace it will try to spank you!

Remember a ground stake for parking your kite.
If you live near a big lake, go to the marine store and buy a pair of sailing gloves; the leather palm protects your hands when grabbing kite lines under tension, and the open fingertips let you work a larkshead knot.

I fly my pansh kites on flexi linesets. pansh handles are junk, Angus at C.W.S. can hook you up with some HQ K.K.s . always wear a helmet. you never know what will happen.

Lots of good advice here. I recently went out on the beach with no knee pads on, and I still have a really hard time squatting due to injury. Soft sand at decent speed with momentum isnt very soft anymore, like sliding on sandpaper! Pad up and youll be able to kite more than if you dont.

Definitley get and use kite killers. They save kites as long as they are used (please do yourself a favor and use Flexifoil killers, they really do make the best kite stuff I have found).

I would recommend a harness after you get comfy with your new kites. I waited about 4-5 months of regular flying before I used a harness. If you are flying with handles, something called a "harness strop" can be purchased online, and you'll need to have one to use a harness with handles. I use 400lb test climbing line that I got from a local outdoors store.

A kite stake is a great thing, I found some HQ kite stakes for about 6 bucks online.

Gloves are great, the best ones that I have found are climbing gloves made of soft light colored leather. Once I went out in weight lifting gloves, and my hands were stained black for a couple of days!

But the best thing I ever got to go with my kite was the board. Kite Ground-Boarding (refererred to as KGB) is my personal favorite so far. The options are many from buggies to skates , or just your shoes and rear-end. (You'll probably need a few new pairs of pants before too long, too, now that I think about it). But definitely learn the kites first.

Oh, and water. Take lots of water with you, the heat this time of year will really taki it out of you, and its really easy to over-exert yourself flying these kites. Be safe, and have fun. No doubt you will eventually run into other people flying kites at your local spot.

you must get everything, nothing out there you shouldn't have. Azzzzz pads fo showe!

wise man/woman says: If you've had one kite, you haven't had enough kites.

vs.

warren miller: If there's a fork in the road......take it.

that leads me to what I say: if it flies, fly it till your arms fall off,...or the cows come home. whatever you prefer!

peace.

Quote:

Originally posted by USA_Eli_A that leads me to what I say: if it flies, fly it till your arms fall off,...or the pies come home. whatever you prefer! peace.

...................aj:singing:

I like waves! Just as much as pies....the nutra system pies that is!

Hey the for those who care, the kites came early and I flown them today. I used the legend 3m in about 12 - 24 mph winds and it ripped me apart. I couldn't keep it in the air for 5 sec. I had the handles ripped from my hands the first time it was in the air:!: I tried two more times and I just couldn't handle it. I figured to play it safe. So I waited for a few hours and the wind got to about 3-7 Mph and it flew like a dream. It still had some force but I was able to have control. I picked it up in an hour and in that wind I can fly as long as I want without crashing for the most part. My little brother and my father flew it too the second time. I really enjoyed it, it was everything I wanted smooth strong and fast. My brother and I picked up the steering quickly, however my father still needs work on it. I have to say I LOVE this kite in the right wind.

good going... the winds sounded really gusty at first, glad to hear you survived the experience!

In a few months, you'll be flying almost safely with the same kite in the same winds, it's amazing what you'll be able to handle when the skills get dialed in!

kids pick up the skillz quick, eh?

Well if I'm a kid or not is debatable, yea we learned faster. I think It's because me and my brother went out the first time( He was afraid to fly it after he saw me) so when we went out the second weren't afraid and we experimented much more. My father, who was painting his boat when we went out for the first time, was shocked by the pull unlike "the kids."

sorry about teh kidz part, I was picking up on the little brother bit.

My dad is 65 and I've only got him flying once... just lack of opportunity, he's totally entranced by the things, tells all of his work buddies about me and my kites, very cool.

I've gotten about thirty kids going on my two-lines, had a few of them flying on their own after ten minutes or so. Got one 13-yr old going on my Ace, he was flying well after half an hour. Very light winds, tho.

keep that kite itch going...

Well I'm 19 so if I'm a kid or not is really debatable, but I had to let my father fly because he got me interested. He saw how to make a teega NPW9b online and tried to make one a few weeks ago. It failed because of a calculation error when we went to bridle it. Turns out all the parts were off by 56 cm and it couldn't be saved. However, I went to this forum while he was making it and heard everyone talking about how cheap and good Panch was. I looked at it and found it would be cheaper to buy the kites than to make them.So I just had to do it.;-)

WOW,

You are SO LUCKY to be able to learn this sport with your "Old Man" !

I think you are just at the age that you will understand what a gift this is ? Sharing something like this with your Dad will give you memories that will comfort you greatly after he is gone. I started kiting after my Father passed away to avoid depresion. To have shared this with him would have been so cool :cool2:. Do me a favour and take some time to fill up the memory bank when you guys are all out there learning together!

I can't for the life of me, get either one of my boys ( 20yo & 22yo) to go out flying with me. I guess the x-wife has convinced them that it is some ridiculous mid-life crisis or somethin'.They always say they will go out , but they are always busy. they don't know what they are missin!:singing:

show them videos of catching air and terms like "extreme sports" help

I think at that age you should show the people getting flung around, it will show its not a wussy thing. leave the advice and telling them to take it slow for the field. I bet one try on a small kite in some wind and they will be hooked, or at least want to do it again.::

frevunderground ,

I was lucky/fortunate and did A LOT with my 2 children who are grown now to over 25, with children and they talk about the kite flying outings and gatherings we went to when they were kids, they remember them as well as I do. We flew the wings off of more than one 2 line 1/2 to 1 meter stunt/power kite before we could afford a foil. We built or rebuilt the busted ones and I have very fond memories of my kids sliding across the fields. There was danger involved but it was no more than the danger of crossing the street.

As stated above, it is a very important experience with your kids (you are not a "kid" but bravo!) or with your father whichever way it happens Few things kids do these days have positive life long impact, and very few things you can do as kids can interest your parents with the same impact but this is one of them that can.




Jerry

Quote:

Originally posted by WELDNGOD I can't for the life of me, get either one of my boys ( 20yo & 22yo) to go out flying with me. I guess the x-wife has convinced them that it is some ridiculous mid-life crisis or somethin'.They always say they will go out , but they are always busy. they don't know what they are missin!:singing:

All my friends say the same thing "Oh, that sounds cool, Id love to try that..." And when it comes time, nobody wants to actually do it. But maybe thats a good thing for us. If everybody did ot, where would we all find room to kite??? My local field will hold three or four, max, and the beach is far away. Let em keep on missin, I guess. They really dont know what they are losing out on.