So I figure i would share my latest kitemare. On the last one i had some broken bones. So this happened 12-07-08 on a Sunday. Wind Conditions 14mph gusting to 18mph SW :wee:
I am not too fond of Gusty conditons and my poor Montana Bowtied and fell out of the sky for the 4th time in a 1/2 hour. this time when i straightened her out .

Of course the leader lines got twisted around the brake lines. (I never seem to get this right, everytime she bowties i seem to unwrapped her backwards) this drives me nuts so I (aggravated and not thinking saftey in these gusty condtions) undo my red line and undo around brake line. All of a sudden the wind picks up 20+mph .....The stake holding the kite down hitting me straight in the head tells me this...but back to the kite first............the line flies out of my hand the kite starts doing helicopter twirls then the stake gets yanked out of the ground hitting me in the head and the kite bar gets caught on my sneaker and rips it off my foot (HAHAHAHAHAHA) .


So there i am running down the feild without my sneaker (HAHAHAHAHA) I get ahold of the bar like 100yards downwind. I got for Quick Realease and it deploys and gets caught on the red line i had undone earlier......what this means for Quick release. NOTHING!!!!!! she's spinning like a helicopter hitting the ground and spinning in the air and i am holdin on for life for what feels like 5mins.


Wind gets back to normal like 15mph and she finally stops spinning. I didn't know what else to do but runfull speed at her and grab her 2 ends and walk back and drag everything else.

2 hours later everything untangled and the lines are not stretched or anything and everything is back to normal. LOL from now on , I need to do something with the lines. i AM dropping my Board right on my kite making sure that sucker stays Down

If the wrong end of that kite stake had hit you in the head this would read like a bad horror movie script. Dang!

14-18 Gusty conditions? Not in my book, gusty is 15-30.............aj

I had two lines zing across my index fingers when the wind grabbed my little half meter stunt kite 15 years ago. Went so fast it smelled like burnt flesh. Still have the scars. I get so nervous grabbing lines...you can imagine how the PL relaunch freaks me out. Bless the auto zenith : )

Glad you're OK and the kite survived.

DEATHSPIN!!!:ticking:
Sounds like a typical day for both you and I!! I had yesterday off and you saw what the winds were like so I said "NO way!" From your story it sounds like I made the right decision.

I have not had a deathspin in about a year- luckily it was with a 1.8m! You hold on for dear life and can't do anything else! The lines twist more and more and you feel so hopeless- I ended up walking the whole mess over to a lifeguard stand and letting the kite slam into it to stop it. At that point I did not care if it was destroyed- just stop it!

Glad to hear you are alright there shoeless wonder!

Quote:

Originally posted by action jackson 14-18 Gusty conditions? Not in my book, gusty is 15-30.............aj

once i get some time under my belt i will consider that. i live on the water have only been flying de power less than a year and have a kite that hates gusts . so i ain't too accustomed to gusts just yet

Use some small bags of sand on the trailing edge to hold the kite down.

Also, snag the kite on your board or a nearby fence post or something.

Don't stake your kite down in strong wind. It probably won't stay put for very long-as you found out!


I don't really have any kitemares other than breaking my leg doing big jumps in shallow water in strong gusty wind. Did a big jump with a true front flip (not a spinner). My board slipped off my feet and I went further than expected. When I landed it was from 20' up in shin deep water. Can you say snap! Luckily my feet and ankles sunk down into the mud which supported my ankles from twisting. I didn't crash my kite-Quadrifoil Competition XL!!! Hurt like heck trying to get back to shore!

Oh, yeah-I forgot I did a jump lost control and landed on my side. I think I slightly cracked a rib. Here is the actual picture of the jump where I landed on my side.

Scott

A friend lost his handle and had the line run across his finger. Not good!

:eekdrull: man that is scary!

That really hurts to look at - I gotta save that for further reflections. Was he wearing gloves when that happened?

Quote:

Originally posted by speleopower A friend lost his handle and had the line run across his finger. Not good!

Ask Windhog about fingers and lines. :shocked2: :wow:

p.s. It's still out on Ivanpah somewhere

im going to have to put my kite mare up when i try scudding on a watered feild with the bottom of my shoes covered in duct tape