So this is my brother-in-law taking my 6m out for a ride. One more reason to be uber careful in gusty conditions! He's fine, really sore, but fine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIIO1RzzDyA

How windy was that?
How long did it take to untangle the kite?
What were you flying?

Some kite killers would be a good investment, it seems. I have had a kite stuck in a tree before... and I would hate for anyone to lose a kite like that.

Glad everyone came out okay.

Wow. I hope he's okay. (And the kite) What kinda wind was that?

that's a classic! superfast scud to superman to forwards tumble! thanks for the reassurance that he's ok, it didn't like that was a foregone conclusion!!!

be careful when letting newbies fly kites when well powered!!! (sorry, had to say it...)

also a good vid of when it's best to launch at the side of the window????

thanks for sharing...

WOW! thats a good one Glad he is ok .. that looked nasty.

What kite was that and did you get it back?

O.k. so some background on the situation. My bro-in-law Dallas is actually pretty experienced with a kite. It had been a long time since we have had good wind and the forecast for today was 15-17 knots (pretty dang strong). So we had my 6m Ace out and we were all having a great time, big jumps! The wind started to get a little stronger but we were playing it safe, waiting until things died down to launch and keeping things under control. Well, Dallas launched right as a big gust came rolling through and I just happened to catch it on video. My kite was o.k. but traveled pretty far. We only had one set of kite killers and we were using it on the other kite. =P Go figure.

Luckily no one was hurt and we have a crazy video to laugh about now. Needless to say we packed it up after that!

The Ace, you say? That explains a lot. I used to own a 2m, it spanked me a few times. Glad everyones ok.

hey, thanks for the background, and sorry about my bad call, after seeing it again it seems a newbie would not have held on for that long!

I'd have packed up my 5m and gone down a size (or two??) by the time the wind started gusting hard past 18-20 knots! y'all were going LARGE:eekdrull:

I lost my Ozone imp to a light post and am still mourning it. I glad he is ok and the kite too. My Ace pulls like a train. It snapped my homemade kite killers so I bought real ones from Dakitez not long ago. Crazy video It is a good one to show my buddy who really wants to start with a bigger kite.

Wow. That was something. Glad everyone was ok. I hadn't seen such a fast pull forward on someone else before I'm usually flying fairly underpowered, or at least try to, so I'm not sure I've even been launched that far. Looks fun and not so much fun all at the same time :Ange09:

Nice little flip at the end there! I'm glad he didn't break a leg or something! Man, that kite really took off!

That was...awesome, it wouldn't have been if he got hurt, but as long as he was fine, that was probably the coolest thing I've ever seen. He flies across the ground, ditches the shoes, supermans, and tops it all off with a front flip =P I'm jealous...lol

Quote:

Originally posted by McDuck O.k. so some background on the situation. My bro-in-law Dallas is actually pretty experienced with a kite. It had been a long time since we have had good wind and the forecast for today was 15-17 knots (pretty dang strong). So we had my 6.5m Ace out and we were all having a great time, big jumps! The wind started to get a little stronger but we were playing it safe, waiting until things died down to launch and keeping things under control. Well, Dallas launched right as a big gust came rolling through and I just happened to catch it on video. My kite was o.k. but traveled pretty far. We only had one set of kite killers and we were using it on the other kite. =P Go figure. Luckily no one was hurt and we have a crazy video to laugh about now. Needless to say we packed it up after that!

Ok, not to be picky but I had to go look to see if Pansh makes a 6.5 Ace now. I had a 6m and I knew they made a 7 and couldn't imagine why they would also make a 6.5. Nothing on the site this morning, so I guess you really have a 6m? Kite killers would've been golden for static flight in winds like that. They are cheap enough to pick up a set.

I'm putting that link in one of my tutorials. Not that I'm above that- I've made regrettable decisions that produced spectacular results, but nobody caught it on video. Thanks for the post.

Glad he's okay. I'm also glad you had the camera out. I bet your bro is too. It would really be too bad to get yarded like that with no photographic evidence.

That last flip he did was incredible. He was pretty lucky not to get hurt badly.

Man that happened quick....seems like he got the right technique down....scudding for as long as he could staying low to the ground...then unfortunately, got bit! Pretty amazing that he had the mindset to release instead of hold on for dear life...

I wouldn't say this if he got hurt, but classic video...superman, shoes flying everywhere, front flip at the end...definitely a vid to share with good friends...poor guy's probably not going to live that down for a long time...

...also a good video to show what can happen and how Sh$t can go wrong fast....

Thanks for posting!

I think you're right on the 6m vs. 6.5m question Bob. For some reason I had it in my head that it said 6.5 on the website but I checked as well and all I can find is 6m. No worries, it's still a ton of fun.

I like your friend who doesn't miss a step running past the injured guy to save your kite

How exactly would kite killers have made this situation any better ?

I see him getting all messed up when the brakes hit HARD and he finds himself tumbling through the lines if he remained attached to the kite. :puzzled:

Quote:

Originally posted by Bladerunner I like your friend who doesn't miss a step running past the injured guy to save your kite

Hadn't noticed that til now. FUNNY

Quote:

How exactly would kite killers have made this situation any better ?

Since he has some experience, maybe he would have let go sooner?

Quote:

I see him getting all messed up when the brakes hit HARD and he finds himself tumbling through the lines if he remained attached to the kite. :puzzled:

Yeah, could be...

I feel out of place explaining something about kiting to you Bladerunner, but IMHO, the kite killers would've had the kite fluttering to the ground without power instead of hurtling him through the air and tumbling on the ground provided he turned loose in time. He was probably timid about turning the kite loose at first but then he'd had enough no matter what happened to the kite. I've never had the brakes "hit hard" on kite killers myself. I saw it happen to pokitetrash once on his 4.5m Cult, but he had his killers attached to the backs of the handles which didn't take enough power out of the kite.

One time while buggying with my old 6.5 Blade, a gust hit me and actually ripped the handles out of my hands beyond my control, (no strop) at which point the kite just fluttered to the ground on the killers while I coasted to a stop still sitting in the buggy. I went from not being able to hold the handles in my hands to a few pounds of pull almost instantly.

Don't want to get into a killers vs non killers debate...think we've already done that here but...

in this situation, he might have let the kite go sooner if he had the killers (mindset being, don't want to lose the kite...I'll hold on longer and try to avoid it, etc).

also, and I can't tell here, I would not want my kite flying through the air and possibly landing on some bystander or car...possibly injury and loss of kiting privileges at site.

Yeah, so I'm the guy that took the tumble in the video. Just prior to taking that spill on a 6m kite we were all jumping on my 8m (most of us were easily getting 10ft vert), and then decided there was just way too much wind for that.

I will say though, that the only thought going through my head at the time was "If I lose this kite (McDuck) is going to freaking kill me!"

I am looking into getting a good pair kite killers in light of my tumbling expiriance. Glad you guys enjoyed it!

I don't think that the killers would have made much difference one way or another here. It looked to me like it happened so fast that he wouldn't have let the handles go any sooner even with the kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s. Maybe if he used them and had practiced using them his instincts would have been to release the handles quicker. To date, my worst kite beating was last winter on my 3m Beamer while wearing kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s. By the time I let go of the handles I was already airborn and it was far to late.

As far as whether the kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s would have made the crash worse, I doubt it. When I've deployed mine in strong winds the kite has hardly fluttered to the ground. In strong winds the kite flaps around violently and bounces up and down off the ground, spins, etc. However it does this with greatly reduced pull. I've never been in a situation where I wasn't able to hold my ground (i.e. got dragged) when the kite was on the kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s. Of course I've never gotten yarded like this in video either!

A helmet would have offered some protection and cheaper than a hopital visit.


Susan (npw goddess)

Quote:

Originally posted by lunchbox also, and I can't tell here, I would not want my kite flying through the air and possibly landing on some bystander or car...possibly injury and loss of kiting privileges at site.

My thoughts exactly. Kite killers dont do much for the individual flying the kite at the exact moment of incident. They let me feel more comfortable letting go of the kite... but in that example, I would have already been hurtling through the air before I could think... "I should let go of this thing"

They would save a kite from being damaged... A bystander from being damaged... Bad representation of the sport in general when bystanders get hurt...

For about $17 for a good set of Kite Killers, there is no excuse not to use them. Would you go kitesurfing without the use of a leash?

Just my opinion... for the moment. As the sport grows something like kite killers might be mandatory... We'll need to get kite insurance like in the UK. I would actually like that.

Quote:

Originally posted by BeamerBob but IMHO, the kite killers would've had the kite fluttering to the ground without power instead of hurtling him through the air and tumbling on the ground provided he turned loose in time. He was probably timid about turning the kite loose at first but then he'd had enough no matter what happened to the kite.

Good point ! I see how he may have let go earlier.

I hadn't noticed the no helmet part Susan ! Another good point !

Live and learn !!!!

Quote:

Originally posted by dylanj423 For about $17 for a good set of Kite Killers, there is no excuse not to use them. Would you go kitesurfing without the use of a leash?

I think it depends entirely on where you are kiting. In the video it looks like there is plenty of room and no people, roads, powerlines, etc downwind so I don't see why someone would need to use killers there if they don't feel like it. It looks like the kite came down undamaged down wind so the ONLY benefit of kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s in this case would have been IF they helped the pilot release the handles sooner. And I somewhat doubt that they would have because it happened so fast.

I don't kite surf, but I've stopped using a leash on my snowkites when I'm kiting with plenty of room down wind. It's just one less thing to worry about and one less thing to tangle up. As long as I'm willing to chase my kite if I lose it and there isn't a potential to damage people or property I don't see a reason to use it.

EDIT: I didn't see that the flier had posted on this thread until just now. It sounds like some kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s definitely would have helped this situation! BTW, glad you're okay man.

Quote:

Originally posted by Gimelpunx Yeah, so I'm the guy that took the tumble in the video. Just prior to taking that spill on a 6m kite we were all jumping on my 8m (most of us were easily getting 10ft vert), and then decided there was just way too much wind for that. I will say though, that the only thought going through my head at the time was "If I lose this kite (McDuck) is going to freaking kill me!" I am looking into getting a good pair kite killers in light of my tumbling expiriance. Glad you guys enjoyed it!

Thanks for sharing your pain with us. I just keep watching it over and over. Its the best laughs I have had in awhile. (Only laughing because you are ok).

I'm thinking if you held on alittle longer you would have landed it :wee:

This video is a perfect example to show beginners (not saying you are a beginner) how fast you can get into trouble with a lifty kite. If this kite was something with much less lift you would have been just sliding across the ground without the walking on air part and it would have been alot less chance of injury.

My opinion above wasn't really a killers vs no killers debate. My experience is that when my gyro in my head tells me I'm tilting forward faster than I am going to be able to catch myself, I let go. Every kite I have and have ever had goes to loose laundry at that point. With the killers, I'm not hesitant to let go if I reach that point of no return. Worst case, I get laid out on the ground but don't fly through the air, slide across the ground, or do flips when I stop.The lack of a helmet in those conditions with that kite is much more grievous than any decision about kite killers though. Protect that noggin even in conditions much more predictable than those were.

Gimel, this might've been the freebie for you to learn a lesson or two from. Glad you are able to talk to us about it. Great discussion.

I can't say I disagree. Wearing protection is always a good idea.

On another note, I'll post a few other videos of our outing yesterday when I get home. We had some good jumps. Nothing quite as amusing as this one but very few things are. :bouncy: