02GF74
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 09:22 AM |
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anyone into kiting ?
is anyone on here into kiting ? you know, those big ones that look like paragliders.
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JP32
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 09:25 AM |
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Jep me... but I wonder what it has to do with this forum??
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Agriv8
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 09:35 AM |
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Thank god for that I read it as knitting.
nothing wron with knitting I supoose getting very close with my wiring loom.
regards
agriv8
Taller than your average Guy !
Management is like a tree of monkeys. - Those at the top look down and see a tree full of smiling faces. BUT Those at the bottom look up and see a
tree full of a*seholes .............
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02GF74
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 09:43 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by JP32
Jep me... but I wonder what it has to do with this forum??
Anything else - so this is anything else? 
what size would you recommend that is big but but big enough to pick me off the gorund, let's say I weigh about 90 kg, give or take a few
pies.
something like this:
kite
(ofcourse the theme is low lost  )
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trogdor
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 09:52 AM |
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i used to be a kiter, is great fun! especially in high winds and u get lifted rather higher than u'd like!
my best advice would be start small, say a 2.5metre kite, this will still be able to lift you in high enough winds and will be fun and relatitvely
cheap too. plus its good to go boarding with it!
i started with a 2.5 metre beamer kite, that was fine til we got a 7 metre one! that one was hairy, but i then brought a 11.2 metre arc which was a
great kite, very smooth and stable, it would sit above you with out touching the controls! very powerful though gave me a few oh sh*t moments!
the place where you fly is also important as the quality of the wind will vary from place to place and day to day, some days it is rubbish others its
fantastic!
the best places are close to the coast, if the wind is coming from offshore it is the best.
i would also join a club or go to a club, where do you live? if you are close to southampton i can tell a few places you can go to blag a go.
[Edited on 14/3/07 by trogdor]
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Duncan_P
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 10:10 AM |
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I weigh about 70kg's and have a 4m2 Radsail Pro So far i have been
really impressed with it, but it still scares me a bit in anything vaguelly windy and I have been flying it for a while so wouldnt recomend it as a
starting kite.
The one that you were looking at would be fun but i doubt that you would get much traction from it unless it was very windy. Personally i would be
looking to spend a bit more to get a quad line kite that is a little bigger so you are less likely to get bored, quad lines also have the advantage of
being easier to launch and land when your by yourself.
Going back to kites.... I have ordered from Pansh which is direct from china (the translations are good for a few
laughs) The quality of the kites is actually pretty good, although the lines arent the best but you can upgrade these later.
I would be looking at the ones about 3m2, which will be big enough to fly in a large wind window and big enough to get some decent traction but not
big enough to do yourself some serious damage.
Please dont think im being a spoil sport but DONT GET CARRIED AWAY WITH THE SIZE OF YOUR FIRST KITE.
EDIT TO ADD - If your near me feel free to drop by and blag a go..... i have a selection of kites you could try  (not all mine)
[Edited on 14/3/07 by Duncan_P]
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trogdor
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 10:20 AM |
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yeah he is right, i well thought 2.5 metres was too small, but when we took it out with decent wind it gave us a few scary moments i remember being
dragged across a green behind it! was good fun tho, we could atcually skim along the grass on our trainers have some vids somewhere.
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twybrow
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 10:23 AM |
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If you want to fly then I thoroughly reccomend a Flexifoil Blade (I/II/III). I have a 4.9m2 Blade II and it is awesome. Gentle in light winds, and a
real beast in a moderate breeze. I have done some huge jumps (all the way into hospital!)... BEst bet is try some kites out in a vairety of winds and
decide from there. Don't be tempeted to buy too big as you will either kil yourself or wont fly it. If you are a beginner, i wouldn't go
much bigger than 3m2 for your first power kite. Get used to flying on four lines in a variety of conditions and then start collecting the big ones! I
believe you can buy a Blade I 10m2 for abour £150 now (but that really is a parachute!). Where abouts are you?
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02GF74
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 10:27 AM |
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in S. Herts; just intend to pi%% about with it on the common, not planning ofr take off just yet 
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trogdor
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 10:30 AM |
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I used to have a 16m2 ARC! that was a scary beast the once or twice that i flew it, its aspect ratio was the highest of any kite i believe. It was
called an F-Arc, appaertly thats what most people said when the fle it! F***
blades are good too, my housemate had a blade III 5m and it was a nice kite, but in high winds it would lift you quite high then drop you.
[Edited on 14/3/07 by trogdor]
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Duncan_P
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 10:32 AM |
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Stick below 3m2 then
I think my record so far is about 5ft in the air, but then I play it on the safe side as i spent enough time in hospital last year to last me for a
while (non kite realted)
[Edited on 14/3/07 by Duncan_P]
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 10:38 AM |
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this is so popular in Aberdeen now and down at Balmedie beach. Does look quite fun but I've seen a few nasty falls. I was in stitches once when
I saw one guy on a buggy get dragged into the sea head first!
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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Duncan_P
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 10:40 AM |
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How about something like this if you want
something new. Works out around £50. I know that it is strech your original budget but personally i would spend that little bit more
... otherwise i would start trawling fleabay for a second hand one, but they dont seem to come up so often in that sort of size as people tend to keep
them for when its really windy or for friends to fly
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trogdor
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 10:54 AM |
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i got my arcs from the flexifoli forum they cost about £200 each, which wasn't bad as i sold them for profit on ebay about a year later!
but if your getting a little one you may as well buy it new they aren't that expensive. A beamer kite is pretty good for a beginner and they
should only cost about £100 for a 2.5 or 3 metre one
it is funny watching people mess it up, it really hurts tho!
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RazMan
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 10:57 AM |
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I used to fly with a mate's kite when the wind was too strong for paragliding. He had a modular system - you just added another parabolic kit in
tandem (up to four iirc) according to wind speed. When you started jumping above ten feet or so you knew it was time to take one kite off the line!
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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flak monkey
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 11:15 AM |
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Yep, still go every ow and again.
Flexifoil is the best stuff, pricey though.
If you are just starting out I wouldnt recommend the Blades as they can be a bit much for some people.
But if you have some experience the 4.9 blades are great fun, will fly in next to no wind and will still pull you around.
David
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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viatron
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 12:21 PM |
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Beware!! quick search on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaNALgZzlR8
Looks like good fun though..
Mac
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02GF74
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 12:24 PM |
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.... and there I was expecting no replies.....
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worX
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 01:34 PM |
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U2U sent!
quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
.... and there I was expecting no replies.....
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MikeR
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| posted on 14/3/07 at 04:11 PM |
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went with friend, she had a 1.5m and a 3.5m. The 1.5 was great fun, very manouverable. the 3.5 in the wind we had was amazing. I could get tired, lie
on teh ground and it would just float straight above me holding my arms up. I'd then dive it to the ground and skim the horizon and it would
pull me to my feet (85kg). I could then fly it around, get pulled all over the place.
VERY tiring and gave me sore arms the next day.
Also got to play with the buggy on teh 1.5m kite, also very good fun.
I'd seriously reconmend the 4 line kites, just for safety, they have in built "brakes" for when things get hairy.
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twybrow
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| posted on 16/3/07 at 01:02 PM |
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Brake lines really shouldn't be used 'when things get scary'. They are more for fine control and quicker turning. I landed my self
in hospital by using the 'brake lines will save the day' trick... It was one of the 1st times I had flown in-land (read gusty
conditions!). I did a jump and caught a gust. The mrs was watching as I pulled the brake lines 20ft off the deck. Needless to say, the kits instantly
de-powered and I dropped like a sack of spuds. All this the day before I was due to usher at my sisters wedding! She wasn't happy when I rang
her from the hospital with possible knee and spinal injuries! It turned out to be ok in the end, but it was the last time I took my Blade out in
strong winds in-land... A deserted beach is the place to learn. My biggest jump so far is around 25ft off the ground and I covered about 150ft along
the ground (it was 25+mph wind and I was harnessed up - tried a pendulem jump and acutally flew!!). It is a fantastic sport and a great workout.
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flak monkey
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| posted on 16/3/07 at 01:55 PM |
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Yeah the brake lines are more for manouvering (sp?) the kite. I really would not recommend pulling them while you are in the air, did it once, never
again!
If you know what you are doing you can control the kite to bring you down gently and not go too high. Its when people start off with kites that are
too big for them you start to run into trouble.
The flexi stackers are good fun too. Used to take 3 off 10ft, 2 off 8ft and 2 of 6ft kites out all stacked together on a windy day. Awsome fun,
especially in the buggy! They are good starter kites as well, the blades can be a handful at times.
David
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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trogdor
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| posted on 16/3/07 at 02:05 PM |
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also make sure your kite is set up right too, i brought a second hand kite that was set up wrong,
the kite was on a bar, not handles which is good for boarding etc. However it should depower when you let go of the bar and sit just above your head,
in strong winds i found this was not the case!
i let go expecting the kite to depower, but instead the kite remained powered up and i got dragged along the ground unable to reach the bar and
completely out of control, it was when i went over the gravel area complete with broken glass that i used the chicken loop, which disconects me from
the kite, very useful bit of kit!
in the end i got a pro to set my kite up nicely, but make sure you have some sort of safety system on your lines!
kite killers in the case of handles or a chicken loop in a bar setup. I woul never fly a 2 line kite as its alot more dangerous, brakes are only used
for tight turns and for when you let go to allow you to keep yor kite!
[Edited on 16/3/07 by trogdor]
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