Power Kite Forum

First Faceplant

ChrisH - 28-9-2010 at 10:01 PM

Went out today in good wind and had a great time for the most part. The wind was forecasted at 10 mph but it was definitely better than that. I measured it at 15.7 with my wind gauge and that was during a long medium sized gust. I flew for about an hour learning how to control the kite and using the brakes for tighter loops. I crashed it many times trying to swing into the power zone while doing a down loop during gusty times. One of the times there was a big gust and I couldn't hold onto the kite and had to let go while faceplanting. I can't get the kite to turn at the bottom of the down loop while running. Scudding is the next thing I really need to learn for situations like that. Can you scud on dry grass?

arkay - 28-9-2010 at 10:15 PM

If you got horizontal with your hands on the handles then that's a superman ;) I've tried to skud on grass and while I have been able to do it, it's not like dirt or sand. My trick is to keep your butt low and your feet and legs and a low ange to the ground so that there's less slide resistance. Some good skudding in the video that rip posted (OZ method) http://vimeo.com/15019054

flexiblade - 28-9-2010 at 10:38 PM

I wouldn't bother trying to master scudding on grass - dry, it's going to bite a lot and you will end up running or getting thrown when the kite really starts pulling - wet, you stand a good chance at twisting an ankle or in my case tearing your achilles tendon = totally not worth it regardless of what the kids think is cool these days. Sand, sand, and more sand is what you need to do proper enjoyable scudding. Whenever I make it out to the sod farm I never scud - I will do some jumps but I never scud - messes up the grass anyways. If your on grass you can practice your flying and if there's enough room without too much public activity then get some seat time in the buggy, leave the scudding for the beach.

kingsofa - 28-9-2010 at 10:59 PM

you can scud on virtually anything flat, wear some flat bottom shoes with relatively low amounts of grip like worn down skate shoes =). It is hard to get the kite to turn while running towards it I would agree, try to start it turning up before you get the that point or just really crank the brakes on one side once you stop being pulled, however this will probably make you be pulled even more once the kite begins to return to the zenith. :smilegrin:

John Holgate - 29-9-2010 at 02:21 AM

+1 for what flexiblade said. Grass is usually pretty inconsistent - you'll slide then grip then slide and it's VERY easy to stuff up an ankle. Sand is the way to go for scudding. Whatever you do, make sure you've got good footware - all the force of the kite goes through your feet and they need some extra support.

rocfighter - 29-9-2010 at 03:03 AM

When I'm on a grass area and I want to Scudd I wear my goaly knee pads and scudd on my knees. Way less chance of braking an ancle or tearing tendons when your grabs a sticky spot. I have found even wet grass has sticky spots. So again, Sand, Sand, Sand.

acampbell - 29-9-2010 at 06:57 AM

I have heard of 2-liter plastic soda bottles cut open to be worn like slippers for grass but not tried it. I'm not a fashion slave but it still just seems wrong.

bobalooie57 - 29-9-2010 at 07:23 AM

Some of us might need the 3 liter size!:singing:

ChrisH - 29-9-2010 at 03:01 PM

Ok, so no scudding on grass. So what do you do in high winds, just keep it out of the power zone as much as possible? If I had a buggy I would definitely be taking it out there. I've been flying at an elementary school so no risk of creating skid marks, scud marks etc on somebodys crop.

arkay, that's exactly what happened, although I highly doubt it looked as graceful as superman.

I think that wearing 2 liter bottles as slippers is a little wrong too but I still might try it. I was thinking that those 18" ski thingys (bigfoot skis maybe?) would be fun on sand but I'm not sure about grass.

arkay - 29-9-2010 at 03:30 PM

buggy :D

stevensaero - 29-9-2010 at 05:37 PM

Quote:

So what do you do in high winds, just keep it out of the power zone as much as possible?


I've found that I can't trust our shifty Colorado winds so as the winds come up I go down in kite size rather than tempt fate trying to hold a big kite on the edge of the window. I learned early on when flying the Crossfire II that you can never have enough respect for the forces we are playing with (or the Crossfire II for that mater). Anyways, I'm pretty thick headed but learned quickly that when the winds shift, kite lufts, falls back into the power zone, slams open, and you find yourself flying like Superman.

As an example: I started today's session early playing with a new 15M Manta but the winds were so light it would barley stay up... Put up the Crossfire 8 and left it up until I felt way too overpowered... winds really came up and I finally ended up riding a 3M Flow.

Your Viper's a great kite but even with a 3.9 you can find yourself quickly overpowered in gusty conditions.

-Bill

ChrisH - 29-9-2010 at 09:57 PM

Looks like I need to save for a couple more kites AND a buggy. Might have to sell some stuff!

John Holgate - 1-10-2010 at 04:53 AM

Quote:

Looks like I need to save for a couple more kites AND a buggy.


Now we're talking!! I quickly found that trying to static fly 4m kites in windy conditions was just hard work. But when you jump in the buggy all that wind works for you and life is good :singing: