Seems that a page of kite terms has been suggested.
Lets DO IT !
AoA - Angle of Attack . The way the kite is tipped into the wind. ARC - A unique 4 line Twin skin , closed cell depower kite made only by Peter Lynn.
ATB - all terrain board
Bridle - the lines that combine to form your Canopy .
Bow - LEI kite with bridles.
Bowtie- kite gets twisted.
Brakes - the back lines on a 3 or 4 line kite. Used for turning , slowing , backing down and relaunching the kite.
Closed Cell - Tapered sock like inlets on a kite that resist air flowing back out. Useful for water relaunch.
C kite ( original ) LEI kite with strong C shape. 4 or 5 lines. Coyotes - off road rollerblades.
Chicken Loop. The loop on your trim strap used for hooking in to your harness.
Depower - a kite that uses 4 or more lines to adjust the AoA of the kite by the bar and a depower strap.
To Depower a kite is set it at an angle that the wind passes with least lift / interferance.
Delta - an LEI shape
Doomwheels - home made off road roller blades.
Donkeydick - The little finger that holds your Chicken loop in.
Down turn - To turn the kite from high down toward the ground and then across the window.
Eeeee - The sound I make after a good jump!
Fixed Bridle - Kites bridle points do not move. Very little AoA adjustment.
Fifth line - A line to the centre of a kite that comes into play on safety release. Four line- a kite that uses lines on the 4 corners to increase
control.
Hooked in - Connecting your kite to your harness . Harness is method of attaching to the kite and spreading the power to your core. Seat and waist
harnesses are most common.
I - ???
Jibe - "to change direction by swinging a for and aft sail across a following wind"
Kite Killers - Straps from your wrist to brake lines on FB kites . Knotts. Kts. Nautical speed .
LEI - leading Edge Inflated kite.Loop - To turn the kite and hold the turn 360 degrees. Downloop starts at the top and is a 180 degree turn in the
opposite direction.
Larks Head - a loop knot used for attaching lines.
Luft- the kite losses air and falls back . Usually do to a lull in the wind or over flying.
Mountian board - or All Terrain Board. Beefed up skateboard with pneumatic wheels for kiting on land
Newbie - a beginner
NPW - A single skin bridled kite
OBE - Out of Buggy Experience. Getting launched from your buggy and not landing on your feet. ( see CBE )
Open Cell - a foil kite that has no restriction to the air flowing in or out.
Overfly - To allow the kite to travel upwind and out of the wind window..
OS - Oh #@%$#!e loops knobs or handles on your brake lines to back the kite down + reverse launch.
Projected area - The amount of effective kite area once shape has been formed. Arcs have a much smaller projected area than their measured size. Foils
and Lei ,less so.
Q line - A type of flying line of high quality. Does not require sheathing.
QR - Qiuck release . Your kites safety release.
R.I P. AJ
RedBull - it gives you wings!
Rag Flapper - NPW pilot
Safety - A system incorperated into the kite control system to reduce power in a bad situation.
Safety gear : Helmet and gloves are minimum ( in my opinion ) Elbow , knee and butt pads are all valuable .The importance of safety can not be
stressed enough in this sport ! YOU are and Ambassador every time you go out !
Strop - a strong line joing the tops of kite handles for hooking in to harness.
Scudd - to skid downwind using the power of the kite. A good safety move to learn.
Spreader - a bar on the fron of a harness to spread the load and attach to the kite. Hook and Roller spreaders are most common.
Tips. Tip tuck . The ends of the kite. Tip tuck can happen when turning and you lose air in the kite. It gets stuck in the bridle and requires some
shaking to break loose.
Two line kite - kite that can only be flown left and right. Very difficult kite to relaunch and so not the best choice for learning. Three line kite-
a kite that combines the brake lines into a 3rd line for safety and relaunch. A much better choice for learning . ( see 4 line )
Trim - to adjust the AoA of your kite either by trim strap or bar.
Upturn - turning the kite up toward zenith . The most common turn.
Wind window . The kite can only fly in the 1/2 sphere downwind of you. To the top , right and left are the edges of the window and the least power is
felt in the kite there. The more you fly the kite downwind and low the more power is produced as it passes through the window.
YeeHaw ! What we Albertans say when we are kiting !
Zenith - the point directly above your head that the kite will want to sit at .
Crispy Ribbons- my term for new gear. most new kites come packaged with strips of ripstop nylon tied around them and new control bars. they look like
ribbons to me!
OSF- OH #@%$#! face- face i make when things are getting sketchy
White Knuckle Jump- going so big that you are scared you are gonna die, so you squeeze the control bar so hard your knuckles go white
Kite Rage- extreme road rage I get when i drive to the field and the traffic is really bad causing me to lose kite time.
Un-kitefit- sore body after the first session of the season when you are out of shape
Backline tension- the way you are supposed to launch arcs so they can inflate properly without the dreaded bowtie
calling my girlfriends- calling my buddies to tell them about an awesome kite session
I - Invoking the wind. Praying for sufficient wind for the the kite you want to fly on a given day... or for any wind at all. Sometimes
done discreetly so as not to involve mental health professionals.
Hot launch- Launching your kite from the direct down wind direction whether you are standing or sitting in your buggy when the winds are cooking! (not
recommended for beginners)
Scudd- the awesome slide you get when you hot launch or bring your kite directly into the "power zone" while static flying, (causes you to yell Yee
Haw see definition above). Doing kite loops in the " power zone" will also improve your chances of a decent scudd!
Nuking winds- Those winds which most of us decide it is time to pack up and play it safe. Requires huge keewee's(sorry Kami :tumble and a tremendous amount of experience before this can be done without taking a ride
in a fancy vehicle with flashing lights and sirens!
Watch this- the term that is used before someone does something pretty ridiculous and usually hurts themselves pretty good and gets to take one of
those flashy light, loud, fancy vehicle things ride just like above. Also causes the rest of the day to be shot! Please use extreme caution after
using this term.
Lull- mother natures cruel way of trying to ruin a completely great run. This is when after launching your kite in great winds, mother nature decides
to test your ability and takes the wind away from you just for an instant. This causes your kite to fall in the power window with no power. Once your
kite gets right back in the " power zone" mother nature says "watch this" and turns the wind back on causing your kite to fill quickly in the window
and tries to rip your arms from you body!
This is fun!( mind you I have been up for 22 hours some of these may really ramble on)
I'm going to ping the admins of PKF to see if there is any way to post this list in an accessable spot on the home page and allow myself to edit it as
new entries arrive. Probably not, but the worst they can do is say no.
2m Radsails Pro (from crazyherb), 2.1m Symphony Beach II (from Amazon), 3m HQ Beamer IV (from K-Bid), 4m Pansh Flux (from garydog), 4.7m Flexifoil
Rage (from mougl), 5.6m PL Twister IIR (from Big Mike), 6m Flysurfer Peak 1 (from Flysurfer USA), 11m HQ Neo II (from kiteplace), 19m PL Venom II
(from Smeagol), MBS Core 95 ATB (from Overstock.com), couple of ROSSIGNOL snowboards w/ SIS "click" bindings
Grass- for most of us a mown surface large enough to landboard or buggy on; for some ingestion of grass provides stimulation not otherwise obtained
through kiting
FB: Pro Foil 5.5m, PL Reactor II 3.5m, Radsail 3m
Depower: GIN Shaman 12m & 6m, Shaman2 9m (incoming), PL Venom II 13m, Venom I 10m
Freeman = Launching your kite hot through the middle of the wind window,running to keep up, and eventually going A$$ over tea kettle, knocking
yourself out.
Superman = Getting yanked off your feet and pulled forward thru the air so you land with arms outstretched flat on your chest. (This sucks big
ones...)
Tea Bagged = In the kiting world people! Get your mind out the gutter--- Is when you get picked up and flung like a used tea bag. Usually out of your
buggy from a gust you weren't ready for.
Park and Ride = Perfect combination of available riding distance and steady wind so you can park the kite perfectly in the wind window without having
to work the kite and ride non-stop for miles!
Full Quiver = A myth.
Chin Music = What I get from my wife when I go out kiting.
Originally posted by pokitetrash
Superman = Getting yanked off your feet and pulled forward thru the air so you land with arms outstretched flat on your chest. (This sucks big
ones...)
Annotated textbook version:
_
ATB,
Sam
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12 - Jesus, does anyone?" - The Body by Stephen King
HOT WIRE = A strop on each siderail w/ a stainless ring at the ends,to hook your QR to. So the buggy takes ALL the load. You won't OBE, but you
can FLIP!
QR = Quick Release. A TORSION WICHARD W/ A HOLT ALLEN BLOCK ATTACHED used to release the kite in an emergency,while hooked into a harness or hot wire
rig.
OBE = Out of Buggy Ejection. Being snatched out of the buggy by the kite ,moving or not. Can lead to serious bodily harm.
FLIP = How I broke my shoulder and had to have surgery to fix. Done while riding "hot wired". You have been warned.
Originally posted by Drewculous
Lol wtf dood! Dnt wry, its ok! W3 4r3 411 600d.... I7 w45 c0nfu51ng 4 m3, 50 I p0573d i7
Laughing out loud what the #@%$#! dude! Don't worry, it's OK! We are all good.... It was confusing for me, so I posted it.
I'm ashamed to be able to read that.
\"Well we are all hurtling around in 3 wheeled, tip over prone, non crash tested vehicles with no brakes that we steer with our feet. Just
sayin\'.....\" --heliboy50
Great so far. Still I think "Holes, Airbricks, Rotors, Wind Shadow" and other air turbulance related terms should be included. Unless those things
don't exist anywhere but New Hampshire.
And "Donkey D***"
Ice Screw (primary and back up(s))
Anchor.
Preinflate.
Trim strap.
Nukin'
Skunked
Walk of shame....
I think Bridle is a little off in description. Would it be more accurate to say that it is an assembly of thin lines that comprise the support
structure of a foil canopy?
I think the canopy itself would be considered a seperate component comprised of cells of fabric that form the actual airfoil which is supported by the
bridal system.
And if you're going to mention the Vapor you may as well mention the Synergy as the fastest Snowkite at the moment. (though I think the Charger or
Phantom 2 will change that soon)
That said it's not technically a snowkite or any specific kite. Nor is tha Vapor if someone chooses to use it with a board etc. Unless it is
marketed strictly as a buggy kite I guess.
Chris Krug-Owner @ Hardwater Kiting. Authorized Dealer of Ozone, Flysurfer, HQ kites. www.hardwaterkiter.com 603-986-2784
![[*]](images/perspective/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
and a tremendous amount of experience before this can be done without taking a ride
in a fancy vehicle with flashing lights and sirens!
_
