hi all i would love to give a progress report but sadly it has weather here has just been wet,dark and no wind or stuck at work!
every time i check weather it changes just as i think i can get out to play....arghhhh!!
Why should you be any different. Lately I've found that the weather forecast as it relates to wind has been completely worthless. Best way of
knowing remains sticking my noggin out the back of the house and seeing if it's blowin!
i bit the bullet and brought a hq beamer 2.0m which i now have.weekends weather is not looking too windy locally but i have few different coast areas
about 1-1&1/2 hours away.
thinking of making a day of it at which ever has best conditions so i can spend some on with the symphony 1.8 then maybe have a go with the beamer!!
got to fly my symphony 1.8 today for first proper time in weather forecast of 14mph,very surprised at how fast and how much pull it had.
how on earth do you guys fly larger kites in stronger winds?
found it good fun and very addictive and as although very hungry i kept having "one more go!"
going to go to a coast tomorrow as wind is meant to be around 16mph mark with no gusts,going to spend some more time with the symphony then hopefully
have a go with my beamer 2.0m for my first time
2m will be great...dig your heels in and lean back thru the powerzone
it aint fun till you get supermaned
@m00ms - Abkayak is referring to this fine maneuver:
As for the answer to how folks fly big kites in big wind, by and large they aren't doing it "static"; rather, they are going mobile with a buggy,
board, skis, etc. Once you get moving you will see what we mean. All in its time!
Try and grasp " apparent wind " seen by the kite as it speeds through the air.
As kites get bigger they fly + turn slower. You will notice this to a degree when you move up to the 2m Beamer. As kites get bigger and slower they
start to behave less radically. Kites smaller than 3m tend to zip across the power zone in stronger winds giving short strong bursts of power. The
larger kites travel slower through the power zone and deliver the power less abruptly. As mentioned adding motion adds a whole new dimension to the
wind in relationship to you and the kite.
The most important thing to work on right now is kite CONTROL. You want to learn to feel and anticipate what the kite is doing without actually
looking at it. The clean winds are a great place to work on those memory reflexes and " flying blind ".
When going to 4 line : One finger above the top to line. The other fingers below. Try and avoid brake influence completely at 1st! Only start adding
brake input when you are comfortably flying 4 lines on only the front lines like your Symphony.
If your kite is acting up it is probably the brake lines. Spinning = pressure on one brake. Won't fly up to zenith = both back lines have too much
pressure.
Ideally your back lines are a bit slack. ONLY coming into play when you pull the handle bottoms in. Too slack and you won't be able to back the kite
down on the back lines.
Research Reverse Launching. One of the #1 benefits of 4 line when learning!
Just going from the Symphony to a good 4 line should be a thrill!
thanks for the video windstruck which is crazy and must of hurt!
thanks blade runner for your tips,i have watched videos on reverse launch which like you say will come in handy whilst learning.i was going to ask
about brake lines on my beamer as there is 5 postitions for them and the manual recomends start with middle postition,does that sound right?
i have just spent some hours down by the coast in perfect winds today but i only flew the symphony.i stopped for lunch then in afternoon wind picked
up so i stayed flying that which im glad i did as i feel very comfortable with it now and had great fun with it.
i also found that being on the beach i tucked myself out of the way so i wouldnt be in anyones way but few times walkers came to close which i found
to be a distraction.when i fly the beamer for first time i want to be able concentrate!
If perfectly set middle is an OK place to start. Setting for the longest length will decrease the influence of the brakes. On the shortest knot you
may have too much influence. Look for a tiny bit of slack when your handles are relaxed.
People will always be a problem. Expect them to do the dumbest things you can imagine.
great thanks again for your tips and sure il have few more questions once i fly the 4 line which i am looking forward to do so.
your not wrong with people doing dumbest things,i just dont get the bit where theres miles of sea front for them yet they want to try and walk or
stand right next to you!! if they didnt see the kite whilst they have been walking they must of heard it screaming past!!
looking at your kites makes me laugh....i look at my beamer 2.0 and think gulp! yet your smallest is larger than that!
Once you have kited for awhile your perception of size changes. We look at kite sizes to utilize for different wind speeds. remember with no wind,
all kites have the same power
im glad you have said that i am making the right choices so far with my kite choices and i look forward to flying the beamer and hopefully will get to
this weekend coming.
for the minute i am looking to just do static flying but reading this site i could see that changing!
i still have not flown my beamer and tomorrow the wind is forecast to be around the 10 mph mark,do you think it will fly in that wind and hold its
shape so i can get some 4 line practice in?
cool thanks i shall give it a go as first time i would like it to be little on the mellow side!
first time i flew my 1.8 symphony that was in 10 mph and it keep lossing its shape and just dropping out of sky,when i got to fly it in 16mph that was
good fun and had some pull but i didnt fly the beamer in that as i thought it might of been too much for first time.
with the wrist kite killers do you advise one of each wrist or just one?
If they are on your handles then ware them....if they aren't on don't bother
I don't ware any...when I started I always did i just liked the feel of them
But had a kite go death spinning on me and I rather just chase my kite up the beach
Personally I don't like the idea of 1....at 10mph it's nbd
Have fun!
take the killers and burn them. That's just me. They will be in the way and just a hassle starting out. If flying in anything below 15 they will be
unneccessary. Above 15 even more unnecessary. Only time they would be handy is if forced to kite with obstacles in close range downwind and in high
wind.
I've thought about events. I would be forced to wear them if flying fb. but I wouldn't be happy about.
I wore killers while sorting out flying 4 line for the first time and found them to be a hindrance. Once competent, there are situations where they
will avoid certain mishaps and people getting soaking wet like that. Good
save
wind was great to start,not too strong and constant so i had good fly just steering around the window,used brakes to land and then re lanuched,and
tried the killers out.i did try a reverse launch but there was not enough ground wind to pick it up unless i was doing it wrong!
after about 40 minutes the wind was a bit all or nothing,when it was there i was very suprised by the power as im 6ft 4" tall and 98kg and i had to
really pull and hold on but was good fun! wind today was around 10 mph but im still curious how you fly in much more than that?
i flew it mainly on the power lines as if it was a 2 line kite but did try putting some brakes in a couples of times,little confused by the brakes but
hopefully with time it will come clear!
YES, you fly a 4 line kite off the front lines just like your 2 line. The brakes only effect the back edge of the kite.
Adding even brake pressure will stall the kites forward motion. Speed = Power so stalling the kite reduces the " apparent wind " that your kite sees.
It also alters the Angle Of Attack to a degree creating more lift. This is most noticeable in motion or jumping. When you graduate to motion you will
see that adding a touch of brake will drop the kite back and give a power boost. Adding a bit of brake to stall the kite is also one way to avoid over
fly.
Adding brake to only 1 side will spin the kite. Do this in combination with the normal 2 line turn and it will speed up the turn dramatically. When
you graduate to motion you will find you can " park " the kite at the windows edge and just make minor steering adjustments using brake only. Practice
for this by holding your kite low on the edge of the window and keeping it there with minor brake inputs.
Beginners often struggle because they over due and make jerky motions. Small kites are even less tolerant to them. Try to think about your next move
well ahead. Give time for your subtle influence to reach the kite before making it more extreme. The same thing applies to reverse launch! If you pull
the brakes too hard It doesn't work. Feather the brake until you feel the wind in the kite. When you tug the kite up backward don't jerk it. Looong
steady pull works best. Once it has lifted steer to flip.
To take your kite into it's upper wind limits avoid flying in the power zone ( accept to gain power ) . We just use the windows edge and only " dive "
our kites into the power zone to turn on the horsepower when using our kites as engines.
when you say about adding brake with power line to turn tighter is that by doing opposites? so say do a right turn by pulling right power and put some
left brake in to do really tight right?
i watched one youtube video and guy flew to edge of window then used brake to turn kite downwards and under on its self to go back the other way
rather than turning upwards.do want to try that out
i did find i had to shorten my brake lines from centre setting as they were very slack and i had to pull them loads to do anything,went one knot
shorter which seamed better.
i am keen to fly again but next weekends weather is not looking to good,friday is 41-45 mph....that will be ok to learn in eh!!!
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