TOTAL NEWBIE, NEED HELP

[warren79]

Hi I just bought a daul line 6ft delta kit.I just bought it for flying and had no idea that kites could pull off these manouver Ive seen on some of these video clips.Im a model plane 3D pilot so I really enjoy watching these kites and want to start learning but dont know where to start.How do I know whether the kite that I have could pull off some of these manouvers and what is the 1st trick I should learn.

[RobB]

Hey Warren79...

It would be helpful to know which kite you got, different kites behave differently. I've spent tons of time just learning the basics. I would say the most important rudiments to learn would be the stall, and the side slide. Most of the tricks that I pull off are happy accidents, especially if I don't crash. I find the instructional videos helpful, but the best thing would be to find an instructor.

Best of luck...

~Rob.

[Skyclad01]

I would have to agree with must86. Though I would also say that learning punch turns, pull turns and combonation turns would be good to lean along with the stalls and slides

[ant man]

start with the basics simple push and pull turns and also learn to launch and land once you learb control of the kites tricks will come eazy to you as for a kite moveing like a plane it might be close but the kite is much faster i would think

[sky fish]

welcome to the obsession -stall's seam to be the most inportaint.Pretty much any trick reqiers some stalling of the kite .It is relatively easy to do mostly just taking a step or to forward works depending on the wind. just learning how to judge the the wind can be fun .I hope you are lucky enough to fined some one to give you some pointers. some aria's have even have clubs. once again Welcome I have found the people here to be extremely helpful to us newbies.

[warren79]

Thanks guys.Stalls seam easy enough to learn but getting out of the stall is a bit difficult.I find myself running all over the show to get tension back in the lines and dont know if thats normal.Ive never actually seen anyone do stunts with a kite besides on some video clips and on those clips you never really see the hand and foot movements of the pilots.Also on all the videos there seems to be very little or no wind????As for an instructor,I dont think so.Theres only one kite shop that I know of and thats a 1h30min drive away.Im planning on buying FREESTYLE PILOT (DVD),has anyone found that helpfull.

[Skyclad01]

Thanks guys.Stalls seam easy enough to learn but getting out of the stall is a bit difficult.I find myself running all over the show to get tension back in the lines and dont know if thats normal.Ive never actually seen anyone do stunts with a kite besides on some video clips and on those clips you never really see the hand and foot movements of the pilots.Also on all the videos there seems to be very little or no wind????As for an instructor,I dont think so.Theres only one kite shop that I know of and thats a 1h30min drive away.Im planning on buying FREESTYLE PILOT (DVD),has anyone found that helpfull.

The Freestyle Pilot is very good, and so is Dodd Gross's Flight School DVD. Both of those will help you a lot, even just the one will too.

Dont worry about the wind (or lack there of) in the videos. They could be using ultralight kites, or the video can just be decieving.

As for your stall's, it sounds like you may be giving too much slack to the lines. Usually (depending on the winds) you only need to either take a step back or maybe a little jog back to pull out of a stall. All I can say (from experience) is pratice, pratice and pratice some more. You will get to know your kite, its behaviours and what you should and shouldnt do with it while its in the air. In words it sounds like a task, but if you enjoy flying then all that praticing is actually fun.

hope that helps

[warren79]

It is a lot of fun practicing but a little frustrating lanching every few minutes because of crashing.

[The Kite Shoppe]

Hi Warren,

Main thing, take yor time, have patience, and most of all, have fun!

Both videos are excellent.

Also, have you just tried practicing the compulsories? The basics of control, prior to trying to learn tricks?

Roy Reed has animated the moves here:

http://www.reeddesign.co.uk/iskcb/index.html

Also, Randy Greenway has tutorials online that are excellent!

http://sportkiteflyer.spaces.live.com/

And....what kite are you flying????

Have fun!

Theresa

[sky fish]

how much line are you using? when learning it can be help full to start with shorter lines I have heard. most kites have 60 -80 feet and 20 or so is a good beginner length then work your way out to 80+ This is one of the things that I feel that I need to do .The crashing is something that we all have done .just judging the wind especially if it is gusty can be difficult to begin with. have fun. I like listening to music on my I POD when flying

[warren79]

Its some CHEEPIE kite that I bought,but I didnt buy it with the intension of tricks.Theres no name to it all that it says on the bag is 6ft stunt kite.I might get this one over the weekend hopefully,or something similar.(http://www.hiflykites.co.za/kite-online-shop/stunt-kite-ice.htm).I think the IPOD thing is a good idea.

[warren79]

Has anyone checked out that link.The kite is called ICE and im looking for a good all round beginner freestyle kite.Dont know if thats a good choice.I heard that some kites do certain tricks easilly and do other tricks poorly.Im just looking for something in the middle.Any advise would be appreciated.Is the ICE a good choice.

[ant man]

get the acrobatix from flying wings its a good all around trick kite

[Skyclad01]

Along with the one antman mentioned, a few other good kites are

The Techno (by New Tech), Nighthawk (by Premire), Pyro XS (by New Tech), E2 (by Prism), Hypnotist (by Prism)

I also went through this about 2 months ago. You can see the suggestions that were made to me in the thread I started - http://kitelife.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1249&st=0

Thats if you want to keep it around the $100 range. I know others will chime in with other kite suggestions as well.

Hopefully that helps you some.

[RobB]

Hey Warren...

I checked out your "Ice" kite. Looks like a decent kite, it's the right size, good start. I have never flown one of Eolo's stunt kites, but I do have a Radsail parafoil, and think it's a decent kite. At least it's held up to my abuse.

I totally agree with Antman about the Acrobatx. It's a kite that will almost teach you how to fly. I also have a Pyro XS and the Hypnotist listed above, and I don't like them as much, the Pyro is too easy to break and the Hypnotist is not very responsive. I would also like to suggest my other favorite kite, the New Tech Big Bang. It comes with the Dodd Gross Flight School DVD and is ready to fly for around $90 or less.

Kite flying is like skiing, you can learn in a day, but it will take a lifetime to master. I get frustrated with my progress sometimes, but then I just mellow out and do loops, figure 8s, and boxes. Nobody around here flies stunt kites, so I only have the DVDs and Kitelife to help me figure stuff out.

Take it easy...

~Rob.

[warren79]

Ok after driving 2hrs I found and bought an ION made by RHOMBUS.Looks decent enough.It is 1.8meter and flys in 1-5 beaufort.There are no proper kite shops around so any PRISM kites or dvd's needs to be ordered but Im not sure if they ship to South Africa.This is my 1st proper kite and I dont know what the little strings are for in the bottom corners.could any body help the instructions are bad

[RobB]

Hey Warren...

The Ion looks like a decent kite. It's big enough, and will fly in light wind. Get ready to fix it, I broke my Rhombus kite on the 2nd or 3rd time out. Then again, I think I've broken every one of my kites at least once. The line that runs from the wingtip to the center to the wingtip is for advanced tricking, preventing tip wrap with the lines. I think they call it a M line. Have fun with it, and I'm sure you can find an internet based company that will ship to you, it will probably just cost more than the kite...

~Rob.

[warren79]

M-LINE,so on the picture it shows the M LINE running from wingtip to center to wingtip but each one is too short to reach the center.Also ther is a small elastic type loop just slightly above each wingtip.What are those for.The instructions dont mention the m line or the loop and I need to fly can anybody help out.

[RobB]

Hey there,

You can fly without the M line, it's not needed to fly. The elastic loops are probably supposed to hook over the ends of the leading edges to provide tension to the sail. The kite should be nice and tight to perform properly. Hope this helps...

Happy Holidays.

~Rob.

[ant man]

rob i hear ya there there are no other fliers here this time of year either so the dvd and kl are a big helpwarren 79 you can also try out www.R-sky kites.com they have kite for all levels and all peform very well i flew the nirvana for the first time last month and now im ready for 1 i too am new to freestyle flying thats why im looking for a good kite to do some tricks with

[warren79]

Thanks guys I took the ION out a few days ago and it flys really good.I think i need to spend some time adjusting the briddles to get a feel of the different tricks it can do.Are there any tutorials on briddle adjustments.

[ant man]

well i dont know about briddles i dont know of any sites but the advise i can give you is to get a sliver sharpie marker their $2 for a pack of 2

take your bridle you will see knots on the top loosen them up

you can slide the bridles up or down to change the pitch of the kite

when you get a spot that you like mark it with the marker that way youll know where it is and you can set it up on the field

[RobB]

Hey Warren...

I didn't really get the whole bridle adjustment thing until I saw the Prism video that comes with the Hypnotist & E2 kite. They have a section in there that shows perfectly how to adjust the bridle, in less than 20 seconds per side. Before seeing that, it took me up to 5 minutes to make a bridle adjustment. Like Antman says, mark your 'good' spots. You'll find a different sweet spot for high wind, low wind, and then spots for stalling vs. sharp turns.

Happy New Year !

~Rob.

[Bugly]

Thanks guys I took the ION out a few days ago and it flys really good.I think i need to spend some time adjusting the briddles to get a feel of the different tricks it can do.Are there any tutorials on briddle adjustments.

Mark the original settings but unless the kite is maladjusted to begin with practice your turns, push pull etc, snap stalls axels etc.

In general move the tow point forward in very light wind and back as the wind picks up. Moving the tow point back will make the kite easier to stall but increase the pull.

Really only adjust for wind - the rest is you.