Another Noob! Woot!!!

[Kyle]

So today began my first day as a kite pilot. I picked up a Prism Snapshot 1.4 powerfoil (lime green) . I plan on picking up the hypnotist in a week or 2. We have a state park in here Utah that is for RC airplanes, hang gliding, and stuff like that. It is at the top on a small mountain and has steady wind 24/7 365. It was an interesting first try, I slammed it into the ground first few times. Lucky me my girl friend helped me get it back up over and over. Towards the end I had it flying for decent amounts of time and could move it back and forth above me head.

I haven't figured out a few things yet though. I don't get how I would get a powerfoil up in the air by myself. Also one time the strings got crossed and I couldn't figure out how to uncross them while flying. Any advice would be great. Also anything a noob should know would help. What kind of maintenance would be wise for these kites? What is the best online kite shop? Believe it or not the only place I could find a kite in Utah was at the huge Cabela's store we have.

Also I think I got the kite bug.... this is fun... I have spent to much time already surfing this site and watching you tube videos .

[Jeepster]

Kyle,

I can't help you with your power kite question, but I can welcome you to the forum. You'll find a fun group of folks who will go out of their way to way to be helpful.

Cheers,

Tom

[tonycarl60]

Welcome to the forum! To launch the kite by yourself, you need to get a ground stake (a screwdriver will do) that you stick into the ground at a 45 degree angle back, stake your straps, go to the kite set it upright, pull the lower corners back towards to stake so the kite is almost laying down flat with just a couple of inches of the top sticking up. Put some sand (if you're at the beach) or some other weight on the kite so it won't take off by itself (which it will do). walk back to the stake, pick up straps and stake, put stake in your back pocket (a holster is even better), pull both straps evenly and step back to launch kite. Have fun! Be careful with foils, they can and will get away from you on occasion.

[Kyle]

Kyle,

I can't help you with your power kite question, but I can welcome you to the forum. You'll find a fun group of folks who will go out of their way to way to be helpful.

Cheers,

Tom

Thanks Tom! I will be around, I tend to be really active in forums pertaining to my hobbies. So hopefully I will make some new friends, anyone in Utah out there?

Welcome to the forum! To launch the kite by yourself, you need to get a ground stake (a screwdriver will do) that you stick into the ground at a 45 degree angle back, stake your straps, go to the kite set it upright, pull the lower corners back towards to stake so the kite is almost laying down flat with just a couple of inches of the top sticking up. Put some sand (if you're at the beach) or some other weight on the kite so it won't take off by itself (which it will do). walk back to the stake, pick up straps and stake, put stake in your back pocket (a holster is even better), pull both straps evenly and step back to launch kite. Have fun! Be careful with foils, they can and will get away from you on occasion.

Hey great idea! I am in Utah so no sand around haha, but I will find small rocks or something. I don't think my girlfriend will be willing to help all the time lol. Thanks so much for the advice.

I am REALLY excited to get the hypnotist, anyone have any input on this kite as a second kite after the powerfoil? It looks like a great ready to fly kite, sounds very durable and is about 120$

[browndude3649]

Bring a small bottle of water with you . Round bottle works best. Put it on the bottom inside of the kite before u go back to ur Stake. Thats my standard op procedure.

Have fun. Welcome to the addiction

Dunno aboot hipnotist but im sure you'll have a ball.

The Prism dvd is also a good buy too

[Kyle]

Bring a small bottle of water with you . Round bottle works best. Put it on the bottom inside of the kite before u go back to ur Stake. Thats my standard op procedure.

Have fun. Welcome to the addiction

Dunno aboot hipnotist but im sure you'll have a ball.

The Prism dvd is also a good buy too

Yeah prism includes the DVD with the hypnotist

I can't wait to fly again! To bad I work 12 hours today

[windofchange]

Just get yourself a Ziploc bag and stuff it in your Snapshot bag when you go out. Before you set your kite up, fill the bag with some dirt or sand or rocks....etc. Lay the bag on the belly of the snapshot close to the trailing edge of the kite (bottom on the inside as you look at the kite). Walk back to your lines and then pull the handles and the bag should roll off the kite and it will launch.

After your done flying, empty the bag and stuff it in with your kite.

Hope this helps.

[kiteking]

Kyle, welcome to the forum and to the addictive new hobby/sport

First recommendation is: if there are other kite fliers around go introduce yourself, be upfront about being a novice. Ask if you can observe them doing some maneuvers and if they can explain how they are done. Ask if they could give a little instruction while you are flying your kite.

You will be surprised how much information will be offered

now to your questions:

first I would be afraid of staking a foil, my concern would be it launching while you are walking back to the handles

My procedure to self launch is to run out the lines and attach to the kite

lay the kite on its back with the leading edge (front) facing downwind (away from the handle/straps)

if on the beach use sand, if on grass use some rocks, weight down the trailing edge so the kite will not float away

return to the handles and slowly pull the kite towards you, the leading edge should now begin to inflate, it should then take off, so plant your feet, lean back and hold on

To recover from a crash

depending where you are in the wind window, and what position the kite is in you should be able to get it back in the sky with a little practice.

if the kite is on its belly, try short alternating strokes while keeping the line tension, you are trying to get the leading edge to hop up enough to inflate

if the kite is on its back with the leading facing you give a quick pull on one side and it should spin around and catch some wind

not sure what you meant about the lines crossed,

if the kite loops in one direction the line are crossed by looping the opposit direction they uncross

a tip to help keeping control

I have observed most new fliers let their arms go all over the place, which can cause problems.

try to start out with your elbows close to your sides and only move your arms back and forth.

there are 2 ways to turn the kite, first is to pull one handle back until the kite turns, the second is a push /pull where you pull back on one and push forward on the other

Also, if you are having your girlfriend to assist, then be sure to give her a try at the controls. Its no fun to only be the ground crew

Hope this helps, and have fun

[Kyle]

Hey thanks for the advice! I have not found anyone else yet that flies kites. I think everyone has answered all my questions so far. Thanks everyone, I am sure I will have more with time. When I get my stunt kite I am sure I will have lots more. So right now I am pretty firm on the Prism Hypnotist, anyone any input on this kite?

Oh! and the girlfriend is happy I got her a pretty one string kite. I offered to let her fly but she prefers the "simple kite" ha-ha.

[Jeepster]

... I have not found anyone else yet that flies kites. ...

Kyle,

Try to find a place to fly where lots of traffic is passing by. I have one place, the front lawn of a rather large church, that is along side of a four lane highway. That's how I found two kite flyers. My second favorite place is right in town behind an auto dealership. Again, lot's of folks see the kite flying around and stop to watch or talk. That's how I found two more kite flyers.

BTW ... the owner of the auto dealership loves that I fly there ... don't know if I've sold any cars for him, but lots of people have stopped at his dealership to watch. In fact when the salesman aren't busy, they also take their breaks where they can watch. Even the church likes the fact that people will pause to watch the kite, notice the church and maybe decide to visit one Sunday. So be brave about asking for permission, never been turned down yet.

Cheers,

Tom

[kiteking]

Tom, sounds like you got a couple of potential sponsors maybe you can get the church to pray for a new car

[Baloo]

Lots of good advice there Kyle. Like the ziplock bag of dirt one. The best ideas are the simple ones.

Another thought, if you get a chance, try a 4 line kite.

Easy to launch on your own, and easy to re launch when you crash and burn.

BEST advice, as always, try to find others to fly with. You will not only pick up great tips, but get to try other kites.

Keep on keeping on :-)

[Kyle]

Lots of good advice there Kyle. Like the ziplock bag of dirt one. The best ideas are the simple ones.

Another thought, if you get a chance, try a 4 line kite.

Easy to launch on your own, and easy to re launch when you crash and burn.

BEST advice, as always, try to find others to fly with. You will not only pick up great tips, but get to try other kites.

Keep on keeping on :-)

I swear I am the only kite flier in Utah, there isn't any kite stores in utah. We have a lot of people into kite sports, paragliding stuff like that. I have never seen a stunt kite in 27 years here. I will keep my eye open though.

[kiteking]

There used to be (1990 era) a kite shop at Trolley Square in Salt Lake, I think I recall the name "Air Apparent"

It was small but they had quite a few kites packed into that space.

I know I purchased at leased 1 kite there, but cant recall which one.

I was there 2 seperate times attending a anual managers retreat while working at EGGHEAD.

One year we got a tour of Sundance Ranch and Wordperfect, the second we went skiing on 12 inches of fresh powder.

Man, was I disappointed when they closed all the retail stores, I enjoyed 10 of their 11 years, managing stores, first in the bay area then here in Tucson

[Kyle]

Yeah I found it on the web but apparently "Air Apparent" closed down

Ok everyone please give me sugestions, what would the best stunt kite under 200$ be? I am considering these so far.

Prism Hypnotist

Premier Widow

Level 1 Jump

[windofchange]

I love the Widow, IMO, best tricking kite under $200.00. You'll get about a thousand different replies to this one simple question though. Today with the advancement in material and computer design, there are so many kites that perform excellently under $200 that back years ago would be $600+ kites.

All three you have listed are awesome kites and only differ in the personality of the style in which they are flown.

[Kyle]

What one of the 3 would let me grow the most before needing to buy a new kite? And also after watching a ton of videos on you tube of many different kites I really like the smooth look of a kite doing tricks. Is this just the pilot or do some kites pull of tricks more smooth looking? If the kites effect this a lot what kite would be the most "smooth"?

[windofchange]

Generally the larger kites will pull smoother tricks - but - the pilot is what makes the kite, the kite doesn't make the pilot.

I would look for something in the 7.5 to 8'+ wing span. Larger kites usually are easier to fly and have a better disposition when putting them through their paces. The smaller kites will snap and dart around much faster which works awesome for some pilots who tend to be more of a "Yank-&-Spank" type of flyers but generally require a little more skill to really keep the kite under control.

This is a general rule and can vary a ton depending on the exact model of kite and of course, the pilot. I had the opportunity of watching Tim Benson put the Deep Space (slightly smaller kite) through its paces and that kite can be as graceful as a princess one second and then as violent as ever the next depending on how he wanted to fly it....it was very impressive......and very humbling.

Still think the Premier Widow is just what you are looking for. In the hands of the right pilot, the Widow can trick as good as the best of them. It would probably be quite some time before you could outgrow it, I know that the Widow can do more tricks than I am capable of throwing at it.

Hope this helps.

[Kyle]

Anyone familiar with the prism Elixir?? How would this kite be compared to more current kites? It is a pretty sweet looking kite, oh and would getting parts for it be a problem? Anyway just curious about this kite, thanks everyone!

[Kyle]

Ok.... this forum is kind of slow..... Anyway my dad had a lot of fun flying my power kite and he ordered the Beetle. We just got back from flying the beetle in about 20 mile wind. What a blast! My brother is interested in getting a kite now. I think Utah has 3 new kite fliers . After some advice from the master JB I think I am going to get the Level One Jump. I think I will take my dads beetle out a few more times before I order the Jump though. By the way I think I am going to post pics of my flight area. I am a little spoiled here, we have a "utah flight park" where hangliders, RC planes, etc. fly. It is at the top of a hill on the point of a mountain and has 20ish mile per our wind all the time. When the wind is faster than that I can always fly at the park by my house. Either way I am 15 min from good wind 2/47 365.

[windofchange]

The Elixir is was discontinued and is no longer available - unless someone has one stuffed away in the corner of their shop which would be rare. It was a great kite back then but I feel today's kites are much better in trick-ability and flight.

Where exactly are you in Utah, I do know of a couple others that fly up that way, a bunch of them that do powerkiting and snowkiting. Most of the buggying is done out towards Tooele on the flats. I have buggied out at Saltaire a while ago and it was pretty good, other than the brine shrimp and it didn't smell that great in some areas....lol but it was fun blasting across the beaches....if you can call them that.

I will try to let you know next time I head up that way and maybe we can hook up and fly. I have family up in SLC and visit from time to time. Same goes for you if you ever get down to Vegas, just let me know and we can hook up.

The Beetle is a great kite and awesome to learn on. Once you progress past the "Lawn Dart" stage, the other kites that you have mentioned in this post will be perfect for you. I still recommend the Widow just because it is a full sized sail and just wonderful to fly. I don't think you would be outgrowing the Widow for many years.

Hope to hook up with you soon.

[Kyle]

There is was an Elixir on ebay I think it when for about 80$. Anyway I live in Riverton, I am in the south side of the valley by Sandy, Draper, South Jordan area. Anyway Saltair would be a great place to fly! I will have to check that out one day.

I finally found a Utah kite forum tonight, it is REALLY slow though. I should be in Vegas in September but yeah if you are ever down my way let me know .

Also the Widow is about the only Kite I am still considering a little other than the Jump, but from what I have read the Jump is made from better material than all other kites in my price range.

[JoneZ]

Welcome to the forum m8. Good to see new ppl getting into the sport.

Try this for self launching ur sport kite.

Set your kite up, and attach your lines -- feed about 6-8 feet off the winder first off. Then, take your kite (assuming it is facing towards you in 'launch' position), and wrap it up in the lines so it ends up belly down, nose towards you with the lines draping over-top the kite (see pic below). Then just walk your lines back. You can experiment with different launches from this position. I like to try and balance the kite on its nose at about a 45degree angle away from me, then give a quick pop on the lines to get the kite into a turtle position, then another quick tug to ground the kite on its wingtips for a standard launch.

You can always just walk back to unwrap the kite and set it up for normal launch position as well.

I like this method, because it eliminates the need for a ground stake.

Once you master landing (on your wingtips ofc.), you can get into this position by performing a variation of a yoyo takeoff. You rock your nose forward, then give a tug with slack afterwards -- enough slack to wrap your lines 1 time, and just enough so that your kite will land belly down, nose-towards.

Heres a vid on a yoyo takeoff -- should be a good visual. Im not the best at explaining things. hehe

(Note the nose rocking forward, just enough so that it starts to fall forward,, then a quick pop followed by slack. Remember to only give just enough slack to land it belly down. Too much ,and you'll wrap up and fly off.)

First pic is the lines wrapped over the trailing edge. This is what you should see as your walking your lines back.

Second pic is the view from behind. The lines should more or less be drawn over the trailing edge between the standoffs, or as close as you can get.

[Kyle]

So far I just set the kite on its back, walked back to my kite, slowly pulled the kite so it is... standing up? Anyway than a little tug and up it goes Everyone seems to have different ways of doing it on here. Maybe I need to come up with my own unique take off

[JoneZ]

Indeed m8. The one problem you might run into with the way you're doing it (as its happened to me), is if a big gust of winds come up, and you arent hanging onto your lines tight enough as your walking back, the kite could launch by itself, causing frustration. Frustration = bad new bears.

With the method I described, theres virtually no way that the kite could self launch. Its in the "walk of shame" position, only with the lines wrapped over top of the kite, so when pulled, it will be pulled up onto its nose, and then gently flip onto its back for normal launching position (that is, if you just run your lines taught, then walk back).