havent flown a kite since '76

[mallard]

hi, I havent flown a kite since i was a kid and about a month ago I was driving home after a sunday drive and the weather was perfect. I live by the beach and saw something in the air over the treeline and realized it was a kite. Then i got to thinking about the Sky Spy (with the big eyes on it) and the Sky Raider i had when i was a kid and how cool it was. anyhoo....I got some kites since then....a parafoil, a delta, a triangular box, a dual line parafoil (mightybug) and a Prism Quantum and a couple other cool looking ones from walmart.

My problem is this: how do I start out with dual line kites without getting the lines all tangled up? I need to start out close to the kite then let out line but that doesnt work. How do you control line length when you dont have a winder?

[LS Kite Stakes]

Kite stake, stake your handles down while you set up the kite............

[John Barresi]

With modern sport kites, lines are generally a fixed length (no reeling in/out during flight).

Stretch out the whole length of line, stake it off as Walt describes, then attach the kite (upright / nose up) and lean it backwards so the wingtips are toward the stake a little and the nose is leaning away... This is to keep it from launching by itself.

Then, walk back to the handles/straps, take 'em off the stake, make sure you have the R/L lines in the correct hands then give firm and even pull on both at the same time to launch.

[mallard]

The kite I was trying this with wasnt my Quantum (I havent sat that one up yet...just got it last week)....it was the mightybug which is a parachute like kite with dual lines and red and black strap handles.

I dont have a problem setting it up....I just laid the handles on the ground and unwound the line out and hooked it up to the kite. The problem arises as soon as wind catches the kite the lines want to twist over each other.......i guess you NEVER allow the kite to turn over or else the lines get twisted. to have better control over the kite getting it in the air, you need to be a lot closer to it and that would be either just holding onto the line itself (I did that at first and let it slide through my hands until I got down to the straps.....i kept it up for a while until a crash) and let it slide out. I can see that being trouble with faster wind conditions because it can hurt your hand if you arent careful (i was in 4 to 10mph winds)

ever seen those really long dog leashes that are a reel? something like that would be cool

[Baloo]

With a foil type kite, try putting some weight on it.

Lay it out leading edge away from you, trailing edge towards the lines. Pile some sand, pebbles, bag of dirt, water bottle on the trailing edge.

Then when you go back to the handles you can lift the leading edge into the wind, which wil eventaully spill whatver you piled on it then the kit will take off.

All you need to do then is wait for it to crash so that you can have the fun of setting it up for a launch again.

So you will get tiresome periods of flight, interspersed with interesting ways of holding it down so it can take off again.

Another option is keep asking pretty young ladies / gentlemen to help you launch it :-)

[mallard]

With a foil type kite, try putting some weight on it.

Lay it out leading edge away from you, trailing edge towards the lines. Pile some sand, pebbles, bag of dirt, water bottle on the trailing edge.

Then when you go back to the handles you can lift the leading edge into the wind, which wil eventaully spill whatver you piled on it then the kit will take off.

All you need to do then is wait for it to crash so that you can have the fun of setting it up for a launch again.

So you will get tiresome periods of flight, interspersed with interesting ways of holding it down so it can take off again.

Another option is keep asking pretty young ladies / gentlemen to help you launch it :-)

i tried putting some sand on it but it was hard to launch.....but the problem still is once its in the air and wants to twist too far to the left to be able to compensate with a tug from the right the lines twist up and you have to go reset it. is this normal? are you supposed to be able to fly with the lines wrapped around each other.....ive seen some videos of stunt kites and they either had elastic arms or the lines get twirled together a lot. I noticed on the prism quantum the lines actually connect via a swivel attachment which should help alleviate the twisting effect.

the lines are like a spring....when they get twisted it stores energy that is looking for some way to get released.

[Baloo]

You should be able to pull on the one line to make it turn or spin one way. Thus wrapping the lines up. Then pull on the other line to turn / spin the other way to unwrap.

If it is spinning out of control there are a few things you can chesk.

Are the lines equal length, if thay are not they need to be.

Are there any twists in the bridle, this will in effect make it fly as if one line is being pulled.

Do both sides of the bridle look the same, once again this might be causing the spinning.

Must admit I am not familiar with the Mightybug, is it a small kite, sometimes with a small foil they twirl too fast to line inputs unless you are used to flying dual line. Although it is a soft foil type kite it should fly in a similar way to any dual line.

Best advice I can give you is giv up on the dual liners and go for a quad line Rev. JB is raffling some off on here. You could have 2 more kites and join us Rev-ers on the Dark side of kiting. Go on, you know you want to. Will only cost you a few dollers for some tickets, all to a good cause, helping John and TK to be united!!

Other BEST BEST advice is, find another kiter in your area. A few moments spent with an experienced kiter is worth thousands of questions on here.

Not that I discourage questions, there is no such thing as a silly question, only silly answers. (And I just LOVE giving silly answers)

[mallard]

You should be able to pull on the one line to make it turn or spin one way. Thus wrapping the lines up. Then pull on the other line to turn / spin the other way to unwrap.

If it is spinning out of control there are a few things you can chesk.

Are the lines equal length, if thay are not they need to be.

Are there any twists in the bridle, this will in effect make it fly as if one line is being pulled.

Do both sides of the bridle look the same, once again this might be causing the spinning.

Must admit I am not familiar with the Mightybug, is it a small kite, sometimes with a small foil they twirl too fast to line inputs unless you are used to flying dual line. Although it is a soft foil type kite it should fly in a similar way to any dual line.

Best advice I can give you is giv up on the dual liners and go for a quad line Rev. JB is raffling some off on here. You could have 2 more kites and join us Rev-ers on the Dark side of kiting. Go on, you know you want to. Will only cost you a few dollers for some tickets, all to a good cause, helping John and TK to be united!!

Other BEST BEST advice is, find another kiter in your area. A few moments spent with an experienced kiter is worth thousands of questions on here.

Not that I discourage questions, there is no such thing as a silly question, only silly answers. (And I just LOVE giving silly answers)

give up on dual line to use quad line?

[windofchange]

The lines supplied with the Mighty Bug are a Dyneema line which is very strong and has a natural slickness to them. They are designed to be twisted around each other and still slide freely. You can spin the kite around while it is in the air and the lines will twist and that is perfectly fine - actually designed to do it. As said above, if you get a couple spins in the kite in one direction, pull the opposite line and it will un-spin in the other direction.

As for holding the kite down, get yourself a plastic ziplock style bag (or two). Fill them with sand or rocks and when you open up the kite out of the bag, lay the ziplock bags onto the trailing edge of the kite (rear or bottom of the kite) on the inside so they hold the kite down for you while you walk back to your handles. Once you get to your handles, pick them up and slowly pull backwards so the ziplock bags "roll" off the bottom of the kite and your kite will launch. This also helps keep your kite from getting dirty or damaged from larger rocks as you can use fine gravel in your ziplock to hold your kite down.

When your done, empty the bags out back where you got the debris (rocks, sand, gravel, dirt) and stuff the empty bag in your kite bag with your kite so you can use them again next time.

Some people have used weights or pieces of chain or water bottles etc... to hold down their kites, I have found the ziplock bags to work best as they fit easily inside your original kite bag, they are simple to fill up and people won't walk off with a bag of rocks like they will do with jogging weights or other things. And...if they do walk off with your bag of rocks, your really didn't lose anything of value. lol

Hope that helps.

[mallard]

The lines supplied with the Mighty Bug are a Dyneema line which is very strong and has a natural slickness to them. They are designed to be twisted around each other and still slide freely. You can spin the kite around while it is in the air and the lines will twist and that is perfectly fine - actually designed to do it. As said above, if you get a couple spins in the kite in one direction, pull the opposite line and it will un-spin in the other direction.

As for holding the kite down, get yourself a plastic ziplock style bag (or two). Fill them with sand or rocks and when you open up the kite out of the bag, lay the ziplock bags onto the trailing edge of the kite (rear or bottom of the kite) on the inside so they hold the kite down for you while you walk back to your handles. Once you get to your handles, pick them up and slowly pull backwards so the ziplock bags "roll" off the bottom of the kite and your kite will launch. This also helps keep your kite from getting dirty or damaged from larger rocks as you can use fine gravel in your ziplock to hold your kite down.

When your done, empty the bags out back where you got the debris (rocks, sand, gravel, dirt) and stuff the empty bag in your kite bag with your kite so you can use them again next time.

Some people have used weights or pieces of chain or water bottles etc... to hold down their kites, I have found the ziplock bags to work best as they fit easily inside your original kite bag, they are simple to fill up and people won't walk off with a bag of rocks like they will do with jogging weights or other things. And...if they do walk off with your bag of rocks, your really didn't lose anything of value. lol

Hope that helps.

hey! Youre the company I bought the first set of kites from (mightybug and prism triad)....lucky for me the google search popped your company up at the top because after looking around the mightybug costs a lot more elsewhere. I'll try the ziplock because im flying it on a beach just outside my condo (about 100 feet away).

I flew the Prism Triad a couple sundays ago because Ive never seen a box kite fly before and I thought it looked neat. It was really gusty so it was a challenge to keep it in the air over the water. I also ended up with a big knotted mess of line that took a couple hours to detangle. I guess maybe some people buy bulk line and cut to length.

yeah, the lines used on the mightybug feel high quality.....enough so that I launched it by hand and let 50ft. of it slip through my fingers without hurting me. (i wont recommend that though) and for a 1 meter sail in a good wind it has some surprising pull to it.

i'd like to check out a "fighter" kite sometime.....havent seen one though......and if i can find any old school kites like the baby bat or sky spy.

[Baloo]

Kent is good folks Mallard, you could do a lot worse than buy from him.

And he gives good advice too. For free!!

I see now that the Bug is only 1mtr will be a quick little begger then, not suprised you are getting twisted up.

Hope you get it all sorted out.

Was joking a bit about the Quad line. If you take the plunge I am sure you will love it though

[John Barresi]

There are so darned many cool things you can do in kites these days...

Team and pairs flying, indoor kiting, giant inflatables, kite surfing, kite buggy, power flying, line laundry, trick flying, fighter kites, the sky is the limit!

While I primarily fly dual and quad line, individual or team, I've dabbled in nearly everything and have the utmost appreciation for each one.

[mallard]

have you guys ever seen a kite that is round and rotates and looks like a UFO? ive seen them at grand openings of stores and such.....think of a single line that goes up to a bridle which splits into two directions and attaches at end points of a spinner.

and yeah, the mightybug is strong for its size (dont let the string get wrapped around the tip of your finger)

[windofchange]

Prism has just recently released the "Flip" kite. This is a rotor kite that is a total blast to fly. We have them in stock and just got them listed up on our website. Price is around $26.00 and comes with fly line. I think this is exactly what you are describing in your post.

Purchase The Prism Flip Kite HERE

[mallard]

Prism has just recently released the "Flip" kite. This is a rotor kite that is a total blast to fly. We have them in stock and just got them listed up on our website. Price is around $26.00 and comes with fly line. I think this is exactly what you are describing in your post.

Purchase The Prism Flip Kite HERE

and now to far left field.............have you ever seen a flip kite that spun on more than one axis? the ones listed are tethered on the end and one part spins. Have you ever seen a larger one with multiple portions spinning in different directions?

[Baloo]

Hey Kent, that one picture of the Flip on your site made my eyes go all wierd. Still cant focus on the keys on the keybroad properly. Should be called a Trip kite rather than a Flip if it looks like that in flight.

[windofchange]

Baloo -

LOL - it is a trip when you see it in the air. Really though, it is a fun kite and very cool to watch. We have had engineers study the kite and we've even pulled it down so they could look at it and they still say it shouldn't be able to fly like that.....but it does and quite well too!

Mallard -

The only other rotating kites I have seen is the rotating box style kites, these kites have a center rod that you attach to and the kite spins around that center attachment point. I also own one of the Premier Counter Rotating Box kites. - picture below.

This kite - the center spins in one direction while the outside spins in the other. The counter rotating box kites were a bit more stable than the single rotating box's as the single rotating ones would rotate in one direction enough that they would "walk" across the ski and eventually fall when they hit the edge of the window.

[Chilliwack Dan]

The lines supplied with the Mighty Bug are a Dyneema line which is very strong and has a natural slickness to them. They are designed to be twisted around each other and still slide freely. You can spin the kite around while it is in the air and the lines will twist and that is perfectly fine - actually designed to do it. As said above, if you get a couple spins in the kite in one direction, pull the opposite line and it will un-spin in the other direction.

As for holding the kite down, get yourself a plastic ziplock style bag (or two). Fill them with sand or rocks and when you open up the kite out of the bag, lay the ziplock bags onto the trailing edge of the kite (rear or bottom of the kite) on the inside so they hold the kite down for you while you walk back to your handles. Once you get to your handles, pick them up and slowly pull backwards so the ziplock bags "roll" off the bottom of the kite and your kite will launch. This also helps keep your kite from getting dirty or damaged from larger rocks as you can use fine gravel in your ziplock to hold your kite down.

When your done, empty the bags out back where you got the debris (rocks, sand, gravel, dirt) and stuff the empty bag in your kite bag with your kite so you can use them again next time.

Some people have used weights or pieces of chain or water bottles etc... to hold down their kites, I have found the ziplock bags to work best as they fit easily inside your original kite bag, they are simple to fill up and people won't walk off with a bag of rocks like they will do with jogging weights or other things. And...if they do walk off with your bag of rocks, your really didn't lose anything of value. lol

Hope that helps.

hey! Youre the company I bought the first set of kites from (mightybug and prism triad)....lucky for me the google search popped your company up at the top because after looking around the mightybug costs a lot more elsewhere. I'll try the ziplock because im flying it on a beach just outside my condo (about 100 feet away).

I flew the Prism Triad a couple sundays ago because Ive never seen a box kite fly before and I thought it looked neat. It was really gusty so it was a challenge to keep it in the air over the water. I also ended up with a big knotted mess of line that took a couple hours to detangle. I guess maybe some people buy bulk line and cut to length.

yeah, the lines used on the mightybug feel high quality.....enough so that I launched it by hand and let 50ft. of it slip through my fingers without hurting me. (i wont recommend that though) and for a 1 meter sail in a good wind it has some surprising pull to it.

i'd like to check out a "fighter" kite sometime.....havent seen one though......and if i can find any old school kites like the baby bat or sky spy.

[Chilliwack Dan]

Sorry about my 1st post, new at this forum also. My question, is there a way to relaunch a 2line parafoil without doing the walk of shame? Dan

[tonycarl60]

Sorry about my 1st post, new at this forum also. My question, is there a way to relaunch a 2line parafoil without doing the walk of shame? Dan

If it is nose down usually not, any other position maybe depending on how much wind you have and how much line shaking/backing up you do. That's why I love my parastunter 4 line foil, very seldom do I need to do the walk of shame with it.

[windofchange]

Bout the only way to relaunch a two line parafoil is to give one side a good hard yank and hope the kite spins enough to put the leading edge into the wind. You need some good ground wind to do this though. I usually walk back to take out any slack and then give slack to one side and pull the other so that the foil rotates. Once or twice will usually do it but if it gets tangled up then your walking.

I mainly fly quad line foils now because of the added control and power but also because you can relaunch them very easily from pretty much any crash as well as land (and park) them whenever you want to.

[Chilliwack Dan]

Thanks guy's, I have flown 4 line traction kites, no problem relaunching. Haven't flown them in a few years,

but thinking about it. The 2 liner is the Wind Dancer. Fun to fly, but I want to try the stunt kites.

Thanks Dan