newbie to kites

[smokes]

Hello everyone, im new to the kite sciene and have just ordered my self a paul lynn waterfoil 3.5m kite, 30m of Flexifoil Quad kite lines 500-300Ib (i understand 30m is a good length to learn with), HQ quad line aluminium handles & an atb. Now im a seasoned snowboarder so i think the board isnt going to be too hard to get to grips with, but i was hoping you guys could give me some pointers with the kite flying aspect or if you know any groups of friendly flyers in the exeter area that could give me a practical demo? Also do you guys meet up and indulge in these activities as im looking to make new friends who are into this sort of thing..

[windofchange]

Howdy Smokes,

I belive the kite is a Peter Lynn Waterfoil. The waterfoil would not have been my first choice for ATB (ground boarding, kite boarding or whatever you want to call it)....not first choice but still will work fine and is a good kite, the rest of your equipment sounds great and will work no problem. A couple things I see are missing:

HELMET

Knee pads

Elbow Pads

additional body armor (BMX guards work great)

and did I say a HELMET?

While we are talking bout helmets....a sports helmet costs very little, usually under 50 bucks for a really good one. Cheaper ones are available as well and can save you thousands on emergency room visists, ambulance rides, stitches, lacerations, concusions, broken bones, lost teeth, etc....and, if you do get injured there is a chance you wont be able to fly again for several months until you heal.

After you get a helmet, I would suggest putting the board away for the first dozen or more flights until you get good and comfortable with the kite. The kite will have a tremendous amount of power when flown in the right winds, if you cant control the kite and you try to master your board, you put yourself in a stituation that could cause some serious injury to your kite, your board, other people, or yourself....and usually it is to all the above at the same time.

Fly safe!!! Watch out for others as well as yourself. take some time and learn how to control the kite, especially how to land the kite and keep it out of the powerzone. Know the area you are flying at and pay very close attention to the winds you are flying in. If at all possible, try to learn to fly the kite in light winds - advoid the stronger winds until you have good control. Learning to fly the kite is not boring at all and can be very exciting, take your time, plug in an MP3 player, head to the park and enjoy!

After you get the kite mastered then move on to the board and put it all together. Start with the kite in the air and under control. Put the kite at zenith (12:00 position) and put your board at around 45 degrees off of down wind. Step onto your board and then slowly drop the kite down in front of your board in the direction you want to travel. Once you start to move, take the kite back up to the noon position. Continue to do this until you can keep constant speed on your board. Once you get moving, start to lean back on your board to initiate a slight turn until your board is pointing 90 degrees from downwind. If done properly in the right wind your kite should end up parked at an appx. 45 degree angle from ground to sky and out in front of you giving constant pull. If the wind is on the light side you may need to continue to "sine" the kite up and down in front of you to increase the power and continue to move.

To change direction take the kite back up to zenith and lean back on the board so that it turns up wind and you slow to a stop. Your board should now be facing about 45 degrees upwind. Rotate your body around to the opposite direciton you traveled and you should be lined up exactly to drop the kite down on the other side and head back to where you started from.

Thats the basics....if you get that mastered you should have no problem moving on to other things at will. Check with your local kite shop and see if there are any other kite groups or other pilots in your area that you can meet up with to fly. Most kite flyers are very friendly and can give you some very valuable first-hand information about setting up your kite and flying as well as what winds are going to be best for you and what areas are good to fly at.

Hope this helps you out!

[Penny Lingenfelter]

Soft ball players laugh at me when they see me in my rasberry helmet in a field of tall grass buggying pretty slowly. They wouldn't laugh if they saw me going faster and witness a face plant. Ouch!! Thank goodness for helmets.

BB

Penny