Welcome VirtualFacets

[John Barresi]

Hello @VirtualFacets,

Welcome to KiteLife®!

Although this is an automated message, it is written with heart - I love kites deeply, and I believe the KiteLife community represents this passion with a very friendly and helpful environment for everyone. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Need to tweak settings?

Edit your profile here - View Member
Edit your settings - http://kitelife.com/forum/settings/

Other than that, here are a few handy links that you might have a use for...

Member Chat
Member Map
KL Shop

And while it's never an obligation, we always love hearing about our new members if you'd like to share some of your kite stories, videos, and/or background... Tell us a little about YOUR kite life!

[VirtualFacets]

Hey, y'all!
Thanks for the approval.
I'm a kite newbie.
 

I moved from a wooded area to a home surrounded by open field a little over a year ago.  Totally different ecosystems, here there are more bug eating birds, ground nesters, birds of prey, and no squirrels.  Also, the wind is strong and I'd like to have some fun with it.

Last spring I bought a 1-line diamond, ripstop fabric, 2' horizontal fiberglass spar- a nice kite, not a plastic disney theme kite.

I flew it a few times, but after about 10 minutes it got kinda boring.  The last time I flew it (y'all gonna love this story), I accidentally let the handle slip out of my hands.  I attempted to run after it, but it only took me about 3 seconds to realize it was gone, so I just watched it climb higher and faster out of sight.  So yeah, that happened.

Anyways, I'd like to have a nice kite for next spring.  I'd like to get a beginner 2-line kite.  If it's possible I'd like to learn to do some simple loops and figure 8s at least 40' in the air.  I really enjoy watching the advanced trick kiter videos where they keep the kite close to ground, and maybe I'll try it some time in the future, but right now I wanna fly a kite high in the sky!!

I'd appreciate some suggestions on what to get.

And I saw a lady selling her father's kites on this site and I thought maybe that might be a good way to get a great kite at a great price.  But maybe they aren't what I'm looking for, I don't know.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks in advance!!

[Exult]

Hello and welcome @VirtualFacets!

It is a nice feeling to go out, with a straight back, getting blown on by the wind and looking towards the sky, perhaps after doing some weed removal in the garden or some other (paper?) work when the face is down over some kind of static work. I'd suggest to get some DLK (dual line kite), perhaps even some kind of foil kite, just to get you right/left reflexes right and ability to give line slack instead of crashing with tensioned lines right. Then  quickly get a proper kite or if you are prepared to do some CA-gluing and spar replacements, a proper one from the start instead. Welcome once more, happy to hear any progress reports.

Value the time of learning, when you manage to do the first axel (turtle or fade?), you'll feel proud of yourself in addition! 

Best Regards,
Exult

[Justin2kites]

Hi,  welcome. I'm pretty much a noob myself, but I started on a prism quantum, and would highly recommend it. And, I beleive the lady you're taking about has a few for sale. I bought a kite from her and was very happy. 

[Breezin]

Nice to see another noob posting besides Justin and myself. I started on a Widow ng which is a little pricey but I was hooked from the  start. Take Exults advice to heart. Out today on my new Prism Zephyr and got a 1/16 inch tear in the sail. Less than 3 hours on kite sigh. Little nylon repair tape on the back and you have to get right up close to see it. If your not sure you want to get into the advanced tricks yet I suggest the Flying Wings Rock On. It's supposed to be tough and has a roll cage type frame to help relaunch when crashed. Bell Chu a top notch flyer/designer in China wife and kids do a great demo on you tube. Around $30.00. Less at Fun With Wind I think. I've got a prism snapshot 1.4 foil which is fast and a lot of fun. Most of the time it will self launch too. Yesterday in 20 to 25 winds got away from me and went about a 1/4 mile away. At least I got mine back. That might be the longest walk of shame ever. If you want to get close to the $100.00 mark the Premier Addiction is great.My Grand kids and I have had a blast on that kite. It will trick really well and is very tough. Started looking at stunt kites 3 months ago. I now have 9 different kites.Only wanted 1 but the more you learn and fly you'll understand the many different reasons for having more than 1. Plus it's fun fun fun !!!

[VirtualFacets]

Thanks for the replies!

Prism Quantum is a price range I'd be willing to spend to get in.  This video is the kind of flying I wanna do!  He's at least 100' in the air!

I'm thinking about the Foil Kite suggestions.  I assume they are a bit more stable in the air and easier for a beginner to learn?  I figure advanced trick kites give up some stability for dexterity?

What about handles for a DLK?  Do you reel the kite in when it's time to go home, or just 'land' it?  I imagine it'd be difficult to reel in with both hands occupied.

[Mike Klaiber]

Thanks for the replies!
Prism Quantum is a price range I'd be willing to spend to get in.  This video is the kind of flying I wanna do!  He's at least 100' in the air!
[/url] I'm thinking about the Foil Kite suggestions.  I assume they are a bit more stable in the air and easier for a beginner to learn?  I figure advanced trick kites give up some stability for dexterity?
What about handles for a DLK?  Do you reel the kite in when it's time to go home, or just 'land' it?  I imagine it'd be difficult to reel in with both hands occupied.

Welcome to the site! With DLK’s you set the kite down and then roll up both lines onto a holder. If it is a foil just roll it up. With a frame there is some disassembly but not bad. I started on fouls and progressed quickly. My granddaughter used foil DLK and is now on foil quad. Nice thing about foils is when they crash, and they will, they don’t break. You may look at kites on this site for sale too. Some can be picked up very reasonably. You will change Kites with skill levels so it’s tough to say you will have a kite for years. You may or may have 25 - it’s scary [emoji23]


Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

[makatakam]

The Quantum will do what you saw in the video and quite a bit more. It is well-made and durable, and should last for many years with reasonable care and minor maintenance. Like all kites, it's not unbreakable, but it's resilient enough to withstand most of the crashes you cause until you learn basic control. It is adjustable so you can start at a point that is user-friendly to a beginner, and change settings as you progress and begin to work the wind more efficiently. It is a relatively heavy kite, so don't expect to fly it in wind less than 6mph early on in your learning curve, and in wind over 18mph it will pull dramatically, possibly enough to plant you on your face. Overall, it's a great kite to begin with, and will get started on the road to tricking if you want to head in that direction. The panel design is pleasing to the eye, and is available in at least two color schemes. The price point is reasonable and you get quality for your money.

[Exult]

On 1/9/2018 at 2:15 AM, VirtualFacets said:

 

If, as in the video above (with the exception of some tricking starting with a turtle at 1:53), tricks are not the main thing, perhaps a more precision oriented (but still trick capable) kite more for figure flying could be something?:

Level One - Oneeleven kite. In this case the field should be large enough for the long (according to recommendation) lines of this large and moderate pulling kite (according to description).

On the other hand it is likely that your objectives will change with time (the rest of this post is meant to serve as an example of this). I first valued the flight (and crash avoidance) and thought that tricking was interesting but to quite a large degree looked like flipperiflopp and just tumbling around. I was also considered power foils, but was unfortunately completely lost. I thought, very naivistically, for a period, that a beach buggy was an old type one Volkswagen (well they are quite light), possibly with the motor removed, being towed by kites on a beach! However after a while when working with DLK tricks, my eyes were trained to see what actually happened during tricking. So DLK figure flying and tricking was the path I came to follow. Speedkites (please forgive my past self) were for more easily amused that couldn't do any tricks. Many years later when seeing QLK videos I concluded that this was also not my thing, much because "I was a DLKer" and also because I had (and have) very much left in DLK tricking to learn. The last year has been a getting-acquainted-with-many-aspects-of-kiting-(including QLKs)-year and I don't know where it will lead me. Try different stuff, it is difficult to know in advance what ones thing is and even if you never find out an single kiting favorite aspect, it is an interesting and varied journey IMO.

[Breezin]

A lot of folks have started on the Quantum. What Makatakam  said echos everything I've read on the kite. For around the price of a Quantum   you can get a tough beginner kite and a good intermediate one. Beginner kites under $40.00 Hq Bebop, Flying Wings Rock On, Premier Osprey and others. Intermediate/advanced  under $100.00 Premiers Wolf ng, Addiction, Flying Wings 2.3 Silver Fox, Acrobatix, Insync, New Techs, Paladin. Shop around be patient and learn as much about different kites as you can. The deals are out there. Not knocking Prism kites at all Have 3 . Just showing you more bang for the buck. The most frustrating thing so far for me is low wind flying. That's why I have a Prism Zephyr and a Skyburner PDSUL on the way. Did I advise patience? Maybe I should shut up and follow my own advice LOL.