Welcome Denis192

[John Barresi]

Hello @Denis192,

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[Denis192]

Thank you for the warm welcome.

I bought a kite around 12mths ago which cost £14.99 in the UK, with the intention of flying it with my children on a family holiday. The kite remained in the packaging for the entire trip and it never got used, fast forward a year and again we where due for a short break.

Again the kite came along in the car but this time it made it to the beach, later on in the day when the number of others beach users had declined out came the kite. With the wife and children watching together came the kite and the lines set out, 3, 2, 1 and up we went only to turn 180 and come straight back down on the nose.

With everybody laughing in enjoyment at my failure and me blaming the kite, the wind and anything but the operator again I paced up and down to set up for take off. This time I felt a little more confident as I could remember the feeling on the lines which helped me understand where I had gone wrong.

3, 2, 1 and up we went this time staying up and for the next 5 mins all I thought about was the kite and nothing else, for the next hour up and down we went, back and forth I walked but I was hooked.

I really felt like I had found my outlet.

Hungry for more the next day I woke up and headed for the beach minus the the family(it was 6am lol). Unfortunately upon arrival there was absolutely zero wind and that remained for the next 1 1/2 days. Determined to get more airtime I waited and it paid off, last night I managed to fly for around 3 hours but spent a lot of time walking so now I'm off to try and learn how to relaunch without walking.

Anyway I'm off to watch some videos and any direction would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Breezin]

Welcome Dennis. I've been flying since 11/17 and thought by now I wouldn't walk back and forth so much but I still do. I consider it the walk of contemplation. Learn to reason why the kite is on the ground, think about it as you walk and find the humor in it as much as possible. Sounds like you have a entry level kite that while good for learning the basics won't be much for tricking. For now hone the heck out of the basics. I started on a mid level very competent trick kite call the Widow ng. Started trying to trick first day and neglected some of the basics as I was learning.Lately it's come back to haunt me as I am getting better on short line 1 to 3 mph wind days. You'll hear that the lowest winds are the hardest to learn and that is truth. Since I started the 15 mph (+/-) have been my favorite. As I've learned to not crash by yanking a line a lot of tricks have come without a whole lot of skills. Total blast learning that way but not having a solid grasp on the basic inputs from the start is forcing me to have to relearn some stuff on my lightest wind kite. Mostly to hard of inputs and not guiding or following the kite thru it's moves very well. Got my 1st kite that flies on 50' in 12/17. Still just suck on the short sets and right now it's difficult to keep a humorous perspective when using them. Prefer the 100' to 125' lines by far but the short line skills a lot of fliers have is enviable. Very necessary for some kites, wind speed  and flying space(crowded beach eg).You'll hear a lot about fantastic kites that exceed the $300.00 US price. Although I have some and know they are worth more than the cost to me there are some kite in the $75.00 to $150.00 range that are a blast and can take your family a LONG ways in the tricking side of things if that's where you're headed. Most of my kites are used and you'll have good luck finding some really nice ones in your area. I've got a Premier Nighthawk that I bought brand new but blemished old stock. Although not high end it's one of my most flown kites.As you gain some skills learn to tip drag(shark). Any framed kite can do it.That will instill the confidence for low altitude tricking as you progress.Dodd Gross videos will get you started and then some. If I'd stuck to the disciplined routines he teaches I might be a better low wind flier now. Wouldn't have had near as much fun though 😁.Fly it, break it, fix it, fly it again.

[makatakam]

Welcome to the forum.

[frob]

On 5/24/2019 at 5:38 AM, Denis192 said:

Unfortunately upon arrival there was absolutely zero wind and that remained for the next 1 1/2 days.

 

Find some wind forecasts in your area.  Some suggestions:

windfinder.com, it has an hourly forecast with both average and gusts for 3 days out, and rough estimates for 7 days out.  If you're lucky you can find a weather station near where you fly.

windy.com, it has similar data of average speeds and gusts, but with different forecast models, and not so much of a point forecast.

willyweather has both average wind (https://wind.willyweather.co.uk/nw/greater-manchester/wigan.html) and UV (https://uv.willyweather.co.uk/nw/greater-manchester/wigan.html) although if you're far enough north the UV index and sunburn are less of a concern.

I also use the US national weather service hourly forecast graphs, but they won't give you the data you need in the UK.

 

The forecasts aren't perfect, but they are a good guide to find must-fly days and days not to bother. 

In addition to the forecasts, having a range of kites can help.  You can get kites that fly in very light wind, no wind (and indoors!) and kites that can be reasonably controlled even in dangerously strong winds.  Thus even if the forecast is wrong, and you get to the flying fields to discover calm air, you can pull a super ultralight or indoor kite from your bag.