Beginner stunt kite flying advice
Pretty much all of our stunt (two line) or quad (four line) kites come with instructions supplied, nevertheless they can sometimes be slightly unclear or contain a few confusing terms. Therefore we here at Air Born thought a no nonsense version of how to get started with a multiple line stunt kite would be of use to our customers and in fact anyone else who is having problems getting air born.
Setting up your lines:
As you know a stunt kite comprises of multiple lines and herein lies the most common difficulties most starters suffer from. It is absolutely imperative that all of your flying lines are identical lengths and that that length is at least 20m (60ft) plus. If you are flying a quad kite, normally the two bottom lines will be slightly different lengths (longer) than the top ones, but still keep the two sets equal when starting off and make any adjustment on the guide or trail line (just a simple line with a series of knots in it you will have on your handle or kite). A frequent mistake made by beginners when starting off is the assumption that a stunt kite can be flown like a single line kite. Just like a single line kite the approach sometimes taken is to unwind some 20ft of line and attempt to launch the kite, then to try letting out more line whilst the kite is flying. This is not the way to start flying your kite. Your flying line should be wound out the length you wish to fly at and equalled to the same length before you start. Many modern starter stunt kites now come with both their lines stored around a winder with wrist straps supplied to fly off, such as experienced flyers have been doing for a while now. This is great as it forces you to wind the line out fully before you start. The piece of plastic known as the winder has only the purpose of storing the line on. It goes in your pocket when flying, so don't worry if you have this left over and are wondering what to do with it. A great tip is if you have a winder supplied with your kite then when you come to wind your line back on to it, do so in a figure of 8 motion. Flying line normally is wrapped around straight (since it was put on by machine). When re-winding in a figure of 8 motion, you are putting a twist in the line when winding it on which you will then take out when unwinding it the next time you fly. The result: twist free line and a quick set-up every time you fly. Your line may still come stored on two separate handles, if so just wind your line out (to at least 30 paces (25meters)), again make sure the two lengths are even and fix them securely off at that length. You may find flying on handles uncomfortable, in which case we recommend that you invest in a pair of wrist straps that start at £3.00 for increased comfort and control. Without a doubt, the better your flying line, the easier it will be to fly your kite. Since higher quality Dyneema or Spectra type line has very low stretch and will stay even when you are flying. Whereas Nylon type flying line supplied with the lower end of starter kites can have up to 6% stretch, which translates to your 100ft line getting up to 6ft uneven when you are flying (normally when you are turning the kite, dumping all the strain onto one line). So therefore it is worth looking for a kite (if lines are included) with the best quality of line you can afford or if you are having problems getting started with Nylon line, think about investing in some Dyneema or Spectra type line. Yes, it is quite expensive, but boy will it make the difference to the performance and ease of flying at all levels. If you have a larger size delta wing kite, a quad kite or a Flexifoil that you purchased line for separately then you will probably already have good quality line, a winder and wrist straps.Flying site and conditions:
You can fly a kite in a myriad of places, but the first few times out look for a flying site with a clean (not obstructed by trees or buildings and non-gusty) medium wind blowing across it. Please do yourself a favour if learning and wait for a wind that is not very light (the kite will be unresponsive) or strong (the kite will be very fast and therefore if crashed into the deck will increase the possibility of breakage's caused by the impact).Attaching your lines:
With your lines laid fully out on your flying site you now need to connect them to your kite/handles.
If it is your first time out make sure that you have a 10cm loop on each exposed end of your line (all four if using wrist straps). That's easy to do, just take about a 20cm length at each end, fold it in half and tie a knot. Then to connect your lines to your wrist straps simply pass this loop through the ring at the far end of the strap and over the top of the handle bit. If you are flying a four line kite or don't have this loop on your flying straps simply connect your lines to the handles using the method explained below for connecting your lines to the kite. Probably the easiest way to then continue setting up your lines if flying in more than a light wind when alone is to use a ground stake. That's simply a stake to peg your lines out with so that when you go up to connect the other end of the lines to the kite it does not take off before you get back to the handles for the launch. If you are flying a four line kite, place the peg through the bottom attachment of your handles (i.e. the break lines). We sell special kite ground stakes, but you can use a simple tent peg or even a screw driver. If you have someone with you they can simply hold the kite and you don't need a ground stake, but let's assume you are alone.
So peg out your handles down wind and at the other end of your lines assemble your
kite as per the instructions supplied. You will see it has a bridle (unless it's a Flexifoil,
in which case refer to the first-class instructions supplied for where to attach the line) and at the
end of this bridle you will find a tassel with a knot tied in the end, this is where your line goes.
To tie it there (and so you can get it off latter) you will need to do something called a
'larks head' knot or a simple hitch. Here's how: take the loop and fold the top back to the knot used to create the
loop. You will now be looking at four lengths of line that look almost like two rabbit's ears. What you need to do
is pop your finger down through either one of the rabbits ears, under and up through the other ear as it were.
You should now have a hitch around your finger (i.e. the harder you pull the tighter it will get)
with the two ears folded together. Slip your finger out and pop this hitch behind the knot on the
end of the tassel on the bridle, give it a tug and let it slip up against this stopper knot. Now the
harder your kite pulls the tighter this knot will become (I know it may look a little insecure, but trust us
this will not come undone) and then when you have finished flying the line will be easy to remove.
If it is windy lean your kite back (nose up) on the tension of
the line (remember it is pegged at the other end) or get someone to
hold it since it may well take off before you get back to your handles;
when you do, you are ready to go.The launch:
With your back to the wind, pick up your handles/straps and with a smooth motion bring both handles from in front of you down past your side to behind your back. It often helps to take a step or two backwards when doing this. A common mistake first-timers often make is to do this in the opposite way by bringing their hands up and back not down and back. If you have done this right, there is enough wind and your lines are even then your kite should now be travelling straight up into a position in the air above you. Your hands will now naturally return to your front and you should have felt at least a small tug as the kite was taking off.Controlling your kite:
Now for the fun bit, actual flying. I know what I have just explained may seem complicated and long winded, but once you have done it a few times it won't take you much more than a minute to complete. The basic rules of controlling a stunt kite is if your hands are level then the kite travels straight. If you pull the left hand line the kite spins left or counter-clockwise; if you pull the right hand line the kite spins right or clockwise - until you put both hands level again in which case the kite will then fly in that direction. And if that direction is directly towards the ground you are going to want to turn again. These pulls should be very small and in a down backwards motion - the smaller your kite the smaller these pulls need to be and the more sensitive you will find it. Incidentaly if you push instead of pull the opposite happens (i.e. left hand will cause a spin to the right not left), but don't worry about that now. If you are flying a quad line kite you need to substitute the word 'pull' in the above paragraph to 'push top line forwards' (i.e. you are pulling the bottom line). When practising getting the hang of controlling your kite you will notice two things. Firstly that every time you complete a loop you are putting a twist in your line. To remedy this simply pull a loop the other way (you may also note the better the quality of your lines the more twists you can get in them before they seize up).
The
second thing you will notice is a boundary as to where your kite will
fly and varying pull/speed in different areas - this is the 'wind
window'. If you have set your kite up directly down wind it's in the
centre of this window where it is at it's most powerful and fastest,
lets call that 12 O'clock. Keeping with the area directly down wind
(the centre of the wind window) being 12 O'clock then to your left and
right at about 9 thirty and 2 thirty are the far edges of this invisible
window or boundary. When flying your kite towards these edges it will
deteriorate in both speed
and power until it just won't fly, so you need to turn it around before
it gets to this point. You will also notice a similar reduction in
power as the kite flies up to the top of the wind window and becomes
nose into the wind. Soon without thinking about it you will visualise a
huge semi circle to fly your kite in. The better your
kite is (or the lighter the materials it is made from are) the bigger
your wind window will be (to a certain extent).Landing your kite:
Keeping in mind the wind window concept explained above the simplest way to land your kite is to fly it to either extreme side of the wind window and let it gently float down. There are many other ways to land your kite using various stalls such as a quick tightly executed loop or snap stall (explain in the advance stunt kite advice), but we will save those for later.Packing your kite away:
Finished flying? Landed your kite? Disconnect the lines from your kite (unless you have been flying a soft kite with many bridles, in which case keep them attached to prevent tangles) and wind them around your handles or winder (remember the figure of 8 motion I told you about earlier). If you have a soft quad lined kite you may want to wrap all four lines around the top of both handles pushed together. Whatever kite you have, take care when putting it back in it's bag. Avoid screwing up the material and it will last much longer. If your kite has had contact with water let it dry out before packing it away and if that water was salt water then rinse with fresh water first.
What next and a word to the wise:
This really is a very basic starter guide covering the problems that first timers often experience. If you would like to know more, then see our Kite Tricks page, but first keep practising everything explained within this page so you know your kite and how it handles in various wind speeds. For more advice we stock many videos and guides that you will find useful to improve your flying and to explain many aspects of flying in a more visual form. If your are a power kite flyer and want to get into buggying, jumping or even surfing then we strongly recommend being 100% at ease with your kite and the power it produces in all winds before bracing yourself to jump, getting in a buggy or going out on the water. Power kiting is amazing fun, but can be very dangerous. When starting off always make sure you are in predictable winds that you have experience of. Going out in a 25mph wind is great, but when it is gusting up to 35mph (especially in a mid-air jump or while buggying) then it can be quite frightening even for experience power kiters! Enjoy your kite and if you have learnt anything here, pass it on, that's how we will make our sport grow.<back to top of page>...