Power kites – how are they attached to the harness?

I finally got the chance to try my new (to me) kite for the first time yesterday.

However, despite it not being very windy, the kite didn’t seem to climb very well – it stayed at 45 deg or so in front of me. I wonder if I had attached it correctly to the harness?

The kite is a Flysurfer Warrior 14m.

I know the de-power isn’t as effective as a newer kite, but this was crazy! I was dragged 300m; tore the arse out of my shorts and spent an hour afterwards pulling bits of mud, stone and grass out of my thighs and calves before using half a tube of germolene!

This is how it was attached.

If it was correct then what are the red and black velcro loops for?

Thanks

That looks completely wrong to me, without seeing all the setup i cant tell you exactly how but i have attached a picture of how it should be.

If that doesn’t help drop me a line at the email in my profile with some more pictures and ill do my best to explain what you need to do.

That setup looks really old what year is the bar, the red looks like your emergency release and the lease (dangling on the floor) is you emergency lease that should be connected to you harness 1st be for launching the kite. When you pull the red emergency release the kite should flag out and not drag you along .

You know, I’m suddenly reminded of the JATO urban legend of yore.

JATO?

Thanks for the replies. I’m fairly certain that it’s correct in that picture. Well, confirmed by the guy who sold it to me. However, he sold it after being scared to death…

I’ve been watching a few videos and it seems I should have crabbed up the side of the wind window as opposed to launch it straight in front of me. I think I may have made the newbie mistake of pulling the bar towards me as I rocketed along the ground instead of dropping the bar.

It is old. About 10 years, I’d guess. It doesn’t depower 100% as it only adjusts by the bar movement. It doesn’t have holes through the bar for the power / de-power line.

I have another kite (bought both from the same man) which has a set up more like the one in that picture Mactheknife, including the trip adjusters (or whatever they’re called). That one’s 16.5m though. I thought using the smaller one for the first attempt would have been the best idea.

Think I need to put my big boy pants on and have another go*!

*other thing’s I’ll do are;

– use it on sand, not rock-hard mud
– wear long trousers
– make sure to depower as much as possible
– maybe a bigger kite with more control is better than a smaller kite (if 14m can be called small) that isn’t under control!

You sound like you’re lucky and got away lightly.

Please don’t take this the wrong way, but if you don’t know not to launch a kite from straight downwind and don’t know how the safety systems work and combine that with practicing in an area with any form of obstables, you’re simply a matter of time away from seriously injuring / killing yourself or others.

A larger kite will just drag you further / lift you higher off the ground.

I’d really reccomend getting lessons, and learning on a small (1-2M) kite which reacts quickly, is “fun” when it zooms through the power zone rather than overpoweringly dangerous.

Ah, I recall – you asked a question on this topic a few weeks back, and have completley ignored several peoples advice.

Please learn this lesson and go get a lesson. These guys can give you some tips.
http://www.britishkitesports.org

My final point – kite lines are rather effective cheesewires, so if your out of control kite / ditched wraps its lines around any part of a person it can cause horrific injuries – it’s not only your own safety to consider here.

Thanks mark.

I’ve had a 2 line 6m kite for almost 10 years which I’m very good with and is “fun”. That one needs to be launched from downwind and then move to the edge of the window as soon as it inflates and takes off. It’s powerful enough to have me lifting vertically a metre or two and jumping 10m forwards.

I was a long way from any obstacles (middle of a big field, away from powerlines / trees and hedges). Nothing worse than scrapes to the back of my legs and arse. I wasn’t close to being lifted vertically. I’ve broken my knee and elbow in the last 2 years on (or coming off) mountain bikes.

I could have been lucky, but, if I felt it was necessary, I could have dropped the bar and been fine. The only surprise was the lack of climbing to the zenith which obviously kept the power on and made me question the set up.

Not making light of it, but I wasn’t in any real danger at any point.

edit: well, nothing really to add, but did read your 2nd post. Got a lesson booked for the weekend after next. Having won National, European and World sailing champs, I’m well aware of the dangers of wind and ropes (or strings).

Gotcha.

The best place to learn a large power kite is in shallow water BTW – you can get lofted, dragged around and generally get an appreciation for just how much power these kites can generate in safety.

A good kitesurfing kite will make a lot more power than the 6M 2 line, and they react slowly.

The other thing is to get completely automatic with the safety release(s) so you can use them and know they work (they tend to get gummed / salted up over time).

To actually answer your original question (sorry about that) – the bar / hook setup looks wrong. I’m not sure how this model should be set up, but the “chicken loop” (that you actually hook the harness into) usually has a well defined, plastic covered shape, not looped rope like this (rope can get twisted around the hook, which is a bad thing, and is also hard to hook into).

Red tags usually indicate safety releases, either that or the power / depower straps. I’d imagine the original instructions can be found via google. Another reason why an instructor is useful – plus kitesurfing you fly an use the kite quite differently to a stunt kite.

Anyway, I’ll shut up now I’m starting to sound like my Mum 😉

Think I need to put my big boy pants on and have another go*!

*other thing’s I’ll do are;

– use it on sand, not rock-hard mud
– wear long trousers
– make sure to depower as much as possible
– maybe a bigger kite with more control is better than a smaller kite (if 14m can be called small) that isn’t under control!

Dude as has been said before I really think you should just go and get some lessons to learn how to handle this sort of kite properly. I know you have experience flying other kites but with a smaller kite you can get away with making mistakes – not so with a bigger kite and it’s only a matter of time I’d say before you end up in A and E.

I’ve been kitesurfing a few years now, was out on Saturday and after a crash had the 5th line wrap around the middle of the kite. Despite it being a fully depowerable new kite, despite me knowing what to do, it still dragged me 200m all the way to the beach before I sorted it out – thought I was going to end up in the dunes at one point or worse.

I know some people don’t like to be told and just want to try and figure stuff out by themselves, that’s admirable yes, but having been around kites long enough I know the power they can generate and how much trouble they can get you into. The £150 you save on lessons by learning yourself wont look like such a great saving once you’re off work for a few weeks after a nasty accident.

Get the feeling though that you’re determined to press on regardless though and if that’s the case good luck to you, I really hope it work out.

Sorry, late to the party – just now seen your post about a lesson. Good call, you’ll love it 🙂

Can’t really comment on the correct set up for your kite as it’s not a system I’ve seen before, a little different to the standard kitesurf setup in use these days.

Thanks.

The 16.5m I bought has a nearly identical set up to the pic from Mactheknife and the rubber tubing on the chicken-loop, the trim adjusters above the bar, the bar has a hole in the middle for the de-power to slide through etc.

Sadly, there’s no way I can justify the big-bucks for a modern kite. It’s blowing 20+ knots at the moment but will get both kites to the beach when it’s more sensible and see how I do. The other annoying part is, while I live in near paradise in Thailand, the beaches are narrow and the water’s deep. I grew up in Devon and those enourmous stretches of sand are just what I need now!

I’ve checked all the fittings. The releases work. One of the ‘D’ shackles disintegrated in my fingers from the salt. Pulleys work. I had an email from Flysurfer in the last 10 mins who confirmed it’s correct; I think it’s just too old for it to be recognisable.

I’ve been looking at both kites and I can use the more modern bar on the smaller kite to see how it goes *after my lessons*

Thanks for your replies.

Can’t really comment on the correct set up for your kite as it’s not a system I’ve seen before, a little different to the standard kitesurf setup in use these days.

Generally we always try to launch and land a kite right at the edge of the wind window, 90 deg to the wind, where it’s generating very little power. Self launch is possible but normally even experiences kiters much prefer help launching as it’s much safer. If a kite puts down in the sea then move it to the edge of the window before relaunching. Would never try to launch directly downwind. 45deg as above then you’re fully in the power zone so it’s no surprise it dragged you along.

Right overhead there’s very little power, however when it’s overhead you’re susceptible to gusts and need to be switched on to the possibility of getting lofted. Hence when walking around on land towards the sea, most people tend to hold the kite towards the edge of the wind window, where if you get hit by a strong gust, it will drag you more along the ground rather than up into the air. Then again if there’s a risk of being lofted anyway then you’re either out in inappropriately gusty conditions, or you should really be using a smaller kite.

Generally us kiters will go out with a smaller kite if we can, since they’re more fun, less cumbersome and react quicker. Beginners though will often need a slightly bigger kite to start with to go upwind as they’re not using the power of the kite as efficiently.

Hijack;

used to love flying a kite when I was a kid and want to have another go with one of these canopy types – but just a little one so that my 12yo and 9yo can also have a go with it.

Recommendations, for something decent, durable and not too powerful?

Theotherjohnv, Decathlon some very good budget kites.

JATO?

The Arizona Highway Patrol came upon a pile of smoldering metal embedded into the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. the wreckage resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it was a car. The type of car was unidentifiable at the scene. The lab finally figured out what it was and what had happened.

It seems that a guy had somehow gotten hold of a JATO unit (Jet Assisted Take Off – actually a solid fuel rocket) that is used to give heavy military transport planes an extra ‘push’ for taking off from short airfields. He had driven his Chevy Impala out into the desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. Then he attached the JATO unit to his car, jumped in, got up some speed and fired off the JATO!

The facts, as best could be determined, are that the operator of the 1967 Impala hit JATO ignition at a distance of approximately 3.0 miles from the crash site. This was established by the prominent scorched and melted asphalt at that location. The JATO, if operating properly, would have reached maximum thrust within five seconds, causing the Chevy to reach speeds well in excess of 350 MPH, continuing at full power for an additional 20–25 seconds. The driver, soon to be pilot, most likely would have experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog-fighting F-14 jocks under full afterburners, basically causing him to become insignificant for the remainder of the event. However, the automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2.5 miles (15–20 seconds) before the driver applied and completely melted the brakes, blowing the tires and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface, then becoming airborne for an additional 1.4 miles and impacting the cliff face at a height of 125 feet, leaving a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock.

Most of the driver’s remains were not recoverable; however, small fragments of bone, teeth and hair were extracted from the crater, and fingernail and bone shards were removed from a piece of debris believed to be a portion of the steering wheel.

I wasn’t close to being lifted vertically… I wasn’t in any real danger at any point.

More by luck than good management though. Did you know that the profile of that kite was going to pull rather than lift when you launched it?

It’s easy done, I’ve been caught out myself. Launched a mate’s Blade one day, similar to one I’ve flown a lot but a bit bigger and a newer model. Popped it straight up into the power like I’ve done a hundred times with the baby Blade, and landed horizontally 30 yards away with the thing still pulling like a train. I learned the value of kite killers that day.

I’m very glad you’re going to get lessons. Overconfidence will get you hurt or worse and the unknown kite setup is an added complication you really don’t need.