Ok this may sound quite daft but today I just had my second lesson and about to purchase a kite. The nerves are starting to get the better of me but i am so determined to control that damn kite. There's been one incident today where I got dragged on the sand where i had to let go of the kite then I fell backwards. The more that kite goes out of control I tend to focus just staying on the ground rather than steering that kite. Any words of support and advice would be most welcome!!

When I used to practice kite control I would get out on a sand bar or in to knee deep water , that way when I lost it I had a soft fall rather than getting dragged down the beach . I would launch the kite while standing in the water , then walk out further and practice my water relaunches and moving the kite side to side across the front of the wind window until I became comfortable enough to walk with the kite and start practicing my body dragging . Be sure to know how your safety works , don't hesitate if you feel you need to use it , and Don't kite alone ! I learned that the hard way . Keep at it and you will get there .Good Luck

IMHO kite control and skill is 90% of this sport, when I give lessons ,the walk of shame is a great way to improve your flying skills, use every opportunity

You actually did the right thing by letting go of the bar when situations present themselves. I've seen students pull the bar in and that can power up the kite making matters worse. In your case, it seems you went 'under the kite', the lines lost tension and it stalled. Maintaining some tension on the front lines is mandatory in being able to control the kite properly. Keep at it mate. 2 lessons is really the very beginning.

Thanks for the encouragement, it is highly appreciated :-)

Hi DiamondOlives,

The issue is most schools use kites that are way too big and lines that are way too long to teach basic kite control.

As others mentioned: the most dangerous place to fly a kite is on the beach. In our teaching location we have a steep drop off as soon as you enter the ocean so we can't teach in knee deep water, students have to learn their basis flying skills from the beach.

I never thought kites would fly well with very short lines but to my surprise they actually do. We now teach every new student on 5 meter lines and a 4m or 2.5m kite (depending on the wind strength). With this kind of setup it's nearly impossible to get injured and much less likely to injure other people as well. This means the student builds confidence faster and the kite can be flown with minimal to no supervision from the instructor if necessary.

All bad accidents I've seen in the last 5 years were on the beach and most of the time involved friends teaching friends and dangerous instruction practices, i.e. teaching a newbie to fly a 10m kite with 24meter lines in 25 knots, on the beach! Initially, most learners (and some instructors) completely underestimate the power of the kite and the potential for injuries.

Controlling a smaller kite with shorter lines is actually more difficult (much more twitchy). This will force you to develop much needed finesse in your flying skills so once you upgrade to longer lines and larger kites your control with be significantly easier, therefore you will be more confident and much safer.

Very short lines and small kite flying has been a game changer for us. With beaches getting more and more crowded it also gives other kiters much more space to maneuver around learners with much less risk of collision and kite tangles.

IMO if you can't control a small kite with short lines safely and confidently, you shouldn't be given a larger kite with long lines.




For obvious safety reasons, I reckon all schools operating in busy areas should start their students on smaller kites and shorter lines

Christian

Time on the water and appropriate precautions (100% agree with practicing your kite control in waist deep water) will help build your confidence and skills.

I had my lessons and was still really scared of the kite (probably a positive actually) until a fellow kiter actually stood with me and talked me through flying the kite from side to side while sheeting the bar in out and angling the bar as I was doing this...it was the this last aspect that really got the kite control clicking for me...that and talking the movements out loud (bar in, kite left, bar out etc) as they were happening....didn't care if it sounded crazy, I was really enjoying making that big sucker move around and do my bidding! I used to fly stunt kites back in the 80s so still get a bit of a rush just from the look and feel of the kite itself.

The other suggestion, i'd make is pick your day for practicing your kite control...choose a day in the lower third of your kite's wind range...one where there's enough steady wind to keep the kite up; but not so much that it's pulling you off your feet when you're moving your kite across the power zone when you draw your figure 8s.

Good luck with it. Buying your own kite kind of compels you to have have to learn in a way...get value for your money etc. I did the same thing and know I wasn't ever going to give up until it all made sense. Best sport in the world really once you get the hang of things.

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DiamondOlives said..
Ok this may sound quite daft but today I just had my second lesson and about to purchase a kite. The nerves are starting to get the better of me but i am so determined to control that damn kite. There's been one incident today where I got dragged on the sand where i had to let go of the kite then I fell backwards. The more that kite goes out of control I tend to focus just staying on the ground rather than steering that kite. Any words of support and advice would be most welcome!!

Staying on the ground is good. You should be able to steer your kite without it pulling you around, sounds like you're sheeted in too much. You can still move the kite around with lighter bar pressure. With practise you'll learn how much you need to sheet in.

Having someone stand by you and talk you through things helps a lot. I learnt very little in lessons and more on my own.