There ya go Mel?????


Where do I go.

THERE'S NO PIC!!!!!

LOL

mel

Is a pic not showing up on the avatar...it is on my computer??? It is not a close up tho...sorry. This is a long shot. Some reporter took it.

i have seen people practicing on the beach with those in the summer and being lifted off the ground....looks like murder on the shoulders.

This pic was from 2004. I used to lift weights....as well as do sprint triathlons....the kite was like lifting weights....can you believe I have myopathy now...no rhyme or reason. I was no wimp...but PN (SFN) has trashed me totally, right down to the heart rate.

This kite actually will fly in very little wind. That is the only time I fly it now...very low wind.

You know, it is actually tough on the neck to look up at it....this kite is on a long line here...about 150 feet....the closer you come down the more it picks up speed. Way up high you can usually hold steady...as it comes down, if you stand it vertical....man can you catch the wind!!!! I could fly to NYC. You have to pull with all your strength and balance too, or you fall on your duff....your whole body goes into flying the thing if you take it out on a windy day...these kites can not be flown in winds over say 20mph...I used to have problems with onlookers...keeping them from under the kite...like I said, those lines slice thru anything....

Did you know the British used to have 'man lifters' during WWI....box kites that lifted people up to see...

I have smaller stunt kites that are similar and much more practical for me.

"Practical' sounds like orthopedic shoes to me....ouch....hurts my ego more than this disease hurts the rest of me. Alas, I am a baby boomer who needs to grow up. I had my fun times and I would not give up a day of it for anything.

They have harnesses for that kind hard kind of flying...there are bars and harnesses, so you don't hurt your shoulders. Those kites are so big, that if you catch too much wind, you have to let go unless of course, you are tied to them with a harness...then u better know how to fly.

I didn't know you were referring to your avatar's picture.

Yeah, I see you.

I have a question about kite skiing. Maybe it's a stupid question, maybe not.

How on earth do you stay on the ground?? I mean, if you are on skiis, on ice and using this big kite, can't the kite just lift you up up up and away, is what I mean???

Mel

First of all, I did not mean to highjack this thread....wow, did we get off topic...I was just trying to make a point that my finger nerves grew back. LOL:D

Anyway, you stay on the ground by controlling the kite. If you do not control the kite, you do not stay INTACT.

You need some one to teach you to fly these....it is not a do it yourself project.

I would not have lost the tip of my finger had I not had open water in front of me....that threw me for a loop. I know how to fly a kite and do stunts with them.

Those monster kites are flown several ways. You do not hold handles in your hand, except ones with brakes...too much pressure. You have these straps that distribute pressure or you use a harness or bar. The Thunderfoil is unique in that is it a dual line, and has no brake. You can brake any kite, however....keep reading.

When flying you keep your upper arms always at your side...you do not extend your arms up....I know nothing about kite acrobatics, so I can't speak to how they fly.

In the pic you see the arms are at my side....control is via the biceps and other muscles of the upper body...you keep your joints stable. You do put your whole body into it...it is a fitness endeavor. Turns are made by pulling right or left. When the kite is on the vertical....(up and down) it pulls pretty hard, and you control it by aiming it...by catching wind in the baffles...you can pull right or left and lose your wind....or break your kite.

When the kite is horizontal as in my pic...you also pull right or left to manuver the kite and it also pulls you, altho not as effectively as the vertical position.

You can see in the pic I do not have skis on, and not airborne....however I am leaning back quite hard to control the kite....now and then you lose your thermal and end up on your duff. Kinda like tug of war. LOL

I was letting the kite do sommersaults, which is just a trick you learn...it is a fun thing to watch and also to do once you get the hang of it.

That kite is a 'Thunderfoil'. I also own a Beamer quadline, which has 4 lines, two of which are brakes. It is quite big too. I think both are a least 6 footers....You know it is nice outside today....maybe I should fly one today...see if I can still do it, LOL.

I have a Norweigan one, a sail, which is for skijouring.....being pulled on skis by a sail...that is the one my son thought was tied wrong....now I have to somehow figure out what he did to it...poor thing.

I have a few others, 'Symphony kites', Delta kites (one with a huge wingspan)...that a stinker took off on me once. I also have a few that open to big circles if flown as the tail of the Delta.

I do not recommend folks take them out without having some one teach them....my son, actually can fly and taught me to fly....he just didn't know about the sail....he thought I messed it up and tangled it. He was so cute, he called and said, "Mom I have been trying for hours to untie the mess you made...." I had to tell him, "Honey...it was supposed to be tied like that"...His reponse, "Oh oh."

Anyway, it is a fun hobby...and can be done at all levels.

Forget the skiing part.

"You stay on the ground by controlling the kite."


So I gather that if you are a newbie, and this is your first time out, and you get this monster kite, and you just hold it, then there is a good chance that on a windy day, you'll wind up over Japan????

oh my god!!!

lol Melody

Wow
 

this is awesome Melody, I hope it only gets better! WOO HOO - don't know what could be happening and he's not taking the B-12? Strange how G** works in mysterious ways ;) GOOD LUCK

If only it were that easy to travel....I would be a frequent flyer.

You likely won't make it to Japan....your kite might, but more likely it will nest in a tree, whether you are attached or not. I am far to cowardly to go airborne hoping a kite or chute will open.

You should see how fast this thing crumbles into a wad of gortex, that looks like used kleenex, and flops to the ground when it wind goes out of its sails.

That was one of my points to my friends who wanted to skydive. I showed them how fast I could crash my kite with the jerk of my elbow. I do not think any of them went on to jump.

I do not like heights. Heights are for birds, for kites and not people.

I see the way a glass shatters when I drop it....my feet are staying on the ground, except for when I board a plane....at least I have the illusion of a floor...and IT has engines.

I have been dragged by my boys to the heights of Zion National Park's Angel Point.:eek:

And the depths of its canyons, in a leaky dry suit, via cold Virgin River in the spring flowing at 200 cu feet per second, up to my neck.:eek:

I have biked down hills at 50 mph on skinny tires.:D

Been on Bear Butte in a storm.:eek:

I have hiked in the Rockies, and swam with dolphins.:D

I was going to learn to rock climb, but the hands started going...

And of course I had kiteskied, with predictable results.:o

I will not eat raw fish or worms...nor jump out of a plane.

I am out of the junior adventure club.

NOW it seems I can not take a scary movie....:(
I am sooo boring and bored, alas it was good while it lasted. My big adventure today was a walk, slip on the ice and trip on the sidewalk.

I may get a moment of inspiration in the future as in my eyes, I have little to lose...but right now, the thought of a cast on one of my limbs is more than I can take.