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High As A God Damned Kite!!
DrZiplock
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
In the far flung land of China an idea was born. Some say it was born 2,800 years ago by two great philosophers. Some suggest it's even older.
I say it doesn't matter, because it is still awesome.
THE KITE!
I love kites and you should too. But, DrZiplock, once you grow out of being an awkward young child, kites aren't good for anything and are stupid.
No.
It is you who are stupid.
I've been flying for awhile, but got really into it when I worked at The Kite Loft in Ocean City, MD for a few summers with some of my best friends. If you ever make it down to OC, be sure to check the place out.
There are many different kinds of kites, so we'll cover the basics first.
Single line kites.
These are the kites that you had as a kid. Often they come in a variety of different shapes and are only made up of a few spars. Easy to put up, easy to take down. These are generally used as decorative kites. Some examples:
Diamond Kite:
Delta Kite:
That's a big damned delta. 60 feet from tip to tip. I've only ever flown a 20'.
Other examples of one lines are box kites and novelty kites. However you can also find giant foils on one line kites which are like parachutes.
Some people even fly things off of the line of these very stable kites:
Things like this 90' long spin sock. This thing is so much fun to launch.
There are also people who fight with one line kites. Powdered resin is added to the line and then crushed glass is added to the line. The goal is to cut the line of your opponents kites.
Don't have your music on for the video. Just...don't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fixJaV5Ja_g
Stunt Kites
You have 2 line delta stunt kites, which are great for fast turns, spins, flips and formation flying:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-qrhuyVfOs&feature=related
Four line stunt kites, which are harder to learn but more awesome than delta stunt kites. These things are all about control. If you held out your hand, I can land mine in the palm of it.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EukX0mPmVeA
Power Kites
These things are the shit. I've been powerkiting for the last 6 or so years. They come in a variety of flavors as well. There are two line foils which pull like a truck and there are four line foils which have more control. Depending on the particular style of the kite it can drag you down the beach or launch you 20+ feet into the air. We used to jump lifeguard towers on the beach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYjuFMmphJs&feature=related
Then we figured we should put a board on our feet and head out into the water. That's when we first learned to kiteboard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnoCC5-5Sbs
These guys are professionals, but most people can learn to kiteboard with about a week of instruction. I don't recommend learning on your own. Besides, the gear isn't cheap.
So what are you all doing this weekend? Going out and flying a kite!
edit: holy shit, long OP.
I say it doesn't matter, because it is still awesome.
THE KITE!
I love kites and you should too. But, DrZiplock, once you grow out of being an awkward young child, kites aren't good for anything and are stupid.
No.
It is you who are stupid.
I've been flying for awhile, but got really into it when I worked at The Kite Loft in Ocean City, MD for a few summers with some of my best friends. If you ever make it down to OC, be sure to check the place out.
There are many different kinds of kites, so we'll cover the basics first.
Single line kites.
These are the kites that you had as a kid. Often they come in a variety of different shapes and are only made up of a few spars. Easy to put up, easy to take down. These are generally used as decorative kites. Some examples:
Diamond Kite:
Delta Kite:
That's a big damned delta. 60 feet from tip to tip. I've only ever flown a 20'.
Other examples of one lines are box kites and novelty kites. However you can also find giant foils on one line kites which are like parachutes.
Some people even fly things off of the line of these very stable kites:
Things like this 90' long spin sock. This thing is so much fun to launch.
There are also people who fight with one line kites. Powdered resin is added to the line and then crushed glass is added to the line. The goal is to cut the line of your opponents kites.
Don't have your music on for the video. Just...don't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fixJaV5Ja_g
Stunt Kites
You have 2 line delta stunt kites, which are great for fast turns, spins, flips and formation flying:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-qrhuyVfOs&feature=related
Four line stunt kites, which are harder to learn but more awesome than delta stunt kites. These things are all about control. If you held out your hand, I can land mine in the palm of it.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EukX0mPmVeA
Power Kites
These things are the shit. I've been powerkiting for the last 6 or so years. They come in a variety of flavors as well. There are two line foils which pull like a truck and there are four line foils which have more control. Depending on the particular style of the kite it can drag you down the beach or launch you 20+ feet into the air. We used to jump lifeguard towers on the beach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYjuFMmphJs&feature=related
Then we figured we should put a board on our feet and head out into the water. That's when we first learned to kiteboard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnoCC5-5Sbs
These guys are professionals, but most people can learn to kiteboard with about a week of instruction. I don't recommend learning on your own. Besides, the gear isn't cheap.
So what are you all doing this weekend? Going out and flying a kite!
edit: holy shit, long OP.
DrZiplock on
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Posts
In the high stakes world of kite battles, only one loose cannon undercover cop man can defeat the Kite Overlord.
Rated R.
Right up till it was my teams turn.
Ziplock, you must tell me.
They make horrible horrible products.
G.F.A.K. Often they are referred to as Go Fuck A Kustomer.
That's an added bit of kite geek knowledge for your day.
up to the highest height
It is the most rad.
There's something about holding onto or being strapped into a kite and it having the ability to rip your arms off that gives you a healthy respect for the wind.
Usagi, you can totally get into it with lessons. I only hurt myself learning once.
Way more fun than waterboarding!
naknaknaknaknak
I windsurf so I'm pretty sure the transition wouldn't be too bad
but I've personally witnessed some pretty major crashes - and then there was that guy who smashed into the side of a building in FL :shock:
little more rope
little more luck
little more hope
gotta get this stupid kite to fly
gotta make sure it doesn't get the best of me
'till I get it in the air some how!
Actually, with the sailing and windsurfing you have a pretty good skillset to get started.
The guy in FL was a fucking moron. There is no way he should have 1)launched at that location 2)even been out there at all.
Yes it is. Wait drug addict? Not exactly...
millions of little kids
do it every day
they make a kit and poof it's in the sky
leave it to me to have the one fool kite
that likes to see a little kid cry!
Dude was an absolute idiot.
I'm sure it'd be lots of fun, but between my friend attempting to sell us his International 14 and trying to fix the Hobies I think I have enough sailing-related hobbies. Someday I'll try it for sure, tho
The prize for winning a kite fight is being raped in the butt.
hi5
I have my gear waiting in a closet. Waiting to not live beyond an hour from water.
this is what i was thinking of
just awful
You should bring a few friends and do the team rocket theme.
looks like it's between $170 and $225 per person depending on what day/time of day you go
daaaamn
I14's a fucking expensive but look really fun (I might be mixing them up with I16's) good luck with that!
i know
might as well get a plane ticket at those prices
Yeah, the fact that it's used makes it less expensive, but we already own three small boats and I'm having a hard time justifying another.
that guy was my supervisors step-son.
and, those are some kites...!
"Think of it as Evolution in Action"
heres a question, whats the weight limit on something like that?
It's actually an alright play
More for the novelty than for anything else, but I enjoyed reading it
but i only like the diamond ones with bow tie tails, none of that fancy nonsense
though i did see a pig kite at a store on the cape that was pretty great
If you can get a harness to fit, you're good to go.
The kites range in sizes so if you're bigger or smaller you can figure out what size works for what wind.
I'm not really all that small of a dude and the kite can toss me around at will. The two friends that I learned with are smaller than I am and they just fly less kite.