Gday... I live out west and want to start practicing with my kite. I don't really wanna head all the way out to the beach just to practice on the sand, so I was wondering if it was acceptable to just kite in a big open park for my first couple of times?

cheers

get a land board and a small foil kite you will have a hoot

cabstar said...

get a land board and a small foil kite you will have a hoot

this...

However just remember that wind coming off the land has turbulence which is created after hitting trees, buildings etc so the wind will not be as consistent as the wind coming off a large flat body of water.
Also landing from great heights onto grass hurts a bit more than landing on water or soft sand.

Some people do it but its very dangerous. Too many things can go wrong. You won't learn much from flying the kite at some park anyway as you won't be able to generate much power unless you want to get dragged along the ground or lofted into a tree.

Just save it for the weekends or after work. Eventually you will get hooked enough to move closer to the beach

I wouldnt recomend it..... you are much more likely to hurt yourself and the kite.
If you have a foil kite - ie flysurfer or peter lynn... then not such a big deal to the kite.
But land is where there are lots of gusts, and a gust+bad landing = no kiting for long time.

As has been suggested, get a landboard and go nuts!
When i fly my inflato's on land i usually go 2-4m down from what i'd usually use on the water as you really don't need anywhere near as much power to get rolling, and you can't hold down much power on a landboard.

Yes, crashing on land does hurt. I landed on my wrist from a small boost about 2 months ago and it's still not fixed. :(
Yes, you CAN trash your inflato if you crash it on land. If your still at the stage where your gonna crash your kite then you probably shouldn't be flying it on land.

You can pick up a second hand depower foil kite for ~$300-600 depending on the brand and size which might be a better idea if you are keen on getting into the landboarding side of things.

and it handle gust heaps easyer the a inflatable.

I forgot to add to that diatribe.

Do not ever try to fly with a harness or hooked in in any way. With handles you can let go in an instant. With a harness as a learner you can be ten foot in the air before you get hold of the safety release which is bad karma.

Darwin had you in mind dexxy.

Hi Bigmark and Koma,

Yeah sorry I just get carried away and did not read properly. Hitched in on any kite as a learner on land is a big no no. Other than anything you will bust it when it prangs.

When I got involved in the sport I had not played rugby for seven years, which until then had dominated my sporting life. I needed something to get me active afterward and I saw paragliding but chickened out. Then when on holiday in South Africa I visited a kite shop and they told me a bit about it. When I got back here I looked it up on the internet, contacted Neil at Hold the Line Kites in Perth.

I took advice for the first time in my life, bought a little two line stunt kite, the Qujokka, and have not looked back. Would have quit rugby years before had I known how much physical fun you could have on your own!

People always ask what it is like when you come in off the water. Is it fun? Naah hate it you stupid prick, that's why I was out there for three hours!

For me it is exhilarating, being out on the water. It does not matter what has been on your mind, however important it just fades and it is just you and your kite and the wind.

I did my AKSA course last year because I wanted to get folk involved as opposed to making a living. I have never used it as I feel the approach actually scares people away. I know for a fact that there is no way I would have persevered had I taken the conventional route. Some take to it very quickly but older people and girls need a different approach and kids can be introduced a lot earlier on land.

I have watched too many conventional learners struggling and not having fun for too long. No wonder so many give up. One of my instructor mates reckons that out of ten students, two will buy a kite and one will take it up as a sport. At $100 an hour that is a piss weak ratio.

If you learn on land with a foil you can kite in winds significantly lighter than on the water which opens up a huge window of learning. Anyone who is involved in this sport knows that the biggest drawback is windows of opportunity. You can fire up a foil and a land board in very light wind. It takes bugger all to get you rolling so you can practice whilst it is safe.

One of the huge hurdles in teaching is getting most students to understand how to go up wind. Try and couple that with getting them to keep the board on their feet, kite in the air and stay afloat facing the right direction and they are stuffed. On a land board it is easy and the transition to water is a natural.