I know you've just bought the kite, but the best thing I can suggest is to sell it and get some lessons. There are some great kite schools in perth and most kite shops will have those they recommend. With the right instruction you will outgrow the need for a trainer kite within minutes and you'll be body dragging and launching and landing a full sized kite by the end of your first lesson. Lessons might seem expensive, but do the wrong thing on a real kite and you can easily end up in hospital, and that can cost you thousands and a whole season off the water.

I heard somewhere that Airborne have (or used to have ) a deal with trading in Airush trainer kites. (Jess??? Ian???? is this true?) I think you get the cost off a lesson or a new kite or someething. Give them a ring and ask.

Cheers
g-dog

What do you mean

quote:

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this is NOT possible on a full blown kite, only on your trainer

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I do it on my 15 all the time?

quote:

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Originally posted by Bhoma

Hey all

I'm in Perth and I've just started to get into kitesurfing and i'm haveing a little trouble with landing my kite. I bought a 3m airush trainer kite and have flown it only a couple of times and the first time the wind was too strong and the landing was not as elegant as i had hoped :-P I took it out on Saturday and the landing went better, but i'm still having trouble, perhaps someone could lend some advice?

I pilot the kite back up to the very top (zenith) and then fly it slowly around the edge of the window until its near the ground. Then just as the tip touches the ground, i walk towards it, just like it says in the manual and just like everyone has told me to do. But the problem is then that the wind catches it and it flips over and over and tangles itself up into a ball.. Am I doing something wrong? If so, what am i supposed to do?!

Thanks in advance
Ollie

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Hi Ollie

That is pretty much how you do it. You could get a wrist cuff fitted to one of the flying lines approx 2M up on line (like Ozone Imp kites come with http://www.kitepower.com.au/catalog/category_253_Trainer_Kites.html),then you just fly the kite low to the ground and let go of the bar, the result will be basically the same as you get now, altough your lines may twist a bit more.

The Airush trainer is a 2 lined foil, if you pull on one line as someone has suggested the kite will spin out of control in the power zone until it crashes. It could pull the line through your hand and cut you badly - DO NOT try to land any 2 line foil in stronger winds like this.

It would be possible to construct and sew a "brake" bridle to the TE of the kite, then run a third line down to the bar from that bridle, which would then be connected to a wrist cuff, if the third line went through the bar or a fairlead atached to the bar, then letting go of the bar is how you would land the kite. If a bar stopper was fitted an an appropriate distance from the bar, then the kite would just fall from the sky backwards with virtually no pull or power, or spinning which would = the best way.
Many 4 line foil kites are rigged this way, like Ozone Furys, Samurai, Flexi Bullets, etc

Hope this helps, what you are doing is the best way with the kite you have.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve McCormack

Thanks everyone for all your advice, I'll try doing that next time i go out and fly. The 3rd line sounds like an interesting option, but i think its gonna be quite difficult since i know pretty much nothing about sewing :-P

Since I'm posting anyway, instead of starting a new thread, i have another question. Could anyone recommend some things to do with the trainer kite? (Other than sell it, g-dog :-P) I have flown it a few times and i can move it around pretty easily and steer it and sutff and i'm doing figure 8s accross the window to get power from it but is there anything else i'm supposed to do? I think i remember someone telling me that i need to learn to do smaller figure 8s on each side of the window? At the moment i'm just doing big ones :-P

Thanks again everyone
Ollie

quote:

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Originally posted by Bhoma

Thanks everyone for all your advice, I'll try doing that next time i go out and fly. The 3rd line sounds like an interesting option, but i think its gonna be quite difficult since i know pretty much nothing about sewing :-P

Since I'm posting anyway, instead of starting a new thread, i have another question. Could anyone recommend some things to do with the trainer kite? (Other than sell it, g-dog :-P) I have flown it a few times and i can move it around pretty easily and steer it and sutff and i'm doing figure 8s accross the window to get power from it but is there anything else i'm supposed to do? I think i remember someone telling me that i need to learn to do smaller figure 8s on each side of the window? At the moment i'm just doing big ones :-P

Thanks again everyone
Ollie

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G'day Ollie

Despite what some people say, all I can tell you after teaching thousands of people to fly kites and kitesurf over the years is that you can never to too much kiteflying, as preparation for learning to kitesurf, kitelandboard, or kitebuggy.
Excellent kite control is what will make the difference between learning fast and easily or slow and scared.

Try to catch up with Darren from the AKS soon for a real kiteboarding lesson, but keep flying the trainer as much as possible in the meantime and even after a lesson with him.

Things to practice.
Horizontal fig 8's with up turns at the edge of the window
Horizontal fig 8's with down turns at the edge of the window
Same as above but initiating the turn well before the kite slows down at the edge of the window.
Holding the kite at 11/1 oclock in the wind window and keeping it hovering at the edge without looking at the kite - this simulates the control and ability to use peripheral vision needed to put the board on.
Practice the above holding the kite control bar with one hand (fit a harness loop to the bar)
Do a couple of loops with the kite, bring the kite towards the top of the wind window, hold the bar horizontal in front of you arms raised. Now quickly pirouette, this should have undone one twist, if it didn't you turned your body the wrong way, now you have to do 3 turns the other way, one at a time, don't get dizzy.

When you can fly the kite for 10-15 mins with no unplanned landings, and can hover the kite at the edge of the wind window for 10 - 15 secs at a time you are ready to see someone like Darren for a real kitesurfing lesson, most of which should be conducted in the water.

Hope that helps

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve McCormack