Hi i was just wondering if any one out there still has any unused/unwanted 2 line kites for teaching kids. Please have a look because we really need some 2 line kites to get them started. We would be happy to pay for postage because it will be going to a good cause. any help will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers Rob

yes i have realised this thats why i want two line kites because they genraly come in much smaller sizes and are very safe if conected to one line and are much easyer to untangle. So please have a look in the shed and if there are any old broken or good kites that want to be given away for the benifit of the sport just email me at [email protected]

Andy ,
Great to hear of someone else introducing the sport to their kids. Your right safety is the key , I have been pretty selective with the days I have taken him out.I dont want to scare him off with a bad experience. I have held off till now until James body got a little stronger.
I started him on a Airush 3 metre trainer used it 3 or 4 times till he could drag down the beach in 18-20 knts. Had a lesson with an instructor so he would listen to the set up and safety explained to him by someone else. During the lesson he flew a 4 metre on short 10 metre leader lines. Seem to have the kite control pretty much from the start.
Bought the Matrix which is a quick little kite when the wind picks up. I think the Core may be a bit more stable.I initially thought of shortening the lines so you have less slack in the lines at the side of the window in lighter breezes. But he has flown the Matrix on 23 metre (std length for this size) twice now, and has got the relaunch pretty well down .
I like you were keen not to rush anything and have focused on practising pulling the safety and relaunch mainly. He body drags but couldnt get him self upwind if he loses his board. (Dad will need to stay close for a while.)
I added the board at the end of last session , and he stood up straight away and has ridden for short distances.Took me twice as long when I learned.
I have got a Naish stubby 115x 39 which will be perfect when he can edge. but a little skaty to begin on . Footstrap positions are closer together than longer boards. Most seem to be too wide for kids and unadjustable.
I have since borrowed a directional which I think will be easier for him to learn on.
Are you in Perth ?, keep me posted on your progress. I like you are feeling the way as no one I have talked to seems to have the experience of teaching young kids.
Cheers Deso.

cause if you teaching with a 5th line and unhooked, you can simply let go of the bar... no death spirals !

Kitefriend, I have a best yarga 5m 5th line kite (still in unopend bag), if you interested I let it go for a very very nice price, email me if you interested...

im teachin my bro or his learning on his own with me watching whos 10 on a 5m wikpika classic.. 4line.. his doing quite well.. at first i wouldn't let him hook in but after i started letting him and he accidently kitelooped but pulled his safety while getting dragged im pretty sure his quite competent to hook in now.. he got up on the first go on the board and can now do 100m runs both ways.. still trying to get him to edge better.. his in the aus kiteboarder mag.. little james pallarenda grom

Firstly the sport is dangerous. If you don't want your child to get injured don't let them do the sport.

Secondly the safety problem has never been about depower when your unhooked its actually getting unhooked. How does a 5th line help you unhook.

How many accidents are caused when people are unhooked?



Yeah a properly setup 5th line won't tangle. But most of the 5th line systems straight from the factory aren't setup properly.





What im getting at is a 5th line is not any safer than a 4 line (hooked in of course where it matters). A 4 line setup is not safe at all, so what does that make a 5th line? Equally not as safe. Don't think because you have a 5th line that it is going to make a difference. Something goes wrong you could still die.

Fellas, thanks for the feedback.

I chose 05 Wipika gear mainly because that is what I have learnt on, I am comfortable with the 5th line CLS and I think it is a good system. 99% of my kiting is solo in sometimes less than ideal locations (NQ islands & reefs), so I use the CLS to relaunch & land the kite all the time. No problems, no twists. I don't have much experience on 4 line kites so can't comment on the pros and cons of the safety systems. My son can already use the system at 9yo so it says something for its simplicity, and yet Mauricio is still using it as well. It works.

Deso, it sounds like the progress of our kids is pretty similar. My son has flown the wipika 2m trainer for probably 10 hours all up since the start of the year, in winds up to 20 knots, including some water bodydragging. We have had the 4m Core kite for about 3 weeks and have had 4 sessions. I got the 5 line setup (26m) retrofitted by the wipika guys in Noosa, and we needed a few sessions to get the line lengths sorted, but it is all sweet now. I have him manipulate the kite on the beach and stabilise it, and then do the lines himself. Before we hook up the kite, we do a session on the quick release....I grab a handful of lines and run down the beach, and he has to release under load. Repeat 4-5 times. I then launch and fly the kite, and we move out over the shallow reef flat, and then he takes the bar (attached only to the CLS) and we then work with kite control, quick release, relaunching with CLS, body dragging. We have also hooked him up to the chicken loop with me holding the harness handle, and had him get the feel for depowering and powering up the kite with bar movements.
So far so good, I think the main difficulty is keeping the messages clear and short so the kids don't lose their attention span and their enthusiasm. Also we have been struggling with not enough wind....I went for a 4m for his body weight (30kg) as I figured this would be similar power to weight as my 11m matrix is for me (78kg). But the kite is still fairly easy to luff out of the window and hard to relaunch in 10 knots, and that has been the main wind lately (tropical doldrums....drive you nuts). Anyway, we just keep plugging away, I look at it as a long term project and something to do together with the boys (the other is 7yo) to get them into the beach and ocean scene, rather than a mission to get the kid ripping in a couple of months! He loves the bodydragging though, and he can see his own progress and pump himself up a bit.

Gear wise, we have a wipika serum 120 board and small straps, wipika waist harness, and I got him a small gath helmet and some UV sunnies to protect the head and eyes.

there is a pic on the traqua website http://www.traqua.com/traquatalk.php?a=421

anyway, lets keep in touch on the kids progress. We are on Magnetic Island, NQ, but we have family in Perth and Margies and we come over to the west every year or so. I look forward to the day we can have a great session in 20knots with the boys, won't that be a blast!
Andy

The problem (not really a problem for most of us) with kites is that they are built for riders over 50kg at least. For kids they have to use a smaller kite which turns much faster and is much twitchier, not ideal for learning. Maybe in the future companies will bring out kites for kids just like sufring brands build kids surfboards.

My freind has just had a baby 2 days ago, how young is too young

oh yeah the baby boy is called

"Martine" after Martin Vari

how sweet is that

Right on neon, but we all watch TV.

quote:

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Right on neon, but we all watch TV.

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Not in any of the households me or my kids live in, and not in the households of a lot of people I know.

I'd rather watch the ocean, anyday

Time to get out of the city Gruz, away from the box, and meet some new people! Come visit us on the island sometime!!

Likuid, I have only had the boy fully hooked into the c-loop with dick engaged while I have a firm grip on the back of his harness (there's a sexual innuendo there for these boys when they hit puberty, but I'll let it go), apart from one planned body drag where he had to test his ability to pull the QR on his own. But he knows that is where it is heading....I just want him super-confident in his kite flying skills before we fully hook him up, so that he knows he has the ability to keep the kite in controlled flight without looking at it and so generally avoid QR-pulling situations in the first place.

I think we'll come over to Palla soon for some flying over a sand bottom and a wide beach, so hopefully we can catch up and introduce the lads!

Andy

yes thanks for all these pointless comments on things i allready knew. but the question is does any one have any old/cheap 2 line kites there willing to sell for cheap or give away. an y help will be really appriectated. and please no more post on saftey i am more than aware of the risks of kitesurfing.
Thanks

From a topic titled;
(Bullsh1t of an instructor)

Kitehard wrote:
"To suggest that people just go out and have lessons from their friends is ridiculous".

Back to this topic:

These Dads have just admitted that they are teaching their kids themselves.
So where's the huge outcry from the kite-schools ??
The silence is deafening.

Is it OK to teach your relatives but ridiculous to teach your friends ?

What's the IKO minimum age for a person wanting a kite lesson ?

Are these microgrommets at 8 & 9 years of age too young for the liability cover ?

How young is too young for IKO ?


Regards
'slave.

Likuid,

Horseshoe Bay faces North and should work in NNE, N, NNW and NW winds. We kited it the other day in 10-14 knots NE with a 13.5m matrix and a 16m boxer, but it didn't really work, wind too light and the NE comes over the point of the bay and it was gusty.

The main problem is lack of enough grunt in the wind lately, which is the same at palla too. But when it comes back up, we'll be giving it some attention - will keep you informed.

Slave, I hear you on the instructor / school issue. Apart from the fact that there is no school or instructor on the island we live on, I wouldn't be trusting my kid to someone else for kite instruction anyway, regardless of how good a teacher they were. Call it over-protective parenting or whatever, that is just my call. I think no-one can have greater concern for a childs safety than that childs parents. Would be interested to hear the official IKO line on it anyway - can anyone comment?