Introduction
If you can ride a bicycle, you can fly a sport kite. Everyone knows how to steer a bike, don’t they? You turn the handle bar to the right, and the bike goes right. Keep steering right, and the bike completes a circle. Straighten out the handle bar and the bike goes straight in whatever direction you are pointing. It’s easy. So keep that image in your mind and lets go kite flying.
Kite Safety
OK, now its time to talk about kite safety. Experienced fliers use something I call the “Pre-launch Checklist”. It’s becomes so natural that they don’t even think about it - like checking to make sure there are no cars in the street before you begin to pedal.
- Never fly near power lines or in thunderstorms
- Never fly near trees, houses or over roads or highways
- Be considerate to those people around you, and never fly a stunt kite over a person or animal. Stunt kites can move at speeds over 100 mph and can cause serious injury.
Kite Setup and Flying Line
For beginners, launching a stunt kite and getting it under control is almost as hard as mounting a bicycle and getting it rolling. After you do it right the first time, it gets much easier. Roll out your flying lines and make sure they are exactly equal in length. (If one line is a few inches shorter, the kite will think you are pulling on that line and start to turn.) The lines should be about 75-100 feet long. Shorter lines reduce response time and make the kite move too fast for most inexperienced fliers. Longer lines make maneuvers harder to complete.
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