First Flight (Now with first fail)

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[Ca Ike]

Thanks for the encouragement.  

It's getting a bit easier, but I'm still having troubles sticking it every time. I definitely need to work on the stall by matching the wind's spoed like you said, but I'm also having difficulty keeping the kite level on the way down. Many times I was sooo close to landing, but at the last second the the nose wobbled toward the center of the window and shot right up in the air again. Actually, that second video was just the last few seconds of a MUCH longer one of me attempting to land and just not being able to commit to it.

Walk or run toward the kite to help maintain the stall.  You want to equalize the wind drive but still have tension on the lines.  You don't want the lines to go completely slack.  THis is where the side slide really helps in teaching stall control.

[KSC]

That is where slack is needed K...The kite will drive and landing in the edge of the window and the nose will point towards the center as there is wind there to lift it..this is where you need to give slack either by walking or extending the arms in front to kill the kite drive and land it on the two wing tips
Also landing on both tips is a good way to practice control on each wing and this will help you for fine inputs rather than hard pull/push on the lines

Ah, okay. If I was stalling enough, even if it wobbled a little, the wind wouldn't be able to take it back it up in the first place, right? I figured the wobble was driving it back towards the center alone, but now I realize it was a combination of the two. I'll work on that. Thanks!

Hehe I can see you working to force yourself to keep your elbows at your side   Keep working on that habit and remember to pull back toward your hips instead of out to  your side.

 

It's a hard habit to break and I havn't even been doing it that long to make it a real habit! I never raise my hands above my head, which I know is good, but I still find myself flailing outwards. Especially when trying to get the kite back into the air when I know the landing isn't going to stick. It just seems intuitive to pump down and out for some reason. I'm gonna bungee my elbows to my chest if I can't keep that under control. 

When you say "figures", you mean figure 8s?

The snap stall is difficult.  THe timing and intensity of the inputs have to be spot on or it won't stall and you really have to practice it in the middle of the wind window (power zone) to get it down right.

It seems simple enough, but I see that's not the case at all. I think my largest fault is the second snap. I either pull too hard and the kite turns back the opposite direction or too soft and it just jerks a little and stays on it's current trajectory.

Walk or run toward the kite to help maintain the stall. You want to equalize the wind drive but still have tension on the lines.  You don't want the lines to go completely slack.  THis is where the side slide really helps in teaching stall control.

Yeah, I found there were a few times when I had too much slack and it felt like the kite wasn't in my control at all. At one point while this was happening I think I may have attempted a snap stall as the kite back flipped straight into a Turtle. Unfortunately, I was unable to capitalize on that position at this point. 

[Ca Ike]

By figures I mean any figure. squares, 8's, loops etc.  Here's a link http://www.aka.kite.org/kite-genres/sport-kite/compulsory-figures

For now I would forget about the snap stall and step back to basic stall, side slide, fade and figures.  Get more comfortable controlling your kite before you go for more advanced stalls and tricks.  The fade and side slide are important for learning stall control.  Once you can get these to rise and fall and slide well then you will be able to fully control a stall and have the feel you need to know what your doing wrong with the snap stall.  THe line control and feel you get from the slide and fade is crucial to managing line tension and slack in every other trick.

[KSC]

Some of those look a little intimidating. Can I ask where exactly you'd want to practice some of these figures, window wise? The first time out I couldn't even preform a simple loop without crashing. It just seemed like the kite was never in my control. I find the power zone was much to fast to pull up in time. Or maybe my reaction time is too slow...?

[Ca Ike]

Most of the time precision is flown on 125 foot lines and they use the full window.  YOu have to scale them to the size of the window.  Pick some of the more simple ones to do at first and mix them in with your stall and slide practice. The ground pass loop is a good one to help get familiar with ground level flying.  Start mid window trying to enter and exit at the same height and go lower as you get comfortable. 

Its also true that your reaction time is going to be slow not only because your a beginner but also because of your arm position not allowin for full  range of motion.  Hence the reason I mention it.  Its better to use arm motions like cross country skiers do (or like you see in my vids) since it gives you the maximum amount of movement you can get with full control and next to no fatigue from trying to hold out your arms.

As you get better you can mix tricks and figures together for some good variety in your flying.

[KSC]

Cool, thank you. I'll spend some time going over a few of the ones you mentioned and try to be as consistent as possible. I will also keep practicing my stalls and drill those landings over and over until I can get them to stick every time. I'll get some slides in there as well. Those are my immediate goals until I move onto anything else.

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