Ouch, that hurts!

pdxmonkeyboy · Wed Jun 07, 06 2:31 pm **Ouch, that hurts!**

So me and my buddy were out at the not-so-seceret beach yesterday and the wind was cooking at times.

I was riding my buddies 12 crossbow, and ended up boosting quite a bit higher than I am used to (20 some feet by bystanders account).

Wasn't quite sure what to do with the kite, got all sketched out and ended up slamming down on my ribs with the kite in the middle of the window. Got the wind knocked out of me--not fun and a little scarry gasping for air in the middle of the channel.

So what does one do with the kite when you boost big? Should i work it back and forth a little or just keep it stationary overhead until I start to descend to a decent height?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. It was a freakin hoot until I hit the water Laughing

kiteboard117 · Since 02 Mar 2005 450 Posts PDX McLovin

kinda depends. on a bow or a largish c you should just leave it until right before you land but on a small c you kinda need to twitch the kite to get hangtime.

Onad · Wed Jun 07, 06 2:57 pm

Loop it!!

Seriously, watch other kiters to get an idea of the motion of the kite on big jumps. In general, the higher you go the more patient you have to be with kite movement & bringing the kite back down for landing. Kite size does affect this as Tucker points out.

Repetition is the key to getting your timing & kite movement down. I like to work on successfully larger jumps (progression technique) in a row focusing on one thing at a time. Focus on kite movement as your jump height increase to get a feeling for where the kite needs to be and how quickly you need to steer the kite down to stick the landing.

Good luck, have fun & be careful. ~D

bambam · Since 15 Mar 2005 760 Posts Hood River Photographer

PDX Monkey...

When its windy and you know your gonna go large, the key is moving the kite a lot lot less than your used to. On take off don't yank it back, but smoothly and slowly load up the lines and make sure you don't oversend the kite. With the proper slower timing against a properly set edge you can get massive height without having to pull the trigger very hard. As you take off you will instantly have a feeling of how high your going to go, and the sweep back should also match the timing and speed of the take off. Nice and slow in this case so you can keep the kite overhead. To land with a bit of forward momentum hammer the kite down and forward when your 3-4 feet off the deck and keep your board pointed in the direction of travel. When its blowing like stink, I put my hands right next to each other to keep from over flying the kite. More is less in this case.

From your description I would guess that your sending the kite a bit hard on take off and then bringing it back overhead too soon and then your not sure what to do with it. As you get better and go higher and higher you can start to loop the kite high over head to play with increasing air time and/or controlling your decent. For right now I would recommend slowing that timing down for the big jumps and concentrate on keeping the kite overhead.

Big air is cool!!! Bam

pdxmonkeyboy · Wed Jun 07, 06 3:27 pm

Thanks for the info!!

I was definately aggressive sending the kite back in the window. Perhaps due to me inability to really edge hard with the kite at 11:00 or so.

I'm stoked though for sure!!!

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6548 Posts Couve / Hood Site Lackey

Good stuff here...

One thing I noticed on the bows/flat kites, I thought they were all ankle crackers, get you up in the air, but no soft way down. Then I figured out if I sheeted out when I was coming down, and then sheeted back in at the last second, I got a nice soft landing.

Kodiak · Since 01 Aug 2005 1114 Posts Slidey

One other thing I have learned when flying my TD and it probably aplies to the crossbow. Because of the pully bars the kite reacts much faster to input than a typical kite. So be careful not to send the kite forward again too quickly. I have accidently started to loop the kite with the turbo diesel a few times because I was fairly high up and got to agressive with bringing the kite forward again.

Rico · Since 13 Mar 2005 1219 Posts Vancouver Photographer

Keep the bar sheeted in and do not send the kite to far back so you dont fall like a rock. Also, I have found on big jumps it seems best to keep the kite slightly forward on the way down and send forward hard just before landing. Also, count backwards from 10 at the apex of the jump while doing the running man. Seriously though, the best advice would be to just practice.......... Laughing

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1804 Posts XTreme Poster

Here is my experience on bows--Waroos.

1. The bows like a 9/10 to 12, or 12:30 send, rather than a 10 to 2.
2. Sheet the bar in hard at take off, then let it part way out after an initail lift.
3. At the apex, send the kite slowly forward.
4. Sheet in before landing while sending the kite forward a bit more--you come down like a feather.

My first few jumps I came down so hard I thought I was either going to break my heels, the board, or both. Now that I have the sequence down, I can bo bigger than I want to, if I want to.

I think step one is to practice sending the kite to 12 to 12:30, rather than 2.

Eric

EdG · Since 19 Dec 2005 424 Posts Just a Kook that's Obsessed

This is why I like this board. Great information and a relaxed conversation. I can't wait till I get my 'bow so I can have some input!