Windy? "Let's Go Fly a Kite"

Hello again. Last month ands Boy Scout camp out, I was introduced to a new hobby and I want to share it with you all. I got to fly a kite for the first time.  I know what some of you might be thinking that, this doesn't belong on Flite Test. But if you take the time and look at the banner at the top left of this page and you will find the Flite Test mission statement.

Entertaining, Educating, and Elevating the world of flight.

A bold mission, even if they mainly stick to radio control topics. So anything that has to do with flight is acceptable. Though I can't wait to see Josh Bixler pushed out of a plane for a sky diving episode... but I regress. Now with that out of the way, we can move on.

Have you ever had that beautiful day when you get all packed-up, drive (possibly many miles) to your favorite flying field for an entire day of awesomeness that is R/C; only to find that the conditions aren't right for a safe flight on your favorite aircraft? So do you just pack-up in defeat? Or are you going to make the best of a not so good situation? Well, being the consummate Boy Scout I am always trying to "be prepared" for anything. If you’re like me, I'm usually bringing my kids along with me. So make this a lesson for them too. If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. In other words, make the best out of a bad situation.

Okay so the weather isn't good, but it will clear up soon. You might need to occupy your time until weather conditions improve. Maybe it's a deck of cards for that rainy day. Or maybe, you can fly a kite on that windy day. "Oh how boring that sounds." you think? How about trying something like this?

What I am flying is a 1mx3m Style p.3 self-inflating Parasail kite with 150ft of 300lb test string. One of the best things is that the whole thing stuffs in to a small sleeping bag type bag no bigger than a bread box. So it is easily stuffs in to a car for a spontaneous fun in the sun or on hand for a windy day at the flying field.

Like R/C there are many different designs for kites. Every kite has its own limits to what wind it can handle. You can also adjust for wind with the line length. For instance on this kite I'm flying, we opted for the 150ft line.

To attach the line to your kite, you have to follow the instructions for you particular kite. They are very easy to control. With in 10 minuets of flying I was confident in my flying abilities and started simple stunts. You simply pull the corresponding string. Pull right to turn right and pull left to turn left or both to gain height. As shown in this diagram.

 You also have to keep in mind of the wind window:

As shown you can control the kite in any direction. Closer to the ground you get some really good wind to do the stunts that these are known for. They can really take you away, as you saw in the video. It's also a really great workout too. If you get tired and need a break for a minute or two you can simply pull it up high to reduce the load on the line. When you feel that you have had enough you simply pull it over to one side and let the wind set it on the ground softy.

As you can see this is lots of fun. Might just be as fun as flying RC, but that could be going too far? Well, judge for yourself. The kite I was flying costs $134 USD. So it doesn’t cost any more than a small ready to fly plane at your hobby shop. I’m sure some of you out there have spent more on a motor. So give it a try. I have one on my Christmas wish list already. You can find these in many stores like this one at www.oceanshoreskites.com . There are so many different types of kites to choose from too; single, dual, triple and even quadruple strings. Still for the kids even the cheap single string kites are perfect to pass the time with. 

So when those windy days got you down? Turn that frown upside down! You might not be able to fly your R/C but you can still have fun! "OH Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest heights!"

Thanks for reading!