Power Kiting

Unlike the Mary Poppins counterpart, Power Kiting is an extreme sport. The size of kites used vary depending on a couple of factors; the capability and experience of the flyer and the strength of the wind.

Most people on flexifoil forums simply can't believe the winds we fly in on Brighton beach these days. It sure is extreme but then we've been doing this for donkeys years so we know what to expect from the coastal winds (which are admittedly pretty smooth when a nice SW wind blows). We regularly fly an 8.5m² Blade IV in 15 to 20mph of wind, and a 6.5m² Blade IV in 20 to 25mph of wind. Occasionally we'll reach 30mph+ with a 6.5 but that's rare -- normally we have to put up with the overly fast 4.9m² Blade IV in 30mph+ but then we don't get many 30mph South Westerly winds so those days are far and few between.

We recommend beginners fly something around 2m² in around 5 to 10mph of wind so they can learn how to predict the wind before they move on to higher winds or bigger kites. Even if you have a year or more experience we still would not recommend you take things to the limits we do but monkey see (monkey do)... just make check you check out your equipment reqularly, always wear safety equipment, and fly with at least half a dozen or so people because you're going to get very tired after just one or two jumps!

WARNING: Do not try to re-create anything you see on this webpage - power kiting is a skilled activity and without careful consideration and considerable experience you will end up hurting yourself badly or even worse hurting someone else!

Insurance

You're not the only one using that field - protect yourself from being sued by other kiters or dog walkers if you are unlucky enough to hurt someone else.

These links will open in a new window (or tab in Firefox v2+)
Sports Cover Direct
British Buggy Club
British Power Kitesports Association

Videos

mpg (suitable for most PC based video players)

(mpg) Aggy - Off the groyne on Brighton beach
(mpg) David - backflip
(mpg) Gary - 360 (eventually)
(mpg) Owen - long + high jump
(mpg) Owen - High Jump over camera man
(mpg) Owen - floats off before he can jump

3gp (suitable for most video capable mobile phones or on a PC using QuickTime from Apple)

(3gp) Kite Jumping 2006 (April)
(3gp) Near miss
(3gp) Sliding with a Beamer II 2.5 (fig8 flying)
(3gp) Bungee - Caught a gust (stanmer park is rubbish for wind)
(3gp) Mountain Boarding with a Flexifoil Airdeck (idiot)
(3gp) Little jump but tidy

Desktop Background Wallpapers

Images will open in a new window - right click on the image and select "Set as Background" to set it as your desktop image.

(jpg) Retro Blade 4.9 (original blade 4.9)