General Kiting

Hi Guys,

I am a newbie and just bought a peter lynn viper s 5.3m kite. It's great fun and I have learned the hard way that it's way too powerful to fly in 15-20 knot winds =] (Got my butt whooped)

Anyway, my question is, how do I hold the handles so that the line doesn't hurt my fingers? The proper grip the book describes is that the front 2 power lines should be between your index finger and your middle finger. The problem with this grip is that because the lines generate so much tension, they tend to bruise in between my fingers and it makes kite flying quite painful, even in very light 3-4 knot winds (the kite still generates large pull in those winds and makes the line scrape in between my fingers).

Should I change my grip or just find some gloves? I tried to change my grip so that the power line is in between my index finger and thumb but that tends to put the brakes on a little bit.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
Ta,
-Rob

My personal preference in with leader line between index and middle finger when static flying with, but when I use a harness I tend to try to hold the handles with all fingers below the leader lines for better control of the brakes and comfort.

If the line is pinching your fingers just wear some gloves or put a cover on the front line leaders down near the handles

PS. At least you know what wind range not to fly your kite in now, hope it didn't whooped to hard.

i tend to wear a pair of fingerless sailing gloves that i bought from a local chandlers

ditto with the gloves. I got a pair from Bunnings that provide a bit of leather padding over the area in question. The Ozone handles have a small piece of neoprene rubber over the power lines where it rubs on your fingers - much more comfy than the PL or HQ handles. Your local hose/tubing store is bound to have something that will work.

@Goz - No not too bad just out of kite flying action for about a week, it slammed me on my lower back (don't' ask me how, all I remember was thinking "this is scary powerful!" and diving it from zeneth when next minute wham!) and all the muscles in that area have swollen up.

thanks for the suggestions guys I will go to bunnings and see what sort of gloves they have with some protection around that area.

Strange as I have never had an issue with the lines, maybee it's how I've got the brake lines set so the line comes out square between my fingers not on an angle

its funny ! as when i first started i had the same thing happen so with some practise and knowledge what i started to do was SPREAD MY FINGERS alittle this seamed to help but still if the wind picked up yes still rubbed now seams that experience and also i now use a harness it doesn't happen as often but still does sometimes also depends on how hard your hands are (ie) if you work outdoors or in an office to , once you have some experience and feel comfortable then use a harness as it will help and gloves too i sometimes use them but not all the time just go out and keep having fun an it will happen

HI Rob, I don't know if it is the same thing, but when I started out on my Blade II (with handles), the handles were at such an angle to the kite(practically laying flat) , that the Mains used to trap my other fingers.

It was only after Sinbad did a bit of tweaking, extending brake lines and shortening mains, that the handles stood up a bit more and became flier friendly.
If its not that, then you need to build those callouses up by flying more ;-)

Regards
Ade