Here is a little bit of info I have had from my mate on this hobby, ill add more as I learn it for anyone interested. [/size]Kites, there are basicly 2 types. Fixed bridle and depower. Fixed bridle is what you need. And like you mention, fly with kite killers for safety. In fixed bridle kites the foil is at a fixed angle in the sky as opposed to depower (which i fly) which as the name suggests can depower by means of a control bar which changes the angle of the foil thus givin more or less power. 3.5m fixed bridle is a good starting point. But should you get into it in a big way you will need more kites. Bigger for lower wind and smaller for high wind. Flexifoil and Ozone are the main brands but anything would do if you didnt want to spend much. I reckon you would be hooked though and want to upgrade cheapish kites quite soon. Look out for flexifoil bullets or rages. Bullets are older and would be cheaper. I had a full quiver of bullets and loved them. Then went to rages and now fly Ozone Access depower. Depower kites hook into a harness and are easy on the arms. I just cruise in my buggy so can kite a long time without a rest. Most miles ive done measured on my gps is 68 mile on Borth beach last year. :O Buggys, Again theres basicly 2 types. Freestyle and cruising buggys. It depends what you intend doing. Freestyle buggies are generally lighter and can be thrown into the air (rider attached) doing all sorts of tricks. Cruising buggys are heavier (mines a libre v max) and have a much wider axle. The beauty of a freestyle buggy such as the flexifoil (which is a top buggy) is that you can cruise as well as freestyle but you cant free style a cruiser. You get a comfier seat on a cruising bug. Check out a photo on my fb. My libre cruiser is towing my flexifoil as a tandem set up. You can see the difference in the 2 types. I dont ride the flexifoil now cause i just want to cruise. Theres also rad sail, rs buggys and peter llyn buggys. Maybe a few more i cant think of. Peter llyn buggys used to be nick named peter thin cause they used to bend. But i would rather have a peter llyn than a rad sail ! But it all depends how much the aking price is. Theres a big power kite shop in Oldbury (not far from where websters was) called powerkiteshop.com the forum i mentioned is kitecrowd. Any time you need help advise feel free. Your going to need pointers on flying your kite. Infact you never jump onto your board or in your buggy untill you are fully confident at flying. There a lot to concider as regards the wind window, you never launch straight up the middle. This is a another subject to talk about at a later date. Much respect is essential towards the wind. Honest mate, its absolutely nothing like flying a single line kite or even a stunt kite. I learned the hard way and put myself in hospital thinking i knew it. BIG MISTAKE. Launched a 3.5m bullet straight up the middle of the wind window in a howling wind. I was launched 20ft up and pulled foreward 30ft which resulted in broken ankle. [/size]Libre is a good buggy mate. Awesome choice. Again I stress, don't try buggying until u know how to fly a kite. There's a lot to consider. Wind speed, wind direction, the wind window also needs to be understood. No problems with the lesson. You could come try our club at worcester (kempsey to be exact) 7 quid a day to fly but you will need insurance which isn't much. About 20 odd quid and there's a family option as well. Think its called bksa (british kite surf association) You also have to use a helmet. The club is called extreme kite shop. It's a turf farm and has bowling green quality surface. Or any local big field will do to learn static flying. Im off next week and *might* go to eks so you could come see the crack. Ps. Kite insurance on line gives almost immediate cover.
Oh, so you're Worcester way. Not far from my old stamping ground. I used to fly hang gliders in Malvern (& surrounding area). Like the idea of kiting but have more of a desire to use an Ozone to fly (paraglider). But too much on plate at moment. Maybe next year.
