Replacing lines with lines made of stronger materials?

[dave holmgren]

Kenny wrote:
...yeah, that is the problem. Anything may break.

Kites are not engineered for gliding. The problem with gliding on a kite is not that the stock equipment is not strong enough, a kite loop puts a lot more stress on the lines than gliding. What is lacking is redundancy. On a paraglider if you have a single line break, there are many others to back you up. On a kite if one line breaks, you are going to drop. ...

Good points!


Paraglider pilots also carry a reserve chute...

Great letter from Whittal, too- especially pointing out that Chasta flies LONG- but LOW. We should, too.

And Billy, you are so right on about building our own modifications to factory gear- Not that I'm saying (with my infinite wisdom) not to, but to remind you that if YOU choose to mod your gear- YOU are the test pilot. And these rigs DO, JUST BARELY, fly high enough to kill you. (That means- they DO fly high enough to kill you, right?)

Cheers!

[Kenny]

Rob is correct when he says that it takes more skill to fly closer to the ground and go a long ways. When you are 100 feet off the deck, you just have to keep the kite above you. You can then look around and enjoy the view. When you are only 15 - 20 feet up you will often have to work the kite to stay in the air or look for your landing. There are some very nice spots to glide that don't involve going very high.

I would like to see a professionally designed rig that was specifically engineered for gliding. Kite companies like to say that they don't consider gliding to be a part of the sport. I understand where they are coming from, but I don't think it is going to stop people because gliding is fun. It is much more approachable than speedflying or paragliding. I would like to see it made safe, rather than marginalized.