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  #21  
Old 07-05-2006, 12:28 PM
CrazyJay CrazyJay is offline
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:shock: :roll: :roll: :roll: ouch!
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  #22  
Old 07-05-2006, 02:24 PM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Hey Jay,

All the best in your experiment. I am not going to talk you out of it, I just want to pass some facts your way. The choice is yours. I have added some more facts to my original post at the top of this page.

Take care,
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  #23  
Old 07-05-2006, 02:54 PM
CrazyJay CrazyJay is offline
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Thanks Rick. I appreciate the info.

I believe that "towing up" can, and will, become a standard kiting procedure in the near future. And yes, I completely agree that it is extremely dangerous, especially once you get over the 75 foot range. Once you are over 100 any mistakes pretty much mean death.

But here's the thing.....

I don't think it has to be dangerous. The more and more Billy and I have done it the easier and safer it seems. We usually only go to about 40-50 feet. (the 125 footer was just to test the limits and see if it was possible).

Every time we go out we figure out something that works better and safer. For example, we used to go really fast and tow up quick then let go and float down. Problem is it was overstressing the gear which can cause breakage. Now we go very slow and use a very large kite (18-20 m)
This solved several problems.
1.) We only need to go about 15-20 mph on the ski. The flier controls the height by sheeting the bar in and out
2.) The tension on the ski rope is very light. (we can actually pass the bar behind our backs and go the other way)
3.) A large kite provides more canopy and a slower descent.
4.) You DON'T have to let go of the ski rope. I rode all the way up to 125 then slowly came down to the water all the time holding the tow rope. I've seen bill ride at about 35-40 feet high for minutes at a time.
5.) NEVER tow up in more than 12-14 knots because you accelerate laterally to fast on your trip down. It takes about 12-20 seconds to float down from 125 ft. If the wind picks up to 25 then you will be doing at least 25 when you hit the water.
6.) Flat water is helpful
7.) Complete communication and trust between driver and flyer is critical.

Here's my point. I am 100% POSITIVE that towing up will be standard in 5 years. Unfortunately someone has to be the test pilots and work to advance the gear so that it becomes safe. Someone has to learn the points i listed above. And there is a lot more to learn.
7 years ago my first kite was a 7 meter foil and was anything but safe. It had no sheeting, no brakes, and pulled like a truck. Now any fool can learn to kite safely in a week.

I believe that we can make towing up that safe also. It's just gonna take some time and improvements to the gear.

It is way too addictive not to catch on. Whether you are 25ft or 125ft the feeling is as close to flying as you'll get without a plane. It makes regular riding seem kinda boring. Plus it's perfect for the summer 10-12 knot days.
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  #24  
Old 07-05-2006, 03:20 PM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Hey Jay,

It looks like you have put some time and thought into this. It is funny that you have concluded that this might become accepted in five years. I thought the same thing might happen four years ago after Neil's accident. I even put out feelers to see if there was interest in developing a safer approach. I never received any.

I learned many years ago to always expect a kitesurfing gear failure at anytime. Because, it can and has happened at anytime. I think I have had about a dozen kite line breakages alone. If a kite line breaks and it likely will in time and you are 100 ft. up + it may well be lethal. Cervical fracture and other internal injury is possible from a far lower height.

I started tow up hang gliding almost 14 years ago from boats and trucks, there are a lot of parallels to what you are considering. There are also many critical differences. Towing up is truly flying and not to be confused with kitesurfing. Kite gear is simply too fragile and prone to breakage. To develop a sustainable form of tow-up apparatus it needs to be a lot more robust and durable. The tow system needs to emulate that in use in paragliding and hang gliding. Lots of guys have already been mauled and killed in those sports establishing the need. Tow up pilots need training as pilots. What if the come off tow and glide into power lines, buildings, traffic on roadways, etc.. These things can and will happen, unless fairly wide glide slope buffers are maintained over water.

I have no idea how to create functional emergency parachute systems for this activity as it doesn't seem like you will have sufficient altitude to allow conventional systems to work. So, if you have a canopy failure, irrecoverable stall, etc., down you will go. This alone may be enough to keep any sensible manufacturers out of this arena. There is no fail safe, at least not yet.

There is a great deal to tow-up flying. If you are serious about this, why not go at by starting with towup hang gliding or paragliding first. You will learn a great deal and in a much safer, although still dangerous setting. You can do tandem towups from a tricked out hang glider tow boat with miamikiteboarding.com for about $100. It is the best way to blow a C not e that I know of.
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  #25  
Old 07-05-2006, 03:43 PM
Optionryder420 Optionryder420 is offline
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This thread is pointless without pictures.
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  #26  
Old 07-05-2006, 03:46 PM
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Kitesik at http://kiteflix.com/
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  #27  
Old 07-05-2006, 04:39 PM
Skyway Scott
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Have a blast guys.
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  #28  
Old 07-05-2006, 04:39 PM
E-Bone
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Optionryder420 said:

Quote:
This thread is pointless without pictures.
How are we going to take any photos? Everytime they pull this stunt, their cojones are so big that it causes a total eclipse of the sun.
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  #29  
Old 07-05-2006, 06:39 PM
tomstock
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Wow so you get directly over the jetski? Gotta see this. Let us know when.
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  #30  
Old 07-05-2006, 07:33 PM
CrazyJay CrazyJay is offline
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Thanks Rick. I'm not so sure about the hanggliding or parasailing. I'm gonna stick to what i know which is kiteboarding.
My goal is to do towups as regularly as possible and stick to 20-30 feet. This will allow me to get alot of hours in the air towing up at a relatively safe height while improving the safety of the gear.
Plus, at 20 feet you can go very slow and do tricks. I think this is where the future of towing up is at. If there is no wind at a contest then break out the jetski and 30 foot towrope. Once riders get good enough to do this consistently and throw tricks at the same time then towup kiteboarding will explode. The reason it is not all over the networks like BMX, Motocross, and Skateboarding is because we are WIND DEPENDENT. No wind = no contest. Advertisers and tv networks don't like to put $ into an event if there is a chance it won't happen. Surfing had the same problem for a long time.
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