How to launch and fly a kite - a guide for new kite-fliers
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- My 1,508th kite video. For those new to kite-flying, here are some helpful hints on how to launch a kite, with or without help. Either way, it's usually very easy - even young children seem to manage quite well.
Anyone wanting to check out all my "How to..." videos on various aspects of kite-flying can now find them all easily on my Playlist at / jimskitesnz
I remember more than 40 years ago as a teen a friend and I had those really cheap paper/wood kites. We lived in central piedmont of NC where wind is always unpredictable. So, one day we managed to get our kites pretty high into the sky, but then it was getting late into the day we decided to tie the kites to the fence to leave them in the sky. The next day early in the morning waiting for the school bus we noticed the kites were still flying in the sky, but were gone by the time we got home from school. Sweet memories.
Great story. These days I wouldn't leave a kite out of my sight for five minutes without a big risk of losing it!
.
This video gave me the confidence I needed to get my kite up in the air and keep it there. I'm 36, I built those paper and wood kites in art class in grade school, but I was never able to get mine to fly. The other kids in my class did. I finally got one up this week at the beach here in Chicago, and it stayed up for a few hours until it was time to go home.
Good to know, and I hope you continue to have fun with your kites.
Thank you so much for this video. I'm in Mexico right now (travelling from Ohio) and I'm trying to fly my 25ft 3D octopus kite for the first time. After struggling for 45 minutes, and finally Youtubing it, the long lift got him right up in seconds!!!! Thank you so much for helping me enjoy my new kite!!!
I'm glad to hear that the video helped, and that you're having fun with your kite. The octopus kites are great.
Excellent! I've flown a Conyne for 35 years because it's so easy to fly. Now I feel empowered to try different kinds. Thanks for the tips!
That's a long time to fly one kite! A bit of a change would probably be a good idea.
Thank you for this video, super helpful. Watching kites fly makes me so happy haha
Glad you enjoyed it, Michelle, and I'm happy that it actually helped.
i always face the wind. thank you for clarifying that my back should be FACING the wind! omg and to think of all this time i have been doing it wrong. you are a huge help. LIKED AND SUBSCRIBED
Happy to help! Have fun with your kites.
I've always wanted one, at 56 I might still get one. I remember my brother had one when we were kids and it was great.
At 56 you have many years of kite-flying time ahead of you. I'm 81, and didn't start until I was in my 60s.
Get one! I’m 24 and just flew a dragon kite that has been sitting in my garage for maybe 13 years and it was so fun
@@felreaverguy I'm glad the mice hadn't eaten it! Good to know that you enjoyed your flying, and I hope you have many more fun flights.
@@JimNichollsbro do it I’m about to get one for the first time in like 14 years
Here to remind you now is the time to get a kite
LOVE THIS JIM!
I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope it was useful.
0:24 I just got that Dawn ITW Rocky Mtn. DC with a fringed nylon tail about a week ago. My young son loves it and it flies like a champ!
That's hard to beat for a first kite - good choice, and I hope you and your son continue to have lots of fun with it.
Lmao I had no idea I didn’t need to take off running to launch my kite
That's the biggest mistake most people make. It's much easier than that!
Love the trilobyte! 👍
What strength of line in lb, does it require?
Thanks.
There are lots of sizes of Trilobite. That one is the 16 sq m, and I was using 300lb line.
Great editing. I enjoyed all the kites and excellent instruction. It can be amusing how difficult people make launching a kite but I am reminded we all started as beginners at one time. It's interesting how many times adults have told me they have never flown a kite before.
Just remember, Carl - keep your back to the wind, but don't get blown away! Everyone should fly a kite, and it should be made compulsory in my opinion.
Where i can order kite
Such great information. You’ve given me the confidence to go out and try the ones my kids have been desperately asking to use! ❤
I'm glad it was useful. Have fun!
Hi Jim, thanks for all the informative videos! Unfortunately I can't figure out why my bird shaped kites can't stay up. They tend to swing left and right before ending with a glorious nose dive into the ground!
That's very hard to say without seeing them. Are they ones you've made or did you buy them? With kites that are bought, people often assemble them wrongly, particularly if they have a dihedral fitting on the spine for the side spars to fit into. It's sometimes easy for that to be turned the wrong way, in which case the kite will never fly. When you are assembling the kite, the ends of that fitting should be angled up towards you. There are many other reasons a kite won't fly, but it's hard to make a diagnosis without seeing the kite.
Haven't flew a kite in almost 60 years now, but I will again.
Good to hear. Have fun!
I am afraid I am not very good explaining to my wife and child how to hold the kite to help me launch so it is more trouble than it is worth sometimes. My daughter always wants seems to want to hold it from the front and the wife upside down. It perplexes me really. Thanks for the video maybe I will let them watch this so they don't think I am fussing at them.
Maybe if your wife and daughter did some more kite-flying themselves they might come to appreciate which way is up!
@MooCowBlue Kites >>> FWIW, I am the same way. Trying to _verbally explain_ instructions to an assistant *ain't easy....*
couldn't be said any better with the array 😁😉 of kites that you have.always a great show💯
Thanks, Scott - I'm hoping it will help a few new fliers anyway.
i like this video very much...i find it a bit funny... all those launches...a great video!! Different from all the other videos you make
Of course, it wasn't designed for kite-fliers like you, Stefaan, but I hope it might be helpful for those who've never flown a kite and would like to try. Repetition is the best way to get people to remember things, I think!
Great video Jim! I never thought of laying one down. You are the kite master! Thanks Jim!
We can all learn new things, Dewey! You'll see that method used by someone else in one of my videos soon.
as a indian flying kites over here seems so peaceful
Quite different, I'm sure!
Thanks! Hopefully your awesome video will help me look at least a little less foolish at the local park with my toddler 😂
I hope so too! The main thing is to find a clear area with no trees (not easy at a park), as they cause the wind to swirl as well as acting as kite traps. Stand with your back to the wind - it's amazing how many people try to fly against the wind - and if you've got the kite correctly assembled, it should fly easily. Good luck!
I already know how to fly a kite but this video helps me
I hope you have a lot of fun with your kite.
46 years old and I've only tried flying a kite once when I was around 10- epic fail!!! Gonna give it a try now LOL...FINALLY...thanks for the video.
I hope you have a lot of fun. Let me know how you get on.
HI we really love your kites. IS there a brand or a place where you buy them from mainly? Cheers.
I don't buy many kites these days (I already have far too many!) but past purchases have mostly been from www.pictureprettykites.com and www.intothewind.com and also in recent years from various sellers on AliExpress, which is a huge source of kites and from where I've bought many of my soft kites particularly.
Where did you buy that handle and string for philiphines
Sorry, I don't know.
@@JimNicholls oh ok
Tried for half an hour today to get it to stay up in the air but it either went left or right then take a nose dive.
"You'll Never Launch The Kite If You're Facing The Wrong Way!" - Made me laugh, because I've witnessed this exact thing countless times over the decades as a pilot. I always tell people if you have to run, there isn't enough wind, unless something goes wrong and you have to chase a fly-away kite!
Common sense seems sadly lacking sometimes!
Very nice JIm.
Thanks, Derrick. I often get asked at the beach how do you launch a kite, so I thought it might be useful for some newcomers to flying.
Do you have a link to the moth kite? That would be much appreciated!
Do you mean just a video, or somewhere to buy it? A couple of my videos are th-cam.com/video/4PQB7LIe0mY/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/Z7qPxpCH7f4/w-d-xo.html . To buy, I'd suggest www.pictureprettykites.com/single-line-kites/luna-moth/ . It's a lovely kite - a little fragile, but I've only once had trouble with mine, and with careful handling it's fine.
Really appreciate this. Such a beutifull kite.
Can I ask do you make these I'm 43 and never flew a kite
Do cheap toy kites fly easily?
A lot of them do, but some don't. There are many cheap kites, and some are made so badly that they will never fly well. But a lot of them fly very easily, although maybe they are not strongly made and so will not survive very long but can give a lot of fun while they last.
Wow Monarch butterfly 🦋 kite 😮
Love it. That was awesome. I just got back into flying kites
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Kite-flying is great fun!
Thanks for the video,just bought my 5 yr old a kite,will be trying it out today
I hope you both have a lot of fun!
What is the lowest wind speed to launch & fly a kite & what is the maximum? I am looking at 8 mph now which is a very gentle breeze and thinking it should be enough.
There are many types of kites, all with their own preferred wind range, so your question has no real answer. I have kites that will fly in 2 mph breeze, but most need at least about 5 mph. At 8 mph, most kites will fly, but some need rather more. As to maximum speed, my lightest-wind kites are probably too fragile to fly in more than 10 mph, whereas I have flown other kites in 40 mph winds (not really recommended).
thank you so much for this info! im so excited to try this with my son
I hope you have a lot of fun, which is what kite-flying should all be about. Let me know how you get on.
Flew kites today with the kids. Very helpful and simple to follow video. Thanks.
I'm glad it helped. I hope you and the family continue to have lots of fun with your kites. I'm still flying at 82, and will soon be uploading my 2,000th kite video to my channel.
It’s not easy at all. My kid’s kite had the central line pulling over a corner and flip the kite
Most children (and adults) find kite-flying easy if you just use a bit of common sense. The wind needs to be fairly stable, but otherwise there's no reason a kite shouldn't fly. It's hard to visualise the problem you describe - "central line" perhaps means the flying line? There's no way that should be "pulling over a corner" if the kite is properly assembled and the line tied correctly to the bridle.
How much wind do you actually need? We're supposedly having 13 mph winds today, but I'm having no luck launching our kite.
That is ample for almost any kite, but the wind needs to be reasonably smooth, not too gusty.
Great
Thank you!
Where can you get the handle that you were using in the beginning of the video.
www.pictureprettykites.com/kites-line-winders/
@@JimNicholls Thankyou so much
I used to make my own when i was a kid #memories
Me too, but as I'm 82 now, it was a very long time ago!
What wind knot is this one ?
Nice love from #LahoreKiteClub
Thank you! I hope all is well with you.
What If no wind?
No fly!
@@JimNicholls then you need to learn from Lahoris 🤪
How do you keep kites from pointing down and hitting somebody?
Good kites stay in the sky if there's a good breeze and you know how to fly them.
I can fly kite to space
What kind of kite reel are you using? Thanks for video
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I always use hoop spools, as in the video I made about them: th-cam.com/video/HUtYuu2eydY/w-d-xo.html .
Bravo 🎓............................👍💌🇩🇿
Tanks
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
What sort of kites are good for klimbing on low air speed?
It depends on a lot of things, like how low is low? And how much money are you prepared to spend? Delta kites are probably the best to look at for light wind, as many of them will fly in a very light breeze.
Thanks for this really nice video. Your voice is pleasantly reminiscent of Jack Hargreaves who presented 'Out Of town' in the 60's. Anyone else agree :)
Thank you for the compliment. I loved Jack's programmes - and some are available now on Dave Knowles TH-cam channel at www.youtube.com/@DaveKnowlesFilmmaker . He uploads new ones regularly, and they are all fascinating glimpses of how life used to be.
Hallo iam from West Java Indonesia ...nice kite mr...😆
Welcome to my channel. I'm glad you like the video.
@@JimNicholls yes i do ..😀tanks
Jim, I am looking for advice. I bought a butter fly kite for my granddaughter much like the one pictured at 3.43min in this video. it keeps nose diving into the ground! what are we doing wrong?
It's very hard to say without seeing the kite. The one in the video was not mine, so I don't have it for reference. But if there is a dihedral fitting on the kite - a plastic fitting on the spine with a slight V angle to it - make sure that the ends are angled up towards you when you fit the wing spars into it. Sometimes they get turned over, and it certainly won't work like that.
Other than that, the tow-point may have shifted on the bridle lines, so you could experiment with moving that slightly up or down. Most butterfly kites are not great fliers, unfortunately, although there are exceptions. I do hope you get it to fly.
Jim
Bro come in india we will teach u how to fly a kite in lowest air
Just got my first kite (as an adult)...these are excellent tips..can't wait to enjoy flying the kite!...something to do in retirement....that doesn't cost a lot of $$...
I hope you have a lot of fun. I'll be 82 next month, and still fly regularly. This weekend I uploaded my 1,897th video, and I hope to do a few more before I give up.
Taking my nephew out today for the first time to fly a kite. Thank you. Great video and some beautiful kites.
Thank you for your kind comment. I'm glad the video was useful and I hope you have a lot of fun with the kite.
so easy...
where would you suggest we purchase the spools?
my daughters are growing and want to start flying kites with them
thank you
If you don't have a local kite shop (and most of us don't, these days) I'd suggest here: www.pictureprettykites.com/index.php . Have fun with your flying!
Haha, you have one huge collection of kites there! I bet you have as many kites as the number of videos you posted... ;-) A sports that looks so colourful and happy, I had a smile on my face throughout the video.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes, I have a lot of kites, but probably not quite as many as the number of videos, but I've never counted the kites.
Who just loves flight of any kind.
Would like the link for the line plss
My line mostly comes from here: www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002090074298.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.32e72e0eYbYyL8 .
I have a kite in shape of a dragon I'm not sure how much wind I'll need and it always turns upside down for some reason and i'm not sure if I need a big area to fly it.
A big area to fly is always good, because if there are trees or buildings nearby then the wind will be too swirly. Without knowing more about your kite I can't give any more advice, but I hope you can get it to fly and have some fun with it.
Never knew flying a kite didnt have to involve running, no wonder I could never get one to fly
If I had to run, I think I'd have given up kite-flying long ago (I'm 81).
Question. Do you face the frame on Single line kites up or down!?!
On almost all single-line kites, the frame is at the back of the kite when it is in the air. If there is a dihedral (angled) fitting on the wings, they point backwards when seen from the ground.
Oh thats what i did when i fly a kite
232,000 people now know how to fly a kite
Well, I hope they're all using that knowledge to actually fly one!
"there's nothing more to flying a kite than holding a line" This is patently absurd. You have to dance and jump up and down and run around in circles and flap your arms and sing show tunes ("hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime dollllllll") and most important, you have to whip your hat off now and then and bow deeply. Honestly, have you ever actually flown a kite before?!? I mean, I have no evidence, apart from the 1400 videos. I seriously wonder about your sanity.
I haven't dared show my antics when I really fly - it would horrify some of my viewers! But yes, all those are essential for any real kite-flying.
Dan, you forgot fighting off mad dogs ( and even worse , their owners) drinking lots of water , helping kids fly their kitesand looking at lovely ladies passing by
@Vincentone1970 You obviously have the right attitude to kite-flying! I agree, especially about the dog-owners (truly rabid, some of them) and the lovely ladies, which we don't get enough of unfortunately.
Wow I was struggling and get tired easy so like I kept doing it until I got it, thanks Jim this video really helps! 👍
Glad it helped! Have fun with your kite.
Jim, do you have any recommendations on how to teach a group of 10 four to seven year olds about kite safety? So that they stay engaged?
Not really, Amy. I always just ad lib such things, but I'd say you will find it very hard to get a four-year-old child to appreciate what's involved. By seven they might take more notice, but most children just want to run around with their kites, and I think it's up to responsible adults to be on hand to ensure safety, not rely on the children to do what's right. Here's a link (if it works) to some information David Gomberg used to have on his website. It's a bit high-level for children, but that's really the point I was making. web.archive.org/web/20190212182515/www.gombergkites.com/nkm/safety.html
What kind of string are you using?
L
My kite keeps on going into circle
Where do I buy these kites? thankyou
That depends on where you are. I'm in New Zealand, where we have no kite stores, so all my kites have been bought on the internet. My favourite kite store is www.pictureprettykites.com in the USA, but a lot of my kites have come from China, bought from various sellers on AliExpress. Postage costs have made buying from overseas a lot more expensive now, but the Chinese sources are still reasonable.
Diều bay quá Chuẩn..❤❤🪁🪁👍👍
I have tried to fly kiddie kites soooo many times... never got them into the air... i love to watch kites fly.. i will be trying again this year... ha ha see what happens...
Most of them fly fairly well, but usually a bigger kite will fly better than a small one.
@@JimNicholls thank you
Is it dance to use a snap swivel to attach it to my main line on my reel
I never use them, and have seen people have problems with them breaking, but I guess if you use a strong enough one and don't over-stress it, then it should be fine.
Such a soothing voice!
My walmart kite can fly over 425 feet high haha
Most kites can fly high, but the higher they go the smaller they look so there's not much point to it.
Thank you Sir!
You are welcome!
What about dual line kites?
They are a different thing entirely, and I don't fly them. I guess there are sites specializing in them if you do a search.
@@JimNicholls
Thanks
Ya ya ya 😀😀😀
Glad you like it!
So cool!
Wow ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Watching this video to brush up on what to do, just bought my first kite since I was a young child. Looking forward to getting it out soon. Thank you for taking the time to make this.
I'm glad it was useful, and I hope you have a lot of fun with your kite. Let me know how it goes!
Finally flown the kite earlier today for the first time after purchasing all those months ago! Wind was a bit wild, but made the experience even more fun. Thank you for the good wishes and energy. Hope you find yourself flying a kite on a nice day sometime soon!
ive never flown a kite so ✍
I hope you get yourself a kite and have lots of fun.
Thanks mat👑
You're welcome!
Thank you
You're welcome!
Great Video! lovely kites.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Why do u have so many kites
Because I'm crazy, I guess.
Ooh ohh
Try flying indian kite/Patang
It looks like fun, but it's not my style. I'm nearly 81, so I don't think I'll start learning how to do that now.
What kite should I get?
I can't answer that question without knowing a lot more about your situation. The easiest kites to fly are probably deltas or diamonds - take a look at these videos: th-cam.com/video/H0EaKsKrfBo/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/4ZWv1b70kpc/w-d-xo.html . There are many others you could choose as well, and whatever you buy you'll probably have fun.
Great video thanks
Glad you enjoyed it, Bruce.
Awesome video my man !!!!
Glad you liked it!!
Ty
Cool😃👍
Thank you!
good helpful video
Thank you. I'm glad it was useful.
How far your rope extend?
Most of my kite reels have 250 feet (75 metres) of braided dacron line. I have one or two longer lines (1000 feet/300 metres) but don't often use them.
Thanks and where do you buy that circle handle?
Sorry, my first answer to this disappeared. I live in New Zealand, where no-one sells those reels, so I've had to import all mine from the USA and China. Most have come from Into The Wind and Picture Pretty Kites in America. Both are good to deal with.
My sister bought 3 pieces of 3 dollar delta kites
By the way i live in indonesia Medan city
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤
Nah i flew a kite yesterday and i had to run with it to get it up.
I hope you enjoyed the exercise! I've been known to run myself (not so much now that I'm 82), but only to help launch a kite in marginal conditions. Once it's up, running is a waste of time unless you keep on going for ever, which can be a bit exhausting.
Hi, is there a video on how to adjust the angle of the kit knot? I opened the knot on the kite I bought and want a better configuration
No video, sorry. When I have a problem with a bridle line I just keep trying until I find the right setting.
Is