S



top		 Safety !!! ...(see also Rules & The Law)
  Important things to remember when flying your kite:

1. Don't fly near people, especially young children
2. Don't fly close to roads, landing a kite in a road could cause a serious accident.
3. Keep away from overhead power lines.
4. Don't fly near airports.
5. Don't fly your kite in winds stronger than recommended.
6. Although it is unusual for dogs to attack kites while still in the air, always make sure that there are no dogs around when you land your kite. They are known to run away when a kite lands but in some instances they have been known to grab the kite and run away with it.

SAFETY IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FLYER, NOT THE SPECTATOR!

USE EXTREME CAUTION AND COMMON SENSE WHEN FLYING POWER KITES
   
 



top		 Shops & Stores
  There aren't a great deal of decent kite shops in the UK and you may have to travel some way to find one which can give good advice and sells decent kites. The store guide, elsewhere on this site provides point-and-click maps to help you locate the store nearest to you.

Although there are a lot of on-line stores, some exclusively so, unless you know exactly what you want I think it is always better to visit a good store. Face-to-face the store owner can offer advice on suitable kites and in some cases let you try them out. I made some bad decisions early on by buying kites without taking advice, I still have the kites nut some won't fly and some I can't fly. (IMHO dont wade in and buy a quad line Revolution before being able to fly a dual line competently !!)
   
 



top		 Sleeving
  Sleeving is a hollow tubular braided line that you put onto the ends of spectra or kevlar® lines to reduce wear and increase the strength of the knotted line. It improves the strength of knotted spectra from 45% to 65% and of Kevlar® from 60% to 98%.

The knotted strength of a line is important to consider when choosing a lineset and allowances for the weakening effect knots should be made to make sure you choose line of an appropriate strength (most kite manufacturers will recommend a suitable line strength and will have allowed for knots)

The best way to sleeve a line is to but a sleeving kit which includes a special needle allowing you to easily thread your main line through the sleeve. Most kite shops will be able sell you a kit and they cost only a couple of pounds. (the kit usually has diagrams explaining how its done). Its very easy to underestimate how much sleeving you will need for each line so if your buying it by the metre buy double!. (they say allow 1 foot for each knotted line end)

How to Sleeve your line set
   
 



top		 Spine...
  The spine is the spar which runs from the nose to the tail and to which the lower spreader is attached using a 'T' Piece

The sail is tensioned at the lower end of the spine using elastic (bungee cord) or cord, as shown in the picture on the right


picture from the "Gone with the wind site"
   
 



top		 Stand-off...
  The stand-off tensions the sail so that it holds the wind better. They are usually very thin fibreglass or carbon fibre rods which run from the lower spreader to the sail


picture from the "Gone with the wind site"
   
 



top		 Straps
 

see Handles & Straps
   
 


© 1998, Kite Fantastic - Peter Edwards, Revised: September 19, 1998.