I spent this past week at the beach with my family and girlfriend. While there, my girlfriend introduced me to dual line kites. I had flown a one string kite as a kid but found the experience pretty boring. However, my experience with the dual line kite was awesome, I couldn't believe how fun it was. I was wondering if anyone else around the NCSU area flies kites and where some good places to fly might be. As of now, I can only perform the simple loops so it would be great to learn some new stuff if any of you are seasoned kite pilots.

6/26/2008 4:26:11 PM

I love stunt kites. They're SOOOO much fun. Once you learn how to fly parallel to the ground and do a bunch of tricks it's fun.

If you think dual kites are fun you should try out Quad line kites. Rediculous.

6/26/2008 4:46:13 PM

you better be a female

6/26/2008 5:10:43 PM

I busted out a nylon dual line kite that had been sitting in the package up at Lake Gaston for about 7 years. Shit was so fun. My neighbors and I flew that thing for like two hours rotating between taking liquor shots and flying the kite.

6/26/2008 6:09:59 PM

I fly power kites and do some kite boarding. They are a ton of fun. I used to do stunt kiting, but I strictly do power kiting now. You need to go to the beach and take some kite boarding lessons.

6/26/2008 7:29:38 PM

I have a kite that is rigged for fishing.

6/26/2008 8:17:28 PM

Yeah kite boarding looks really fun. I can't imagine how much one of those big power foils pulls. My girlfriend's 7' kite does some decent pulling.

6/26/2008 8:18:28 PM

If you are ever in Wilmington you should check out either http://www.blowinginthewind.com/ or http://www.gokitesurf.com. Same guy runs both stores. One is the stunt kite store and the other is the kiteboarding store.

If you have any questions about kiteboarding just send me a PM. I'll try not to give you any advice that would get you killed, just ask HockeyRoman, hahaha

6/26/2008 8:42:50 PM

They can pull you over 20' in the air. As far as good spots around Raleigh the Cameron Art Museum would be fine for a simple dual line stunt kite. DO NOT TRY FLYING A KITEBOARDING KITE THERE. It is way too gusty to be flying anything with that much power there.

You could also fly one on the roof of a parking deck assuming you are ok with crashing the kite into the cement. As for kite shops in Raleigh I couldn't recommend any in Raleigh but there is a good one in Wilmington. http://www.gokitesurf.com and http://www.blowinginthewind.com/ Same person runs both stores. One is more the kitesurfing store on Wrightsville beach and the other is in downtown Wilmington.

If you have any questions about kitesurfing just send me a PM and I'll be happy to help.

6/26/2008 8:48:00 PM

On a windy day, there's a park at the intersection of Leesville and Millbrook that's great for flying kites.

6/26/2008 8:51:13 PM

Thanks for all the info so far.

Restricted: a fishing kite? really? That sounds pretty sweet.

humandrive: did you mean the North Carolina Museum of Art?

6/26/2008 10:07:01 PM

Get a 2.5m power kite. Make sure it's a four like kite and not a pansy two line. They are so crazy fun.
These are from Thanksgiving. (yes I know my back lines are tangled but I didn't have a lot of time)





[Edited on June 27, 2008 at 12:45 AM. Reason : .]

6/27/2008 12:41:35 AM

What do the extra two lines on a 4 line kite enable?

6/27/2008 1:12:16 AM

This thread keeps making me think of Mary Poppins

6/27/2008 1:22:20 AM

^^ Probably nothing if you don't plan on kiteboarding but it does help you bring it down instead of having to use the edge of the wind window.

6/27/2008 2:08:11 AM

The extra 2 lines on a 4 line kite allow you to adjust the angle of attack. You can increase or decrease the angle to add or remove power (lift). With a 2 line kite, the kite will always be powered, and generally producing optimal power as the kite adjusts to lowest friction, best angle of attack.

6/27/2008 8:27:12 AM

I went out and flew my $8 dual-line Wal-Mart kite this evening on Centennial Campus. There is a decent size open lot on the top of the hill beside the BTEC building. The wind was inconsistent and the thunder storm made me pack up and leave earlier than I wanted to.

I went ahead and ordered a Flying Wings AcrobatX kite today. I can't wait to get it.

The wingspan on it is just over 7 feet so it'll be a significant step up from my 3 foot Wal-Mart kite.

If any of you guys want to go out and fly sometime please let me know.

6/28/2008 12:04:41 AM

I am in town Mon, Tues and Fri so I will keep an eye on the wind forecast. There is a an awesome field right near my place by Crabtree as well.

6/28/2008 12:46:34 PM

I went back out to centennial again today for about 2 hours. The wind was a little better today and there were no storms to end the flight session early. I'm afraid my Wal-Mart kite won't be holding up too much longer. The fabric is tearing pretty bad along both leading edges. However, the frame is still in decent shape. The rods pop out when I crash it hard so I guess that keeps them from snapping.

HockeyRoman: Do you fly stunt kites too or just power foils? I will be in town on both Monday and Tuesday and hopefully my new kite will be here by then, let me know if you decide to go flying. Also, where do you check for the wind forcast? I've been using wunderground.com.

[Edited on June 28, 2008 at 8:40 PM. Reason : ]

6/28/2008 8:37:00 PM

wunderground.com is where it is at. You can also try using NOAA but it's mostly all the same information. I just have my 2.5m foil power kite. Nothing really stunty. Still good times.

6/28/2008 10:16:41 PM

I always see a ton of people flying kites at Lake Crabtree (off of I-40 Aviation Parkway). There is a big grassy area not too far from the boat rental area. I've seen some really awesome kites there.

6/28/2008 11:01:34 PM

I am in Quebec City right now, and today we saw more people kite surfing than I have ever seen in my life, total. On the St. Lawrence River, there were probably three or four dozen people all kite surfing. It looked very cool, but very cold.

[Edited on June 28, 2008 at 11:46 PM. Reason : io]

6/28/2008 11:46:26 PM

There are days when I just want to pick up everything and move to Wilmington so I could just kiteboard all the time.

6/29/2008 12:22:16 AM

There has been great wind here for the past 3 of 4 days by the way!

6/29/2008 9:51:29 AM

Hopefully the wind will hold up tomorrow when I am back home in Raleigh.

6/29/2008 4:05:18 PM

Yeah I'm hoping the wind will be nice tomorrow too, and that my new kite will be here.

6/29/2008 8:37:34 PM

Pretty boring so far this morning sadly. Only 4kt wind from rdu last hour but the morning is young.

6/30/2008 10:28:23 AM

The wind has been looking pretty decent all afternoon outside Partners III on Centennial. wunderground.com is calling for 8mph winds at 5pm... please let my new kite be waiting for me at home.

6/30/2008 3:12:24 PM

Let me take the girlfriend out to eat and I will check back when I get in. Shouldn't take too long. We'll see what's up; hopefully kites.

6/30/2008 3:41:27 PM

It was blowing down at Wrightsville. Pretty gusty though, 14mph-25mph, stayed pretty well powered on a 9m.

6/30/2008 8:45:47 PM

humandrive you need to hook me up with a job for when I quit everything here and move down there? My Roth IRA still needs to be fed. Also I need a job where I can kiteboard all afternoon.

6/30/2008 9:57:22 PM

I got my new kite today but couldn't get it in the air- no wind whatsoever... very disappointing. A campus policeman sat and watched me set up, stand around waiting for wind for about 30 minutes, and then pack up. He then proceeded to follow me on my way out of Centennial Campus... weird. PLEASE BE WINDY TOMORROW.

7/1/2008 1:42:51 AM

For serious.

7/1/2008 1:47:52 AM

i didnt realize there was such a strong kite following

7/1/2008 8:19:23 AM

I flew at Womble Park in Holly Springs yesterday. Wind wasn't optimum but I kept the Acrobatx in the air for 10 minutes or so.

7/2/2008 9:21:45 AM

Got a small power kit for my birthday last year down on Hatteras Island. It was the smallest one you could get, and just a two string instead of 4, but it is still a pretty damn fun kite. Not quite ready to go kiteboarding, but CarZin got me hooked on it a few years back flying one of his kites on Jockey's Ridge.

7/2/2008 9:45:25 AM

I'm going to Wrightsville Beach tomorrow. Hopefully there will be some optimum conditions to fly in.

7/11/2008 5:54:12 PM

Did a kick ass job of kiteboarding last week. 3 hours on the water with no crashes. signed off on as a level 2 rider, and have many of the level 3 things done already (still need some basic jumps).

7/16/2008 4:14:10 PM

It's a good thing you didn't crash. I was hearing this morning how the rip currents were brutal and an abundance of people had to be rescued.

7/16/2008 4:18:50 PM

I kiteboard in the sound. No rip currents there

7/16/2008 6:15:56 PM

I forgot what the levels are. As far as I know not many if any people here are certified to any level. Also what level is an unhooked backroll, or kiteloop?

7/16/2008 8:21:08 PM