What is Tethered flying/Man flying?

[spook1597507471]

Hi I have read a post with people giving their views on the subject but its hard to understand when I don't know what either is?

I am not looking for views on whether or not it is dangerous but just for someone to explain both tethered and man flying to me please!

 

Thankyou!

[flyer]

You tie yourself to something using the back of your harness then hook in and fly a BIG kite to lift you off the floor.

[Osamabinkiting]

Also highly dangerous and should be actively discouraged.

 

Andy Preston did an article on this subject in Powerkite mag. and there are tales of a guy busting all his ribs doing this when his waist harness slipped up to his armpits then the kite put the squeeze on him. Another guy in the States bust his pelvis doing this too.

 

"Attempting this trick is about as dangerous as it gets. Indeed there have been at least three deaths, and there will be more if people don't get a grip what is happening..." (Andy Preston Quote Powerkite mag Issue 2 2003).

 

Basically its too risky

[spook1597507471]

No offence but i just wanna know the difference between man flying and tethered flying. I understand that it is dangerous from previous posts but want to know what the 2 disciplines are!

[Jules B.]

as far as i can gather tethered flying is when you are tied to a fixed object or an object moving th eopposite way from you. A rope tied to a post for example, which is tied to the flier. depending on the length of the rope when you power up the kite you take off and until the rope is stretched and you are in the air. depending on the lenght of the rope u can be very high up and if the kite powers to one side you can be slammed to the ground.

 

man lifting as far as i know is when instead of being attached to a stationery object you have someone holding on. this is slighlty safer but still dangerous as the person holding can move forward to take some of the power off

[jumping jim]

i dont get whats so dangerous about jus lifting someone up by grabbing the grab handle on the harness, they dont go that high and you can let go when ever

[Active-8]

you dont hole the grab handle, you tie a length of rope to it and then someone holds the other end.

 

there was a little video doing the rounds where someone was slamed into the deck but i havent got it.

[Osamabinkiting]

i dont get whats so dangerous about jus lifting someone up by grabbing the grab handle on the harness, they dont go that high and you can let go when ever

 

The problem is that if you use a kite to lift you off the ground and you have a failure in either the lines or harness or tether you'll hit the deck pretty hard.

 

Previous attempts used Flexifoil Stacking kites like the Super 10, that way by having more than one kite if one fails you have something to fall back on.

 

As Andy Preston's article mentions they needed at least 6 people to control things. A group held the tether and if the flyer got pulled up they would move forward and if the flyer dropped they would move back to keep tension in the system.

 

Tying off to a static point i.e. tree, concrete bollard, car etc. means as soon as you loose lift in the kite you are going to drop likewise I you loose control and the kite luffs or fly's out of the window you going to drop.

 

Also: Sorry Spook but it'll take a sentence to explain man lifting but the safety concerns have to be discussed in case anyone decided to give a try cos it sounded like a laugh.

[Osamabinkiting]

i dont get whats so dangerous about jus lifting someone up by grabbing the grab handle on the harness, they dont go that high and you can let go when ever

 

The problem is that if you use a kite to lift you off the ground and you have a failure in either the lines or harness or tether you'll hit the deck pretty hard.

 

Previous attempts used Flexifoil Stacking kites like the Super 10, that way by having more than one kite if one fails you have something to fall back on.

 

As Andy Preston's article mentions they needed at least 6 people to control things. A group held the tether and if the flyer got pulled up they would move forward and if the flyer dropped they would move back to keep tension in the system.

 

Tying off to a static point i.e. tree, concrete bollard, car etc. means as soon as you loose lift in the kite you are going to drop likewise I you loose control and the kite luffs or fly's out of the window you going to drop.

 

Also: Sorry Spook but it'll take a sentence to explain man lifting but the safety concerns have to be discussed in case anyone decided to give a try cos it sounded like a laugh. Afterall we don't want anyone to get injured or killed do we?

[jumping jim]

you dont hole the grab handle, you tie a length of rope to it and then someone holds the other end.

 

there was a little video doing the rounds where someone was slamed into the deck but i havent got it.

 

yeah for tethered flying you tie a rope to it, but i though man lifting was where you jus hold the grab handle and run back and the person flying jus floats up a bit, im probably wrong

[Chris L]

you dont hole the grab handle, you tie a length of rope to it and then someone holds the other end.

 

there was a little video doing the rounds where someone was slamed into the deck but i havent got it.

 

Vid Here: http://www.crustysoft.co.uk/kites/videos/web/kitetakeoff.wmv right click and save as:)

 

Don't try this at home:eek:

[Osamabinkiting]

yeah for tethered flying you tie a rope to it, but i though man lifting was where you jus hold the grab handle and run back and the person flying jus floats up a bit, im probably wrong

 

No my young padiwan man lifting is definitely with the intention of getting big phat 20 metre+ air and risking your balls doing it.

 

I know what you are talking of, thats just what happens when you fly that 13m Guerilla in 25mph + wind and you don't want to fly off.

[Osamabinkiting]

Vid Here: http://www.crustysoft.co.uk/kites/videos/web/kitetakeoff.wmv right click and save as:)

 

Don't try this at home:eek:

 

And that is why kiddies it aint kool to bust your ass

[spooky]

The big issue is that you are part of the flying line and hence under load.

When doing normal jumps as soon as you take off you are loosing power, and hence will slow down and then come down in theory under control.

 

With Teathered flying if something fails you will get catapulted one way or another, and that is if you have a good idea of what yrou doing??!!!

 

Get an elastic band, stretch it as far as you can and then get some one to snip it in the middle, and watch what happens to the ends? That woud be you

 

If like some you try with a single line attached to you, you will go inverted, try to over correct, get thrown about and get serioulsy SLAMMED!!!

 

Only death on land from kiting was attepting teathered flying, do not learn by your mistakes, leanr from OTHER peoples mistakes.

 

Fly safe, Jon

[jumping jim]

so jus flying in a harness and getting pulled by a mate by the grab handle and floating up into the air isnt one of these things everyone iswarning us not to do eh? cool, i get why the tethered flying is dangerous, i got confused i thought manlifting was what we do but its not so all is good

[lewiss]

nah grabing the bach of a harness is not man lifting.

 

grabbing a haraness is cool. but i've yet to be pulled up that way into some big air.

[.Joel1599968690]

so jus flying in a harness and getting pulled by a mate by the grab handle and floating up into the air isnt one of these things everyone iswarning us not to do eh? cool, i get why the tethered flying is dangerous, i got confused i thought manlifting was what we do but its not so all is good

 

There's nothing wrong with pulling back on the handle if the person is expecting it. It's actually alot of fun, and now and again i'll be spear tackled and run upwind, then let go of, and I float However, doing it to someone unexpectedly is not cool.

 

When you grab someone by the handle you really only can pull them to the height of your head basically. Which is enough for a little bit of boost. So fairly safe.

 

However, if you go tieing a rope to the back of their harness it is a complete different story. Basically it's like having a 10 meter long arm, and running back with them. So if something goes wrong, it's not going to happen at head height, it's going to start going wrong from 10 meters off the ground.... Thus the danger in doing so and pure stupidity.

 

A bit of handle jerking is always fun, but that's about as far as it should go.

 

Regards,

 

Joel

[peeter_]

but then like said, tethered is only so bad because you become part of the lines! throwing some one is alrite because as soon as u let go the power will be lost and decent starts. but attaching yourself into the lines and what not is just stupidity in my eyes,

i mean just look at how short the rope was in that video and he wasnt that far off the ground, but that was one hell of a knoch when he hit it!!

[jbrown7911]

this is why the Adrenalize kit is not standard its not a kite harness and there are two control lines (5 ton breaking strain) in a v formation not one so the flier cannot spin. these are NOT attached to the ground they are controlled by a team of two or more guys on the end of the lines. The harness is made so it cannot squash any person using it. The flying line is off a 3 ton breaking strain.

Thats why its safer then a bit of rope and any old kite harness.

 

If you want to see man lifting get a copy of Flexifoils Power Trip Video

 

Under no circumstances should anyone attempt this trick we dont condone it in the shop and explain that Team adrenalize have been doing it for over 11 years in safety with no accidents to date because they have spent several thousand pounds in rigging this stunt!

[Miaspa]

this is why the Adrenalize kit is not standard its not a kite harness and there are two control lines (5 ton breaking strain) in a v formation not one so the flier cannot spin. these are NOT attached to the ground they are controlled by a team of two or more guys on the end of the lines. The harness is made so it cannot squash any person using it. The flying line is off a 3 ton breaking strain.

Thats why its safer then a bit of rope and any old kite harness.

 

If you want to see man lifting get a copy of Flexifoils Power Trip Video

 

Under no circumstances should anyone attempt this trick we dont condone it in the shop and explain that Team adrenalize have been doing it for over 11 years in safety with no accidents to date because they have spent several thousand pounds in rigging this stunt!

 

Seems to be one weakness in that human body breaking strain , no idea but I guess alot less than a ton.

[animal_69]

wow..

 

ive been kiting since the beginnin of this yr. Before i even registered on the forum an learnt of tethered flying, id already had the idea when out flying. Good job im too lazy to be bothered trying it..point is, this is the first time ive really read about it in depth & seen footage. It seems a taboo subject, which IMO is wrong..new kiters should be made aware of the dangers from .day1..including something in the instruction manuals maybe. Shouldnt be swept under the carpet, just hoping it wont happen cos it aint talked about.

[kiter_ryan]

Vid Here: http://www.crustysoft.co.uk/kites/videos/web/kitetakeoff.wmv right click and save as:)

 

Don't try this at home:eek:

 

That is so stupid...so basically the idiot holding the rope is in control of the man in the air..... mental.

[Active-8]

this is why the Adrenalize kit is not standard its not a kite harness and there are two control lines (5 ton breaking strain) in a v formation not one so the flier cannot spin. these are NOT attached to the ground they are controlled by a team of two or more guys on the end of the lines. The harness is made so it cannot squash any person using it. The flying line is off a 3 ton breaking strain.

Thats why its safer then a bit of rope and any old kite harness.

 

 

and whats the bridle and ripstops BS?

 

do you change lines every so often, do you change the kites, spars every so often. i'm sorry but its going to happen. you are promoting this type of flying so Joe public will go away after seeing this and copy it not knowing you have done this that and the other for safety and another death is going to happen and more bans. i cant believe how irresponcable you can be to do this or promote it. im sorry but the councils that book your shows need to know the fuller picture as to whats is happening. ban out of order. please for the kiting communities sake find a new crowd puller.

 

can you guarantee that the sowing on each and every kite and the thread that was used was polyester and not cotton or there's a Nick in the thread or that the kites you use are 100% designed to have the weight of the kiter and the two ground guys and still be safe for the public and most of all the kiting in the UK, if so then fine carry on. for your sake i hope all stays well.

[jbrown7911]

Anyone who has seen the team do this stunt will know that the kites are all super 10s and have no bridles. in the 11 years of doing it the team which are only sponsored by me not run or booked through have had nothing break! everything is regularly checked and replaced.

This problem comes around every year because people don't know all the facts about the rig before commenting but I think an 11 year safety record is a damn good sign!

 

All flexifoil kites are polyester stitched.

The V control lines are in a direct correlation with the flying lines attachement point throught the harness.

The pilot will always end the lift before he has run out of energy and its his call wether he lifts or not.

 

We do not suggest anyone does this stunt when we sell a kite I can't believe people think I'm gonna actually sell someone a kite cause they wanna manlift! Most newbies come in my shop and say I wanna go buggy jumping!

When I commentate for them it is repeated again and again that this is a stunt this is not normal equipment do not try this with your own equipment.

Not once at a show have I ever heard someone come over or say I'm gonna go home and do that or even asked me how to do it.

That's all I'm adding to this subject.

Every year the same old subject comes around.

As I said before if you wanna see a manlift get Flexis power trip video.

[kitesurfa]

new kiters should be made aware of the dangers from .day1..including something in the instruction manuals maybe.

It is in the instructioin Manuals.

 

Read pg 4. of your Flexifoil Blade IV manual...