Table of Contents

Safety
When practiced in a responsible manner, traction kiting is a safe and enjoyable sport. If practiced recklessly, like most things, traction kiting can be a dangerous activity to participants and bystanders. As of now traction kiting is relatively unregulated and allowed in most public places with few restrictions. In order to keep it this way we encourage the practice of safe, responsible traction kiting: placing participants and bystanders at minimal risk.

General Safety
These guidelines should be followed when participating in any form of traction kiting.

• Keep clear of people, do not fly your kite over people when traction kiting.
• Do not attempt winds, speeds or tricks that are beyond your ability.
• Do not traction kite alone.
• Stay clear of other vehicles.
• Stay clear of over head wires. Remember you may have to let go of the kite sometimes
• Use quick release handles so at least there aren't handles flying through the air to damage people, possessions, or worst of all, loop around electricity lines.
• Do not use a harness system that does not have a passive release system, one that releases when you stop doing something.
• Make sure you have a safe downwind recovery landing area for released kites.
• Keep fit. Fit people have less injuries when they do crash.
• Running into other kite lines is something to be watchful for.
• Do not attempt to traction kite/power fly until you have mastered controlling your kite.
• Learn to traction kite in light and steady winds.
• Avoid traction kiting in gusty and variable winds.
• Make sure that the area you traction kite in is clear of ditches, logs and other obstacles. Always check to make sure the area you plan to traction kite in is clear of hidden ditches, etc.

Buggy Safety

• Wear safety gear, helmet, boots, long trousers and jacket, etc., shoulders and elbows especially can collect grazes.
• Long hair can get caught in the wheels.
• Check your buggy at intervals for structural integrity, loose bolts, wheels, etc.
• On a beach be prepared to get wet, wet suits keep you warm even when you are wet.

Ice Kiting

• Wear appropriate safety gear: helmet, knee and elbow pads, remember ice is harder than pavement.
• Dress appropriately for cold weather.
• Beware of thin ice.
• Do not over sharpen blades or ski edges, sharp edges result in serious injury when they come in contact with you.
• Be courteous of other ice users, stay away from ice fishermen, your sliding on top of the ice scares the fish away. Ice fishermen are a good source of reliable information on ice thickness.

Kite Sailing (water skiing, body surfing, kite sailing, etc.)

• Wear safety gear: life jacket, appropriate wet suit for water/ air temperature, helmet (the boat often can hit you on the head when if it flips over).
• Avoid rough and dangerous surf: if conditions are not safe for swimming then they are not safe for any type of kite sailing.
• Do not go kite sailing if the wind is blowing away from shore.
• Do not go kite sailing without a spotter on the beach.

Kite Sailing
Kite sailing is the most refined form of traction kiting. Kites provide power for a vehicle capable of sailing all courses, including up wind (opposite of the direction of wind). The basic principles of kite sailing are the same as those of traditional sailing, however, there is one major difference a kite is used to harness the wind instead of a fixed sail. The advantages kites have over fixed sails include being able to access cleaner wind free of ground turbulence and the ability to create additional apparent wind through the movement of the kite. Apparent wind is the wind the kite or sail 'feels' which is the vector, speed and direction, sum of the true wind and the velocity of the kite or sail. Fixed sails move at the same speed as the craft which they are propelling, while a kite can move relative to the craft it is propelling and create more apparent wind than a traditional fixed sail.
Using a two or four line kite a pilot can maneuver their kite inside the 'wind window' and enable it to pull them at various angles to the wind. The 'wind window' is the area in the sky where a pilot can place his kite. Most kites used for kite sailing can fly about 85 degrees of off the wind in any direction creating approximately a quarter sphere extending 85 degrees all sides of the wind direction (see figure 1). Depending on the point drag angle of your vehicle, the point drag angle is the maximum angle between an applied force (pull from a kite) and the direction of travel which causes forward motion, enabling you to sail at different angles to the wind. No wind powered craft is capable of sailing opposite the wind direction without tacking, sailing a zig zag course in order to sail upwind. On most kite powered vehicles it is difficult to turn through the wind, turn in so that at one point of the turn your craft is pointed directly into the wind. Instead most kite powered vehicles have to jibe, turn in such that you vehicle never points directly into the wind. Turning radius is of critical importance in order to make upwind progress.

Kite Buggying
The three wheeled kite buggy is the most popular and fastest growing form of kite sailing. Its origins date back to nineteenth century when a school teacher in England, George Pocock, made a kite powered buggy as a part of series of experiments he carried out with kite powered vehicles. Reports of his experiments vary, but most likely he used a four lined rounded nose diamond kite to power his cart to speeds of up to 25 miles per hour. Despite Pocock's success it was not until 1990 when New Zealander Peter Lynn introduced the first commercially available kite buggy, that it gained popularity.
The basic principles used when buggying are the same as those which apply to all forms of kite sailing, outlined in the previous section. When tacking upwind in a buggy it is possible to turn through the wind, but this can be quite a difficult maneuver. It is always easier to jibe: turn through the wind looping around with out ever facing directly into the wind. Expert buggy pilots can perform tricks on their buggies. Some of these are 180 and 360 degree turns. These involve the pilot spinning the buggying in a very tight turn, sliding the wheels, and continuing to travel in the same direction with minimal loss in speed. Other tricks include riding on two wheels, riding backwards, and doing fish tail turns to swing out the back end. The amount of tricks that can be performed are limited only by the imagination of buggiers.

Ice and Snow Kiting
Ice kiting is a very exciting and sometimes dangerous form of kite sailing. The extremely low friction encountered on ice provides a very fast way to propel yourself using kite power. Depending on ice surface conditions, different equipment is required and different danger encountered.

On "black" ice, very smooth ice which appears black, blades are required to obtain the bite necessary to keep an edge and tack upwind. In such conditions, standard ice skates or a modified buggy with blades are required. Sharp blades can be deadly in a crash. Be advised that this form of kite sailing is inherently dangerous, it is recommended that only the most experienced traction flyers attempt it.
Rough ice, or even a snow covered field and a pair of down hill skis provides a more accessible and safer way to kite sail in the winter. Very little power is necessary to provide propulsion on snow or ice, so it is recommended that fliers start with a kite a size smaller than what they think they need. The important things to keep in mind when power flying on skis include: keep your weight back, its better to fall on your butt than to do a face plant, be prepared to slow down quickly when going from ice to snow. Once a pilot gets the hang of flying on skis you will find that keeping most your weight on your downwind ski and almost holding your upwind ski in the air putting it down only to maintain balance is the preferred technique.

When ice kiting remember you will fall, ice is hard and you will obtain large bruises. Safety gear is a must, wear a helmet and pads at all times.

Very similar to ice kiting, and much warmer, is kite sailing on inline skates on pavement. Technique is essentially the same as with skis, however it is more difficult to stop on in-line or roller skates than it is on skis. Do not attempt to kite sail on inline skates unless you have mastered stopping from high speeds.
Kite Boating and Water Skiing with Kites

Whether on water skis or in a boat, kite sailing over rolling waves of the sea or on a flat lake, kite sailing on water is a blast. When kite sailing on water the basic principles used on land apply, except that you can't get out and walk backwards to prevent the kite from crashing. Relaunching a kite on the water is more difficult or even impossible sometimes. In practice, one finds that when sailing on a kite boat crashes are rare because few chances are taken.

Once a pilot has mastered the basic skills of kite sailing on land, it is not difficult to transfer these skills to kite boating. Most kite boats are single person craft similar to kite buggies with hulls instead of wheels, although some other successful designs also exist. (For more information of design of kite power boats see section in this booklet on Water Vehicles p 17) Probably the fastest form of water kite sailing is 'Kite Skiing' or water skiing with kites. While it is much more difficult travel upwind on water skis than it is in a boat, reaching speeds on skis are usually much faster and jumps can be spectacular. Over water is the least dangerous place to experiment with kite jumping.
 

Racing
Whenever two kite flyers go kite sailing together, they usually like to see who can go faster, who can sail upwind better and who can do the best tricks. A simple way to determine who is the fastest kite sailer is to have a race. There are two popular forms of racing: pursuit and circuit. Pursuit racing involves two racers on a course laid out perpendicular to the wind. Circuit racing involves several racers sailing on a triangular course with upwind, downwind and cross wind legs.

Pursuit Racing
The course is placed perpendicular to the wind and consists of two marks approximately 100 meters apart. The racing is one on one, with a competitor starting at each mark. The winner is declared when one competitor passes the other and then passes the next mark. This race must have a clear winner, or go a least 5 laps, failure to do so will result in one immediate re-start. If both competitors simultaneously foul out after the tenth mark (5 laps) the leader at the last mark rounded will be the winner. When a restart is also inconclusiv, no points will be awarded to either competitor. For elimination racing, both competitors will be eliminated, or the leader after 5 laps will advanced as determined by the race committee prior to the start of the event.

Their are two methods for selecting entrants for an elimination series, tournament. Either a draw will be made of all buggy entrants forming pools, which will race off against each other, with the top one or two in each pool advancing to an elimination series. Alternatively a round robin system can be used to select a pool for an elimination series. The elimination series is such that a loss means elimination.

Circuit
The course consists of at least three marks, and will have upwind, downwind and reaching legs. Starts will be set so that each buggy has at least 10 to 15 meters clear laterally of each adjacent buggy. The start finish line will be a line at the upwind end of the site (course). The first leg will be a course directly to the most downwind mark. This spreads out the field by the first mark to reduce risks of entanglements. Once around the downwind mark, all marks must be rounded in the correct order and on the correct side for the number of set laps, as stated in the prerace meeting. The last leg is back to the start/finish line, not to the last mark.

AKA Kite Buggy Racing Rulebook (143 KB Acrobat file)

Locations
It is surprising how little space is actually required to kite buggy. An open space the size of a large baseball, soccer or football field is all that is required for kite buggying. Popular places for kite buggying include grassy fields as found in parks, beaches during low tide, dry lake beds, old air strips and unused parking lots. When looking at perspective buggy sites remember that trespassing on private property is against the law, some parks and recreational areas may have regulations against kite flying, and in some places beaches are public roads for motor vehicles and off limits to wind powered vehicles. The AKA works with local buggy clubs, kite flying clubs, and public officials to maintain reasonable access to buggy areas for its members. Please remember to always be courteous to other beach and park users and do not buggy in crowded areas. It only takes one reckless buggier to close a beach or park to all buggiers.

Beaches
Beaches are the most popular areas for buggying, next to the ocean there is almost always a steady breeze, and most beaches have large areas of hard packed sand at low tide. Tides are of critical importance to those who buggy on beaches. Low tide is best for buggying, although it is possible to buggy during high tide at some beaches but not all. Anyone who buggies at beaches on a regular basis will find tide charts very useful. At the beach the wind direction usually dictates what kind of buggying you will be doing. On 'reaching days', when the wind blows perpendicular to the shore line, long high speed cross wind runs are possible. If the wind is blowing down the beach lots of turns are required and novice buggiers are forced to learn how to sail upwind. It is in these conditions that buggiers first start experimenting with tricks. Many buggiers like to wear wet suits when at the beach, being able to get wet can sometimes double the area of usable beach and turning in shallow water can be a lot of fun.

The best beaches to buggy on are those that are relatively flat. Flat beaches will have larger areas of tidal sand, sand that is under water at high tide and exposed at low tide. A beach that has hard tidal sand is also desirable. Hard sand is much faster and easier to go up wind on. It is impossible to buggy upwind in extremely soft sand.

Grass
Open fields make excellent places to buggy. When buggying in parks you should be courteous to other park users. Do not fly your kite over people and do not fly in crowded areas. Low cut grass is best for buggying, the higher the grass the more rolling resistance you encounter and the slower you go. As with any form of kite flying you should make sure any area you use is clear of power lines and not close to an airport.

Dry Lakes
Dry lake beds provide perhaps the most ideal location for kite buggying. In the South West United States there are large lake beds. The hard surface and large area of these lake beds make them the site of the fastest buggying that can be found. Two of the more popular dry lakes are
Ivanpah and El Mirage.

Ivanpah Dry Lake is located just on the California side of the Nevada California state line on interstate 10, about a one hour drive from Las Vegas. At the Nevada end of the Lake bed there is a complex of three hotel/casinos, which make this the most accessible lake bed. This lake bed is home to the endangered desert tortoise and is controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. Motor vehicle access is allowed only for the purpose of staging in wind powered vehicles, kite buggies and land sailors, and is by permit only. To the north of the hotel/casino complex is an other dry lake, Roach Lake, which is smaller than Ivanpah but unregulated.

El Mirage Dry Lake is located in southern California about a three hour drive from Los Angles. This lake bed is much more isolated than Ivanpah, lacking a view of an interstate and casinos. El Mirage also has much more varied terrain than Ivanpah. Accommodations are about a half hour drive from the lake bed. El Mirage is a motor vehicle recreation area where cars and motor cycles often travel at speeds around 100 m.p.h.. It is a good idea to avoid El Mirage on the weekends, as there are many cars traveling at high speeds on the lake bed then.

Equipment

Buggies
There are several buggies commercially available through kite stores. Some general things to consider when choosing a buggy include.
Material: stainless steel is the material of choice for most buggy makers because of its durability; a lot of buggying takes place at the beach, and salt water is a very corrosive environment.

Key aspects of buggy design include a low center of gravity, good weight distribution to all three wheels, an axle wide enough to provide stability but still allow two wheel riding and tight turning which is critical to upwind performance. The seat of the buggy should be such that the rider does not come into contact with the frame of the buggy and is comfortable.

Buggy length front to rear is adjustable on most buggies. As you increase the wheel base of your buggy the ride becomes more comfortable, unfortunately performance suffers. With longer wheel base it is easier to become over powered, more difficult to tack up wind with out having the back wheels slide out. It is also easier to perform tricks with the wheel base set shorter.

If you desire to make your own buggy the best plans available are in the book Stunt Kites II by Servaas van der Horst and Nop Velthuizen.

Water Vehicles
Boats
There are a few commercially available boats designed specifically to be propelled by kites. Trimarans and monohulls are the most common designs. Trimarans are usually configured with the third hull forward of other two, much like the wheels on a buggy. The most advanced kite boats work well both as displacement and planning hulls. Displacement mode is when a hull is in the water, planing is when the hull sits on top of the water surface, ahead of its wake. There is a significant reduction in drag when planing, however it is sometimes difficult to go up wind on a plane and it is impossible to get up on a plan in light wind conditions. Some high speed enthusiasts design boats specifically for planing, while these boats may be slightly faster on a reach, their upwind performance is disappointing compared to displacement hulls. Plans for boats are also included in Stunt Kites II.

Water Skis
There is commercially available system designed for 'Kite Skiing' which comes complete with skis, kite and a relaunching system, which allows a kite skier to relaunch their kite from the water. However regular water skis can also be used (larger jump skis are preferred but, knee boards, wake boards and regular water skis can also be pulled by kites) to sail on all courses to the wind. When participating in any ski type activities be aware that some authorities treat a water skier pulled by kite the same as one being pulled by boat requiring an operator skier and a spotter. At least one kite skier has been fined for water skiing without a spotter.

When on the water a dead man, quick release system is required if the kites is to be attached to the flyer or the craft.

Traction Kites
For land based power flying activities, soft (sparless) kites are the most popular for several reasons. First for safety, soft kites become little more than pieces of fabric in the wind when the are released prior to an eminent collision with spectators or other breakable objects. Soft kites also have no spars to break. Over the water the safety advantage of soft kites is not too much of a factor and rigid kites can be relaunched form the water. It should be noted that only soft kites specifically designed to be relaunched from water can be. Currently there is not a water launching system for soft kites typically used for kite buggying and ice kiting. Kites with small diameter bridle lines, i.e. spectra, have significantly less drag than those with out, and are capable of sailing a higher course into the wind, have better performance in low wind and can reach higher top speeds.

All forms of kite sailing use maneuverable kites, typically two or four line kites. The choice is personal preference but each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage four line kites have over two liners is that they are easier to use and to relaunch. Comparisons between two and four line kites can be made similar to those often made between manual and automatic transmissions.Ê When buggying with a two line kite it is often necessary to fly the kite in a sine wave pattern as the buggy accelerates. With four line kites putting tension on the bottom line is done when accelerating.

Kite Size
Most popular traction kites are available in a range of sizes, from less than 1 square meter, to more than ten square meters. Some kites are even capable of being reconfigured to achieve different size sail areas. Wind speed, surface conditions, and flyer skill dictate what size kite is used. Experienced pilots tend to fly larger kites, which would over power novice flyers. If a kite is too large for the wind conditions on a given day a pilot will find that they can not travel upwind. The wind and surface conditions in the area you plan to buggy and the size of your budget will dictate what size kite(s) you will get. For light wind conditions larger kites and longer lines are used. As wind increases pilots fly smaller kites. It should be noted that in light wind conditions the maneuverability of a slightly smaller kite can be used to create more apparent wind than that can be created with a large kite. If you are only going to purchase one kite something in the range of 4 to 8 square meters is recommended, depending on the wind and surface where you will buggy.

Flying Line
Spectra¨ line is really the only line that should be used for power flying for several reasons. First for safety, Spectra¨ has a low melting point and will cause less personal injury than line made from other fibers such as Kevlar¨. Spectra¨ is a low stretch high strength polymer fiber which is braided into high strength kite line. Three hundred pound test is the most popular line strength used by those fliers participating in kite buggying and ice kiting. Stronger lines are preferred by some for water based activities due to the increased drag found on the water.

Line length typically used for power flying can be as short as 30 feet or as long as 300. Line length is a personal choice but there are several effects encountered when switching line lengths. In light winds an added advantage can be gained by flying on longer lines. The increased line length allows the kite to stay in the power zone longer. The kite has to travel further to go through the wind window, causing it to create more apparent wind. In stronger or variable winds many flyers prefer shorter lines. With shorter lines a kite gets to the edge of the wind window, where it has less power. The decrease in line drag caused by using shorter lines is negliable in low winds, at lower speeds line drag is not too much of a problem. In high winds switching from 150' to 75' lines make quite a noticeable difference when you are going fast.. Varying line length is a great way to increase the wind range of a kite. Some flyers fold their lines in half by larks heading both ends to each other and then folding the line in half and larks heading the line to the kite. Be careful when using this technique as it sometime accelerates line wear.

Harnesses
Wind surfing harness, both seat and chest, are popular among quadline flyers, and are available at most wind surfing shops. Wind surfing harness do not allow the throw required to turn most dual line kites. Wind surfing harness do not have a quick release system, unless used with quick release handles. Typically flyers attach a harness line to the top of each handle, this line is then "hooked" into the harness. In order to release from the harness it is necessary to obtain slack in the harness line to unhook, this is not always easy to do especially in an emergency situation. Use of a wind surfing harness when traction kiting can lead to personal injury.

Quick or "dead man" release handles are used in combination with a strap which goes around the back of the flyer. These handles free the flying lines when the grips are released and are the safest harness system available. Currently they are only available for dual line kites.

Other Forms of Power Flying

Dragging
The form of power flying which most kite fliers encounter first is dragging, this involves using kites to pull one self downwind. Dragging can be a lot of fun but it is a gravity sport and does require that you use another form of transportation, such as walking, to get back to where you started. Dragging can be done on sand, grass, water, snow and ice. On some surfaces it is possible to angle 45 degrees off the direction of the wind. Kayaking with kites is also a popular activity. Using small, 15-30 square foot, single line, sparless foil kites, kayakers can be pulled down wind.

Man Lifting
One of the oldest and most dangerous forms of power flying is man lifting. In the sixties and seventies the sport of 'Kite Riding' evolved into what is today known as hang gliding and para-gliding. No commercially available kites are designed or suitable for tethered flight. Using kites to lift people is dangerous especially if it is done with maneuverable kites which are inherently unstable and prone to crashing. Traditional man lifting has been done with stable single line kites. The most common method employed trains of kites which would hold a line under tension. A person would then ride up this line with on a single kite. Tethered flight of persons using maneuverable dual lines kites is much more dangerous than traditional single line systems, as pilot error can easily lead to a crash.

Jumping
Kite jumping is the other extremely dangerous form of power kiting. Kite jumping involves using maneuverable kites to pull oneself into the air. There is very little control involved in kite jumping in ascent and decent. Injuries are common among those who participate in kite jumping and the AKA actively discourages all interested parties from experimenting with this dangerous activity.

Copyright © 1998 The American Kitefliers Association
All rights reserved.

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