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It never ceases to amaze me that as we become more and more
experienced with our kites that we start to take more and more
things for granted. For instance when I go to the kite field, the first
thing I do besides checking to see what other people are there is
to check for the wind direction and figure out where is the best
place to fly my kite. From experience I know that I must be in a
position with my back to the wind and far enough down wind from
any obstructions that the wind will be as smooth as possible for
that days wind direction. Invariably I will see a brand new person or maybe a child with a kite trying to fly their kite up wind. Naturally us experienced flyers want to help them to have a positive experience so we point out to them where they might want to position their kite for the best results. And also we might mention about not standing where an obstruction might block the wind. Over the years I have developed a theory that the minimum distance (for acceptable wind) downwind from an obstruction should be about 10 times the height of the obstruction. It is not practical to try to measure the height of the obstruction so I have found that because MY ARM IS ABOUT 10 TIMES THE LENGTH OF MY THUMB (20 inches to 2 inches) If I extend my arm out toward the obstruction and make a fist with my thumb pointing up and I eyeball the base of my thumb to the base of the obstruction and the top tip of my thumb appears above the obstruction then I am down wind at a distance at least 10 times the height of the obstruction . This has become more applicable now that I am in Tucson and not at the ocean or bay anymore. (BUMMER winds here) KEEP A TIGHT LINE, RON |
