Water Ski Hang Glider

[ScarletArrow]

Can someone buy this and tell me if it works or not?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/water-ski-hang-glider-Kite-/190826126960?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6e1f9e70#ht_63wt_1328

[mwetskier]

i bet it works but those harnesses look kind of man parts unfriendly and you might want to grease the safety release a little bit

[skihacker]

MUST TAKE VIDEO!!!

[lottawatta]

Those old flat kites are cool. Believe it or not, Kite tournaments were part of AWSA back in the day. Slalom was judged with the kite flyer navigating around streams of water where turn bouys would be. I know this guy is not starting out and landing on skis, but it is cool nonetheless:

[Dirt]

Listen to skibrain. Kites are super dangerous. I fly a lot of things but I will not fly one of those. Many people have been paralyzed or killed flying them.

[Wish]

Just the age of it .... I have a book that shows the history of skiing and that is an exact match. Thats decades old.

 

 

[MISkier]

If you are going to attempt such an endeavor, I recommend a big lake and a lot of room for contingencies that will allow you to ditch it in the water. I saw a guy trying this on a slalom lake. I think there was either some sort of wind issue or miscommunication with the driver about turning around at the end of the lake. Suddenly, he had no room to recover and sailed out over shore into the path of some very, very high voltage power lines. He made some desperate last second dives to go under them, but hit one. It must have a been a neutral or something, because there was no electrical short, etc. He tore that wire down (which I am guessing requires some decent amount of force) and crashed into a heap just after that. I thought I was watching someone die right there. Unbelievably, he walked away with no significant injuries that I could see.

 

Also, this was not some thrill-seeking kid. I am guessing he was closing in on 70 years old or so.

[skihard]

Heed the warnings!!!!! I too watched a gy hurt himself quite badly when I was a teenager. Broken leg, compound arm fracture, and blood everywhere. As a 15 year old it cured me of ANY desire to even think about trying a kite!

[swc5150]

When I was growing up, our local waterski show incorporated the kite into every show for years. I never personally tried it, but it work, and I never saw or heard of anyone getting hurt with it. I still wouldn't buy one of course.

[rodltg2]

The wego kite tube took some lives as well. Some crazy videos of people riding them on YouTube. I saw a guy on the delta get slammed into the water while having a beer at a bar. Looked funny at the time but I'm sure he was hurtin.

[thager]

Witnessed a kite death as a teen. Wouldn't touch a parasail again from personal experience either although at the time we thought it was funny as heck. Looking back it would have been easy to log a fatality. We were just lucky. My bud sold the darned thing the following day.

[GAJ0004]

You would never get me up in one of those..

[ALPJr]

We pulled one once back around 1976 with our little Glastron GT 143 with a 50hp Johnson. We met the guy on a beach in Somers Point, NJ. He was bumming a pull so we hooked him up. He got right up but as we turned into the wind the kite pulled the arse end of the boat right out of the water, and he splashed down. After a few trys we figured out how to work the wind to keep him up. He offered to let us try it but it looked kinda hokey so we went off to ride our wooden Obriens and Connellys.

[Sinjin]

I flew one of these a few times. Scary and fun. Would love to do it again. Only really scary over 50 feet or so when the crosswinds above the trees would hit.

[Jetsetr]

Rule #1 Gravity ALWAYS wins...

[thager]

Yup, takeoff is optional. Landing guaranteed! One way or another...........RIP

[Drago]

Holy thread revival.

Kites were part of skiing in the early 70s

[Chef23]

There were people that sailed those kites on my lake in the 70s. I remember watching them when I was a kid.

[GaryWilkinson]

We flew these kites for many years then switched to parasail.

As previously mentioned, use it only on a big lake in light winds with a wide turning radius.

 

Rollies flat kites (pictured) really really dive or drift I should say, to the inside of boat turn. To keep altitude you have to put all your weight on the outside of the kite. Otherwise it’s a pretty steep descent to the inside of the turn.

 

Delta (free flight gliding ability) kites are much more risky and wouldn’t recommend them.

Parasails are least risky and can accommodate less skilled riders.

 

[Sethro]

My next door neighbor has one of those. Thankfully, it hasn’t been out of the boathouse in a couple of decades.