Line Climber

Today I finally sat down and figured out how to use the line climber I had bought in Mackinaw City, Michigan back in September. I didn't get to try it out on a kite, as we had really strong winds and gusts today.


It is in the shape of a bat. Which seems appropriate for the fall season. Not a design I would have normally chosen. It was the only one they had in the kite shop, and I really wanted to try it out. (It turned out that we didn't fly kites that day.) The line climber is called Ferry, and is made by Gunther Flugspiele.

I think my first mistake in trying to figure it out about a month ago, was that I tried to put the pieces together while out in the wind. The pieces wanted to blow away, and then it got dark, and then the wind stopped. The second mistake was probably not taking the time to read the directions. :)

Today I pulled it out when I saw the trees swaying in the wind outside, and it made me think of kites. I sat down and followed the directions, and figured the system out. Basically you have a stopper that is placed near where the line attaches to the kite. Then some rubber bands are used to hold tension on the "wings" to the part that rides the line.


The wind pushes it up the line, where it hits the stopper, which flips the wings 90 degrees, and it slides back down the line. I can't wait to see it in action. Hopefully I'll have time soon, to go out to Lake Michigan and take advantage of the breeze out there.

As for the design, I think I would prefer the one I found at Into The Wind, called Kite Popper.