"The main reason I enrolled my 15 year old son in Kiteboarding School of Maui was because I knew that Martin's first concern would be his safety. Secondly, I knew that he would be sensitive to the local environment. Finally, I wanted to support someone who was so uncommonly committed to helping make Maui a better place for all of us."
Randolph S. Coon
President-Trilogy Excursions
What is the wind window?
The wind window or power zone is the area in which you can fly a kite. The quarter-sphere shape that defines the power zone can be imagined when you face straight down wind and look 60 degrees to the left of center, 60 degrees to the right of center, and 85 degrees upward. The front face of the powerzone can also be imagined to be the face of a clock with the numbers 9 and 3 resting on the ground and 12 at zenith. The outer edge of the "clock" is also referred to as the stall or neutral zone. The idea behind kiteboarding is to briefly maneuver the kite through the power zone (straight line from 11 to 2 or 1 to 10 depending on direction of travel) to expose surface area of the kite to the wind. That action gives the kiteboarder the needed power during the water start phase to get pulled up on the board to begin riding and then the rider maneuvers the kite to the edge of the power zone to maintain control of board speed.
Kiteboarding Questions
- What are the terms and names for kiteboarding tricks?
- Are bow kites better than other kite designs?
- Can I use the bow kite with a 5th line?
- What does the bridle on a bow kite do?
- How do the bow kites turn?
- Is the bow kite bridle system complicated?
- What should I look for so I know I have found a safe, quality school?
- What sets KSM apart from other Maui kiteboarding schools?
- How much experience do KSM instructors have?
- How long has KSM been in business?
- Is KSM insured?
- What does the IKO and PASA certification offer students?
- What does FAA have to do with kiteboarding on Maui?
- I already kiteboard. Can I rent kites?
- What can I do to prepare for my lesson ahead of time?
- My son and I would like to take a lesson together. Do we have to each take private lessons or can we take lessons with one instructor?
- What is the best time of day for lessons?
- Will I get on the water on the first day of lessons?
- Will I be riding on a board the first day?
- I have done some trainer kite flying and body draggng. Will I be able to take a class starting with the kiteboard on my first lesson?
- What sort of physical shape do I need to be in?
- How fast will I learn the sport?
- I am a windsurfer, is it hard to convert?
- How hard is it to learn how to kite?
- Is kiteboarding safe?
- When is the best time to come to Maui for lessons?
- Do I need to bring anything with me for the lesson?
- What equipment do I need to kitesurf?
- Will I need a wetsuit on Maui?
- How many kites do I need?
- What is the typical wind range of a kite?
- How big a kiteboard should I choose?
- How much does equipment cost?
- Do I need assistance to launch or land the kite?
- Can I relaunch the kite from the water?
- What is the wind window?
- What is the difference between kitesurfing, kiteboarding, and flysurfing?
- How did kiteboarding start?