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Hi flyingmonkeyboy,

Lots been said of the Firebees, quite a bit by me, I have a couple. Have a search of the forum for "Firebee" and "power rings" with my user name "HD462" to find quite a few old posts.

They're a nice kite, can be tricky to fly, and don't like gusty, uneven wind. They're much better in clean, steady winds. They're quite powerful, not far off a Flexifoil Blade in terms of power, but not as lifty (but they still can lift quite a lot). So take care, and fly in light winds until you build your confidence up (6 to 8mph should do you for starters).

Make sure the brake lines (the lower lines) are quite slack, they should have quite a bow to them when in flight, but still react once you've moved the handles an inch or so.

If the brake lines are too tight, it kills the kite, and stops it getting to the top of the wind window. Power rings also help to get it up there, and boost the power a bit more, but can be at the expense of some stability. You'll read about them in some of the older posts.

Take care !!

No problem, glad it helped.

Yeah, it's surprising the difference not quite having enough wind, to having enough (or too much) can make. When the wind's spot on it's great.

The Speed Seat is a good harness, I found the back came too high up on me which is why I went for my North Shore Slalom. You really need to get to a shop to try harnesses on to get a nice comfy fit.

That said, you DON'T want to even be thinking about a harness yet. It's far too early with it being your first kite. You need to be at a stage where you're pretty confident with the kite, and can control it without really thinking about it. I waited six months or more (and I was flying nearly every day when I first got into it), before I got a harness.

Use the time to build your strength in your arms, back and chest up more (a harness does make you a bit lazy with taking all the strain off you), then when you're more confident think about a harness.

If it's feeling too much it's a good sign you're flying in too much wind (if the wind there is like it has been here lately, it's too much for a beginner with a 4m really).

Best advice is take care, fly in wind where you can control it ok without needing a harness, then the time will come when you feel ready for one. It's a bit un-nerving at first knowing you're attached to the kite, so you need to be at a stage where you're confident you can get off it quickly should the need arise.