Hi guys,
Can anyone give me some advice on getting more height, hang time &/or softer landings in my transitions.
I can comfortably & reliably do a jump transition of a couple of metres but what do I need to be thinking to get really good height & hang time.
I'd like to get to board offs but I can't seem to get the time.
Faster? More upwind? Faster kite movement? Pull in harder on the Bar?
Any thoughts or advice appreciated. Thanks
Well, hang time and height are somewhat contradictory - smaller kite jumps bigger, but less hangtime. Regardless, you want to pull the bar in as you are in the air, that gives you both height and a floaty landing.
Bigger jumps require more speed, however that gives you more forward momentum, which makes a transition more tricky.
Landing a big jump softly takes some practice. Make sure you jump at the kite as you take off and have it directly above you when coming down. When ready to land, steer the kite forward. At the beginning it may help to look at the kite while being in the air. However don't look at the kite at takeoff, since that limits you ability to carve sharp upwind, which you want to translate that forward momentum into height. For the floatiest possible landing you may also circle the kite around 12 as you come down.
Also use a wide grip on the bar, since more turning speed will give you a stronger yank off the water.
Hi General Dude,
The secret to big air transitions is to basically be powered up, really well powered. As you approach the transition, send your kite back as though you would for a decent boost but don't send it from lower than 11 or 1 otherwise you'll be dragged downwind too much.
The trick is to also have a very fast responsive kite. I use either the Ozone C4 or the Core Riot XR's.
As you come into the transition, carve upwind a little to load the lines as you whip the kite back hard and quick from 1 or 11 and don't send it back too far, no further than the equivalent opposite side of the window ie, from 11 to 1 or vice versa. Once you start going up, bring the kite to 12 o'clock for the loft or if you are going really big, ie 20 foot plus, then do small figure 8's at 12 to prevent over flying your kite.
On the descent, fire your kite off in the desired direction to initiate the speed you need to land without plonking. Nothing looks worse than a big plonk after an air transition. You may even have to loop or downturn the kite to pull you back towards the opposite direction, especially if you jump in cross on conditions and you float over the beach a bit, then you really need to loop it out over the water whilst still high up so you don't land on the water.
Try and keep a safe distance from the waters edge when doing transitions in the air especially if it's nuking because a snapped line will kill you if you loop in mid air and hit the beach in 30 knots. Also be careful of others standing on the beach with kites along the waters edge.
Have fun, hope this helps.
KH
I find the easiest for me has been to do a normal jump but downloop the landing which turns it into a transition.
Hey general dude,
if you can do big air and consistently land them smooth, then it should be just a matter of sucking in your balls and having a go at landing the other way. a proper big air will have you travelling downwind during the later stages of the flight, with your kite centred over you as approach the water. at some stage (based on your sense of timing) you'll bring the kite down into the power again to soften your vertical descent and give you more horizontal movement. Well try it the other way.
go big, hang, float, drift downwind, and at teh last instant before touch down, crank your back hand (new front hand) to bring the kite back in the power. Spot your landing and ride away!
Too easy!
Safety warning - get our timing right. and don't pussy out on the power. realy crank you back hand.
Of course if your not talking about proper big air transitions then disregard everything above.
Thanks guys.
I'll definitely be giving the downloop exit a go. I wanted to think about starting kite loops anyway, so this might be an easy way in.
Gen dude
SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEED - Carve as hard as u can directly upwind - half way thru, pull back hand hard..kite aiming for 12 - spring upwards in your legs as you jump vertically into the wind.
Keep bar in the while in the air, as the wind drag on your kite floats you back downwind - play with kite left n right to get used timing.
Point board downwind and throw kite hard to 8 in powerzone to land on water fully powered in opposite direction (bend them knees!!).
If that doesnt work, ive got holidays on thursday - we can catch up for a sess' & you'll pick it up quicker...
Allways happy to help out 
Cheers Clay
