Incredible Stunt Kite Flying with a Cabrinha Switchblade

The venerable Cabrinha Switchblade has been billed as a 'kite that can do it all'...

Andries Fourie runs a kite school in Cape Town, South Africa. He's also a Cabrinha Pro who stood head and shoulders above the other locals in last years Red Bull King of the Air, but when the winds aren't howling, he does what lots of kite instructors do. He messes around with the school kites on the beach!

Watch as he flies the 8m Cabrinha Switchblade like a Revolution stunt kite, using all four lines individually to stall, hover and reverse the kite through the wind window. By hovering the kite, and pulling on one rear line, he can make it rotate on the spot in a helicopter rotation, or by stalling it completely, make it fly backwards! This kind of flying was made popular in the early 2000's with four line stunt kites, and over the sport of kiteboardings development has popped up occasionally on light wind days, usually at the hands of kite instructors who don't have to pay for gear damage!

While not exactly risky behavior, take care if trying this out for yourself. Holding individual lines of a kiteboarding kite can have some nasty consequences, and be sure to only attempt this in wind less than 8 knots. Any more, and you won't be able to stall and hover the kite properly.