Wheelchair kite flying (plus a crazy wind trick)

The wind can be one of the most entertaining aspects of nature, and most can agree that one of the best ways to enjoy a windy day is going kiting.  That’s right – time for some good old fashioned wheelchair kite flying.

All you need is an open field, a secure way to tie your kite to your wheelchair and a kite of course, and the trouble you can get into is awesome.  Check out these three videos below showing some amazing wheelchair kite flying, as well as a young kid who’s got the right idea with an umbrella.

Our first video definitely belongs in the “awwww” category. It comes from a family in Grand Rapids, Michigan and shows them out on the street in front of their house on a windy day, and you can see one of their family members is a paraplegic.  The purpose of the gathering on the street – to show the fun you can have with an oversized golf umbrella and a manual wheelchair.

When the wind picks up, the young boy in the wheelchair opens an umbrella and before you know it he’s getting pulled down the street – sans pushing (“Look ma, no hands!”).  Much cooler than a parlor trick (heck he’s going 10 miles an hour down the road), check out this brilliant idea here

Our second video meanwhile comes from AbiliTV, a privately owned website and video channel at produces videos for people with disabilities by people with disabilities.  In a video made by the founder of AbiliTV, Jon (a feisty paraplegic with a sense of adventure), watch as he flies a “Utopia” stunt kite, a kite with an advanced bridle system that can go upwards of 20 miles per hour, holding onto two ropes from his chair.

And the video is even cooler because he uses a GoPro camera to catch some awesome angles (the popular camera that attaches to anything).  Nearly half of the video is from the vantage point of the kite in the sky (quite a fascinating thing to see). Check out the video

And in our third video behold one of the coolest things you seen all year – a C2 quadriplegic participating in wheelchair kite flying using his chin. This video comes from Randy Haims, a C2 quadriplegic from San Diego, California. It shows the setup involved (making sure the kite is tied strongly to his chair to withhold up to 40 pounds of pulling strength) and shows him at a public park by Mission Beach flying his kite. It’s quite a thing to behold. Watch him fly a kite (and scare joggers as they go by)

One of my favorite memories growing up was going kite-flying (I really need to pick up this hobby again). The wind in your face as you peer up at your brightly colored kite whipping in the wind…. if you’re looking to feel alive, this is it.

Do you still fly kites?  What equipment do you use for wheelchair kite flying?

Watch the videos of wheelchair kite flying!

– Paraplegic flies a stunt kite at 60 mph

– C2 quadriplegic wheelchair kite flying with a chin mouth piece

– Young kid using an oversized umbrella to pull himself in the wind