Power Kite Forum

buggy

alasdair macleod - 6-8-2009 at 11:42 AM

hi guys and girls i've just got a p.l. xr buggy with wide tyres . my prob is can't keep the buggy going for very long. what the h*ll am i doing wrong?

acampbell - 6-8-2009 at 11:59 AM

Welcome
give us some more info, what kind of wind, what kind and size of kite? What's happening when you stop? What direction you going with respect to wind direction?

Some tips here...
http://www.coastalwindsports.com/BetterBuggyBasics.html

revpaul - 6-8-2009 at 12:53 PM

i'm guessing (like me at start) you're driving into the wind (straight down wind) instead of sailing across the the wind.
there are plenty of good sites on buggy basics.
Paul

alasdair macleod - 8-8-2009 at 05:12 AM

hi guys the wind was 10 to 15mph and we where using fisrt my brother laws 2m imp on a bar, then we tryed my 4.5 cult on handles. what happen was we both got it moving for about ten feet and then the kite would lose power and buggy stopped.we placed the buggy at 45`and try across the wind! bye ali.

acampbell - 8-8-2009 at 07:33 AM

My guess is you were chasing the kite, something just about everybody does the first time out. People get so stunned by the initial acceleration and everything moving at once, that I could run along side and scream "turn this way!!" and they will never hear it.
Assuming you were pointed downwind 45', you need to turn away from the kite as soon as you are moving to keep from chasing the kite and slacking the lines. "Harden up" or turn upwind enough that you will be moving at 90' to the local true wind. Before you start, look around and pick out a landmark that will tell you what direction that will be, because once you are moving, you will feel the apparent wind on your face and that will be from another direction and be disorienting at first.

Another place people kill the kite is in the first downwind turn to change direction. They almost never turn hard or sharp enough at first, and often do not complete the full 180'. Remember that when you are turning down wind, you are chasing the kite for a moment, so you have to complete the full 180 quickly so you keep the lines tight and the kite flying. Remember to bring the kite up high before you turn, which will have the added benefit of slowing you down, then begin to turn the kite in the opposite direction first, then follow about a 1/4 turn behind it.


Good luck and be safe

Bladerunner - 8-8-2009 at 08:33 AM

The trick is keeping tension on the lines. If you are losing tension you have to correct somehow. Either by flying the kite in a ~ sine wave or by riding upwind or combination of both.

Unless there is too much wind go with the larger choice of kite.

kitejumper - 8-8-2009 at 06:04 PM

haha-i remember those first few times of trying to buggy--went downwind at about 5mph and stopped,couldnt figure out what was going on---now 6months later-its GO TIME!!!!!:wee:

alasdair macleod - 9-8-2009 at 11:09 AM

thanks for the info angus campell and bladerunner! I'll try what you both said out next time i get out with my buggy! hopefully sometime this week after bloody work! the wind here can go from dead calm to a gale very quickly. but that's life on a island off the west coast of scotland! :wee:

FloRider - 9-8-2009 at 11:18 AM

For all us working stiffs, Here's for hoping we get wind on the weekends.
:roll: