Power Kite Forum

Sod Farm Riders!!

Drewculous - 25-3-2010 at 09:37 AM

the soccer madness has come to Nebraska... and i have lost every one of my fields :thumbdown:

two days in a row now ive had good winds, but no place to fly... i have however scoped out two sod farms in the area that put my field to shame :thumbup:

What is the best approach to getting on these bad boys? One is owned by an elderly man here in town that owns a lumber yard... that kinda competes with the store i'm employed at... the other is ran by a landscaping business here in town... i know the owner's grandma :dunno: maybe i should ask her to put a good word in for me?

help! my lack of fly-space is killin' me!!

rocfighter - 25-3-2010 at 09:40 AM

I would go with the Grandma. every one loves and listens to there Grandma's. And if he doesn't he doesn't diserve her!

Drewculous - 25-3-2010 at 09:52 AM

i dont know how much pull she has tho... and if she doesnt get what im trying to do... it'll be hard for her to explain to the owner whats going on...

another perk to that farm is, the groundskeeper who lives there has flown rc airplanes with me at the kite (i mean soccer :mad: ) field before... so he knows who i am and what is involved in traction kiting... but he's got no say... not his money keepin the farm goin, ya know...

BeamerBob - 25-3-2010 at 10:01 AM

Go direct to the decision maker and don't let anyone try to tell your story for you. Drop names to make connections but it comes down to you and the decision maker. Make note of your respect for his property and that you will always leave it in the condition you found it. Point out that you would never ride on grass you could cause harm to such as tender newly planted grass or ground that is soft from watering. Then it comes down to whether you are able to charm your way in.

Drewculous - 25-3-2010 at 10:25 AM

BB that sounds like what i had in mind... man... i dont know if im that charming, lol

DAKITEZ - 25-3-2010 at 10:31 AM

bribes help !!! :thumbup::thumbup:

find out from granny or the guy that works there what the boss drinks :thumbup:

f0rgiv3n - 25-3-2010 at 10:38 AM

i feel ur pain dude, all my fields were taken by soccer players...

Drewculous - 25-3-2010 at 10:39 AM

lol, i thought about a fruit basket
:lol:
i watch too much 'Office'

--the bad thing about bribes... really obvious!

rocfighter - 25-3-2010 at 12:11 PM

Pretty soon the hay starts to grow in the feilds I fly in here in town so I will need to drive 30 miles to the shore. Then they are uptight often as well.

BigMikesKites - 25-3-2010 at 02:46 PM

My best field has soccer on Saturdays and Cricket on Sundays. I never knew so many people played cricket. If you go during the week, they are wide open...but who can get there during the week.

Bladerunner - 25-3-2010 at 03:23 PM

Offer to help them out in some way on non windy days ?

Hardrock - 25-3-2010 at 05:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rocfighter
Pretty soon the hay starts to grow in the feilds I fly in here in town so I will need to drive 30 miles to the shore. Then they are uptight often as well.


Thats the problem around here. Fields everywhere, nobody wants you in their hay fields.

So the cow pastures been catching my eye. But all the cow pies!!! Sweet thang just picked up a 3m Beamer. We rode by a few fields I can get in today, she said " my kite is not about to be in all that cow chit"

Guess its the pretty yellow Beamer thing going on. But then again I've scudded thru a couple cow pies and there not all grass!!!!

rocfighter - 25-3-2010 at 07:11 PM

Just scoop them up as you cruise over them. And use a wagon behind you to toss them into. Then bring them home and put them on your gardens!!

Drewculous - 25-3-2010 at 07:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rocfighter
Just scoop them up as you cruise over them. And use a wagon behind you to toss them into. Then bring them home and put them on your gardens!!


:lol:
dude!!
r o f l !

bigkid - 25-3-2010 at 08:40 PM

I found that an extra buggy and kite helped a lot, that way the owner can go with.
One thing I found with all the sod farms around here is that not all grass is the same. Some won't tolerate even walking on the grass and the one I play on the most is tougher than nails, can't even tell we do 30mph 180's.
I would just ask if you can fly on the grass first, then a few weeks later see if they want to watch then mention the buggy. It worked on 2 of the 7 sod farms I talked to.

mougl - 18-4-2010 at 01:32 PM

I have come up with a severe shortage on good places to buggy, but we do have a sod farm here in town that has about 900 acres. Problem: Owned by a decent size corporation. Any suggestions on how to open up on these guys?

Additionally, when those of you who ride sod farms went to the owners, what questions or concerns did they have about letting you use their land? Any help here is greatly appreciated :)

indigo_wolf - 18-4-2010 at 02:25 PM

If it's corportate owned, I would guess that the overriding concern would be liability (you getting hurt from an OBE on their property). Coming with a liability waiver form in hand, might go a long way towards easying those concerns... hence, Hardrocks's earlier post.

ATB,
Sam

mougl - 21-4-2010 at 10:54 AM

Just shot an email to the company who owns the sod farm here in naples...


/pray

DAKITEZ - 21-4-2010 at 10:59 AM

Good luck bro!

I decided to ask in person. It's much harder for people to say no when you are face to face. I don't think we ever brought up liability forms because that will only raise flags in their heads. Also we didn't mention buggies till after we got to know them alittle

mougl - 21-4-2010 at 11:01 AM

Same...didnt mention liability in the email, nor did i mention a buggy. the thing with face to face is: you cant even get on the property w/o permission and i tried calling but that was a fiasco sooo, i sent the old email....ill email u a copy...

mougl - 25-4-2010 at 12:15 PM

Ok so I was denied...email said that there's too much liability soooo I just emailed a copy of a release of liability


*crosses fingers*

revpaul - 25-4-2010 at 03:23 PM

sod farms are holy grail so much I dare not ask even in the winter.
skiing locals not being a problem in winter though.
*even footprints in a foot of snow compacts the grass underneath and the prints show up when snow melts. i imagine there really is no harm done it just looks like out of the norm.
i like the BigKids idea of just getting permission for kites onto field(s) then after the owner is satisfied your not a rowdy jagazz you can talk about your very lightweight smooth tires buggy carts and see if he would like to see how they work.
i guess this will only work if you are not a rowdy jagass:bigok:
Paul

ICTKITEFLYER - 7-5-2010 at 03:47 PM

I fly kite in kansas. Have you heard of the wichita kite club on facebook