Power Kite Forum

Lightest wind and kite used you buggy with?

rtz - 16-4-2011 at 08:02 PM

What is the lowest mph you can buggy in? What kite do you use in those winds?

I need something for 8-10mph wind.

What about a 8.8m PL Viper or a 6.9, 8.6, or 10.8 Reactor II? Might need a big Yakuza to get around? I weigh 160lbs.

http://downloads.flyozone.com/landkites/downloads/windchart_...

http://ozonekitesusa.com/products.asp?cat=land+Kites

Just wondering if there were other options then the Yak?

BeamerBob - 16-4-2011 at 08:13 PM

In 8-10 mph you can do well with the 10.8 RII. You can use the 8.6 and use its faster turning to make some power. At 12 mph you will be overpowered with the 10.8 and still have some room with the 8.6. Strop recommended.

John Holgate - 17-4-2011 at 03:59 AM

6.5m method with 30m lines got me out of trouble when the wind dropped off - at times I could barely feel it on my face. Was probably 7-8 mph, perhaps a bit less. Longer lines makes a big difference in the light winds.

action jackson - 17-4-2011 at 05:42 AM

32m npw 0-3mph!..........aj

DAKITEZ - 17-4-2011 at 05:44 AM

what surface are you on? That makes a huge difference.

on hard pack sand or the ivanpah lake bed will be much different than grass (especially if your on long grass)

action jackson - 17-4-2011 at 05:57 AM

I used 32m on Ivanpah,Zilker Park(austin) and Galveston beaches!
Quote:
Originally posted by DAKITEZ
what surface are you on? That makes a huge difference.

on hard pack sand or the ivanpah lake bed will be much different than grass (especially if your on long grass)

acampbell - 17-4-2011 at 06:22 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BeamerBob
In 8-10 mph you can do well with the 10.8 RII. You can use the 8.6 and use its faster turning to make some power. At 12 mph you will be overpowered with the 10.8 and still have some room with the 8.6. Strop recommended.


My 10.8 Reactor II gets put away at 7mph, where I am overpowered. but I can launch in a puff of 3-4 mph and buggy solid in 1 mph, albeit not so fast. Still it is delightful chasing the light wind zephyrs and seeing what yo can coax out of the sky. But with such a narrow wind range, the bit RII comes out of the bag maybe 2x a year.

I've seen AJ chasing puffs with his big NPW's and it is a real gas watching him float by when the rest of us are standing around waiting...

kitemaker4 - 17-4-2011 at 06:39 AM

15 meter npw9 in 3 to 5 mph winds in Galveston.

Susan (npw goddess)

Bladerunner - 17-4-2011 at 06:48 AM

I agree with Angus again.

My 10.8 Reactor II is my low wind kite of choice at the moment. Unfortunately it gets too much for me at about 7. It has such great low end that I am tempted to put it away before my arcs kick in? By 7 I am not enjoying the ride because I prefer to feel well powered to over powered. It has lifted me to about 15 + ft in a gust! This all may change with the 18m Phantom?

Possibly my best low wind kite was my 13m Psycho III ( or Markus's 13m Pulse for buggy ) . It needed about 4 or 5 to fly but I felt safe under it into the mid teens.

I am finding that the trick for me is not to go TOO big and forgetting about 1 - 3 mph. Super low wind is more like work than fun these days ? My crew ride 14m Yak and 16m Vapor in stronger winds than I like the 10.8. My 9m Blade II worn out as it is still proves to be a fantastic low wind buggy engine and it was one of the cheapest kites I have bought!

tridude - 17-4-2011 at 08:32 AM

4/5 mph with 19m SA2...................upwind like a scalded cat (once this kite is airborn your buggying)--beach

6/9 kts-- Quadrifoil XXXL. 12m Speed 2, 13m Psycho 3, 15m Slingshot Rev 2, 12.5m Montana 3, 12m Pulse 2--beach

arkay - 17-4-2011 at 09:13 AM

I have a hard time believing the 18m phantom will actually get you moving at all below 8-10, arcs are heavy beasts ;) As Dino and others said it depends what surface you are on and what type of riding you like to do. If you like to boogie then a kite like an 8 or 10 RII would be pretty good, if you want to just cruise then I'd look at a size down with longer lines. My 6m rage on 30m lines flies pretty well in 5-8 on hard pack sand, downwind can be a bit sketchy, but who likes to go directly down wind anyway :)

tridude - 17-4-2011 at 02:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by arkay
I have a hard time believing the 18m phantom will actually get you moving at all below 8-10, arcs are heavy beasts ;) As Dino and others said it depends what surface you are on and what type of riding you like to do. If you like to boogie then a kite like an 8 or 10 RII would be pretty good, if you want to just cruise then I'd look at a size down with longer lines. My 6m rage on 30m lines flies pretty well in 5-8 on hard pack sand, downwind can be a bit sketchy, but who likes to go directly down wind anyway :)


this is why you need to fly on the majestic beaches of JI.......

awindofchange - 17-4-2011 at 06:20 PM

Ivanpah buggy, 12 Meter Yakuza GT, 2-3 mph winds, Ivanpah lake bed. I was still able to get excellent upwind turns and also able to do suicides.

ripsessionkites - 17-4-2011 at 06:31 PM

Vapor 13m or 16m in next to nothing on grass ..

and able to get my asian self to ride in the same wind condition as Ozzy one day at Bowswerdam. however I couldn't keep a straight line and drifted a lot.

http://vimeo.com/15295278

BeamerBob - 18-4-2011 at 07:50 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by arkay
I have a hard time believing the 18m phantom will actually get you moving at all below 8-10, arcs are heavy beasts ;) As Dino and others said it depends what surface you are on and what type of riding you like to do. If you like to boogie then a kite like an 8 or 10 RII would be pretty good, if you want to just cruise then I'd look at a size down with longer lines. My 6m rage on 30m lines flies pretty well in 5-8 on hard pack sand, downwind can be a bit sketchy, but who likes to go directly down wind anyway :)


Angus and I rode at St. Augustine one day when I couldn't keep my 8.3 reactor in the sky and certainly couldn't get moving with it. Angus went back to the trailer and got his 18 phantom out as well as his 10.3 Reactor. They are all that would fly that day and we were chasing each other up and down the beach with them. The 18 had to be coaxed into the air but once it was up there, you could dive it to get rolling and most know how the phantoms feed off of appparent wind.

lunchbox - 18-4-2011 at 09:16 PM

In light wind I'm on my 10.8 Reactor 2 and if it's too low for that, I use my 16.1 Vapor and if it's too low for that...it ain't blowing ;-)

BeamerBob - 18-4-2011 at 11:28 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by lunchbox
In light wind I'm on my 10.8 Reactor 2 and if it's too low for that, I use my 16.1 Vapor and if it's too low for that...it ain't blowing ;-)


How much low end do you think the 16 vapor gives you below the big RII? Maybe 2mph max? Down to 2mph maybe?

lunchbox - 19-4-2011 at 08:26 PM

Quote:

How much low end do you think the 16 vapor gives you below the big RII? Maybe 2mph max? Down to 2mph maybe?


Hard to say...but yeah, 2 below sounds about right. Haven't tried the Vapor at 2mph though so don't know what the lowend would be (dry lake bed, little puff...I'd try 2)...when I put it up I'm either on my landboard going over hard dirt or on a buggy over grass. I'm putting it up at 4mph and maybe riding till 8mph. Might put up the 10.8 at 6-7 and ride to 11mph. Altlhough I love having the Vapor in my quiver it seldom gets used...the most used kite award has been going to my 10.8 lately...funny to think I wasn't a big fan at first...go figure :)'

bigkid - 19-4-2011 at 08:35 PM

Got air born (scared really) with my 13m PKD Century on 200' lines at NABX this year when everyone was waiting for the wind to come up. Could have buggied with the 10m if I had one with me. wind was 1 to 2mph

lunchbox - 19-4-2011 at 08:45 PM

Quote:

13m PKD Century on 200' lines


That must have been a struggle to get that thing in the air...that would be fun to try though. How did the kite respond with the additional weight?