sarahmaria - 18-4-2006 at 04:05 PM
For a certain project, I am interested in purchasing the largest land kite I can find that is still reliable. I have found on Bestkiteboarding.com
that their waroo series runs up to a 20m kite. Does anyone have any experience with this company, or can anyone offer a suggestion for another brand
that gets as large or nearly so? Thanks so much!
SecondWind - 18-4-2006 at 05:22 PM
What kind of project?? What do you plan on pulling/lifting!
sunset-Jim - 18-4-2006 at 05:35 PM
Are you wanting the biggest kite or the kite with the most pull? There is a big difference on pulling power between inflatables and foils and even
some difference between some foils.
sarahmaria - 18-4-2006 at 06:55 PM
In the greatest pull vs. greatest size question - I think I want the greatest pull....but I think size will be an advantage as well. The experiment is
more or less trying to find/ measure which kite transmits the most energy to whatever it happens to be attached to.
SecondWind - 18-4-2006 at 07:29 PM
Any budget?
sarahmaria - 18-4-2006 at 07:51 PM
Budget? Yes, there will be SOME sort of budget....but I am not sure what that will be yet. I am working as a proxy / test pilot for the guy with the
bux, and am responsible to find out as much as possible and present a report. .... So, are there different plausible answers for a "reasonable"
budget, and an unlimited one?
Fireball - 18-4-2006 at 09:20 PM
There are plenty of Big inflatable leading edge kites around. Cabrinha Contra 23M Monkey Kites made a 27M or 28 Slinshot also had a big 27 or so as
well. I have seen some huge Naish kites also. The difference in LEI and Foil kites can be all over the place. Foils tend to have more power for a
smaller kite than the LEI kites. Far as I know the Waroo 20 isnt available yet even though its listed. Lots to choose from in big sizes. Some fly
good others fly like a tub o lard.
sunset-Jim - 18-4-2006 at 10:02 PM
JoJo- which is a high performance race kite is just releasing a 16m (rm+) foil that I would think, would be pretty tough to find anything with more
pull.
Pablo - 18-4-2006 at 10:35 PM
17m Speed comes to mind, not much will top it for pull, low wind ability and outright high speed cruising, It'll also break the bank.
Flysurfer also made either Titans or Psyco2's up to a 26m size.
If you want more affordable power and speed from something that's still reasonably priced, a 13m Century would pretty much rip anyones arms off in
more than a breeze.
If you want something that's pretty strong but super stable, time to look at the PL VenomII's, not quite as strong per sqr meter, but by far the most
forgiving kite in the sky for mountain flying or just crappy inland winds.
SecondWind - 19-4-2006 at 12:51 PM
Are you going to give up any more info on this project? I'm interested in what you plan on doing with this big ol' kite!
JB - 20-4-2006 at 12:58 AM
From what I've heard I'd agree with Pablo regarding the Peter Lynn Venoms. PL does a 19m Venom.
And please let us know what the project is!
awindofchange - 20-4-2006 at 11:52 AM
Stepping back to old school, I havent found anything out there that pulls harder than the 10.5 meter c-quad. I had heard that PL actually made one in
a 12m but never did get the chance to see or fly that one. Plenty enough power to buggy in 2-3 mph winds with the 10.5, had to have severe Popeye
arms to fly that thing.
Ozone currently makes a 14m Yakuza that is a stump puller as well. The 11 meter Razor is also a sweet light wind machine that produced tons of power
- I would put money down on the 11 Razor or 14 Yakuza having more pulling power than any 20m LEI.....if you are looking for ultra large, Ozone also
makes paragliders up to the 30+ meter sizes.
And the PL Guerilla 2 kites went up to 22 meter in size (before the Venom was released).
All of the kites listed in this thread have the ability to produce extreme pulling power and are more than capable of doing some serious damage/injury
if you attempt to fly them in the wrong wind range. I would suggest some serious caution if you are not familiar and/or extremly experienced with
flying these monster sized kites. If you are not careful you could cause some very expensive damage to your surroundings and/or even fatal injuries
to yourself or others.
I too am interested in what you are trying to accompolish, there are a ton of very experienced kite flyers on this forum and I know all of them are
more than willing to help you try to achieve what it is that you are attempting.
sarahmaria - 20-4-2006 at 01:26 PM
Thank you all so much for the plethora of suggestions and reviews. As far as the nature of the project, I am sadly under an NDA at the moment (that
will hopefully be relaxed once some paperwork goes through) and thus I must remain vague.
On a related string, if I were planning to get one of these monster beasts a little down the road, would it be best to do training on the same make of
kite, just at a smaller dimension? Is learning one type of kite typically very different from learning another?
Thanks again!
Pablo - 20-4-2006 at 05:10 PM
Yup, say if you go with a PL Venom or Guerilla, I'd pick up one in a 7-10m size before you think of going to a 19-22m kite, If you've never flow a
kite before, unfortunately, you pretty much have to start with a 3m trainer to come to grips with flying before even moving on to anything bigger.
None of the kites suggested are suitable beginner kites, and all will put you in the hospital if your not fully aware of how to fly them, even in the
7-10m sizes.