Power Kite Forum - first down turns (boring)

first down turns (boring)

ratfink13 - 15-5-2013 at 06:56 AM

Well I'm now into my third week or so of buggy riding. I've been getting along pretty well, I think. I can reach, run, and get back upwind close hauled with little problem. The thing is, I feel a bit timid about picking up too much speed in my small field. Especially when turning I've been slowing WAAAY down and doing top turns. Last night I was joined by another, much more experienced pilot. I watched him shooting across the field, executing graceful, sliding, high speed turns and was envious of his skill and precision. How could he do this? Isn't he worried about flipping, stalling, or crashing into the fence? After a while we were both resting, sitting in the bugs and having a chat. He asked, "do you ever do down turns?". I replied, "only in very low wind". He encouraged me to give it a shot and gave me some pointers. So off I go on a nice beam reach. As I was running out of field I began question if this was such a good idea. I sucked it up, told myself not to be a wus, and dove the kite. I'm pretty sure anyone within a mile or so heard me screaming like a little girl as my buggy slid at what seemed like warp speed through the turn and shot across the field! This is what I've been looking for! After a while my buddy had me loop the kite after completing the turn for yet another boost. Amazing. I feel like I took a major step last night and gained a lot of control and confidence. It's going to be bad weather for a few days so I'll have to wait to hit it again but I can't wait. I know you are all, "ooooh, a down turn". But it was a huge breakthrough for me and I can't quit thinking about my new skill so I had to share. It just keeps getting better.

Happy flying y'all!

lives2fly - 15-5-2013 at 07:49 AM

:D i'm doing the same thing with kitesurfing at the moment. You get a huge buzz off doing something that more experienced people take for granted!

Hopefully all the other kite addicts on here understand.

Excuse me being clueless about buggies but I thought a downwind turn was easier than an upwind turn? or is that not what you mean?

elfasa - 15-5-2013 at 08:53 AM

Ratfink, Do you know who the pilot you met up with was ? Congrats on mastering the new turn, I wasn't doing down loop turns for a long time after 3 weeks !

Quote: Originally posted by lives2fly

Excuse me being clueless about buggies but I thought a downwind turn was easier than an upwind turn? or is that not what you mean?

If I understand correctly I think your thinking of different things. You're thinking of turning the buggy into, or away from the wind to change direction. Ratfink is (I think) referring to turns where you loop the kite down 180 degrees instead of up 180 degrees when you change direction. Although technically its not much different, it generates more speed / power than looping the kite up (towards the sky).

Just remember to commit ! I've tried it a couple of times and smacked my kite into the ground as I hadn't turned hard/ fast enough.

Tim

BeamerBob - 15-5-2013 at 09:03 AM

Any and every advancement is an accomplishment and worthy of feeling proud of yourself. I hope every skill increase in the future makes you feel the same way. Wanting to learn and get better will serve you well. We're all students at this.

ratfink13 - 15-5-2013 at 10:12 AM

Thanks for the support guys! Elfasa is correct. I'm talking about diving the kite through a turn vs. going up and over. It seems like such a subtle difference, but man, what a rush! You're right about the commitment too. I didn't have to turn all that hard though. I'd start by turning the kite. When it was in about the 3 or 4 o'clock position I'd turn the buggy. As the kite powers up it feels like being on skis being whipped through a high speed turn behind a boat. For most of the turn I found myself actually counter steering through a long, drifting slide. Very fun! Upwind turns, physically turning the buggy upwind, are a totally different story. That's a lesson I'm sure is quite a bit down the road just yet. Oh, and the pilot's name is Dallas. He's a regular at our little field by the lake. Not sure if he's on the Forum or not.

It's funny, I have a pretty solid background in sailing and a lot of the skills translate to the bug. Turning though is quite opposite from what I'm used to. In a sailboat, coming about, or turning around into the wind, is the easier turn to make by far. Jibing, or turning around away from the wind is a more advanced move. I'm sure I'll stick to jibing the bug for now.

And Bob, I'm glad to hear an advanced pilot such as you still refers to yourself as a student. I tend to gravitate toward things one can never master. I like ongoing challenges. Keeps things from getting boring. Next on my list, getting this thing up on 2 wheels. Any advice?

Later,
Josh

3shot - 15-5-2013 at 06:35 PM

Awesome Josh!!

I too have a sailing background, and was shocked at the differences of how a sail uses wind vs a kite/buggy.

And, tacking with a buggy is another story LMAO. A Hell of a lot easier in a sailboat! That ones taking me a bit longer to handle :lol:

Not difficult, just very different IMO.

WELDNGOD - 15-5-2013 at 07:12 PM

Ratfink, watch your terrain that you do "downlturn powerslides"in. I slid into a clump of dune grass and flipped my 131lb buggy and broke my shoulder so bad it took surgery to fix it. Here
https://vimeo.com/16678110
is the video.

3shot, this was at grandview beach in Hampton.:P

3shot - 15-5-2013 at 07:31 PM

Quote: Originally posted by WELDNGOD

3shot, this was at grandview beach in Hampton.:P

My cousin was married on that beach at the end of Granview Drive a few years ago :cool:

ratfink13 - 15-5-2013 at 08:03 PM

Really nice vid Weldngod. Love the very well chosen, "Jerry Was a Racecar Driver"...with a bocephus sticker on his 4-4-2, he'd light 'em up just for fun! Sorry it ended in a boo boo. I'll certainly keep caution in mind as I continue. Truth be know, I'm actually pretty conservative in my approach so hopefully I'll be the carnage to a minimum.

ratfink13 - 15-5-2013 at 08:11 PM

3Shot, you and I must be kindred spirits. Both newbies to the buggy, small fields to ride in, sailing backgrounds. It'll be fun to progress together. What sort of sailing did you do. I started as a kid on Snipes, Sunfish, and Dophin Sr's. As an older kid I was in everything from C-15's to Buccaneer 18's to Hobies. Most recently I restored a 1974 Catalina 22 but sold it some time ago to get my wife through grad school. lol. Actually if you do a google search for Catalina 22 2938, our boat still comes up in images. Her name was "Rainy Day", I think there's a pic of some guy in a red hat sailing her. That's the guy that bought her from us.

Take care,
Josh

Michael Gaylan - 15-5-2013 at 08:17 PM

Sweet! Looking forward to sailing like the pro's!

lol

ratfink13 - 15-5-2013 at 08:29 PM

Well looky here, another newbie! Love it. Welcome aboard mister, where you at and whatchya ridin'?

lives2fly - 16-5-2013 at 01:41 AM

Quote: Originally posted by elfasa

Ratfink, Do you know who the pilot you met up with was ? Congrats on mastering the new turn, I wasn't doing down loop turns for a long time after 3 weeks !

Quote: Originally posted by lives2fly

Excuse me being clueless about buggies but I thought a downwind turn was easier than an upwind turn? or is that not what you mean?

ah i get it. Thanks.

I should really ride my buggy sometime. The bearings will be shot to hell though because it lives outside and hasn't moved for a long time!

elfasa - 16-5-2013 at 07:59 AM

Stick some wet lube on them, they'll last a lot longer !

MDK - 16-5-2013 at 01:04 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ratfink13

Well I'm now into my third week or so of buggy riding. I've been getting along pretty well, I think. I can reach, run, and get back upwind close hauled with little problem. The thing is, I feel a bit timid about picking up too much speed in my small field. Especially when turning I've been slowing WAAAY down and doing top turns. Last night I was joined by another, much more experienced pilot. I watched him shooting across the field, executing graceful, sliding, high speed turns and was envious of his skill and precision. How could he do this? Isn't he worried about flipping, stalling, or crashing into the fence? After a while we were both resting, sitting in the bugs and having a chat. He asked, "do you ever do down turns?". I replied, "only in very low wind". He encouraged me to give it a shot and gave me some pointers. So off I go on a nice beam reach. As I was running out of field I began question if this was such a good idea. I sucked it up, told myself not to be a wus, and dove the kite. I'm pretty sure anyone within a mile or so heard me screaming like a little girl as my buggy slid at what seemed like warp speed through the turn and shot across the field! This is what I've been looking for! After a while my buddy had me loop the kite after completing the turn for yet another boost. Amazing. I feel like I took a major step last night and gained a lot of control and confidence. It's going to be bad weather for a few days so I'll have to wait to hit it again but I can't wait. I know you are all, "ooooh, a down turn". But it was a huge breakthrough for me and I can't quit thinking about my new skill so I had to share. It just keeps getting better.

Happy flying y'all!

Your Title through me off, I was thinking how can this guy consider his first downturns boring??

but as your post suggests it does open up another level of fun for sure and its nothing to discount because of the timing, skill and bravery to pull off successfully

I started buggying with downturns but only because I had been flying static for about 6-8 months prior to hopping in a bug and I had created a habit of downturns since I found that it makes for much smoother power while scudding on the beach. enjoy and keep pushing...with caution of course

WELDNGOD - 16-5-2013 at 01:18 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ratfink13

Really nice vid Weldngod. Love the very well chosen, "Jerry Was a Racecar Driver"...with a bocephus sticker on his 4-4-2, he'd light 'em up just for fun! Sorry it ended in a boo boo. I'll certainly keep caution in mind as I continue. Truth be know, I'm actually pretty conservative in my approach so hopefully I'll be the carnage to a minimum.

To complicate matters, I was "hotwired " so I had to find the QR on my waist,but my head was between my knees. And with a 131 lb buggy on top of me, and a Combat upside down and trying to relaunch. Not a good scenario:o

"That which doesn't kill you...." :lol:

ratfink13 - 16-5-2013 at 03:46 PM

MDK-The turns were obviously by no means boring to me. I was just envisioning all the vets rolling there eyes over the excitement of my completing such a simple move. Now that you mention it, I do them all the time when flying static to keep the power up. Huh. Wonder why I didn't think of trying them sooner?

Weldngod-The concept of being hotwired seems pretty spooky. I don't even wear my harness yet. I used to on a land board. Honestly, my flying area is so small I may never wear it there. At any rate, glad it didn't come out any worse than it did for you.

Ride on!

MDK - 16-5-2013 at 03:53 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ratfink13

MDK-The turns were obviously by no means boring to me. I was just envisioning all the vets rolling there eyes over the excitement of my completing such a simple move. Now that you mention it, I do them all the time when flying static to keep the power up. Huh. Wonder why I didn't think of trying them sooner?

Ride on!

Yeah I figured that out from your post

the only thing I have had to smile about today TBH. Also keep in mind that my first time on a bug was on Ivanpah and most of my buggying is all done on Alvord dry lake bed, if I was starting out on a small space I would probably have started with the up-turns too.

3shot - 16-5-2013 at 04:17 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ratfink13

3Shot, you and I must be kindred spirits. Both newbies to the buggy, small fields to ride in, sailing backgrounds. It'll be fun to progress together. What sort of sailing did you do. I started as a kid on Snipes, Sunfish, and Dophin Sr's. As an older kid I was in everything from C-15's to Buccaneer 18's to Hobies. Most recently I restored a 1974 Catalina 22 but sold it some time ago to get my wife through grad school. lol. Actually if you do a google search for Catalina 22 2938, our boat still comes up in images. Her name was "Rainy Day", I think there's a pic of some guy in a red hat sailing her. That's the guy that bought her from us.

Take care,
Josh

Too cool!!!!!
Not to thread drift but Oh man I love the Sunfish!
My custom 1978 amf restored by me :evil:

Oh lord how I love the wind.........
Wonder if it's just as wierd comming from boat to buggy as it is buggy to boat? LOL

ratfink13 - 16-5-2013 at 04:51 PM

VERY nice Sunfish! I love those things. My brother in law has one and after years of sailing much more complex boats, I just love that little thing. Great fun when it's really blowing too. Here's my beloved C-22 on her first sail following her three year restoration. Please note-the long haired hippy of a skipper has since had a substantial hair cut.

We'd better get back on topic now...:D