rectifier - 17-6-2015 at 02:52 PM
I read that there will be all kinds of kite action from buggying to stunt and display kites.
Going to be my first year there, going to be there on Sunday, flying NPWs of course.
There are supposed to be some free 2-line lessons which my wife wants to try out as the kites in my quiver intimidate her as a raw beginner. She's
expressed interest in snowkiting this winter so here's hoping 
Hope I will get a chance to try out a buggy as I only currently ride snow.
markite - 17-6-2015 at 04:18 PM
A few friends are heading there as invited guests but they are all single line / display kite fliers. Bud Taylor will be there who is "the kite guys"
from Airdrie Alberta and Bud buggies and has been to NABX a number of times. I know people that have gone to the festival but all for single line and
part of the quad demo teams.
Mark
rectifier - 18-6-2015 at 11:53 AM
Yeah, I think the festival is more focused on non-power kiting.
Still, I love all sorts of kites and it's only about an hour's drive, so it feels like it will be a day well spent.
Heard that Tom "kiteman", one of the NPW9b pioneers will be there so I'm also hoping to chat with him and maybe get a chance to fly 9b and 21 side by
side. Would be interesting to compare window and power.
rectifier - 22-6-2015 at 08:25 AM
Well it was definitely not a power kite festival, I think the only power flyers there were Tom, Bud, and myself. No buggying at all (no space!) And
Bud was busy selling kites, not flying. Got to fly with Tom and try out his Canada flag 4m NPW9b, what a nice kite with good window and smooth power.
Tom is a good guy who really loves kites.
The focus was mostly on revs and a ton of single line flyers. Real amazing flying from some of the demo teams though, I was glad I came just to see
that.
Despite the lack of power I had a good time, hung out and flew 2-liners with my wife, let quite a few casual flyers and some of the rev flyers try out
my 2.6m Tyvek NPW21. The Tyvek really was a conversation starter as it was immediately obvious I was flying a homebuilt.
Showed people the basics of handle flying a power kite, talked about building and recommended Tom's 9b calculator to a few interested builders. Got
some kids pretty stoked on snowkiting and the idea of building something they could ride with. Perhaps we will see a few more NPWs in the air next
year.
ssayre - 22-6-2015 at 12:45 PM
I've been planning on building a large delta using Raptor synthetic roof underlayment. It's black so I think it will look cool.
rectifier - 22-6-2015 at 02:58 PM
Uh oh, looks like you've found me a new material to play with. Polyolefin (tyvek), with high friction coating so it would be easy to handle, and an
extended UV life. 3.2 oz/yard is 50% heavier than Tyvek (1.8 oz) but... it's BLACK!!
Also the logo is much more attractive than the one on Tyvek. I wish they made these products plain without marking them all over with logos!
Now to try to find some in Canada!
ssayre - 22-6-2015 at 03:01 PM
If you like that you can also check out Titanium and rhino and some more I'll have to remember. All uv resistant and more attractive than tyvek
rectifier - 22-6-2015 at 03:24 PM
Hmm, this is an entire class of products I didn't know about. Been awhile since I did a roof.
Maybe there is some out there without logos, or in different colours... this would open up a new world of polyolefin-based kites.
ssayre - 22-6-2015 at 03:41 PM
There are several. Most if not all have logos. Common size is 4' wide roll but you can also get 10' rolls