What sort of surprised me in looking at this is how much it appears that these folks are largely going downwind, not tacking near 90 deg to the wind
as we all would in buggies, etc. I suspect this may be necessitated by the extremely high coefficient of friction their overall rig must have getting
pulled across that frozen tundra.
Good stuff! Bladerunner - 10-5-2016 at 04:08 PM
I am kind of stumped on how they managed to circumnavigate the country ? Assuming they were not able to tack upwind ? I can't imagine they could since
I struggle to get upwind in a buggy with NPW. skimtwashington - 10-5-2016 at 04:41 PM
Something was posted very similar(or about same expedition) a while back where they used a large quiver of NPW style kites going from a 3m size, to
a crazy large 30 or 50m ?? .
They were used to pull a loaded platform of gear similar to this which I believe weighed a literal ton.:o
I wouldn't know how and where to find this past post... Windstruck - 10-5-2016 at 04:48 PM
Tell me about it. The biggest NPW I own is a puny 12.5m. A mere pup in comparison. Just think about launching that Leviathan on the Ivanpah playa
hooked into a true land yacht and letting the games begin!brockrock1000 - 10-5-2016 at 06:00 PM
Very awesome post. Can someone please translate. What was the purpose of this trip. Was it simply to do it by kite power, or do they just use kite
power to do some other important thing. On a trip that large, I'm sure they have miles of video going upwind and at a lull...cussing and carrying
on...skimtwashington - 11-5-2016 at 06:38 AM
I also want to see when and what kind of wind would only warrant only a 3m to pull that 2 ton massive load:o
..Wind speed would have to be well into the 3 digit range I'm thinking..
That old post was the most impressive and unbelievable use of kite power I ever saw. Trouble is... I need video to really believe it(kites pulling a
ton or more)...and there was/is none at website or on YouTube that I can find.
ssayre - 11-5-2016 at 06:44 AM
Skimt are you still tired?? Randy posted the video and it's incredible. Seeing all that gear and people being dragged by kite power through deep
snow on a make shift sledssayre - 11-5-2016 at 06:47 AM
As far as upwind, they would only be able to do downwind or near downwind with that set up I'm guessing. Maybe they just waited on the right wind
direction to go the way they wanted??
My main concern would be food. I don't skip many meals. I think I would have eaten the rest of the crew by the end of the expedition if provisions
were light.skimtwashington - 11-5-2016 at 07:07 AM
Quote:
Skimt are you still tired?? Randy posted the video and it's incredible.
Yeah....guess I'm still tired!:embarrased:
thanks Randy!
The original plan showed a more massive sled w/battery units and greenhouse on it. That may have thrown me a little and what I was thinking of being
pulled. This set up is much smaller than the one on plan: http://www.powerkiteforum.com/files.php?pid=301150&aid=1...Bladerunner - 11-5-2016 at 03:10 PM
As far as upwind, they would only be able to do downwind or near downwind with that set up I'm guessing. Maybe they just waited on the right wind
direction to go the way they wanted??
I suppose this is possible but it's hard to imagine that the got lucky enough the wind headed North, South , East, and West just as they needed it?
Waiting for the perfect direction seems extremely time consuming. Going one way or 2 is easy to get my head around but getting the right wind at the
right time to circumnavigate is beyond me!
A translator would be great! It looked like they were taking core samples of the snow as they went along? PHREERIDER - 12-5-2016 at 07:32 AM
impressive journey! navigation scope/control is hard to grasp. looks like things would get shaken pretty good at speed, and whiteouts would be full
on sketch.
with good support, really looks like the spot is certainly wide open.
a scout set up to run ahead and along with sled would seem really natural to have (some type snow kite setup?) skis, board would have been present?
lighten the tow load, add to power, efficiency of sled might could be improved(though not the scope of the expedition party apparently). must been
looking for flame retardant in cores...i'm sure they want be disappointed!
good find. ssayre - 12-5-2016 at 08:09 AM
finally watched all the way through. It's a sexist video. The action photos of the woman showed her cooking and sewing :P
Besides that, it appears there isn't any steering control on the sled unless I missed it somehow. So I can only guess they were at the mercy of the
wind.
At 8:48 - 9 they got moving pretty good. the gps said 47. I'm going to assume kph or 29 mph. That's fast if that's the case!!
