Power Kite Forum - kite longboarding?

kite longboarding?

apost - 21-7-2018 at 09:23 AM

I'd like to try to kiteboard on a longboard (that is, a skateboard longboard, not a surfboard longboard). But, apart from a few clips on youtube, I cannot find much information about it. Does this sport even have a name? (Kite longboarding, or longboard kiting, or longboard kiteboarding, or kite skating, or skate kiting, or ... ?)

One spot in Boston area where it might work is the parking lot in Nahant. But I have never seen anybody doing it. The closest things I've seen is kiting on inline skates and riding a longboard with a windsurfing sail.

I actually tried it once in Nahant with a 3m trainer kite, but it did not work very well because my lines were way too long for the parking lot.

Any tips and suggestions?

What would be the right gear? I am thinking about

(a) 2-line trainer kite on short lines (under 10m), or
(b) depower foil kite (also on short lines).

I think option (b) is better, since there is not much control of a 2-line kite.

I am thinking about 7m Ozone Frenzy. This kite rocks for snowkiting. But I am not so sure about riding a longboard with it, because it can generate a lot of power in gusts. How well will Frenzy handle on short lines?

Probably a better kite would be 6m Flysurfer Peak. BTW, does anybody want to part with an older Flysurfer Peak (Peak1 maybe)?

ssayre - 21-7-2018 at 09:41 AM

It's a blast. all kites will work with enough room but my favorite kites for this activity is nasa stars flown on a 2 line bar on 5m lines or no lines. very responsive and quick turning and one handed operation. front side to toeside transitions are seamless and fun. I used to have a bunch of videos on youtube but I deleted them all awhile back for no particular reason. if interested, I'll see if I can dig up a few old videos and post.

We used to call it "Streetkite"

ssayre - 21-7-2018 at 09:45 AM

Also, I have a 6m peak one that also worked well. I flew it normally and off of handles which works surprisingly well.

cheezycheese - 21-7-2018 at 09:50 AM

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=34104

Brian aka Skimtwashington kite skates there frequently

cheezycheese - 21-7-2018 at 09:52 AM

A small 3m-5m fixed bridle flown right off the handles or short lines should do fine. I think Brian uses a Nasa wing.

cheezycheese - 21-7-2018 at 09:53 AM

Lol... what Ssayre said

ssayre - 21-7-2018 at 09:55 AM

Quote: Originally posted by cheezycheese

Lol... what Ssayre said

What i say?? :P

I'm uploading one now. :D

apost - 21-7-2018 at 10:05 AM

Thanks for the tips! Actually, I met Brian in Nahant on skates yesterday, which reminded me that I wanted to kite with a longboard.

I like the idea of kiting with no lines. This did not occur to me before. This would be the easiest thing to do. No need to modify the lines. I can just connect my trainer kite directly to the bar.

apost - 21-7-2018 at 10:10 AM

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

... if interested, I'll see if I can dig up a few old videos and post.

It would be great to take a look at your videos (if it is not too much trouble to dig them up).

ssayre - 21-7-2018 at 10:54 AM

apost - 21-7-2018 at 11:49 AM

Ssayre, nice videos. I like your truck-assisted way of launching/landing the kite.

apost - 21-7-2018 at 11:56 AM

Just put 3m lines on my trainer kite. I might try streetkiting later today in Nahant if weather permits.

alf - 21-7-2018 at 02:10 PM

i use longboard with street star figur out you can load the battry of you electric longboard while sailing
i hav asked about it atom longboard :

hello Fred,

The H-Series boards by Atom Longboards have regenerative braking, but the brakes need to be slightly engaged in order to activate the battery charging aspect. If you were to hold the brakes slightly while using the sail to proel yourself, you could potentially use the regenerative braking to charge your board.

Check out the H16D, H10, or H4, our hub driven H-Series electric longboards. https://www.atomlongboards.com/boards/?category=.ELECTRIC.

Best regards,

Ryan Lynch * Customer Service * 212 Sutton Lane * Colorado Springs, CO * 80907 * 719-884-1000 # 0015 * Fax 719-884-1003

depowering nasa star kites ?

apost - 22-7-2018 at 09:12 AM

Yesterday, I went to Nahant to streetkite with a longboard and 3m trainer kite. Brian was also there. Actually, I liked it much more than kiting on a mountainboard - carves and transitions of directions are much smoother. You can directly control the kite with carving, kind of carve into the wind, if that makes sense. A very interesting sensation. It is a bit similar to kiting on a strapless surfboard (which is the type of kiting I was doing most of the time last few years). But it is a more direct feeling. I guess short lines make a big difference.

I am wondering why almost nobody is streetkiting on a longboard.

After reading Ssayre's comments, I now got interested in Nasa Star kites. I have a few questions about these kites:

I think for streetkiting I don't need a 3-line bar with a harness, since I need a freedom of movement (especially when riding toeside).

But I have an idea how one can easily modify a 2-line bar and still use depower:

One can connect the 3-rd line to the middle of the bar using a thicker rope and a clamcleat (similar to the trimming line on a 4-line bar for usual depower kites). This way the kite will work as a 2-line kite - no hassle with harness, etc. But if the wind picks up, one can adjust the depower rope a bit.

Ssayre and others who have experience with these kites: Will this work? How well do these kites depower? Do they turn Ok when depowered?

The website says "NST -3 - remains fully steerable in depowered state, without going into the backstall."

I am a bit skeptical about this claim. Even tube and depower foils are not "fully steerable" if you depower them a lot.

apost - 22-7-2018 at 09:29 AM

Quote: Originally posted by apost

The website says "NST -3 - remains fully steerable in depowered state, without going into the backstall."

I am also confused why they mentioned "backstall" here.

AFAIK, backstall is the exact of opposite of depower. It happens if one powers up the kite too much (decrease the length of steering lines). If one depowers the kite too much it might become less controllable, but it should not backstall.

Bladerunner - 22-7-2018 at 09:46 AM

I got my 1st real rides in on tarmac with rollerblades. It was a hoot until I got banned and then they fenced me out when I ( and some freestyle bike kids ) would not simply go away.

I would love to ride tarmac again but have not found a suitable lot since. This city is nothing but trees and cars.

ssayre - 22-7-2018 at 09:47 AM

I didn't find the depower useful other than a tethered attachment that kills power although I never experimented with a trimmed clam cleat option. I don't think they fly worth a darn with any depower.

The depower on a nasa star works completely different than normal depower. the power goes to the steering lines and the center line pulls in on the nose when activated. It is sensitive and requires little tension to pull the nose in. Nasa wings are particularly sensitive to flying backwards if not bridled correctly.

apost - 22-7-2018 at 09:49 AM

Quote: Originally posted by alf

figur out you can load the battry of you electric longboard while sailing

Good idea. Kiting all day on an esk8 while simultaneously braking might save a few cents in your electric bill.

apost - 22-7-2018 at 10:14 AM

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

I don't think they fly worth a darn with any depower.

Thanks for the explanation. I guess this depower line is more like a safety feature.

Prussik - 23-7-2018 at 12:42 PM

NS's off the shelf are marginally usable IMO. Adding any amount of front edge depower makes things even worse. However modifying the bridles for lower AOA and trail edge pull completely changes the picture. I've been flying mine partially depowered, with good control and upwind performance for a few years and I tend to favour them now over the other FB's most of the time. Making the necessary mods to the bridles, including testing, etc. can be quite time consuming especially for someone new to this kind of stuff. Much easier, if not better, option is provided by Dutch Flying Objects. Their Nasas have adjustable bridles which make adjustments easy and almost as good as doing it the hard way with NS. For optimum performance they still need some small bridle extensions. I haven't checked lately, but they were lower priced than NS's and didn't charge illegal VAT like Born did. The construction quality seems to be better than NS's. However in one DFO I had 2 bridles of incorrect lengths, whereas I had only 1 in 4 of NS's.

apost - 23-7-2018 at 11:01 PM

Thanks for the tip. I got interested in this NASA kites thing. Did not know about them before.

I am looking at NasaWing9 from Dutch Flying Objects. Will their 190 Depower (2.89m) kite be enough for riding a longboard in light wind? (By light wind I mean when it is not enough wind for kitesurfing, say, in 5-15 mph range. This is when I will mostly likely be streetkiting.) Or will I be better off with a 3.5m NPW9 kite?

skimtwashington - 24-7-2018 at 01:14 AM

Go bigger.... DFO Nasa 210(3.5 sqm)

ssayre - 24-7-2018 at 09:07 AM

Quote: Originally posted by skimtwashington

Go bigger.... DFO Nasa 210(3.5 sqm)

alf - 24-7-2018 at 11:07 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hbS54VNHKU

NPW9 7,6 versus street star 6
npw9 is more powerful , works also with street bar

i hav to use the npw9 with harness and ergo bar to do a fair comparaison but anyway depower is better with street star
inbtween i prefer the street star , i can use it also on water

intersting the nasawing 9 depower

https://www.dutchflyingobjects-shop.nl/c-459914/nasa-wing/

apost - 24-7-2018 at 08:30 PM

I am kind of confused how to steer the street star - in the street star bar both steering lines are joined together.

Anyway, I want to fly a kite on a standard 2 line bar. I am thinking about streetkiting on a longboard as a cross-training for kitesurfing on a strapless directional board. The feeling is very similar. So a 2 line bar is the closest thing to control bars I am used to (LEI's and depower foils).

Which kite Nasa Star 3, Nasawing, or Nasawing9 would work better on a 2 line bar?

Just to clarify: is Nasawing9 from Dutch Flying Objects exactly the same kite as NPW9 (and Nasawing the same as NPW5)?

I've read somewhere on this forum that NPW9 is supposed to be flown on handles. But Dutch Flying Objects website says that Nasawing9 can be flown on a bar.

alf - 24-7-2018 at 10:13 PM

2 line bar, depowet bar, you hav to adjust bridles, they all can do it. Wich is better i dont know

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AnbIzMV7UfE

I wouild try the naswing y9 depower, the wing is wider than other nasas so depower must be easier. Depower is easier with short chord. But nasa star must be bettter. .
But that s just an opinion, should be tried

apost - 25-7-2018 at 07:50 AM

I wrote to Dutch Flying Object and they say that "NasaWing9 210 is sold out and is no longer produced".

If I go with Nasa Star, should I get 4m? What is the upper end of 4m? Can it handle 20mph?

I've seen people discussed 3.2m Nasa Star, but I cannot find it on their website.

By the way, does anybody want to sell their old Nasa?

Ed Cline - 25-7-2018 at 10:54 AM

I believe in da power! or if you like depower

Cobble a bar. Make the stop secure and adjustable.

These are the DFO bridles spoken of

When in between kites sizes, I do sometimes cripple the kite a little by tightening the "safety" line.

Prussik - 25-7-2018 at 02:09 PM

One thing to keep in mind comparing NS and DFO is that the given nominal sizes are not what the real areas are. Mine DFO is a little smaller than the quoted size, but NSs are considerably smaller. I don't have a 3.2 NS but judging from other sizes I would expect it to be about a .5 m smaller than labeled and pretty close to - may be a little smaller than DFO 190 (2.89m) - if they still make them. Projected area ratios are, I think, quite comparable. BTW NS 4.0 is a lot of kite for 20 mph and low drag surface.

Randy - 26-7-2018 at 02:53 AM

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Quote: Originally posted by cheezycheese

Lol... what Ssayre said

What i say?? :P

I'm uploading one now. :D

Hey Sean - good to see you hanging out here again. Those were some good videos.

Only thing I would add to the discussion above is that with any of the NPW or single skin kites you can pretty much make one kite cover a wide range by simply varying the line length. Lots of wind - fly with short line or even off the handles (or bar). Wind is weak -- fly with longer lines. A longboard and one kite is a minimalist traction kite setup you can take almost anywhere.

ssayre - 26-7-2018 at 03:33 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Randy

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Quote: Originally posted by cheezycheese

Lol... what Ssayre said

What i say?? :P

I'm uploading one now. :D

I was wondering when you were going to chime in on this thread. And yes, I agree, about expanding the range through line lengths.

Randy - 26-7-2018 at 04:01 PM

Wanted to post but was lacking good internet for a couple of weeks.

Houston AirHead - 27-7-2018 at 06:50 AM

Oh yeah things get real fun on a long country road wide open spaces and short lines. You can really log some miles quickly.

ssayre - 27-7-2018 at 10:25 AM

I deleted my videos. My google account and email is attached to my work account. I've been meaning to create another youtube account for kiting / hobbies. I'll repost. Just wanted to give an explanation in case anyone wondered why I removed.